WHBT-FM Harriman - Bill Fortune (1983)

During the 1980s, radio DJs loved to entertain the listener by playing their favorite songs. One example of this is what you're about to hear in this aircheck. We take you back to 1983 where country music station WHBT-FM in Harriman featured a DJ named Bill Fortune.

In this short aircheck, we showcase Bill's ability to entertain the listener by playing your favorite country music songs.

WHBT-FM Harriman - Bill Fortune (1983)
(Aircheck courtesy of Carl D Hogg on SoundCloud)

Tennessee FM Radio in the 1980s (audio)

During the 1980s, FM radio featured unique and exciting formats that suited the listener's needs. Here in Tennessee, many FM stations presented these formats in a unique style by DJs who played the hits.

As a thank you to what FM radio done in Tennessee during the 1980s, I now bring you an audio montage of how FM radio sounded in Tennessee during that decade. The audio presentation features a lot of legal IDs as well as an interesting promo aired on WRVU in Nashville circa 1982. The montage includes legal IDs for long-gone stations such as WTNZ in Clinton and WNKX in Sevierville. The audio quality for this montage varies.

Enjoy this look back at how FM radio sounded in Tennessee during the 1980s.

Tennessee FM Radio in the 1980s

(Clips courtesy of DXers Matthew C. Sittel and the late Pat Dyer, and the FM DX: Recorded History website)

1980 in Tennessee Radio

The clock turns back to 1980. Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States. An LCD pendant watch in 1980 was $34.95. The average monthly rent in 1980 was $300. And the average income per year was $19,500. And in Tennessee, Johnny Majors was in his fourth year as Tennessee's head football coach while Tennessee's population was at 4.591 million that year.

While 1980 started a brand new decade - the 80s, local radio was evolving to suit the listener's needs. Whether it was country music or rock music, your favorite radio station was carrying it. Let's travel back in time to 1980 as we feature some radio lineups from that year.

(Lineups courtesy of the Fred 1980 annual as featured in the American Radio History website)

WKGN-AM 1340/KNOXVILLE
Jim Donovan 12-6am
John Payne 6-10am
Stewart Clark 10am-3pm
Keith Lambert 3-7pm
Jennifer Lear 7pm-12am

WREC-AM 600/MEMPHIS
Joseph Hargraves 12-6am
Steve Butler 6-10:30am
Allan Tynes 10:30am-2pm
Rick Kaucher 2pm-12am
Larry Anthony and David Anthony (weekends)

WKIR-FM 104.1/JACKSON
Mark Ward 6-10am
Suzzane Craig 10am-2pm
Jim Seech 2-7pm
Brian Davis 7pm-12am
Tony King 12-6 am
Bill Charity and Mike Brown (weekends)

WNOX-AM 990/KNOXVILLE
James Maurice 2-5:30am
Dave Dunaway 5:30-10am
Phil Williams 10am-2pm
Mike Beach 2-6pm
Scott Majors 6-10pm
Tom Michaels 10pm-2am
Joey Burchfield (weekends)

WRJZ-AM 620/KNOXVILLE
CP and Walker 6-10am
Rick Kirk 10am-2pm
JJ Scott 2-6pm
John Isley 6-10pm
Adele 10pm-2am
Mark Thompson 2-6am

WKDA-AM 1240/NASHVILLE
Jim DeMarro (mornings)
Al Risen (middays)
Dale Turner (afternoons)
Bill Hudson (evenings)

WLAC-AM 1510/NASHVILLE
Pat Reilly and Dick Kent 6-9am
Chuck McCartney 9am-1pm
Mark Damon 1-3pm
Allen Dennis 3-6pm
Smokey Rivers 6-10pm
Spider Harrison 10pm-1am
Shadoe Bailey 1-6am

WMC-AM 790/MEMPHIS
Les Tivers 12-5am
Hal Jay 5-9am
Les Acree 9am-12pm
Jackie Strickland 12-3pm
Phil Conner 3-7pm
Larry Nobles 7pm-12am
Robin Scott (weekends)

WMPS-AM 680/MEMPHIS
Bill Murray 6-10am
Kevin Murphy 10am-3pm
Walt Jackson 3-7pm
Jaybird Marvin 7pm-12am
Sid Wood 12-6am
Paul Watt and Carol Williams (weekends)

