Which radio format took its name from a 1975 Smokey Robinson song?

The radio format that took its name from a 1975 Smokey Robinson song is quiet storm.

Robinson’s song appeared on his 1975 album A Quiet Storm. The title supplied the name for a late-night radio program introduced at Washington, D.C.’s WHUR-FM in 1976 by student intern Melvin Lindsey and fellow DJ Jack Shuler. Lindsey used the song as theme music for the show, which paired a smooth presentation with romantic, mellow recordings by Black artists.

Quiet storm soon became both a programming format and a recognizable R&B style. Stations generally emphasized slow tempos, polished production, soul, jazz, pop and occasional smooth-jazz influences. The format was especially associated with late-night listening and mature African-American audiences, and it spread to stations across the United States during the late 1970s and 1980s.

A common mix-up is treating quiet storm as simply another name for smooth jazz. Smooth jazz is one influence within the format, but quiet storm is broader: it describes a radio approach and mood as well as a style of R&B. The name’s direct source is Robinson’s song, not a later station slogan or a generic description of nighttime music.