In publicity stills, Gibson was pictured straddling a microphone and turntable in jockey silk outfits, and he gained a following playing to a Black audience.
[8][9] Also he had parts in the anthology Destination Freedom, a series written by Richard Durham, dedicated to the retelling the lives of notable Negros in the Americas.
R&B was outselling jazz in the Black music market but had little traction on-air as DJs at other Black-themed stations did not play it, preferring the then-popular big-band format.
The first to do that was a former Negro League baseball announcer named Lavada Durst, known as Doctor Hep Cat, who spieled rhyme that was not obscene and was the precursor to modern rap and hip-hop.
[13] Jumpin’ jills and jivin' cats, Upstate Gates in Stetson hats, Lace your boots and tighten your wig, Here’s some jive, can you dig?
I'm Doctor Hep Cat, on the scene, With a stack of shellac in my record machine, I'm hip to the tip, and bop to the top, I'm long time coming and I just won't stop.
When his station WLIB purchased WBLS and FM radio audiences came to understand there was more to music than top-40, disc jockeys like Frankie Crocker and his urban contemporary cohorts Johnny 'The Duke' Allen, Vaughn 'Quiet Storm' Harper, and Ken ‘Spider’ Webb went from just some ‘jive turkeys’ to number one in their market,[16] then to the number-one radio station in the country.
[21] Bringing together disparate elements of Black Appeal Radio under one body placed Gibson at the head of the table, and as the father he declared, "I slapped this baby's bottom and brought it to life!"
[22] While there, he mentored the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, The Jackson Five, and Stevie Wonder, and as Director of International PR, he often provided their first introductions to the public on stage.
[25] In 1985 Gibson was involved with the effort to un-ban Stevie Wonder, whose records were banned in South Africa after his acceptance of an Academy award in the name of Nelson Mandela.
[29] In 1987, after learning that soul singer Jackie Wilson had been buried next to his mother in an unmarked grave, Gibson launched a crowd-sourced fundraiser for a marker and tomb for the pair.
[31] The Jack the Rapper Family Affair was a recurring event where influential people in Black urban radio gathered and listened to what record companies had to offer.
People who wanted to hobnob with celebrities were buying tickets on-site to party, and these crowds overwhelmed the venues and organizers alike.
There were seminars that gave people in the industry an opportunity to exchange ideas, and they often returned to their jobs equipped with fresh concepts, ready to make changes.