WMQM-AM 1480/MEMPHIS
Jim Corbitt 6am-12pm
Sam Felts 12-3pm
Pete Thomas 3pm-signoff

WMTS-AM 810/MURFREESBORO
Dan Jaynes 6-9am
Gary Rivers 9am-1pm
Ron Scott 1pm-signoff

WMTS-FM 96.3/MURFREESBORO
Bill Jones 5-9am
Roy Mecke 9am-1pm
Annie Stewart 1-5pm
Dave Countess 5-9pm
Alan Freeman 9pm-1am

WQUD-FM 104.5/MEMPHIS
Greg Hamilton 6-9am
Bill White 9am-2pm
Paul Selph 2-7pm
Debbie Clark 7pm-12am
Larry Cotlar 12-6am.

WSIX-AM 980/NASHVILLE
Gerry House 5:30-9am
Dave Hutcheson 9am-12pm
Jay Franklin 12-2pm
Dennis John Cahill 2-6pm
Vern Robinson 6-11:30pm
Ray Wiggins 11:30pm-5:30am

WSKZ-FM 106.5/CHATTANOOGA
David Carroll 6-10am
Chris Thomas 10am-2pm
Buster Bradley 2-6pm
Ron Richardson 6-10pm
Tim Cunningham 10pm-2am
Gary Beach 2-6am

WSM-AM 650/NASHVILLE
John Young 6-9am
Ralph Emery 9-10am
Gary Beaty 10am-1pm
Charlie Chase 1-5pm
News 5-6pm
Tony Lyons 6-9pm
Hairl Hensley 9pm-12am
Coyote McCloud 12-4am
Chuck Morgan 4-6am

WSM-FM 95.5/NASHVILLE
Dave Nichols 6-10am
Keith Bilbrey 10am-2pm
Donna Brake 2-6pm
Kris Bradley 6-10pm
Bennie Ray 10pm-2am
Mike Donegan 2-6am

WVOL-AM 1470/NASHVILLE
Jeff Mathey 6-10am
Brother Dave 11am-3pm
Fast Freddy 3-7pm
P.J. Carter 7pm-12am
Vic Watkins 12-5am

WWKX-FM 104.5/NASHVILLE
Drew Pearson 12-6am
Darrell Douglas 6-10am
Michael St. John 10am-12pm
Jeff Baker 12-3pm
Jon Anthony 3-7pm
The Unknown Disc Jockey 7pm-12am

WZDQ-FM 102.3/CHATTANOOGA
Dale Anthony 6am-3pm
Anne McCartney 3-9pm
Lana Bazemore 9pm-12am
Stanley Hall 12-6am

This has been a look at what radio in Tennessee looked like in 1980.

What's To Come... (March 28th edition)

We hope all of you are having a great week so far. As I got ready to post, I have been preparing a montage of Tennessee radio from the 1980s via audio clips courtesy of Matthew Sittel, the FM DX: Recorded History and P. J. Dyer. However, they will be in two separate files and will be uploaded at the end of this week.

As for what's to come, here is some content you can expect this week:

(1) A WSIX Nashville aircheck featuring Stan Campbell from 1985

(2) A WHBT-FM Harriman aircheck featuring Bill Fortune from 1983

(3) A WZXR "Rock 103" aircheck composite from 1981 courtesy of the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame YouTube page

and...

(4) A WZXR "Z103" aircheck featuring Jeff Baker from April 1986 courtesy of the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame YouTube page

We hope all of you will stay tuned and stay connected to the website.

WKGN Weekend Programs (1986-87)

(Courtesy of Grant Gentry of KnoxFinds on eBay)

The year was 1986. The state of Tennessee celebrated a year-long event entitled "Homecoming '86". Elie Weisel of the United States won the Nobel Peace Prize that year, The President of the United States was Ronald Reagan. And in 1986, WKGN was known as "The Sound of the City". On the weekdays, The Captain was WKGN's morning DJ. But on the weekends, WKGN aired some special features to suit the listener's needs. Whether it was Gospel Caravan on Saturdays and Sundays at 6am or Jazz Trax to close out your weekend, WKGN had a program just for you.

