Cincinnati radio host Lincoln Ware celebrating 50 years on the airwaves

Lincoln Ware, a Cincinnati radio personality at WDBZ-AM 1230 "The Buzz," never imagined he would get a job in radio let alone last five decades in the ever-changing industry.

When Ware was discharged from the Marines in 1973, there was a job opening for a disc jockey at WCIN-AM in Cincinnati, which was once the second-oldest Black radio station in the country. The 23-year-old had been a DJ aboard the USS Midway, the aircraft carrier that he served on during his three-year tour. Ware applied for the job even though he was skeptical about his chances.

"I didn't think I would get the job, and low and behold, I got it," Ware said with a laugh. "I probably would have ended up working at the post office if I hadn't."

Instead of mail, Ware has spent the past 50 years delivering music, news and information across the Greater Cincinnati airwaves through "The Lincoln Ware Show." That makes him the longest-running local radio personality on-air today.

"Lincoln's significance can't be measured or overstated in terms of what he means to this community and to his listenership. His voice is irreplaceable," said Nathan Ivey, host of "The Nathan Ivey Show" and founder of Nathan Ivey Creative. "To be in one market for 50 years is unheard of. To have a stable voice speaking to issues in the Black community for 10 years would be remarkable, but for 50? People take for granted and don't understand how powerful that is."

Like a morning cup of coffee, Ware's iconic voice is the wake up call that jump-starts the day for thousands of people across Cincinnati. His signature "long good morning" intro to his three-hour show − inspired by the movie "Good Morning Vietnam" − and his popular catchphrase "unbelievable," used to describe outrageous comments from callers or events in the news, have become legendary.

"If I'm feeling great and the voice is in great shape, I can hold it for a long time," Ware said of his "Good Morning, Cincinnati" intro. "Some days I can, some days I can't."

Ware's voice is not just entertaining, but informative and significant, especially when you consider the erosion of Black-owned radio and TV stations and newspapers over the years. He was recently named among the top 100 most important radio hosts in the country by Talkers Magazine.

"His show allows you to plug into a world where you have a Black man talking from a Black perspective about things Black people care about. That's big," said Ivey, who worked alongside Ware for more than a decade. "There are people who probably spend more time listening to Lincoln Ware on a daily basis than they do talking to their own family. There are people all over the country that hear what's going on in Cincinnati via Lincoln's show."

Ivey − whose show on WDBZ, at times, aired before and after "The Lincoln Ware Show" − said he learned the value of consistency and letting callers and guests talk by observing Ware.

"A lot of talk show hosts talk too much, and they talk over guests and callers. But with Lincoln, people can call in and talk and be heard," Ivey said. "He's good at making people feel like the show is theirs on some level, and they can say what they want to say."

Ware admits the older he gets, the less patience he has and the quicker he cuts callers off.

"I try to let them get it out, but when they start repeating stuff, I've got to let them go," he said. "But I do try to let them talk because many who call in feel like nobody is listening to them or cares about what they have to say. So on my show, we give them that outlet."

While Ware is probably best known today for his talk radio show, that part of his career didn't take shape until the 1990s. Much of his early career was spent as a DJ, producer and engineer. He still remembers his very first show.

"The first song I played was a song by the Spinners. I can't recall the exact song, but I do know I was nervous as hell," Ware said.

Ware has worked at five radio stations in the area, including WCIN, The WIZ, WDBZ and WPFB-AM in Middletown, Ohio. He even worked part-time on weekends at 700 WLW-AM "when they still played music, and before they really became right-wing," he said. Since 2010, Ware has been hosting the public affairs TV show "Cincinnati Issues," which airs every Sunday at 6:30 a.m. on WSTR-TV Star 64.

Ware said the radio industry has changed significantly during his career.

"You couldn't even say 'hell' on the air without people getting nervous," he said. "Stations were afraid to express what political party they were with. You used to have to give everyone equal time and couldn't lean one way or the other. Now, you've got right-wing radio and radio for progressives on the left. Everybody is divided now."

Ware said he's not sure if that's good or bad, but it certainly creates more interesting radio.

