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More nostalgia: Montgomery AM's
- Thread starter Hotseat
- Start date
I know it has been there since 1973. I rode my bike out there because "I had never been down the dusty road" before and ALAS! I was amazed to find the WHHY car down there. I assume it was the transmitter engineer who saw me watching and told me to "get away - it was dangerous!" I thought he was shooing me away because it was near that big creek and snakes were all around. It was a great time to be 10 years old.
Help out an old man with a failing memory ... the 1000 khz AM you mention ... wasn't it originally WFMI (Fine Music Incorporated) on 1500 with an FM companion ... moved from 1500 to 1000 for a power increase, later changed calls, then the AM disappeared? I want to say the FM was 98.9. Back about the same time, wasn't 103.3 owned by the daily newspaper and had calls WAJM?
And you mention 1410 WIQR. Remember it originally as WPXC (pronounced Pixie). Obviously DA-D, wondered how it was able to get on 1410 with Mobile's strongest AM signal on the same freq. It couldn't be licensed to Montgomery because it was less than 40 khz separated from 1440.
Was not aware that 1000 AM once had WABT calls. That was the original name for TV 13 in Birmingham, and I believe the AM in Tuskeegee once used those calls.
WIQR, then WPXC, is licensed to Prattville. I know at one time, maybe around fall 2008, they aired either classic country or bluegrass gospel, but now I believe they are either part time regional mexican or full time "Sporting News Radio."
-Travis
-Travis
To answer your question about WFMI (Fine Music Incorporated), yes you're right. That's what I discovered while surfing the web. They were located at 1500 AM and 98.9 FM, at that time.
I do remember them some from WABT and saw a catchy TV commercial advertising for their station, with a Rabbit in it. This was in the late 70s.
Now fast forward to the 80s, I can still remember some of the catch phrases from their days as WZTN. See if any of these ring a bell with you: "Bringing You the Gospel Train Everyday, this is WZTN AM 10" and "Our Frequency is in the calls, this is WZTN AM 10". These phrases was used during their Black Gospel days, in the mid 80s.
And yes from my research, 103.3 FM was once owned by the Advertiser-Journal and had the calls of WAJM. It did have a top 40 format but I remember them most from their Easy Listening and now their AC days.
Hope this helps.
R.D.P. <><
P.S. WIQR is now doing Spots full time.
I do remember them some from WABT and saw a catchy TV commercial advertising for their station, with a Rabbit in it. This was in the late 70s.
Now fast forward to the 80s, I can still remember some of the catch phrases from their days as WZTN. See if any of these ring a bell with you: "Bringing You the Gospel Train Everyday, this is WZTN AM 10" and "Our Frequency is in the calls, this is WZTN AM 10". These phrases was used during their Black Gospel days, in the mid 80s.
And yes from my research, 103.3 FM was once owned by the Advertiser-Journal and had the calls of WAJM. It did have a top 40 format but I remember them most from their Easy Listening and now their AC days.
Hope this helps.
R.D.P. <><
P.S. WIQR is now doing Spots full time.
Montgomery radio history .... taking a stab!
AM 1000 indeed had its roots as WFMI ... and yes, the FM was 98.9; one of the owners was Dwight Cleveland, whom I would work under in the '90s at WTSU.
For a time (late '60s - early '70s, maybe???) the calls for the AM were WQTY ("Cutie" radio) - I have amidst my stash an ashtray with the WQTY logo.
103.3 was originally WAJM - (A)dvertiser (J)ournal (M)ontgomery. Was acquired by WMGY-AM 800 and in '74-ish calls were changed to WMGZ - "Z-103" - when it flipped to a short-lived top-40 format patterned after Z-93 in Atlanta (and I have no knowledge of what the station programmed under Multimedia/Advertiser ownership!). 103.3 soon leaned progressive before being sold - again - and became the FM sister to WRMA/WLSQ 950. 103.3 became WREZ and kneejerked from rock to beautiful music.
AM 1000 was WZTN by the early '80s. "Z-10", oldies format. I have a plastic cup with the logo.
