​The End of an Era: Goodbye 95.5 WBRU

Kelly Doran 

Today marks the last day that I, or anyone else, will drive to work with their favorite music station playing. Today marks, at its 50th year, the last day that 95.5 WBRU will ever broadcast over terrestrial radio waves. Tomorrow when we wake up, this radio station will simply not exist as we've come to know it. 

The loss of WBRU is one felt deep for the people of Rhode Island. My father heard about the murder of John Lennon while doing what he did every day: listening to WBRU as he worked hard, screen printing t-shirts for the Strand and Club Babyhead. The same story goes for Kurt Cobain's suicide, and many other important historical events. As a teen, we'd drive and listen, as the songs that were broadcast better described my thoughts than I. 

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Like many people in Rhode Island, the loss signifies the end of a truly amazing era. We've made many memories, have lived many moments while WBRU played in our cars, our rooms, our homes. We learned about The Smiths and and The Cure while being introduced to the up and coming acts. We've attended their concerts and sang on the top of our lungs to those songs on the radio. Our first heartbreak and our first loves, connected by the soundtrack of our lives. It has always been 95.5 WBRU. The music embedded into our very cores through the memories we've made, good, bad and ugly. 
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For people who always felt alone, WBRU was there to console. For people who feel so full of joy... WBRU was there to provide amazing music. On those nights where you drive around with your friends, no real goal in mind,  you feel invincible, 95.5 WBRU was what you listened to. 

The loss of 95.5 leaves a hole in people's lives. There is no good alternative on the radio for the only true alternative station for Southern Rhode Island. 95.5 will remain and important piece of Rhode Island History. 

Invincible, we are not. Even the greatest ideas come to an end. Today we say goodbye to a friend. We say goodbye to the people who helped us grow up and move on. Here's to a successful transfer from one media to another for 95.5 Here's to you, WBRU. Thank you for the memories. 

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