WTBF-FM
Encyclopedia
WTBF-FM is a radio station
broadcasting a mixed Talk/Personality and Adult Standards
/Oldies
music format. Licensed to Troy, Alabama
, USA. The station is currently owned by Troy Broadcasting Corp. and features programming from Citadel Media (formerly ABC Radio Networks).
WTBF-FM currently simulcasts the AM station during some dayparts, and breaks away for Rush Limbaugh
, Clark Howard
, Ken Hamblin
and sports talk shows weekdays, and for sports and syndicated nostalgia shows on weekends. The station also airs music from Citadel's The True Oldies Channel
radio network.
Jess Jordan and Bob "Pappy" Tolbert were the mainstays of WTBF Radio during its first 30 years. Their voices were very familiar to listeners in Pike County, and both were extremely active in the Troy community.
Joe Gilchrist is the original engineer, and still owns the station, along with Asa Dudley and Jim Roling. Jim Roling worked there as a teenager in the 1950s and 1960s, left for South Carolina, then returned in 1980 and bought out one of the original owners. Jim hosted "The Morning Show" since returning in 1980 until semi-retirement in 2007, and is a well-known icon in Pike County.
WTBF-FM (94.7 FM
) is a radio station
broadcasting a mixed Talk/Personality and Adult Standards
/Oldies
music format. Licensed to Troy, Alabama
, USA. The station is currently owned by Troy Broadcasting Corp. and features programming from Citadel Media (formerly ABC Radio Networks).
WTBF-FM currently simulcasts the AM station during some dayparts, and breaks away for Rush Limbaugh
, Clark Howard
, Ken Hamblin
and sports talk shows weekdays, and for sports and syndicated nostalgia shows on weekends. The station also airs music from Citadel's The True Oldies Channel
radio network.
Jess Jordan and Bob "Pappy" Tolbert were the mainstays of WTBF Radio during its first 30 years. Their voices were very familiar to listeners in Pike County, and both were extremely active in the Troy community.
Joe Gilchrist is the original engineer, and still owns the station, along with Asa Dudley and Jim Roling. Jim Roling worked there as a teenager in the 1950s and 1960s, left for South Carolina, then returned in 1980 and bought out one of the original owners. Jim hosted "The Morning Show" since returning in 1980 until semi-retirement in 2007, and is a well-known icon in Pike County.
WTBF-FM (94.7 FM
) is a radio station
broadcasting a mixed Talk/Personality and Adult Standards
/Oldies
music format. Licensed to Troy, Alabama
, USA. The station is currently owned by Troy Broadcasting Corp. and features programming from Citadel Media (formerly ABC Radio Networks).
WTBF-FM currently simulcasts the AM station during some dayparts, and breaks away for Rush Limbaugh
, Clark Howard
, Ken Hamblin
and sports talk shows weekdays, and for sports and syndicated nostalgia shows on weekends. The station also airs music from Citadel's The True Oldies Channel
radio network.
Jess Jordan and Bob "Pappy" Tolbert were the mainstays of WTBF Radio during its first 30 years. Their voices were very familiar to listeners in Pike County, and both were extremely active in the Troy community.
Joe Gilchrist is the original engineer, and still owns the station, along with Asa Dudley and Jim Roling. Jim Roling worked there as a teenager in the 1950s and 1960s, left for South Carolina, then returned in 1980 and bought out one of the original owners. Jim hosted "The Morning Show" since returning in 1980 until semi-retirement in 2007, and is a well-known icon in Pike County.
WTBF-FM (94.7 FM
) is a radio station
broadcasting a mixed Talk/Personality and Adult Standards
/Oldies
music format. Licensed to Troy, Alabama
, USA. The station is currently owned by Troy Broadcasting Corp. and features programming from Citadel Media (formerly ABC Radio Networks).
WTBF-FM currently simulcasts the AM station during some dayparts, and breaks away for Rush Limbaugh
, Clark Howard
, Ken Hamblin
and sports talk shows weekdays, and for sports and syndicated nostalgia shows on weekends. The station also airs music from Citadel's The True Oldies Channel
radio network.