A little more to add on Montgomery radio history -- and my knowledge does have holes and (I'm certain) errors, so I'd love to be filled in and/or corrected:
AM 950 did evolve from R&B to top-40 ... by '75 it was full top-40, still as WRMA and calling itself "Super 95"
To WLSQ by 1978. Top-40. By then, the station put in its nighttime site ... I was in middle school, living in Tupelo, Miss., and could pick up 'LSQ at night. And in 1980, WLSQ went AOR as "95-ROCK." (one year before WAPI-FM/B'ham picked up that nickname as well)
92.3 = started in 1969 as WCOV-FM. Aired the Drake-Chenault "Hit Parade" AC format. By 1972, one of the salespeople at 'COV bought the station, rechristened it WKLH. Format, I believe, was "Hit Parade" by day and the D-C "Solid Gold" by night. Called itself "Stereo 92" Sold to Colonial, calls became WLWI in 1978, country format, shield logo - the rest is history.
95.3 = WQIM/Prattville. R&B format. Blown out of the water when 105.7 became "Hot 105", and flipped to the present classic rock format. To 95.1 as WXFX. You know the rest.
98.9 = WFMI-FM ... easy listening. Sold to the Brennans ca. 1976 and became WBAM-FM. AC, later top-40, then oldies by '89.
101.9 = WHHY-FM. Very curious if any separate programming was done during the '60s ... a 1967 aircheck in my possession has AM and FM simulcasting. I'm told there was an automated country format in the early '70s - is this correct? First time I ever heard the name "Y-102" was 1977. AOR/top-40 mixture, full CHR by '82. Modern/CHR mix in 1994 as "The New Y-102" ... a year later, same thing as "Live 101.9" ... from there it's already been covered.
103.3 = WAJM/WMGZ/WREZ/WSYA/WMXS .... WREZ beautiful music flipped to oldies in late 1987 as WSYA "Sunny 103" ... then to AC, where it's been ever since. Became WMXS "Mix 103" in 1994.
105.7 = Signed on 1972 in Troy as WTUB - (T)roy (U)nion Springs (B)rundidge. Country format, later dayparted top-40. Studios and tower were out 231 toward Brundidge, near where the Supercenter sits today. Calls changed to WRES - (R)udolf (E). (S)helley - along about '79. This was about the time they put the antenna atop the 'SFA tall tower, and cemented its flamethrower signal. In 1980, Troy, Alabama had itself a cookin' little AOR in this station. By '81 or so back to country as WIGC - (W)elcome (I)nto (G)od's (C)ountry. '85-ish, to AC/oldies as WRJM. Ca. 1987 - call letters I don't recall - it moved to Montgomery and programmed Lite rock as "Magic 105.7" ... then 1988 came WZHT and urban, and I don't have to tell you the rest.....
*********
740 = WBAM. Legendary signal. Legendary station - top-40 prior to early '73, then country. And with their cannon blast, the station had a brand identity a million JAM or PAMS cuts could never touch. Sold to Colonial in '85 - to standards at WLWI-AM. Later oldies, then sports.
800 = WMGY. Country station prior to WBAM stealing their thunder. I THINK (!) they might have simulcasted top-40 for a brief while when sister WMGZ 103.3 was doing it. I gather this from a Casey Kasem station salute in 1974, when he says "WMGY and WMGZ, Montgomery, Alabama" In any event, 'MGY would soon be a gospel mainstay.
950 = see above. WLSQ stopped rocking March 18, 1987, when a weather forecast separated Hendrix' SSB and a Zamfir piece. Changed to WREZ-AM and simulcasted the FM's easy listening. Basically a simul-zombie of Sunny 103 and Mix 103 until into the '90s, when it gained its own identity.
1000 = see above.
1170 = WCOV. Its early history has already been touched upon. Basically CBS radio, and a middle-of-the-road/full service format typical to CBS affils. More AC-ish sound in the '80s. To WACV after the station was spun off in 1986, and news/talk. George Landry kept his very popular weekend big band show going well into the N/T era on 1170.