WKGN Stickers From the 1980s

Here are two WKGN bumper stickers from the 1980s:

(WKGN stickers courtesy of Grant Gentry, KnoxFinds on eBay)

More Knoxville Radio Stickers From the 1980s

Here are some more Knoxville radio stickers from the 1980s:

(Courtesy of Grant Gentry, KnoxFinds on eBay)

What's To Come... (March 24th edition)

This is week #2 of this brand new website and even though the site is only two weeks old, I will be posting more stuff periodically as time progresses.

As today is Friday, March 24th, there will be some more content coming to the website. It includes the following...

1 - Another set of vintage Knoxville bumper stickers from the 1980s. This set will include more WKGN bumper stickers as well as U-102 and WIMZ along the way. Watch for those soon.

2 - I am putting together a montage of Tennessee radio during the 1980s by way of audio clips I have downloaded from various sources. These clips are courtesy of Matthew Sittel, P. J. Dyer and FM DX: Recorded History. Plans are for the montage to be done this coming week, and will mainly include legal IDs.

That's what's to come for this week.

Before I end my post tonight, I want to mention that I am looking for vintage Tennessee radio bumper stickers from the 1980s as well as airchecks. Some stations that I am looking for include the following:

- WCKS Karns/Knoxville ("93 Kiss FM")
- WKJQ Jefferson City ("Q-99")
- WKNF Oak Ridge ("Magic 94")
- WYSH Clinton (AM 1380/FM 104.9)
- WQLA-FM LaFollette
- WTNZ Clinton/Knoxville ("Power 95")

If you have a vintage bumper sticker or aircheck of any Tennessee radio station, please email it to me at tennesseeradiointhe1980s@gmail.com.

I hope all of you have a good night and keep watching the site for more material.

More 1980s Knoxville Radio Stickers

Here are some more Knoxville radio stickers from the 1980s:

(Bumper stickers courtesy of Grant Gentry of KnoxFinds on eBay)

1980s Knoxville Radio Stickers

Here are four Knoxville radio stickers from the 1980s:

(Bumper stickers courtesy of Grant Gentry of KnoxFinds on eBay)

WLAC-FM Nashville (November 1985)

The year was 1985. Don Mattingly won the AL MVP Award in November. Steve Cram ran a world record mile in July. And "Moonlighting" starring Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd makes its debut on ABC in March.

In 1985, radio in Nashville had many choices. You could listen to country music on WSM-FM or WSIX-FM. You could listen to hit music on WYHY-FM or WWKX. You could even listen to your your favorite rock songs on WKDF. There is one radio station in Nashville that featured interesting personalities and your favorite songs. That station was WLAC-FM, Nashville's Class FM.

During November 1985, a few members of the WLAC-FM airstaff consisted of the following:

- Stephen Wesley Bridgewater and Ogden the Butler
- U-Turn Laverne (traffic)
- Melissa McDonald (news)
- Bryan Sargent
- Pat Reilly
- Dick Kaiser

Here is a composite aircheck of a WLAC-FM broadcast day from November 1985.

WLAC-FM Nashville (November 1985)
(Courtesy of the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame page on YouTube)

WHBT-FM Harriman (1983)

More than a week ago, an aircheck I posted on the site was of WHBT-FM, a country music station out of Harriman.

Here is another WHBT-FM aircheck from 1983 which includes a Tennessee Radio Network newscast with Glenn Prosser at 8:05.

WHBT-FM Harriman (1983)
(Courtesy of Carl D Hogg on SoundCloud)

WNOX Knoxville (1982)

1982 was a big year in Knoxville, because the city welcomed the world for the 1982 World's Fair. From May 1 through October 31st of that year, Knoxville welcomed the world. If you went to the 1982 World's Fair, you were there to enjoy all the sights and sounds. Just like the commercial said, you've got to be there.

While the 1982 World's Fair was in full swing, your radio was filled with music that suited your needs. One of those was country music and there were a few options. You could either listen to WRJZ, WNOX or WIVK-AM/FM for your favorite country songs. It was in 1982 that WNOX was ready to debut a new FM sister station in Kix 95, WNKX. Kix 95 would play your favorite country songs and offer you the best in Big Orange sports. In 1982, country radio in Knoxville got even more interesting.

With that said, here is an aircheck recorded in 1982 of WNOX's country music format. The aircheck features WNOX DJ Bob Barry (?) playing your favorite country songs.