Jess Jordan and Bob "Pappy" Tolbert were the mainstays of WTBF Radio during its first 30 years. Their voices were very familiar to listeners in Pike County, and both were extremely active in the Troy community.
Joe Gilchrist is the original engineer, and still owns the station, along with Asa Dudley and Jim Roling. Jim Roling worked there as a teenager in the 1950s and 1960s, left for South Carolina, then returned in 1980 and bought out one of the original owners. Jim hosted "The Morning Show" since returning in 1980 until semi-retirement in 2007, and is a well-known icon in Pike County.
WTBF-FM (94.7 FM
) is a radio station
broadcasting a mixed Talk/Personality and Adult Standards
/Oldies
music format. Licensed to Troy, Alabama
, USA. The station is currently owned by Troy Broadcasting Corp. and features programming from Citadel Media (formerly ABC Radio Networks).
WTBF-FM currently simulcasts the AM station during some dayparts, and breaks away for Rush Limbaugh
, Clark Howard
, Ken Hamblin
and sports talk shows weekdays, and for sports and syndicated nostalgia shows on weekends. The station also airs music from Citadel's The True Oldies Channel
radio network.
Jess Jordan and Bob "Pappy" Tolbert were the mainstays of WTBF Radio during its first 30 years. Their voices were very familiar to listeners in Pike County, and both were extremely active in the Troy community.
Joe Gilchrist is the original engineer, and still owns the station, along with Asa Dudley and Jim Roling. Jim Roling worked there as a teenager in the 1950s and 1960s, left for South Carolina, then returned in 1980 and bought out one of the original owners. Jim hosted "The Morning Show" since returning in 1980 until semi-retirement in 2007, and is a well-known icon in Pike County.
WTBF-FM (94.7 FM
) is a radio station
broadcasting a mixed Talk/Personality and Adult Standards
/Oldies
music format. Licensed to Troy, Alabama
, USA. The station is currently owned by Troy Broadcasting Corp. and features programming from Citadel Media (formerly ABC Radio Networks).
WTBF-FM currently simulcasts the AM station during some dayparts, and breaks away for Rush Limbaugh
, Clark Howard
, Ken Hamblin
and sports talk shows weekdays, and for sports and syndicated nostalgia shows on weekends. The station also airs music from Citadel's The True Oldies Channel
radio network.
Jess Jordan and Bob "Pappy" Tolbert were the mainstays of WTBF Radio during its first 30 years. Their voices were very familiar to listeners in Pike County, and both were extremely active in the Troy community.
Joe Gilchrist is the original engineer, and still owns the station, along with Asa Dudley and Jim Roling. Jim Roling worked there as a teenager in the 1950s and 1960s, left for South Carolina, then returned in 1980 and bought out one of the original owners. Jim hosted "The Morning Show" since returning in 1980 until semi-retirement in 2007, and is a well-known icon in Pike County.
WTBF-FM (94.7 FM
) is a radio station
broadcasting a mixed Talk/Personality and Adult Standards
/Oldies
music format. Licensed to Troy, Alabama
, USA. The station is currently owned by Troy Broadcasting Corp. and features programming from Citadel Media (formerly ABC Radio Networks).
WTBF-FM currently simulcasts the AM station during some dayparts, and breaks away for Rush Limbaugh
, Clark Howard
, Ken Hamblin
and sports talk shows weekdays, and for sports and syndicated nostalgia shows on weekends. The station also airs music from Citadel's The True Oldies Channel
radio network.
Jess Jordan and Bob "Pappy" Tolbert were the mainstays of WTBF Radio during its first 30 years. Their voices were very familiar to listeners in Pike County, and both were extremely active in the Troy community.
Joe Gilchrist is the original engineer, and still owns the station, along with Asa Dudley and Jim Roling. Jim Roling worked there as a teenager in the 1950s and 1960s, left for South Carolina, then returned in 1980 and bought out one of the original owners. Jim hosted "The Morning Show" since returning in 1980 until semi-retirement in 2007, and is a well-known icon in Pike County.
