{{Short description|American radio and television personality (1955–1992)}} {{Infobox person | name = Melvin Lindsey | image = MelvinLindsey2 OggiOgburn.jpg | alt = | caption = Lindsey in 1988 | birth_date = {{Birth date|1955|07|08}} | birth_place = Washington, D.C., U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1992|03|26|1955|07|08}} | death_place = Washington, D.C., U.S. | other_names = | known_for = "Quiet Storm" late-night music programming format | occupation = radio and television personality }} '''Melvin Lindsey''' (July 8, 1955{{spaced ndash}}March 26, 1992) was an American radio and television personality in the Washington, D.C. area. He is widely known for originating the "Quiet Storm" late-night music programming format.
Lindsey was a native of Washington, D.C., and attended Alice Deal Middle School and Woodrow Wilson High School.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://beenhere.org/2017/07/07/melvin-lindsey/ | title=Melvin Lindsey | date=8 July 2017 }}</ref> Lindsey began his broadcast career as an intern at Howard University radio station WHUR-FM.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/a-quiet-storm-mw0000200082|title=A Quiet Storm|first=Craig |last=Lytle|work=AllMusic|accessdate=21 April 2016}}</ref> In 1976, he brought the "Quiet Storm" to the station's late-night lineup, titled after a romantic hit single by tenor crooner Smokey Robinson. The show's soulfully melodic and moody musical fare made it a phenomenal success, and the "love song"-heavy format was quickly replicated at stations across the country that served an urban, African-American adult demographic. Lindsey's show also gave rise to a category of music of the same name.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Castaneda|first1=Ruben|title=Quiet Storm' Radio Host Melvin Lindsey Dies at 36|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1992/03/27/quiet-storm-radio-host-melvin-lindsey-dies-at-36/2d3b3f1e-0739-41fe-b005-3ebb16c0155c/|accessdate=26 March 2016|newspaper=Washington Post|date=March 27, 1992}}</ref>
After a nine-year run on WHUR, Lindsey took his format to another local radio station, WKYS-FM, for five more years, and later he hosted ''Screen Scene'' for Black Entertainment Television (BET). He also worked for Washington, D.C. television stations WTTG-TV and WFTY-TV and for WJZ-TV in Baltimore, Maryland.
Lindsey died at the age of 36 from complications of AIDS in 1992, but the Quiet Storm format he originated gained widespread popularity. It remained popular more than four decades after its inception across the nation, especially in evening and late-night radio programs.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1992/03/27/quiet-storm-radio-host-melvin-lindsey-dies-at-36/2d3b3f1e-0739-41fe-b005-3ebb16c0155c/|title=Washington Post Archive|last=Castaneda|first=Ruben|date=1992-03-27|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2019-01-03}}</ref> Artists continue to compose songs to target the audiences of Quiet Storm stations and shows.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/underscore/8822-the-quiet-storm/|title=The Quiet Storm|website=Pitchfork|date=15 May 2012 |language=en|access-date=2019-01-03}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|R&B and Soul Music|United States}} *Quiet storm * ''A Quiet Storm'' – the Smokey Robinson record where the song "Quiet Storm" appeared *Vaughn Harper *{{Portal-inline|Radio}} *{{Portal-inline|Biography}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Find a Grave|86154550}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindsey, Melvin}} Category:1955 births Category:1992 deaths Category:African-American television personalities Category:Journalists from Washington, D.C. Category:American radio personalities Category:American television reporters and correspondents Category:AIDS-related deaths in Washington, D.C. Category:20th-century African-American people