1250 = In its WETU days, the station was mostly country, focusing on Elmore County. Unsure when it evolved into the present format/WAPZ calls.
1440 = Originally WSFA radio, NBC radio affiliation. After WSFA-TV signed on, the radio side was sold to Holt Broadcasting and in 1957 became WHHY, and (I'm guessing) top-40 soon after. Supposedly kept NBC affiliation until the late '60s. AC in the early '80s, then became a full simulcast of 101.9 until revived in '95 as satellite oldies. Then to the second WLWI-AM and N/T.
1600 = WAPX. ABC radio affil. Top-40 as late as 1965, then R&B. Some time in the '70s it changed to WXVI. Black programming ever since.
Okay, that's what I have off the top of my head. And yes, I'm shamelessly trawling for some more Mgm. radio history.
--Russell
J Alex Bowab said:
AM 1000 indeed had its roots as WFMI ... and yes, the FM was 98.9; one of the owners was Dwight Cleveland, whom I would work under in the '90s at WTSU.
For a time (late '60s - early '70s, maybe???) the calls for the AM were WQTY ("Cutie" radio) - I have amidst my stash an ashtray with the WQTY logo.
103.3 was originally WAJM - (A)dvertiser (J)ournal (M)ontgomery. Was acquired by WMGY-AM 800 and in '74-ish calls were changed to WMGZ - "Z-103" - when it flipped to a short-lived top-40 format patterned after Z-93 in Atlanta (and I have no knowledge of what the station programmed under Multimedia/Advertiser ownership!). 103.3 soon leaned progressive before being sold - again - and became the FM sister to WRMA/WLSQ 950. 103.3 became WREZ and kneejerked from rock to beautiful music.
AM 1000 was WZTN by the early '80s. "Z-10", oldies format. I have a plastic cup with the logo.
A little more to add on Montgomery radio history -- and my knowledge does have holes and (I'm certain) errors, so I'd love to be filled in and/or corrected:
AM 950 did evolve from R&B to top-40 ... by '75 it was full top-40, still as WRMA and calling itself "Super 95"
To WLSQ by 1978. Top-40. By then, the station put in its nighttime site ... I was in middle school, living in Tupelo, Miss., and could pick up 'LSQ at night. And in 1980, WLSQ went AOR as "95-ROCK." (one year before WAPI-FM/B'ham picked up that nickname as well)
92.3 = started in 1969 as WCOV-FM. Aired the Drake-Chenault "Hit Parade" AC format. By 1972, one of the salespeople at 'COV bought the station, rechristened it WKLH. Format, I believe, was "Hit Parade" by day and the D-C "Solid Gold" by night. Called itself "Stereo 92" Sold to Colonial, calls became WLWI in 1978, country format, shield logo - the rest is history.
95.3 = WQIM/Prattville. R&B format. Blown out of the water when 105.7 became "Hot 105", and flipped to the present classic rock format. To 95.1 as WXFX. You know the rest.
98.9 = WFMI-FM ... easy listening. Sold to the Brennans ca. 1976 and became WBAM-FM. AC, later top-40, then oldies by '89.
101.9 = WHHY-FM. Very curious if any separate programming was done during the '60s ... a 1967 aircheck in my possession has AM and FM simulcasting. I'm told there was an automated country format in the early '70s - is this correct? First time I ever heard the name "Y-102" was 1977. AOR/top-40 mixture, full CHR by '82. Modern/CHR mix in 1994 as "The New Y-102" ... a year later, same thing as "Live 101.9" ... from there it's already been covered.
103.3 = WAJM/WMGZ/WREZ/WSYA/WMXS .... WREZ beautiful music flipped to oldies in late 1987 as WSYA "Sunny 103" ... then to AC, where it's been ever since. Became WMXS "Mix 103" in 1994.