WTBF-FM (94.7 FM
) is a radio station
broadcasting a mixed Talk/Personality and Adult Standards
/Oldies
music format. Licensed to Troy, Alabama
, USA. The station is currently owned by Troy Broadcasting Corp. and features programming from Citadel Media (formerly ABC Radio Networks).
WTBF-FM currently simulcasts the AM station during some dayparts, and breaks away for Rush Limbaugh
, Clark Howard
, Ken Hamblin
and sports talk shows weekdays, and for sports and syndicated nostalgia shows on weekends. The station also airs music from Citadel's The True Oldies Channel
radio network.
Jess Jordan and Bob "Pappy" Tolbert were the mainstays of WTBF Radio during its first 30 years. Their voices were very familiar to listeners in Pike County, and both were extremely active in the Troy community.
Joe Gilchrist is the original engineer, and still owns the station, along with Asa Dudley and Jim Roling. Jim Roling worked there as a teenager in the 1950s and 1960s, left for South Carolina, then returned in 1980 and bought out one of the original owners. Jim hosted "The Morning Show" since returning in 1980 until semi-retirement in 2007, and is a well-known icon in Pike County.
WTBF-FM (94.7 FM
) is a radio station
broadcasting a mixed Talk/Personality and Adult Standards
/Oldies
music format. Licensed to Troy, Alabama
, USA. The station is currently owned by Troy Broadcasting Corp. and features programming from Citadel Media (formerly ABC Radio Networks).
WTBF-FM currently simulcasts the AM station during some dayparts, and breaks away for Rush Limbaugh
, Clark Howard
, Ken Hamblin
and sports talk shows weekdays, and for sports and syndicated nostalgia shows on weekends. The station also airs music from Citadel's The True Oldies Channel
radio network.
Jess Jordan and Bob "Pappy" Tolbert were the mainstays of WTBF Radio during its first 30 years. Their voices were very familiar to listeners in Pike County, and both were extremely active in the Troy community.
Joe Gilchrist is the original engineer, and still owns the station, along with Asa Dudley and Jim Roling. Jim Roling worked there as a teenager in the 1950s and 1960s, left for South Carolina, then returned in 1980 and bought out one of the original owners. Jim hosted "The Morning Show" since returning in 1980 until semi-retirement in 2007, and is a well-known icon in Pike County.
Image:Doc Kirby, WTBF Radio.jpg|Doc Kirby, Program Director
"Doc" Kirby (so nicknamed for his trumpet playing abilities) has been the Program Director since 1974, with one break from 1985-86 when he was a band director at a local school and was replaced by then Morning Show co-host, Joey Meredith. Since 1986, Doc has developed a weekly program called "On The Bookshelf," which is syndicated on the Alabama Radio Network. Doc also became a Methodist minister.
Other long-term employees include Ralph Black, who worked there from the late 1970s until the mid-1980s, when he started the Troy State Sports Network. He was the voice heard on every Troy broadcast game. Ralph was bought out by the college in 2002, and replaced by Barry McKnight, who hosts a sports call-in show on WMSP in Montgomery. Ralph came back to WTBF in 2002, and in 2007 became the host of "The Morning Show".
Many WTBF staffers have gone on to greener pastures—Tonya Terry (WSFA-TV), Michael Buchanan (the Auburn Network), Chris Ingram (Washington, DC radio), Russell Wells (program director at WSVH in Savannah, GA), and so on.
Other popular programs include "Crosby's Country Classics," which was hosted by local personality Ray Crosby from 1998-2006. Ray returned in 2008. In late 2007, Joey Meredith returned to the airwaves on WTBF helming the popular Sunday morning gospel music request show, Gospel Favorites. Allen Stevens helps Joey with the abundance of phone calls on Sunday mornings on the Gospel show.
The engineer is Wade Giddens, who spends three days a week at WTBF and four days a week at WAAO in Andalusia. Joe Gilchrist retired after 59 years on the job, but still owns the station.
