WMOT Records

WMOT (We Men of Talent) Records, an independent recording company in Philadelphia, produced a series of singles and albums in the "Philadelphia sound" soul tradition (see Philadelphia soul). The company was founded by Alan Rubens and Steve Bernstein in 1973.

The biggest selling record produced by WMOT was "Double Dutch Bus" by Frankie Smith, which hit number one on the Billboard soul chart (#30, pop) in 1982 and sold more than 2 million copies. Other gold hits were recorded by Major Harris with "Love Won't Let Me Wait" (#1 R&B, #5 pop, 1975) and their first signing, Blue Magic, who had a string of R&B and pop hits in the mid-70s, including "Sideshow", (#1 R&B, #8 pop), in 1974. Other WMOT artists included Count Coolout, Barbara Mason, Captain Sky, Brandi Wells, David Simmons, Funk Fusion Band, Bliss, Impact (which featured former Temptations member Damon Harris), Heaven and Earth, Sweet Thunder, and Fat Larry's Band. The label also produced "It's Good To Be The King" by actor/comedian/director Mel Brooks in 1981.

WMOT

WMOT is a radio station featuring classical music, jazz music and news and talk programming, serving the metropolitan Nashville, Tennessee market. It is licensed to Middle Tennessee State University, located in nearby Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Due to its location, WMOT's signal is strongest and clearest in Nashville and surrounding counties. It is branded as Middle Tennessee Public Radio.

History

Originally started in April 1969 employing various forms of pop and rock music that was aimed at a student listenership, WMOT ran a full-time jazz music format between 1982 and 2009, aimed at a somewhat larger, more adult audience. By the late 2000s, WMOT was one of only a handful of U.S. public radio stations employing a jazz format full-time, without filling much of the broadcast day with news and other genres. At various times in the station's history, it has broadcast MTSU football and basketball games as well; WMOT presently broadcasts those athletic contests, partly because of the lack of interest from commercial stations in the immediate Murfreesboro market in doing so.