WGOK
Encyclopedia
WGOK "Gospel 900") is a radio station
serving the Mobile, Alabama
, area with a Gospel music
format. The station is under ownership of Cumulus Media
.
and Baton Rouge, Louisiana
among others. There was one White station in Alice, Texas
with the OK reversed. It was called KOPY.
Starting around 1959, the station WGOK was managed by Robert Irwin Grimes, Jr. He had been a radioman in the Navy, had served at Pearl Harbor on the USS Enterprise
and was there in Hawaii on the day Pearl Harbor was attacked
.
In the early 1960s disc jockeys had names like Topsy Turvey, Miss Mandy, and the Reverend A. J. Crawford. The station was very popular and played rhythm and blues
records as well as gospel records.
for a reported sale price of $6 million.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
serving the Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, area with a Gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
format. The station is under ownership of Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
.
History
The radio station in the early 1960s was located at 900 Gum Street right in the middle of a swamp. The station was part of the largest chain of Black radio stations in the country called The OK Group. All of the stations in the OK Group had an OK at the end of their call letters. There was WGOK in Mobile, KYOK in Houston, and WBOK in New Orleans for example. There were other OK stations in the cities of Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
and Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
among others. There was one White station in Alice, Texas
Alice, Texas
At the 2000 census, there were 19,010 people, 6,400 households and 4,915 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,597.4 per square mile . There were 6,998 housing units at an average density of 588.0 per square mile...
with the OK reversed. It was called KOPY.
Starting around 1959, the station WGOK was managed by Robert Irwin Grimes, Jr. He had been a radioman in the Navy, had served at Pearl Harbor on the USS Enterprise
USS Enterprise (CV-6)
USS Enterprise , colloquially referred to as the "Big E," was the sixth aircraft carrier of the United States Navy and the seventh U.S. Navy ship to bear the name. Launched in 1936, she was a ship of the Yorktown class, and one of only three American carriers commissioned prior to World War II to...
and was there in Hawaii on the day Pearl Harbor was attacked
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
.
In the early 1960s disc jockeys had names like Topsy Turvey, Miss Mandy, and the Reverend A. J. Crawford. The station was very popular and played rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
records as well as gospel records.
Ownership
In 1999, the station was acquired by Citadel Communications Corp. (Lawrence R. Wilson, chairman) from Fuller-Jeffrey Broadcasting Co. Inc. (Robert Fuller, president) along with sister station WYOKWYOK
WYOK is a radio station licensed to serve the community of Atmore, Alabama. The station, founded in 1966, broadcasts to the greater Mobile metropolitan area and Pensacola, Florida. It broadcasts an adult hits music format and is under ownership of Cumulus Media...
for a reported sale price of $6 million.