105.7 = Signed on 1972 in Troy as WTUB - (T)roy (U)nion Springs (B)rundidge. Country format, later dayparted top-40. Studios and tower were out 231 toward Brundidge, near where the Supercenter sits today. Calls changed to WRES - (R)udolf (E). (S)helley - along about '79. This was about the time they put the antenna atop the 'SFA tall tower, and cemented its flamethrower signal. In 1980, Troy, Alabama had itself a cookin' little AOR in this station. By '81 or so back to country as WIGC - (W)elcome (I)nto (G)od's (C)ountry. '85-ish, to AC/oldies as WRJM. Ca. 1987 - call letters I don't recall - it moved to Montgomery and programmed Lite rock as "Magic 105.7" ... then 1988 came WZHT and urban, and I don't have to tell you the rest.....
*********
740 = WBAM. Legendary signal. Legendary station - top-40 prior to early '73, then country. And with their cannon blast, the station had a brand identity a million JAM or PAMS cuts could never touch. Sold to Colonial in '85 - to standards at WLWI-AM. Later oldies, then sports.
800 = WMGY. Country station prior to WBAM stealing their thunder. I THINK (!) they might have simulcasted top-40 for a brief while when sister WMGZ 103.3 was doing it. I gather this from a Casey Kasem station salute in 1974, when he says "WMGY and WMGZ, Montgomery, Alabama" In any event, 'MGY would soon be a gospel mainstay.
950 = see above. WLSQ stopped rocking March 18, 1987, when a weather forecast separated Hendrix' SSB and a Zamfir piece. Changed to WREZ-AM and simulcasted the FM's easy listening. Basically a simul-zombie of Sunny 103 and Mix 103 until into the '90s, when it gained its own identity.
1000 = see above.
1170 = WCOV. Its early history has already been touched upon. Basically CBS radio, and a middle-of-the-road/full service format typical to CBS affils. More AC-ish sound in the '80s. To WACV after the station was spun off in 1986, and news/talk. George Landry kept his very popular weekend big band show going well into the N/T era on 1170.
1250 = In its WETU days, the station was mostly country, focusing on Elmore County. Unsure when it evolved into the present format/WAPZ calls.
1440 = Originally WSFA radio, NBC radio affiliation. After WSFA-TV signed on, the radio side was sold to Holt Broadcasting and in 1957 became WHHY, and (I'm guessing) top-40 soon after. Supposedly kept NBC affiliation until the late '60s. AC in the early '80s, then became a full simulcast of 101.9 until revived in '95 as satellite oldies. Then to the second WLWI-AM and N/T.
1600 = WAPX. ABC radio affil. Top-40 as late as 1965, then R&B. Some time in the '70s it changed to WXVI. Black programming ever since.
Okay, that's what I have off the top of my head. And yes, I'm shamelessly trawling for some more Mgm. radio history.
--Russell
Re: Montgomery radio history .... taking a stab!
WSYA actually went AC...twice. It first went AC back in late '87 when WREZ-FM dropped the easy listening format and became "Sunny 103". I want to say it was around November of that year. They did go oldies for a time later, but it was very short-lived; it seems like maybe that the oldies stint began around August/September of '89, but still calling themselves "Sunny 103". Around the first part of December of that year, though, the format had returned to AC, only after three months of doing oldies. WSYA's short-lived oldies format was during the time WBAM was "Oldies 98". I can remember tuning into WSYA one afternoon and realizing they had gone to oldies and thinking...TWO oldies stations...??
WRJM's calls were changed to WALQ for a brief period of time when the station first became "Magic 105.7" around '87 (I remember that well, as I used to listen to WRJM quite a bit and can remember the new calls being announced at the TOH and the format being changed from soft AC to mainstream AC). The calls were changed a few months later to WMGF.
WSYA actually went AC...twice. It first went AC back in late '87 when WREZ-FM dropped the easy listening format and became "Sunny 103". I want to say it was around November of that year. They did go oldies for a time later, but it was very short-lived; it seems like maybe that the oldies stint began around August/September of '89, but still calling themselves "Sunny 103". Around the first part of December of that year, though, the format had returned to AC, only after three months of doing oldies. WSYA's short-lived oldies format was during the time WBAM was "Oldies 98". I can remember tuning into WSYA one afternoon and realizing they had gone to oldies and thinking...TWO oldies stations...??
