Tastes Great, Smokes Mild! says Hoppy Adams, The Lively One on WANN. Poster for Chesterfield King Cigarettes
(S.l.): (S.n.), [c.1950s]. Black and white photographic portrait of Adams. Poster. 18.5" x 22.5" Fine. Clean, crisp original printing of this poster. No significant wear.
Fantastic poster featuring groundbreaking Black radio DJ and Annapolis native, Charles W. "Hoppy" Adams. The Annapolis radio station WANN, founded by Morris Blum in 1948, is thickly intertwined with the story of the beginnings of Black radio in the United States. Blum, a Jewish descendant from Baltimore, started WANN as a 1,000 Watt station in Annapolis. The station struggled for the first few years until Blum hired local cab driver Hoppy Adams as DJ, and began tailoring the station to a growing African American audience.
The station grew to 50,000 Watts and reached Pennsylvania, Maryland's Eastern Shore, and Virginia. Hoppy Adams broadcasts from the
African American venue at Carr's Beach showcased many national acts.
The Blum family sold the radio station in 1999 and many of the artifacts went to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. Here is your chance to own a superb relic from the beginnings of Black radio in America.
Item #868
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