WNOX Knoxville (1982)
(Aircheck courtesy of Carl D Hogg on SoundCloud)

What's To Come...

As the first week of this new blog is coming to a close, I am very thankful for the opportunity I have to post about Tennessee radio during the 1980s. Be sure you keep it on the website for airchecks and more.

As for what's to come on this site, I am going to mention a couple of things right off the bat.

Number 1, I am going to post some old bumper stickers from the Knoxville area. I recently acquired bumper stickers for WNKX ("Kix 95"), WTNZ-FM ("95.3 WTNZ"), WRJZ ("Joy 62") and even WIVK-AM/FM on eBay. And, I am in the process of acquiring more of these as time goes on. Watch for these bumper stickers at some point.

And number 2, I am going to include a few airchecks. One of the airchecks I'm including is an old WNOX aircheck from 1982 when the station was airing a country music format competing with WIVK and WNKX, the sister station to WNOX. Watch for the WNOX aircheck on Monday.

I hope all of you will have a good day ahead and let's continue to learn about Tennessee radio during the 1980s.

WLNT Loudon (1982)

1982 was the year Knoxville hosted the World's Fair. 1982 was the year CNN2 (now HLN) made its debut. The price of a Sony 19-inch color TV in 1982 was $499. And in 1982, a new AM radio station signed on the air serving the people of Loudon County. The Tellico Broadcasting Company, Inc. signed on WLNT one morning in 1982 and from there, it made a commitment to providing the people of Loudon County with the best in local news and modern country music. The first business to sponsor and advertise on WLNT in Loudon was Greer's which had just celebrated their 93rd year of operation in 1982.

In 1985, Loudon Broadcasters bought WLNT and changed the calls WLOD.

Here is an aircheck of WLNT's first broadcast as recorded back in 1982.

WLNT Loudon (1982)
(Aircheck courtesy of Carl D Hogg on SoundCloud)

WVTN Gatlinburg - Article (1983)

As I launched a brand new and exciting website about Tennessee radio during the 1980s this week, we now take you back to 1983 where a new FM radio station launched in the city of Gatlinburg. Before the days of WDLY, Dolly's station, it was WVTN. WVTN was launched by Vacation Media, whose key people included Roy Maples (president), Ralph Maples (vice president and treasurer) and Leo Ely (vice president and secretary).

Here is a Billboard news article written in 1983 about the launch of WVTN:

(Article courtesy of Billboard Magazine, dated 2/5/1983)

WQLA/WWGR LaFollette - The 1980s

Radio in Tennessee during the 1980s brought on new challenges and new opportunities. It even brought in some new radio stations along the way and were committed in doing so.

Campbell County has been home to two radio stations since 1953, WLAF in LaFollette and WJJT in Jellico. Both WLAF and WJJT have served the area with the finest in music, news and local programs for many years. That's what listeners come to expect each day when they tune in to their favorite radio station. Up until the 1980s, many people in Campbell County were listening to stations out of Knoxville, Clinton and other cities such as Middlesboro, Kentucky. It was in the 1980s that new radio stations in the state of Tennessee were signing on the air to better serve their community. In LaFollette, two stations made their on-air debuts in the early 1980s.

LaFollette Broadcasters, Inc., based in LaFollette, signed on WQLA and WWGR during the early 1980s. One of the co-founders of WQLA and WWGR, Lester Fox, also founded several car dealerships in Anderson County including Fox Chrysler-Plymouth-Dodge and Fox Toyota. WQLA's format was country music while WWGR's format was gospel. It is not known what WQLA's call letters stood for, but WWGR's call letters stood for "Warm, Wonderful Gospel Radio".

(WWGR-AM 1983 logo, courtesy of Kermit Geary's QSLs on the American Radio History website)

During 1986, WQLA's weekday air staff included Jim Freeman and Tony Lawson. Over at WWGR, the station continued playing gospel music. In 1987, WQLA was known as "Q-105, All American Music" while sister station WWGR was known as "Gospel 96".


