WTAK-FM is a classic rock

Classic rock

Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...

 formatted radio station

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...

 licensed to Hartselle, Alabama

Hartselle, Alabama

Hartselle is the second largest city in Morgan County, Alabama, United States, about south of Decatur, and is included in the Decatur Metropolitan Area, and the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2006 census estimates, the population of the city is 13,479. Hartselle was...

, and owned by Clear Channel Communications

Clear Channel Communications

Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...

. It serves Huntsville, Alabama

Huntsville, Alabama

Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....

, and the central Tennessee Valley

Tennessee Valley

The Tennessee Valley is the drainage basin of the Tennessee River and is largely within the U.S. state of Tennessee. It stretches from southwest Kentucky to northwest Georgia and from northeast Mississippi to the mountains of Virginia and North Carolina...

 area. Its broadcast tower is located on Brindlee Mountain in Morgan County, Alabama

Morgan County, Alabama

Morgan County is the most populous county in the Decatur Metropolitan Area, and the second most populous county in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area in the U.S. State of Alabama. It was created by the Alabama Territorial legislature on February 6, 1818 from land acquired from the...

, near the Union Hill

Union Hill, Alabama

Union Hill, Alabama is a community in the eastern portion of Morgan County. It is one of the highest points on Brindlee Mountain, part of the Appalachian Mountain Range. The community is unincorporated. The area consists of Union Hill School , Union Hill Grocery and New Canaan Baptist Church...

 community.

WTAK-FM is one of the top-rated radio stations in the Huntsville market.

Personalities

Notable local personalities on WTAK include Erich West and Big Nate. Notable syndicated programming includes The John Boy and Billy Big Show on weekday mornings.

Afternoon host "Mr. Bill", apparently local, is actually Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...

, radio host Bill Summerville. Summerville records his five-hour air shift in about forty minutes on a computer in Charlotte as digital voice tracks for later playback on the air at WTAK-FM. This use of "voice tracking" is a practice common to many Clear Channel-owned radio stations. WTAK-AM and WAAY-AM had a local Mr. Bill show in the 1970s and 1980s hosted by Bill McClendon. (McClendon is now a weekend on-air personality at WLRH-FM

WLRH-FM

WLRH is a National Public Radio-affiliated radio station in Huntsville, Alabama. It primarily features news and classical music programming on weekdays and news, humor, and other musical genres on weekends. WLRH serves the northern counties of Alabama and several counties in southern middle...

.)

Programming

In addition to its regular music programming, WTAK-FM is an affiliate of the Auburn University

Auburn University

Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...

 football radio network.

History

WTAK-FM was originally known by the call sign WYAM-FM and went on the air around November 1991. WTAK-AM (1000 AM, now WDJL

WDJL

WDJL is a daytime-only radio station licensed to Huntsville, Alabama, that serves the Tennessee Valley area. The station is owned by James K. Sharp...

) shifted its programming solely to the 106.1 FM signal in late 1993 after several months of simulcast. This station was assigned the WTAK-FM call letters by the Federal Communications Commission

Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...

on July 6, 1993.

External links

• WTAK official website