WTBF was located on the Troy University campus by the lagoon, from 1947-1997. This original site was torn down in February, 2008.
On June 18, 1997, Joe Gilchrist flipped the switch at the transmitter site. Larry Wells was operating with one CD player at what staffers called "Skylab", the old studios, and Jim Roling and Doc Kirby were waiting at the brand new studios at 67 West Court Square. At 3:00 p.m., Larry faded the music, Joe flipped the switch, and Jim and Doc signed on from the new location.
For a time, the oldies/standards format was provided by Citadel's "Timeless
" satellite network, but due to its demise in February 2010, it has switched over to its current affiliation.
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...
broadcasting a mixed Talk/Personality and Adult Standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
/Oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
music format. Licensed to Troy, Alabama
Troy, Alabama
Troy is a city in Pike County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,003. Troy experienced a growth spurt of over 4,000+ people since 2000. The city is the county seat of Pike County....
, USA. The station is currently owned by Troy Broadcasting Corp. and features programming from Citadel Media (formerly ABC Radio Networks).
WTBF-FM currently simulcasts the AM station during some dayparts, and breaks away for Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
, Clark Howard
Clark Howard
Clark Howard , is a popular U.S. talk radio host of the nationally syndicated consumer advocate program The Clark Howard Show. The show covers consumer and financial news, with advice on how to spend less, save more and avoid rip-offs...
, Ken Hamblin
Ken Hamblin
Ken Loronzo Hamblin II , the self-titled Black Avenger, was host of the Ken Hamblin Show, which was syndicated nationally on Entertainment Radio Networks....
and sports talk shows weekdays, and for sports and syndicated nostalgia shows on weekends. The station also airs music from Citadel's The True Oldies Channel
The True Oldies Channel
The True Oldies Channel is a syndicated radio programming stream begun in the spring of 2004, hosted by American radio personality Scott Shannon...
radio network.
Jess Jordan and Bob "Pappy" Tolbert were the mainstays of WTBF Radio during its first 30 years. Their voices were very familiar to listeners in Pike County, and both were extremely active in the Troy community.
Joe Gilchrist is the original engineer, and still owns the station, along with Asa Dudley and Jim Roling. Jim Roling worked there as a teenager in the 1950s and 1960s, left for South Carolina, then returned in 1980 and bought out one of the original owners. Jim hosted "The Morning Show" since returning in 1980 until semi-retirement in 2007, and is a well-known icon in Pike County.
WTBF-FM (94.7 FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
) is a 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...
broadcasting a mixed Talk/Personality and Adult Standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
/Oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
music format. Licensed to Troy, Alabama
Troy, Alabama
Troy is a city in Pike County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,003. Troy experienced a growth spurt of over 4,000+ people since 2000. The city is the county seat of Pike County....
, USA. The station is currently owned by Troy Broadcasting Corp. and features programming from Citadel Media (formerly ABC Radio Networks).
WTBF-FM currently simulcasts the AM station during some dayparts, and breaks away for Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
, Clark Howard
Clark Howard
Clark Howard , is a popular U.S. talk radio host of the nationally syndicated consumer advocate program The Clark Howard Show. The show covers consumer and financial news, with advice on how to spend less, save more and avoid rip-offs...
, Ken Hamblin
Ken Hamblin
Ken Loronzo Hamblin II , the self-titled Black Avenger, was host of the Ken Hamblin Show, which was syndicated nationally on Entertainment Radio Networks....
and sports talk shows weekdays, and for sports and syndicated nostalgia shows on weekends. The station also airs music from Citadel's The True Oldies Channel
The True Oldies Channel
The True Oldies Channel is a syndicated radio programming stream begun in the spring of 2004, hosted by American radio personality Scott Shannon...
radio network.
Jess Jordan and Bob "Pappy" Tolbert were the mainstays of WTBF Radio during its first 30 years. Their voices were very familiar to listeners in Pike County, and both were extremely active in the Troy community.
