WGLT in Normal, Illinois, a noncommercial NPR affiliate, began playing the blues in 1984. Since 2005, WGLT’s weekend programming has included 32 hours of locally produced blues over the airwaves. Since 2006, GLT Blues Radio at wglt.org has been one of the few 24/7 blues stations in the world, with the listener-inspired tag line “Best Blues Station on Planet Earth.” For 29 years, much of the station’s success can be credited to Frank Black, aka Delta Frank, the Blues Doctor. Frank’s distinctive voice and irrepressible personality attracted a legion of passionate fans to WGLT, and to the central Illinois blues scene in general. Since music director Jon Norton’s arrival in 2003, WGLT has amassed hundreds of interviews with some of the biggest names in the blues, as well as up-and-coming talents and record-label news. He also introduced Mojo Madness, a month-long March Madness-style bracket promotion featuring legendary and rising blues artists in a month-long audience call-in tournament. Another regular feature is New Blues on Monday, in which the station features an hour of recently released blues music at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
