WGFY
3ABN Radio | |
Ownership | |
---|---|
Owner | Charlotte Advent Media Corporation |
History | |
First air date | January 18, 1955 |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | With Grace For You (originally stood for Goofy during Radio Disney era) |
Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 10889 |
Class | B |
Power |
|
Transmitter coordinates | 35°17′05″N 80°52′34″W / 35.28472°N 80.87611°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen Here |
Website | http://www.wgfyradio.com/ |
WGFY (1480
On May 25, 2016, WGFY was granted a
History
On January 18, 1955, the station
On March 27, 1964, Blackburn and Co. reported the sale of WWOK by Tarlow Associates of Boston to WWOK Inc. for $400,000. No changes were planned according to general manager Herb Berg. At the time, the station was located at 215 Greystone Road.[4] In early 1965 Wells H. Barnette replaced Berg, who was promoted to commercial manager,[5] and WWOK began operating 24 hours a day.[6]
On August 30, 1965, WWOK switched from "good" music to
WAME was part of a "new breed" of country and western stations "presenting it in a more sophisticated manner". The style of "Easy Ed" Robinson, for example, was more like that of big-city stations playing easy listening, described as "polished, metropolitan". One reason was that he was from New York City, not the South. In addition to the afternoon shift, he recorded commercials and reviewed music.[9] Other popular DJs in WAME's country music days included Ed Galloway,[10] "Large" Larry English, Bill Alexander, John Sutton and Bob Brandon.[citation needed] On June 18, 1973, Bob Quay of WWVA (AM) became the new morning host, replacing Robinson, who moved to afternoons and also served as program manager, while Rich Jones returned to evenings and John Lyon returned to Charlotte from WWOK to do the overnight slot.[11] The phrases "Whammy"[12] and "Top Dog[13] in Charlotte Country" were used extensively to promote the station in those days.
As WAME, the station was responsible for one of the first radio controversies in Charlotte, when the station's billboards showed a woman in tight jeans (and little else) having the WAME logo branded on her posterior.[citation needed]
WAME became Charlotte's second full-time
In March 1990, WAME was sold to a subsidiary of
During 1991, on Saturday and Sunday evenings, WCNT aired When Radio Was, hosted by Art Fleming, with radio serials such as The Shadow and Fibber McGee and Molly.[19]
Late in 1991, WCNT began airing mostly
Early in 1993, new owners, the Christ Covenant Church of
In 1994, the owners of WHVN took over the station's operations under a
In July 1997, WNMX, the current WAME in Statesville, and WAVO in Rock Hill, South Carolina formed the "Total Radio Network". WNMX became WTLT, and WAME became WTLI.[23][24] The stations aired local and syndicated talk shows as well as news. But the format did not work,[25] and WTLT returned to playing adult standards in November, starting with Christmas music during the holidays, while continuing to air syndicated hosts until their contracts ended. WTLT simulcast the Christian programming of WHVN beginning in early 1998 before Disney bought it and adopted the children's radio format of "Radio Disney" on September 1, 1998, and changed its callsign to the current WGFY call sign that stood for Disney character Goofy on September 4, 1998.
On August 13, 2014, Disney put WGFY and twenty-two other
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WGFY". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ a b LifeTalk Radio: Stations, LifeTalk Radio. Accessed August 20, 2015
- ^ Application for Construction Permit for Commercial Broadcast Station - Federal Communications Commission
- ^ "Charlotte Radio Station Is Sold For $400,000," The Charlotte Observer, March 28, 1964, p. 9A.
- ^ "Names And Changes," The Charlotte Observer, January 7, 1965, p. 20A.
- ^ Kays Gary, "Don't Lose Your Head Over This Little Joker," The Charlotte Observer, January 16, 1965, p. 1B.
- ^ "Soft Music, Gals' Voices New Change At WRPL". The Charlotte Observer. September 29, 1965. p. 14A.
- ^ Ron Alridge, "Swaggart Purchasing WAME," The Charlotte Observer, September 7, 1978, p. 13B.
- ^ Don Dayberry, "WAME's 'Easy Ed' Robinson Is One Of The New Breed," The Charlotte Observer, December 13, 1970.
- ^ a b Ron Alridge, "'Pearl' Has More Subplots Than The Navy Has Ships," The Charlotte Observer, November 16, 1978, p. 13B.
- ^ Hanna, Charlie (June 4, 1973). "John's Mind-Searing Haughtiness Was Only To Attract Attention". The Charlotte Observer. p. 15A.
- ^ Hanna, Charlie (October 5, 1975). "Radio At A Glance". The Charlotte Observer. p. 128.
- ^ "Randco Mobile Homes ad". The Charlotte Observer. June 28, 1974. p. 16C.
- ^ Vanessa Gallman, "Radio Station Switches To Religious Programs," The Charlotte Observer, January 3, 1979, p. 2B.
- ^ "Stations Put Christian Message On Airwaves Of Metrolina," The Charlotte Observer, December 16, 1980.
- ^ Mark Wolf, "Radio Station WQCC To Shift To A Christian Music Format," The Charlotte Observer, October 6, 1980, p. 5B.
- ^ Tim Funk, "Radio Show Aims to Please - And Rankle", The Charlotte Observer, April 25, 1990.
- ^ Tim Funk, "Inside Business: WCNT Adds Business News to Format", The Charlotte Observer, April 25, 1991.
- ^ Tim Funk, "Listen Up: From 'Radio Free Bubba' to 'The Shadow,' Area Radio's Ready to Turn You On," The Charlotte Observer, July 12, 1991.
- ^ Tim Funk, "Hear Ye, Hear Ye: Radio Stations Are Bustling with Activity," The Charlotte Observer, December 14, 1991.
- ^ Tim Funk, "Wistful For Music of the '40s? New Radio Station Brings It Back", The Charlotte Observer, May 19, 1994.
- ^ Kay McFadden and Bob Meadows, "Sullivan Adds Voice to AM in the A.M.", The Charlotte Observer, August 16, 1996.
- ^ Kay McFadden, "Talk-Radio Station Signs on to Battle for WBT Listeners", The Charlotte Observer, July 8, 1997.
- ^ Jim Morrill, "The Unlikely Rebel Behind the Microphone," The Charlotte Observer, October 19, 1997.
- ^ Kay McFadden, "Format Change Will Be Blow to Charlotte Talk Radio," The Charlotte Observer, November 22, 1997.
- ^ Lafayette, Jon (August 13, 2014). "Exclusive: Radio Disney Moving Off Air to Digital". Retrieved August 13, 2014.
- ^ "Radio Disney to Sell the Majority of Its Stations". Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
- ^ Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License - Federal Communications Commission
- ^ Venta, Lance (January 26, 2015). "Radio Disney Sells Off Charlotte". RadioInsight. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
- ^ Consummation Notice - Federal Communications Commission
- ^ Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA - Federal Communications Commission
- ^ Resumption of Operations - Federal Communications Commission
External links
- WGFY in the FCC AM station database
- WGFY in Nielsen Audio's AM station database