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Best Tenn. stations of all time

It didn't last long, but WKQB (Rock 106) in Nashville was a well run station for the 2 plus years it was on in Nashville. It had excellent air talent and had a true AOR sound. KDF during much of their rock tenure, ventured way too far into Top 40. Someone told me Rock 106 was ahead of KDF in the ratings when the station was sold, but the new owners changed the format regardless.

Best of all time (possibly in the AOR format), but I would agree with Watt that WSM (AM) and WLAC (AM) are probably more associated with Tennessee than any others and their legacies have earned them that title.

dlf
 
Interesting side note about WCMT. Paul billed them as "Tennessee's favorite" back in the early '90s, but they could only be heard in, at most, two or three counties in Tennessee, while at the same time they could be heard in a couple of counties in Kentucky. How can you be "Tennessee's favorite" when most of the state can't hear you? And what about those in neighboring states who can hear you? I'm not sure how Paul ever explained that one away, or if he was ever even able to do so.
 
My vote is WMAK with Scott Shannon as PD, John Young, Dick Kent, Dick Downes, & Coyote McCloud, plus Russ Spooner in AM drive back in the 70's. and WKDF-FM with Ron Huntsman. Great sounding radio stations...when it meant something.
 
I think the “Best” depends on your age when you heard it. I liked WKGN when in Knoxville, WMAK and WKDA (rock and roll version they didn’t do Country as well WENO) in high school. Just for “grinding it out” award: WAMB has been playing big band in Nashville since the 1970’s before you could Satellite that stuff. But my Favorite much underrated station was 1960’s News and Blues WLAC. There are still folks who remember John R!
 
Naturally, I'm going to mention the Nashville stations because I grew up here. In recent reading about radio history in Nashville, a WSM engineer who worked there I believe part time while going to vanderbilt, invented the first fm radio. Watt can expand on it, but as far as impact, WSM had a regular network show on NBC, sent reporters to cover WW II, and with it signal, loaned the staion to Louisville once when they flooded. From my memories of WLAC (and that was my first job) most of the history of WLAC is based on the evening/overnight programming of
R and B. Watt again is much better versed than I on both these stations.
But I can recall my parents listening to Hank Williams, Sr. on WKDA and I don't have a clue what stations I listened to at night before T-V to hear Roy, Gene, The Straight Arrow, Fibber McGee and Molly and all those great old radio shows you can buy now at Cracker Barrel.
I can hear some of you now.....how old is he anyway???? I was alive when Pearl Harbor was bombed, just a few months, but alive anyway. Now for some of you youngsters...go look up Pearl Harbor on line ;D
 
I can't really say that Tennessee has had any "great" radio stations. We have had (or still have) good stations and they are all o.k., I guess. Now, keep in mind, I'm not a country music fan.

This is just my opinion:

Nobody will ever beat the BIG 89, WLS, especially in 70's thru the mid 80's! WLS kicked everyone's butt!

At night, WLS came in to Nashville so hot, with good Rock-n-Roll and those funny "Boogie Checks! I wonder if WLS-AM had any ratings in Nashville at night back in the 70's.
 
firepoint525 said:
As recently as the early to mid '90s, KMOX showed up in the Dickson County arbs!
Click to expand...

I get these little reports from Arbitron showing the stations in the area that have met at least 1% criteria in their market or county. I've seen KMOX showing up in Dickson County too, also in the past, I recall seeing WGN, WLS, WJR, etc. showing up in different counties as well. Makes me wonder, are these out of town Class A's getting an audience "still" these days? If it was 1975, I know WLS-AM should have showed up in the Nashville book, in the early to mid 70's. Even though WLAC did Top 40, their signal was, and still is directional, and up here in Northern Sumner County, it faded some, and still does. Couldn't pick up WMAK outside Davidson County at night.

WLS didn't fade too bad back then, and I still hear John Landecker doing his "Boogie Checks" in my head. John Rook was a great programmer that took chances with WABC, WCFL & WLS, in the late 60's and 70's. Heck back before 880 AM,WMDB signed on here in Nashville in 1983, and Lebanon's 900 AM was only 500 watts during the day, I could hear WLS during the day, and it got stronger 2 hours before sunset, which the FCC calls "Critical Hours".

Not knocking the Tennessee Stations, but back then, it just seem like the big (out of town) Class "A", 50 KW stations took chances and WLS-AM is a good example. You know, they are still around today; only the music is on their sister FM.

My opinion is they take that talk off WLS-AM and let WLS-AM simulcast with their sister FM 24/7. Man, talking about getting an audience, that would boost AM, and I believe you would have an audience of 18-80. Still let the audio stream as well.

Citadel would make tons of money doing this, what do you think?
 
I wish it was possible but unfortunately no, for two reasons.
#1 It would be nice to be able to carry an AM station at night especially in rural or mountainous roads where I drive mostly. The FCC has let the AM band get so jammed up that the sky wave is useless so the income has to come out of the local market. Most cars have FM radios so I doubt the AM would help WLS FM in Chicago.
#2 Based on the financial news lately I would not count on Citadel to do much except continue to cut costs. When they bought ABC Radio they ended up over leveraged. Citadel change WLS AM to some kind of music after some of their contract commitments for talk run out, but only as a cost cutting measure. I would guess one of their satellite formats (not True Oldies). They are doing quite well with True Oldies on the FM. Based on ratings, market size, and with only a couple of local shows expenses, WLS FM might be the most profitable station Citadel has. News Talk usually requires a decent and expensive news department and some locale programming. If you want to see the results of no local news or local shows on a News Talk station check out Atlanta’s WGST. I know the station has some night time signal challenges but they have Rush on during the daytime so signal is no excuse. Chicago has the best set of AM radio signals in the USA. A 50KW AM in the #3 market is too valuable of a broadcast property to tie an FM!
But we can dream! This is radio and suprising things happen!
 
All this talk of WLS (the station every other station of its genre should have been/was modeled after) reminds me of CKLW in Windsor, Canada.
Does anybody else besides me have any recollection of that one?
 
Sure, I remember CKLW. I also remember WCFL. There were many who set it in our minds to try this business in the first place.

I guess the DO qualify as the "Best Stations of all time" in Tennessee, especially we all tried to hear them after the sun went down.

It was hard to compete with them for many reasons (talent not withstanding). Chief among them was 250 watts (or less) after sunset.
 
Back to the topic. Tennessee stations.

WDIA, WSM, WLAC. Edit: I'll throw in an early WHBQ into that mix also.

All delivering product in a way unique to them. Of course, I mean WLAC in the evenings, as I have no idea what their programming was in the daytime.

WSM remains unlike any other station in America.
 
Finally met "Paul Tinkle" last night when he came to do the visitor radio at the Obion Co./Ripley game last night. I have been in and out of radio in West Tennessee since high school (1978) and always heard his name but never met him. Seemed odd to "almost" kinda know a person after all those years.

Turns out he is as nice as I've heard people say he was. It was pleasant meeting him and the fellow working with him. In fact...the only two unpleasant things about last night's game was 1. Weather and 2. Ripley lost the game.

Seems as though the people that work with him really like him, too.
 
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