Joe Gilchrist is the original engineer, and still owns the station, along with Asa Dudley and Jim Roling. Jim Roling worked there as a teenager in the 1950s and 1960s, left for South Carolina, then returned in 1980 and bought out one of the original owners. Jim hosted "The Morning Show" since returning in 1980 until semi-retirement in 2007, and is a well-known icon in Pike County.
WTBF-FM (94.7 FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
) is a 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...
broadcasting a mixed Talk/Personality and Adult Standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
/Oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
music format. Licensed to Troy, Alabama
Troy, Alabama
Troy is a city in Pike County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,003. Troy experienced a growth spurt of over 4,000+ people since 2000. The city is the county seat of Pike County....
, USA. The station is currently owned by Troy Broadcasting Corp. and features programming from Citadel Media (formerly ABC Radio Networks).
WTBF-FM currently simulcasts the AM station during some dayparts, and breaks away for Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
, Clark Howard
Clark Howard
Clark Howard , is a popular U.S. talk radio host of the nationally syndicated consumer advocate program The Clark Howard Show. The show covers consumer and financial news, with advice on how to spend less, save more and avoid rip-offs...
, Ken Hamblin
Ken Hamblin
Ken Loronzo Hamblin II , the self-titled Black Avenger, was host of the Ken Hamblin Show, which was syndicated nationally on Entertainment Radio Networks....
and sports talk shows weekdays, and for sports and syndicated nostalgia shows on weekends. The station also airs music from Citadel's The True Oldies Channel
The True Oldies Channel
The True Oldies Channel is a syndicated radio programming stream begun in the spring of 2004, hosted by American radio personality Scott Shannon...
radio network.
Jess Jordan and Bob "Pappy" Tolbert were the mainstays of WTBF Radio during its first 30 years. Their voices were very familiar to listeners in Pike County, and both were extremely active in the Troy community.
Joe Gilchrist is the original engineer, and still owns the station, along with Asa Dudley and Jim Roling. Jim Roling worked there as a teenager in the 1950s and 1960s, left for South Carolina, then returned in 1980 and bought out one of the original owners. Jim hosted "The Morning Show" since returning in 1980 until semi-retirement in 2007, and is a well-known icon in Pike County.
WTBF-FM (94.7 FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
) is a 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...
broadcasting a mixed Talk/Personality and Adult Standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
/Oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
music format. Licensed to Troy, Alabama
Troy, Alabama
Troy is a city in Pike County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,003. Troy experienced a growth spurt of over 4,000+ people since 2000. The city is the county seat of Pike County....
, USA. The station is currently owned by Troy Broadcasting Corp. and features programming from Citadel Media (formerly ABC Radio Networks).
WTBF-FM currently simulcasts the AM station during some dayparts, and breaks away for Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
, Clark Howard
Clark Howard
Clark Howard , is a popular U.S. talk radio host of the nationally syndicated consumer advocate program The Clark Howard Show. The show covers consumer and financial news, with advice on how to spend less, save more and avoid rip-offs...
, Ken Hamblin
Ken Hamblin
Ken Loronzo Hamblin II , the self-titled Black Avenger, was host of the Ken Hamblin Show, which was syndicated nationally on Entertainment Radio Networks....
and sports talk shows weekdays, and for sports and syndicated nostalgia shows on weekends. The station also airs music from Citadel's The True Oldies Channel
The True Oldies Channel
The True Oldies Channel is a syndicated radio programming stream begun in the spring of 2004, hosted by American radio personality Scott Shannon...
radio network.
Jess Jordan and Bob "Pappy" Tolbert were the mainstays of WTBF Radio during its first 30 years. Their voices were very familiar to listeners in Pike County, and both were extremely active in the Troy community.
Joe Gilchrist is the original engineer, and still owns the station, along with Asa Dudley and Jim Roling. Jim Roling worked there as a teenager in the 1950s and 1960s, left for South Carolina, then returned in 1980 and bought out one of the original owners. Jim hosted "The Morning Show" since returning in 1980 until semi-retirement in 2007, and is a well-known icon in Pike County.