"Nowadays, people don't want to hear the other side. They don't believe what the other side is saying," he said. "If we were still on equal time, it would be so boring. I don't think people would want to listen if I had to give two hours a day to right-wing, and then two-hours to liberals. They would just tune out when the opposite party comes on. Why not just keep your audience the entire time rather than have them tune out?"

Ware's progression from DJ to talk radio personality was a gradual one. At first, Ware would bring up topics and discuss them in between the songs he played. But as the discussions became more popular with listeners, Ware realized he had stumbled onto something. Enter: Alicia Reece.

Reece, a young, eager and recent college graduate with a degree in communications, worked with Ware on an idea to produce a daily Black talk show featuring Ware. Reece recalled that WCIN owner John Thomas allowed them to pursue the idea but stressed, "I'm not paying you extra."

"I was getting paid $500 a month," Reece said with a laugh. "Mr. Thomas felt that music sells, so we ought to just play music. He told us we could do it, but he wasn't paying extra. Mr. Thomas got a lot for $500."

Without a blueprint, Reece and Ware built a show that would become among the most popular in the Queen City, growing from a one-hour to a four-hour program. They booked high-profile guests such as former Cincinnati Mayor Jerry Springer and U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, among others. They took the show out of the studio and into the community with broadcasts called "Taking It to the Streets with Lincoln Ware." The show even became a springboard for Reece's own political career, which has included seats on Cincinnati City Council, at the Ohio Statehouse and now Hamilton County Commission.

Ware's voice and perspective have been a constant during recessions, riots, 9/11, a pandemic, Obama, Trump and countless other events of historic significance in the city and country. Sometimes he was even in the thick of the news as it happened.

"During the 2001 riots, I was broadcasting live from the scene," Ware recalled. "I was running through the streets and felt the pellets from the bean bags (shot by police) like everybody else."

John Kiesewetter, who covers local media for 91.7 WVXU, said Ware has remained an important community voice in the face of ownership and format changes at radio stations, the Zoom-era of COVID-19 and the evolution of social media.

"He's a survivor. He's adapted and thrived through a lot of industry changes," Kiesewetter said. "To do it for as long and as well as he has speaks to his staying power."

Reece said the secret to Ware's longevity is he can change with the times and still be relevant.

"He's always able to keep reinventing himself," Reece said. "Multiple generations of folks know the Lincoln Ware name."

She credits that not only to the fact that Ware knows how to do every job in the radio business but to his involvement in the community. Reece noted that Ware started a walking club for seniors and a travel club to get more Black people traveling, not to mention countless appearances at community events.

"He's a call-to-action radio personality," Reece said. "When Lincoln Ware says he's going to be someplace, he's going to show up, and there is going to be a big crowd there because of him."

Ivey said Ware connects with his audience on a deeper level by sharing the "ups and downs of being human." Ware acknowledged his listeners do like to hear about his life experiences, and he shares as much as he can, but that sometimes gets him in trouble at home.

"It drives my family crazy," he said with a laugh. "When my wife and daughter are out in public, people will say things to them that they've heard about on the show. (Listeners) think they know me personally. They love to hear that stuff, and they don't forget it either."

Reece wants to make sure that Ware's contributions to Cincinnati and the radio and music industry aren't forgotten. While Ware won't get a star on the new Black Walk of Fame honoring Cincinnati's Black music legends, he will receive a special place of recognition there, which will be unveiled during the July 22 grand opening.

"He will be acknowledged for 50 years impacting Black radio," Reece said, noting Ware played a key part in bringing the Black Walk of Fame to fruition as a volunteer committee member. "A lot of these songs from the Black music legends we are celebrating, Lincoln broke first on his show. He got their records on the air. He got the song before the song became big."

Ware turns 73 on April 11, and after 50 years, it reasonable to ask how much longer he plans to keep working.

"Maybe a couple more years," he said. "As long as I'm feeling OK, and I don't regret going in to work, and I can still think fast enough to do the show. Right now, I enjoy going to work. When the day comes I don't enjoy it, then I know it's time to leave."

Opinion and Engagement Editor Kevin S. Aldridge can be reached at kaldridge@enquirer.com. Twitter: @kevaldrid.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati radio host Lincoln Ware celebrates 50 years on the airwaves