Donnie Simpson, a fixture on Washington’s airwaves for decades, will return to radio later this month after more than five years in retirement under an agreement with Silver Spring, Md.-based Radio One.
Simpson, 61, will host a weekday program from 3 to 7 p.m. on Radio One-owned WMMJ-FM (Majic 102.3) beginning Aug. 17, according to people familiar with the agreement. WMMJ has long aired an urban adult-contemporary music format.
Simpson is also in discussions with Radio One’s cable TV channel, TV One, to host a music-themed program, although details and a starting date are still in flux.
The company and Simpson announced the multiyear deal Monday. Simpson declined to comment.
Simpson was a staple of “urban,” American-oriented, radio in Washington for 33 years. The genial host was heard successively on WRC-FM (now WKYS-FM) and WPGC-FM starting in 1977.
Simpson became nationally known through hosting the “Video Soul” program on BET from 1983 to 1996. The program featured music videos by Urban American artists. TV One, which began in 2003, is a smaller rival of BET.
Radio One was founded by pioneering local businesswoman Cathy Hughes and is headed by her son, Alfred Liggins III. It owns more than 50 urban-oriented radio stations across the country.
