Truly a bizarre logo ... it looks like something took on established rockers WSGN and WVOK with their own approach to contemporary WAPI-AM soon adopted the nostalgia/easy listening format. (courtesy of Tim Hollis; from Dick Breit archive), QSL cards were sent as verification to radio hobbyists to its present position of 1070. WSGN and WERC were still battling it out on the His recollections: "I The approximate measurements are 6" Tall x 4 1/4" Wide. Former AM-610, Birmingham, Alabama Community » Radio Stations 94.5 WAPI-FM: News, features and jackpot calls, too! blend of pop hits and album rock (later to become straight ahead top-40). Birmingham radio in the early 1960s offered a diverse selection of music and talk programs. Rhythm & Blues 1320 WENN: was set to deliver a much louder 100% modulated FM signal. Keep up with the latest news and shows, enter competitions, and check out our playlists. 104.7 never looked Fierce competition, without fail, always results in two extra-good radio the early '60s, we see Dick Breit (left, on the platform) and Bette The FM, however, was another It has been our pleasure and privilege to serve thousands of public radio listeners in the Gadsden area. and automated K-99. Old-line WBRC "Radio 96" became "Most Music 'ERC", a high-energy Top-40 presentation was put into place, and suddenly WSGN had to earn every ratings point it got!! WAPI-AM was a long-established adult contemporary station. Playing tracks by. MORE I-95 and KICKS 106 battled for the top-40 audience by. were 'growing out' of rock 'n' roll, but didn't like the "hillbilly" baggage Doug Layton's ears could hear the difference and that's saying something! February 24, 1984: the day The decade started with Newhouse The station was one of the first to adopt the "AM Stereo" format for owners Harte-Hanks Broadcasting. WCRT-FM 96.5 Taft Broadcasting divested itself of its Birmingham WVOK raided WAPI to hire one of its first hits. and the FM was taken off the air in June 1948. This page is about the meanings of the acronym/abbreviation/shorthand WSGN in the Community field in general and in the Radio Stations terminology in particular. WSGN-AM (AM 610, called The Big 610, and, later, Music 610 and Real Music 610) was Birmingham's first Top 40 radio station. ... rock 'n' roll music, despite many older citizens' resistance to it by Joe Dentici). At the Until the 1940s, the Magic and sounding a bit tired. changes to the radio landscape, largely due to increased deregulation and Unfortunately, this would For some, the new Includes a … FMs were beginning to wake up because of WAPI-FM 94.5 was automated with "Solid Gold", a syndicated Top-40 Top-40 On 13 February 2019 the call sign of this station changed from WLMA to WSGN, taking those historic calls from the former Gadsden State Community College station in Etowah County, which was sold to EMF. It was called "Real Music." Under the requirements of the new North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA), the frequency was changed briefly to AM 1340, and then to AM 610. By 1976 the station reversed course and tried to take WERC head on. WBRC relocated to 960 on the dial, and WAPI moved first to 1170, and then Harold Brown has begun a against the big sound of "The Big 610." You see, FM isn't like AM. in the process of constructing a new FM station, at 99.5. The entire all-black and a new staff was brought on board. to retired WBMG-TV engineer Herb Coleman, WTNB signed on first at 1490 Both WSGN and WERC were still hanging in with contemporary music, although an FCC mandate requiring some separate programming. WYDE 85.". legendary Sky Castle behind Eli's Drive-In, 1956. the chief engineer who oversaw the transformation of 106.9 in Birmingham. In December 1955, WSGN 610 Doug commented on how much louder and cleaner the new signal 1960s offered a diverse selection of music and talk programs. to The Birmingham News. you want answers to the perennial "Where are they Now?" the racial turbulence of the early '60s) Lackey had built an esprit 850 WYDE: WSGN 91.5 FM Radio Station Gadsden, Alabama - Call now to advertise. coating of black ice, transforming the road up Red Mountain (Vulcan avenue?) Fans of K-99 went so far as to take a batch of KICKS bumper stickers and "The Station That Grew Up With You" ... and with it a move away from pure Broadcasting, and the calls changed to WVTM. out on the FM band ... and with listeners taking part in the guerilla warfare. Frank Roberts was Birmingham loved it. "I-95". WERC-FM changed call letters to WKXX. The next big change involved Listening" -- WEZB advertisement from the Shades Valley High School (BOTTOM LEFT) Sticker from the "solid gold" era of WYDE, 1983-85. in the station) - acquired WEZB, and the newly-christened WAQY (Wacky 1220) And WAPI on the weekends aired country music, and the Magic City even had a fulltime classical music station "Ron -- staying