(WQLA-FM/WWGR-AM 1987 logos, courtesy of Kermit Geary's QSLs on the American Radio History website)

Here are a small list of people that were part of WQLA and WWGR in the 1980s:

Jim Freeman (WQLA)
Tony Lawson (WQLA)
Scott Black (WQLA)
Charlie and Charlotte Phillips (owners)
Pam Cooke (WWGR)
Emma McCarty (general manager)
Bill Shipp (assistant manager)

In 1989, WQLA and WWGR were sold to Cherokee Communications Corp., a company headed by Ronald A. Scott, for $400,000. At the time of the sale, WQLA operated with 3000 watts of power while WWGR operated with 1000 watts of power as a daytimer. While the two stations got a new owner, WQLA and WWGR stayed with their formats well into the start of the 1990s.

WQLA LaFollette - Hat (1980s)

Here is a vintage WQLA hat from the mid 1980s that I bought in a yard sale in my area back in the 1990s. During the mid 1980s, WQLA FM-105 was playing a country music format while its sister station, WWGR-AM 960, was airing a gospel music format.

WNKX Clinton - Bumper Sticker (1980s)

(Courtesy of knoxfinds on eBay)

This is a bumper sticker for Kix 95, WNKX from the 1980s. WNKX 95.3. the former WYSH-FM 104.9 out of Clinton, played country music competing with sister station WNOX and WIVK for most of the mid 1980s. WNKX later changed formats and calls to Top 40 WTNZ in the late 1980s.

WTFM Kingsport (1985)

From the 1950s through the 1970s, easy listening music was a popular music format for radio listeners. In the 1980s, there were quite a few of them in Tennessee.

Take, for example, WTFM in Kingsport. WTFM, the former WKPT-FM, aired an easy listening format which lasted until 1986 when it changed its format to adult contemporary. This aircheck showcases the beautiful music heard on WTFM in the final months of their easy listening format.

WTFM Kingsport (1985)
(Aircheck courtesy of Sammy Reed's Music from the World of the Strange and the Bizarre on Blogspot)

WZXY Kingsport (1982)

In 1982, there were many stations playing rock music. One of them was WZXY (now WKOS) out of Kingsport.

Y-105, the station it was known as, played the best rock for the Tri-Cities. This aircheck showcases the DJs who graced the airwaves of Y-105 back in 1982. WZXY would later change formats from AOR to CHR during the mid to late 1980s.

WZXY Kingsport (1982)
(Aircheck courtesy of sportshillbilly on SoundCloud)

WHBT-FM Harriman (1983)

During the 1980s, there were many radio stations in Tennessee that featured a country music format at one time. WHBT-FM in Harriman was one of those stations. During 1983, WHBT-FM was an affiliate of the Tennessee Radio Network (a TRN newscast is heard at 12:04 into this aircheck), and broadcasted University of Tennessee football with John Ward and Bill Anderson.

Co-owned with WKJS-AM 1600, WHBT-FM operated with 3000 watts while WKJS-AM operated with 5000 watts.

WHBT-FM Harriman (1983)
(Aircheck courtesy of Carl D Hogg on SoundCloud)

WLAF LaFollette (1983)

To begin this blog, we take you back to 1983, where we feature my hometown radio station, WLAF. During the early 1980s, WLAF was playing a country music format featuring the latest and greatest in country music. It was during that decade that WLAF was airing the Trading Post, a program that still airs to this day from 8:07am through 9am.

This aircheck showcases the WLAF Trading Post program as aired that year and features The Oak Ridge Boys' "My Baby is American Made" at the beginning.

WLAF LaFollette (1983)
(Aircheck courtesy of Carl D Hogg on SoundCloud)

Welcome to Tennessee Radio in the 1980s!

Hello to all! Derrick Lee Anderson here. I want to welcome all of you to my new blog devoted to Tennessee radio during the 1980s. This new blog will feature all things related to radio in Tennessee during the 1980s from radio airchecks to bumper stickers. I hope you'll find this blog to be very interesting to enjoy.

The idea of this new blog came to me while listening to an old aircheck of WLAF 1450 in LaFollette from 1983, a year before I was born. As an on-air personality on WLAF in LaFollette these days, I am amazed at how radio has become the greatest medium for music, news, advertising and weather in our present time. Local radio in the 1980s brought on new challenges, great innovations and exciting radio stations.

This new blog will showcase all things radio in Tennessee during the 1980s. From bumper stickers to radio airchecks, this new blog will have it all. We hope you'll enjoy this blog and we trust that you'll learn more about Tennessee radio during the 1980s.