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James Brown station?

C

cheapman

I recently learned that James Brown once owned a station in Knoxville. Can anyone tell me what station that was, where it was located physically and on the dial, and what station is it today? I understand it was back in the 70's and may now be dark.

Thanks.
 
> I recently learned that James Brown once owned a station in
> Knoxville. Can anyone tell me what station that was, where
> it was located physically and on the dial, and what station
> is it today? I understand it was back in the 70's and may
> now be dark.
>
> Thanks.
>
The station was WJBE(James Brown Enterprises)and was located on the dial at 1430 AM. I'm not sure where the studios were located but they were the flagship station for the Knoxville College Bulldogs football team. Whether a station still broadcast from that signal, I just don't know.
 
It was WJBE when it was sold and changed to WBMK @ 1430am. they were a 1kw daytimer but had applied or was granted a cp for 5kw but never had it built. The studios were on Prossor Rd on the other side of the interstate from Chillhowie Park, directly across the street from Bill Mullins wharehouse's. The tower came down in the early 90's and the house that the studios were in have been torn down. for a long time it was the only station playing R&B/soul music until WKGN picked it up around 1990. The last people I can recall woking there were Eddie Beacon and James "Slick" Maurece.
 
I wrote copy there in 1992, then I had to Jump Back and Kiss Myself.



It was WJBE when it was sold and changed to WBMK @ 1430am.
> they were a 1kw daytimer but had applied or was granted a cp
> for 5kw but never had it built. The studios were on Prossor
> Rd on the other side of the interstate from Chillhowie Park,
> directly across the street from Bill Mullins wharehouse's.
> The tower came down in the early 90's and the house that the
> studios were in have been torn down. for a long time it was
> the only station playing R&B/soul music until WKGN picked it
> up around 1990. The last people I can recall woking there
> were Eddie Beacon and James "Slick" Maurece.
>
 
> I recently learned that James Brown once owned a station in
> Knoxville. Can anyone tell me what station that was, where
> it was located physically and on the dial, and what station
> is it today? I understand it was back in the 70's and may
> now be dark.
>
> Thanks.
>

The interesting thing about this station is that JB would never pay his property taxes. Seemingly every year, there'd be a public notice about the real estate being auctioned off for non-payment of 2 or 3 year old taxes. The day before the auction, the Godfather would fly in on his jet, write a check for a few hundred dollars and fly back out.

When their tower got knocked down by a storm, they temporarily operated with a long wire to a tree out back. They did that for a long, long time before getting around to building another tower.

Good Gawd yall
 
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