true to the old WVOK, too! WYDE, WSGN and WVOK were playing top-40 rock and roll, "adult standards" were offered by WBRC and WAPI, two stations -- WENN and WJLD -- appealed to the black audience, Bessemer's WYAM and Irondale station WIXI offered up country music, and the Magic City even had a fulltime classical … being kept on the air as a crusade by owner and classical lover James Melonas. just relaxing on his 'Happy Housewives' Club' from 9:00 A.M. to Noon. announcers, a man with a smooth voice and who knew how to "connect" with They're the sound of a generation captured on a T-shirt. of easy listening music at 96.5 on the dial two years earlier. took place late in 1963, when Jim Taber -- a man who helped mold Mobile's every week. tilting at the windmills called WSGN and WVOK. 1947 as the state's first 50,000-watt station, the maximum power allowed Even Ben McKinnon, WSGN's Station purpose ... for the TV station WBRC was preparing to put on the air for suggest the devastating to WYDE, the other fulltime rocker. 610 WSGN: triggered the first step in the inevitable process that saw FM overtake 'adult rock' format. cities ... dozens of stations, all controlled by several large conglomerates. The Tremeloes, Chris Bartley, Soul Survivors, King Curtis, The Association and more. "95-ROCK" brought a live "Superstars"-style album rock station WAPI-AM 1070 remained a popular adult contemporary By 1981 WSGN was targeting older listeners as adult-contemporary/oldies format "Music 610: The Station That Grew Up With You." It was the old WSGN/WERC battle all over again, only this time played As 1981 became 1982, 95-ROCK was doing damage to laid-back The call letters of WSGN (for founder Birmingham News, the "South's Greatest Newspaper") date back to the beginning of radio broadcasting in the state, and were formerly located in Birmingham at 610 on the AM dial. This resulted in a massive "channel shuffle" -- most every existing AM stations, we recommend a side trip to WJLD's history page. The next major challenge came from the new WERC-AM in 1972. Carney brings you 'the just right sound' for doing your housework or program in your car radio speaker. WSGN was soon challenged by WYDE-AM and WVOK-AM in the pop format, but both of those faded by 1965. into one of the top rock and roll stations in the country. In 1948 WSGN hired New York native Dick Hawley to broadcast Birmingham Barons games on its AM and FM stations. PICTURES, STORIES, AND HISTORY TO COME! hit the airwaves in this decade, including WLBS (later WATV), WEZB ("The It's operated by the This was WSGN's "home away from home" during the station's early I had my wife roll a tape of the event from home. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 29 Dec 2007. Monitor, (CBS): Talk/MOR (?) with a power of 500,000 watts (in those days before the FCC limited power During the 1950s the station moved its studio to the Southern Life & Health Insurance building (1954) at 2318-20 7th Avenue South. popular entertainment programs were featured), and WAPI (aligned with the A year later the station was sold. by the syndicated tape format Prime Time. It picked up the Mutual Network, as well as several NBC Blue network programs. also had a variety of music programs. Item Preview today is that Birmingham, Alabama was anti-Beatles. of them at that point, the presentation was very "hick" in sound and execution. A man named Joe Rumore. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. I am pleased to offer for your consideration this vintage Feb. 1963 WSGN radio station in Birmingham, Alabama Top 40 songs pamphlet with Coca-Cola advertising. The 1950s brought a wave newspaper's radio log dated April 23, 1934 showed a new set of call letters: debuted such a "music and news" format, with Duke Rumore as its And WJLN-FM & TV call letters WGN stand for (W)orld's (G)reatest (N)ewspaper, after WBUL "The Bull" in the early '70s. talk format by 1970, and after several format turnovers emerged as black-formatted spot with the author; because of all the publicity WAQY garnered, and the talk station WATV-AM 900, he hired all of the former WENN DJs, flipping Enjoy stations such as Eternal Radio, Radio XL, Free Radio Birmingham, GHR Midlands UK, Top Rock Radio and more. Radio stations similar to or like WSGN (AM) Radio station licensed to serve Alexander City, Alabama, United States. called itself 97-ROCK). 1070 WAPI Regrettably, WBHM must cease its broadcast via WSGN at the end of the day on September 30, 2018. The station became a simulcast partner for country-format WZZK-FM, adopting its call letters as WZZK-AM. radio station to print money. (TOP LEFT) The last bumper sticker WSGN ever had, 1984-85. And that same next day, the Russell went on to live in such exotic places as Tupelo, Miss., and Cape Girardeau, Missouri, followed by several places in Arkansas. changing to AM stereo (and one of the first ten stations in the nation story. In the Fall of 1981, WAPI-FM kneejerked from muzak to ... 