Vaughn Harper’s mellifluous voice that matched the melodious music he dispensed was a staple on WBLS radio for years. His show called the “Quiet Storm” was an amalgam of soothing sounds, from jazz and pop to rhythm and blues. That voice, that style, is now in amber and Harper, 70, joined the ancestors Saturday in Englewood, N.J.
The cause of death was complications from diabetes, his wife, Sandra Harper, told the press.
Harper’s voice was made for radio, particularly if you wanted that soft, charming intonation that characterized the delivery of many hosts and deejays in the 1950s and ’60s, including Larry Dean and Jack Surrell in Detroit. What Harper did differently was the way he interwove his patter with the music, giving the program an uninterrupted flow of words and music.
This mixture did not happen right away, though Frankie Crocker, WBLS’s station program director, knew Harper had what it takes to command the radio waves when he heard him as an M.C. at a nightclub and hired him in 1976.
Harper’s show was perfectly suited for Harlem’s declining economic status, a daily dose of calming music and a stabilizing voice of reassurance when the Apollo Theater closed down and other entertainment vistas were unreliable.
“I try to present it more as a mood than a show,” Harper often said of his broadcast.
Born in Harlem March 1, 1946, Harper attended Boys High School in Brooklyn, where he was a standout basketball player, helping the school to defeat George W. Wingate High School for the Public Schools Athletic League title in 1962. He was also a standout at Syracuse University, playing alongside Dave Bing and Jim Boeheim. As a senior he led the team in scoring, and amassed more than 1,000 points during his career with nearly 10 rebounds a game.
Drafted by the Detroit Pistons, he failed to make the team, but that didn’t end his time on the courts. “A lot of people are not aware of how good Vaughn was on the court,” said graffiti artist and curator James Top. “He was a sensational player, something I can personally attest to.”
No longer on the courts, be it Rucker or otherwise, Harper got behind a microphone and made music a sanctuary that he lovingly shared with the world.
That sharing almost came to an end after he suffered a stroke in 1993. But the “Quiet Storm” was far from abated. Soon he was back on the air with WBLS and several other stations. He ended his career in 2008.
Harper is survived by his wife, Sandra, who he married in 1988, and three daughters, Dionnee Harper, Brieanna Nesbitt and Melanie Garrett.
A Homegoing service will take place at Riverside Church Saturday, July 16, at 11 a.m. Riverside Church is located at 490 Riverside Drive (between 120th and 122nd streets). The media entrance is located at 91 Claremont Ave. Among those attending in addition to his family are the Rev. Dr. Al Sharpton, minister and civil rights leader; Regina Belle, Grammy Award winner; Melba Moore, Tony Award winner; songstress Alyson Williams; WBLS Radio’s Dr. Bob Lee; and many others.