WDAB
| |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1580 kHz |
| Programming | |
| Format | Defunct |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Dabney-Adamson Broadcasting, Inc. |
| History | |
First air date | October 12, 1964 |
Last air date | April 3, 2018 |
Former call signs | WBBR (1964–1992) |
Call sign meaning | Dabney-Adamson Broadcasting (owner 1993–2018)[1] |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 15237 |
| Class | D |
| Power | 5,000 Watts (day) 1,000 Watts (critical hours) 10 Watts (night) |
Transmitter coordinates | 34°56′55.00″N 82°26′38.00″W / 34.9486111°N 82.4438889°W |
WDAB was a Class D
History
WBBR
The station began broadcasting on October 12, 1964, under the call letters WBBR.[2] The station was owned by the Piedmont Broadcasting Company, a venture of William H. Kirby and John B. Burns,[3] and aired a country music format from studios on Old Buncombe Road.[2] It initially broadcast with 500 watts during the daytime only, but in 1967, WBBR was authorized to increase to 1,000 watts.[3] Kirby then bought out Burns's stake in the company in 1970.[3]
Over the course of the 1970s, the station slowly shifted from a country format to southern gospel music, making the switch official in early 1975; after a year, owner Kirby trumpeted that the station had tripled its audience from the change in repertoire.[4] However, the station returned in part to a country format in 1977 when it hired Rick Driver, who had been a country DJ for WFBC in Greenville, and began airing country music from 6 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.[5]
The FCC granted WBBR a construction permit to increase its power further, to 5,000 watts, and begin broadcasting during critical hours with 1,000 watts on July 30, 1979.[3] When the increase became effective in 1980, the station ditched its musical programming, which had reverted to all-country, and instituted a religious format with the name "That Certain Sound".[6] Kirby died in 1988.[7]
WDAB
In 1992, WBBR changed its call letters to WDAB; the next year, it was sold to the namesake of said call letters, Dabney-Adamson Broadcasting, for $180,000.
The station ended up changing to an adult standards format by early 1998. That February, a weekly radio show debuted, one that would change the course of much of the rest of WDAB's history: "La Brava", a five-hour weekly block in Spanish with music and talk programs.[9] The show quickly grew to 12 hours on Saturdays and six on Sundays, and the station was airing Spanish-language programming daily beginning in late June.[10] In April 1999, the entire station was leased out to José Belén Robles, who owned several Hispanic food stores in the area.[11] The founder of WDAB's original Spanish-language programming, Carlos García, soon left to convert WGVL (1440 AM) into a competing full-service outlet.[12]
On January 27, 2007, what had been "La Poderosa" flipped from a secular format to religious programming after operator Belén Robles affiliated the station with the Atlanta-based Cadena Radial de Vida, directed by pastor Julián Herrera.[13] After just six months, the station returned to its Regional Mexican music.[14]
After nearly two decades as a Spanish-language station, a new lessee took over WDAB in 2016 and returned it to its roots as a local station serving Travelers Rest, run by Dan Scott, the voice of Furman University athletics; the station also was slated to carry 40 Furman baseball games, when in prior years only six aired on the radio.[15] The new format would not last. WDAB went off the air for good on April 3, 2018; on November 8, 2019, the FCC canceled the station's license, for being silent more than a year.[16]
References
- ^ a b Adamson, Michael M. (March 18, 1994). "Letter to Kermit Geary" (PDF). p. 47. Retrieved July 22, 2020 – via World Radio History.
- ^ a b "WBBR: New Radio Station Now Broadcasting". Greenville News. October 18, 1964. p. 8-C. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
- ^ a b c d FCC History Cards for WDAB
- ^ "WBBR Owner Says Gospel Music Popularity Growing". Greenville News. May 3, 1976. p. Spotlight 2. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
- ^ "WBBR to play country music". Greenville News. August 7, 1977. p. Spotlight 3. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
- ^ "Broadcast moves". Greenville News. March 30, 1980. p. Spotlight 3. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
- ^ "Kirby dies at age 71". Greenville News. July 1, 1988. p. 6C. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
- ^ a b "Transactions" (PDF). Radio & Records. March 5, 1993. p. 8. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
- ^ Washington, Vanita (March 2, 1998). "Travelers Rest home to Hispanic radio show". Greenville News. p. 2D. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
- ^ Davis, Angelia (June 24, 1998). "Spanish-language radio program at TR station to begin daily broadcasts". Greenville News. p. 2B. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
- ^ "A press release..." Greenville News. April 11, 1999. p. Upstate Business 14. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
- ^ Isbell Walker, Donna (July 2, 1999). "WGVL-AM to become Hispanic station". Greenville News. p. 1E. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
- ^ Puyo, Flor María (February 1, 2007). "¿Qué pasó con la 1580 AM?" [What happened to 1580 AM?]. Latino4U (in Spanish). Retrieved July 22, 2020.
- ^ Puyo, Flor María (July 26, 2007). "Regreso de La Poderosa 1580 A.M." [Return of La Poderosa 1580 AM]. Latino4U. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
- ^ Coyne, Amanda (January 28, 2016). "Travelers Rest to get local radio station". Greenville News. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
- ^ WDAB license cancellation letter
External links
- FCC Station Search Details: DWDAB (Facility ID: 15237)
- FCC History Cards for WDAB (covering 1960-1980 as WBBR)