WRJM's calls were changed to WALQ for a brief period of time when the station first became "Magic 105.7" around '87 (I remember that well, as I used to listen to WRJM quite a bit and can remember the new calls being announced at the TOH and the format being changed from soft AC to mainstream AC). The calls were changed a few months later to WMGF.
One item Russell left out. Actually, "KIM-FM" (WQIM) Prattville was a 60-70s leaning lite AC station running a basic syndicated program 24/7 when it hit the air for several years (1979?) and for all of except the final week at 95.3 and minimal power. The switch to Urban just proceeded the frequency change and power upgrade, but the timing couldn't have been more wrong as Hot 105.7 switched over immediately.
Speaking of 95.3 FM, I remember them being Urban during the 80s. After 105.7 FM switched to Urban in 1988, 95.3 FM kept on doing Urban. Soon after 95.3 FM moved and upgraded, the Urban format was ditched. The new 95.1 FM started to stunt with Jazz type music, in 1989. A few days later this station switched over to Classic Rock with the calls of WXFX. Hot 105.7 FM then became the default Hip-Hop/Urban station for the Gump.
Since the time of the switches, neither station has never looked back. They have enjoyed success, with their current presentations.
R.D.P. <><
Since the time of the switches, neither station has never looked back. They have enjoyed success, with their current presentations.
R.D.P. <><
Back in its earlier days, wasn't WRMA co-owned with WAOK 1380 Atlanta? I seem to remember it was ... and that would say a lot about the level of professionalism that prevailed at WRMA. WAOK was among the first black-oriented stations in the country, and it was the leading one in Atlanta from the beginning until FM stations (WVEE 103 in particular) overtook AM.
In its early days, WRMA was a daytimer and the only black station in the market. WAPX was top 40. Some time later, APX went black, and had the fulltime advantage over the daytimer. This was in the 60s. During next decade, 950 went fulltime, but didn't that pretty much coincide with their abandonment of the black format and WRMA calls, in favor of top 40 WLSQ? I know there was a period of time when they straddled the fence between the two formats.
Well.....
I miss the days when WXVI- 1600 am was a very popular station with all the great radio personalities like:
Jack the Playboy
Dapper Dan
Bill Black (deceased
Ralph Featherstone (deceased)
Kenny J
The Mad Lad
Tracy Larkins
Nathan Jones (deceased)
Rev. Thomas Earl Jordan (the preacherman)
The Soul Finger
Cubie Ray
The Spiderman
Roscoe Miller (the Killer Diller)
Jerry Jackson
Al Dixion (Dickie Do)..the soul mouth of the south
The Wonder Boy (Al Dixon's son)
The Soul Leader (Al Dixon Jr)
Myself (guest who)
WXVI barely has any kind of an audience today. It's a complete waste of a frequency. If for it not being owned by a large church it would have bit the dust years ago. With an FM translator and a twenty-four hour talk format, this station would once again trounced FM stations in Montgomery. 8)
I miss the days when WXVI- 1600 am was a very popular station with all the great radio personalities like:
Jack the Playboy
Dapper Dan
Bill Black (deceased
Ralph Featherstone (deceased)
Kenny J
The Mad Lad
Tracy Larkins
Nathan Jones (deceased)
Rev. Thomas Earl Jordan (the preacherman)
The Soul Finger
Cubie Ray
The Spiderman
Roscoe Miller (the Killer Diller)
Jerry Jackson
Al Dixion (Dickie Do)..the soul mouth of the south
The Wonder Boy (Al Dixon's son)
The Soul Leader (Al Dixon Jr)
Myself (guest who)
WXVI barely has any kind of an audience today. It's a complete waste of a frequency. If for it not being owned by a large church it would have bit the dust years ago. With an FM translator and a twenty-four hour talk format, this station would once again trounced FM stations in Montgomery. 8)
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