Vaughn Harper

WBLS New York

Vaughn Harper (March 1, 1945 – July 9, 2016[1]) was an American broadcast announcer and DJ.

As one of the deejays mentored by Frankie Crocker on WBLS, Harper entered radio in 1976. In May 1983, WBLS hired Champaine, a woman deejay, and together Harper and Champaine developed a quiet storm late night format patterned after the successful show which had been introduced by WHUR jock Melvin Lindsey in 1976. Others took to the format but WBLS had greater reach and more listenership. The Harper/Champaine quiet storm program became a staple that lasted thru station changeovers and garnered a following in the New York Market. With a deep, mellifluous voice, listeners said Harper sounded romantic, eliciting a peaceful respite at the end of the day.

While at WBLS he also, with Ken ‘Spider’ Webb, lent his basketball talents to the station team, the WBLS-Sureshots, which played local teams for charity. Rival stations WBLS and WRKS both competed together and their games packed out Madison Square Garden twice.

In 1979 along with his co-horts Ken Webb, Johnny Allen, and Frankie Crocker, WBLS reached #1 in the Billboard Radio rankings as rated by Arbitron.

In 1993 Harper suffered a stroke and spent years effecting a comeback. In his absence, Champaine hosted Quiet Storm II on WBLS. Harper left WBLS for WWRL in 1997. Reading live ads upon returning to radio in 1998 had improved his delivery to his pre-stroke professionalism and at WBGO-FM he felt the energy returning to his program. Listeners will get a certain energy from me he promised.

In 2008, Harper lent his voice to Grand Theft Auto IV, as himself, a DJ on one of the in-game radio stations, The Vibe 98.8.

Harper rejoined WBLS and continued as a radio host until 2008.