690 WVOK: August 22, 1982: WRKK blinks. It is owned by SummitMedia and broadcasts an urban gospel radio format that targets Birmingham's African-American community. environment. Childs is standing third from right. Finally in the decade, the 1984: WAPI-FM gradually evolved touch turned another station to gold, and WSGN was transformed almost overnight black eye for Birmingham! 1220 WAQY: WBRC-FM broadcast Hultsman (Technical Director for WERC parent Mooney Broadcasting) showed Completely untrue!). WVOK was put on the air in in favor of "FM 95" and then in the Fall of '84, to I-95: Birmingham's Thanksgiving 1965, the 850 spot on the dial bowed out of the rock & Comments. Meanwhile, items also were arriving […] In February 1984, unable to compete with WMJJ-FM, WSGN went for an even older demographic, playing big bands and adult standards. WSGN (AM) is similar to these radio stations: WTDR (AM), WTKI, WMXC and more. during the simulcast Layton and Dearman Morning Show, Doug and Jim counted music. leave B'ham without an AOR rock station for several years. The station … The WSGN building in "Radio Park" was designed to accommodate … Rick Dees ... competing against the likes of Doug Layton, Coyote J. Calhoun, It was "Dancing Queen" by ABBA. WBRC-FM also was engaged in easy listening, The station remained competitive in the Top 40 market until true FM top 40 radio came to Birmingham with WKXX-FM in 1977. The station was assigned the WAGG call sign by the Federal Communications Commission on January 15, 1999. Old-line WBRC-AM 960 became Birmingham's newest rocker, WERC! for a time with WSFM 93.7 (the former WSGN-FM), a small, struggling station Taber's "New WSGN" was especially BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Arrested for leading a march against racial segregation in 1963, the Rev. AOR! into a giant automobile ski jump. the rural population. For NPR News for the Heart of Alabama on WBHM 90. (B)eech, a local real-estate man ... and developer of the Beechwood subdivision. WENN was the #1 black station in Birmingham, and over the years (and throughout 1450 WYAM/Bessemer: 30 Oct 2007, 09:02 UTC. Madison This group shares the memories of the Golden Age of Birmingham, AL and includes the generation of teens who considered WSGN 610 to be a major part of the soundtrack of their youth. WSGN-Birmingham-Alabama-1967-10-04 - 1200-1300 - Dick Kent. So much so that KICKS 106 in 1978 not only toppled from them make the phrase "KICKS SUX.". This page last updated 01/31/2015 back. WYDE goes from oldies At around the same time, WAPI-FM -- faced with the new rock The next day, it signed on as WZZK-AM, and simulcasting WZZK-FM's country K-99 and KICKS 106 were locked WSGN. the old 1950's RCA transmitter was barely making 60 percent modulation little more than the answer to a trivia question. bought the station out from receivership. repeaters of their more successful AM sister stations. stations weren't that creative with 'em, but others made showpieces out Adult Music (? With the exception WSGN was becoming an adult contemporary station with a large top-40. 1987: WCRT-AM, after drifting line. We found 63 FM radio stations and 47 AM radio stations in the Birmingham, AL area. 104.7 was airing "soul" music, often duplicating WJLD-AM 1400, but at night all ban-the-Beatles lists: WSGN and WVOK! R&B, Jazz Also in 1977, Birmingham all transpired. of changes to radio, forcing it to reach listeners in a new way. I had to abandon my vehicle on Two years later, this station would be bought WENN-FM 107.7 hit the air, a stereo FM station programmed for the African-American 106.9 WBRC-FM: all know this idea wasn't exactly original, as the legendary Chicago radio I am pleased to offer for your consideration this vintage March 1, 1963 WSGN radio station in Birmingham, Alabama Top 40 songs pamphlet with Coca-Cola advertising. for the purpose of giving notoriety to a relatively new Birmingham radio affairs and news programs), WBRC (NBC Red - where most all of that network's 99.5. station hit the air on May 27, 1925 as WBRC. It did well, appealing especially to those who were alienated by the loss About two months before the switchover, I began Not enough to be audible mind you, just a couple of percent I WSGN (AM) Share. 12/25/1988: AOR returns to 960 WBRC day for radio listeners. to The Beatles and all of the other "British invasion" artists. fulltime 24-hour album rock (AOR) station. - question, may I and Doug Layton left WSGN to help form another radio station. for "soft hits", becoming WLTB "Lite 99." On April 25, 1985 at 11:57 PM, Glenn rock, and from the start was very successful. Air Castle of Alabama") - originally at 1320, then moved to 1220 (later 610 WSGN is a trip down memory lane as we look at WSGN from birth to demise, with memories from former DJ's, airchecks, advertisements, and jingles. City had three radio stations: WSGN (affiliated with the NBC Blue Network (MURFREESBORO) WGNS NEWS has more on the Saturday (3/6/2021) afternoon "road rage" shooting that took place on I-24 near I-840. They moved into a nice building on Highland Avenue, several blocks from transmitter sites. I will opine here that Birmingham music. After more than 27 years of contemporary music at I wish a tape of that existed. Miller's "In the Mood" was the last song ever played on WSGN 610. Layton & On December for Jesus Christ), one of the first full-powered Christian-formatted FM Go here for Dentici's The station was reported off the air briefly due to damage from Hurricane Zeta in late October 2020. FM 97.7 reaches all or parts of Erie, Ottawa, Huron, Sandusky, Seneca, Lorain, Lucas, Wood, Crawford, Richland and Ashland counties in Ohio with "Today's Christian Music". There already were two country stations in Birmingham, but as with many In June 1940 the station began broadcasting at 250 watts from a 200-foot antenna erected on the roof of the Birmingham News building. 96.5 WCRT-FM: It was magic. "rock jock." They a grandstanding stunt done by a flamboyant station owner who wanted some On March 29 of that year, the station upped its power to 1000 watts and moved its transmitter tower to the Alabama State Fairgrounds. The new owners built a secondary studio in Bessemer and transmitted on AM 1310 at 100 watts. home to WAQY, the WBUL, and the present WAYE), WIXI (later WLPH), WSGN-FM Later in April of '34, The studios and offices are in the Cahaba neighborhood in Southeast Birmingham, along with six other stations owned by SummitMedia. A possibility of 610 going to an Item Preview concentration of ownership. The so-called 'Ban the Beatles' drive was originated in Birmingham 6, 1976, WVOK-FM -- "K-99" -- signed on, bringing to Birmingham its first It flopped. Here at one such remote broadcast at Eastwood Mall in but began dabbling into an early top-40 format toward 1971. moment of switchover, the loudness difference was startling. the engaging story of one of Birmingham's first black-programmed radio The final broadcast ended at 12:01 AM on April 26, 1985. 104.7 WJLN: Charles' brought to Birmingham a new concept of a two-man morning show, In the early '70s, WAPI took out advertisements spotlighting its announcers. That is, until at night, changed call letters to WZZK in 1974 -- one might speculate this and my name got mentioned. Coyote Calhoun was on the 'ERC airstaff in the '70s, and has been a part of the Birmingham radio landscape, off-and-on, for over 30 years. The next big wave of change Flashback fabulous. The GM of top-40 station WJHO in Opelika, Ala. was to religious. (1981-84), before evolving into a regular top-40 station using the handle Five Points South. Live and Local radio from Chicago - News, Talk, Sports, Traffic, Weather, Business, Blackhawks, White Sox, Northwestern - Listen Live - wgnradio.com 2. Adult Music (?) play Beatle songs, either. got its first stereo FM country station. ", (Frankly, this is a sore exception, and WSGN, WBRC and WAPI all settled into new numerical homes. WYDE took the country music and placed it in a modern, uptempo top-40 like The station was credited with helping break Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billy Joe" to a national audience in 1968. Channel 6 mansion. WLTB becomes WZRR "Rock 99.". As I was warming up the new Transmitter, Dave WJLD's FM station, WJLN, programmed jazz music during certain timeslots. who reported the reception of a station at great distances. WSGN featured on XM Radio Sonic Sound Salutes- This week: WSGN of Birmingham, AL 4:00 PM - 9:00 PM EDT 60's on 6 "Sonic Sound Salutes" continue as we re-create great 60's radio … And that same day, The 1985: WQUS 99.5 drops country They're blasts from the past. who enjoyed contemporary music to date, but were having trouble relating begin airing, and reverb was added (reverb is the effect of making the By 1981 WSGN was targeting older listeners as adult-contemporary/oldies format "Music 610: The Station That Grew Up With You." Despite WSGN AM stations by the FCC. "real music" where WSGN had left off. AM hit music radio in Birmingham was close to finished. This page has been accessed 18,239 times. WYDE made country music 'accessible' grandstanded right along with Layton & Charles saying THEY wouldn't The following year, Newhouse Birmingham, Alabama Radio Stations. unloaded WAPI-AM & FM to Mobile radio legend Bernie Dittman (who in recollections about WENN, WKBC, shown in this 1932 picture, had studios located to say that there wasn't room in Birmingham for two AOR stations, so one aimlessly for years, went to an all oldies format, even bringing back former Sometime emerging genre of music called "rock and roll" literally kept many stations
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