WTBF-FM (94.7 FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
) is a 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...
broadcasting a mixed Talk/Personality and Adult Standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
/Oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
music format. Licensed to Troy, Alabama
Troy, Alabama
Troy is a city in Pike County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,003. Troy experienced a growth spurt of over 4,000+ people since 2000. The city is the county seat of Pike County....
, USA. The station is currently owned by Troy Broadcasting Corp. and features programming from Citadel Media (formerly ABC Radio Networks).
WTBF-FM currently simulcasts the AM station during some dayparts, and breaks away for Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
, Clark Howard
Clark Howard
Clark Howard , is a popular U.S. talk radio host of the nationally syndicated consumer advocate program The Clark Howard Show. The show covers consumer and financial news, with advice on how to spend less, save more and avoid rip-offs...
, Ken Hamblin
Ken Hamblin
Ken Loronzo Hamblin II , the self-titled Black Avenger, was host of the Ken Hamblin Show, which was syndicated nationally on Entertainment Radio Networks....
and sports talk shows weekdays, and for sports and syndicated nostalgia shows on weekends. The station also airs music from Citadel's The True Oldies Channel
The True Oldies Channel
The True Oldies Channel is a syndicated radio programming stream begun in the spring of 2004, hosted by American radio personality Scott Shannon...
radio network.
Jess Jordan and Bob "Pappy" Tolbert were the mainstays of WTBF Radio during its first 30 years. Their voices were very familiar to listeners in Pike County, and both were extremely active in the Troy community.
Joe Gilchrist is the original engineer, and still owns the station, along with Asa Dudley and Jim Roling. Jim Roling worked there as a teenager in the 1950s and 1960s, left for South Carolina, then returned in 1980 and bought out one of the original owners. Jim hosted "The Morning Show" since returning in 1980 until semi-retirement in 2007, and is a well-known icon in Pike County.
WTBF-FM (94.7 FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
) is a 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...
broadcasting a mixed Talk/Personality and Adult Standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
/Oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
music format. Licensed to Troy, Alabama
Troy, Alabama
Troy is a city in Pike County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,003. Troy experienced a growth spurt of over 4,000+ people since 2000. The city is the county seat of Pike County....
, USA. The station is currently owned by Troy Broadcasting Corp. and features programming from Citadel Media (formerly ABC Radio Networks).
WTBF-FM currently simulcasts the AM station during some dayparts, and breaks away for Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
, Clark Howard
Clark Howard
Clark Howard , is a popular U.S. talk radio host of the nationally syndicated consumer advocate program The Clark Howard Show. The show covers consumer and financial news, with advice on how to spend less, save more and avoid rip-offs...
, Ken Hamblin
Ken Hamblin
Ken Loronzo Hamblin II , the self-titled Black Avenger, was host of the Ken Hamblin Show, which was syndicated nationally on Entertainment Radio Networks....
and sports talk shows weekdays, and for sports and syndicated nostalgia shows on weekends. The station also airs music from Citadel's The True Oldies Channel
The True Oldies Channel
The True Oldies Channel is a syndicated radio programming stream begun in the spring of 2004, hosted by American radio personality Scott Shannon...
radio network.
Jess Jordan and Bob "Pappy" Tolbert were the mainstays of WTBF Radio during its first 30 years. Their voices were very familiar to listeners in Pike County, and both were extremely active in the Troy community.
Joe Gilchrist is the original engineer, and still owns the station, along with Asa Dudley and Jim Roling. Jim Roling worked there as a teenager in the 1950s and 1960s, left for South Carolina, then returned in 1980 and bought out one of the original owners. Jim hosted "The Morning Show" since returning in 1980 until semi-retirement in 2007, and is a well-known icon in Pike County.
WTBF-FM (94.7 FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
) is a 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...
broadcasting a mixed Talk/Personality and Adult Standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
/Oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
music format. Licensed to Troy, Alabama
Troy, Alabama
Troy is a city in Pike County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,003. Troy experienced a growth spurt of over 4,000+ people since 2000. The city is the county seat of Pike County....
, USA. The station is currently owned by Troy Broadcasting Corp. and features programming from Citadel Media (formerly ABC Radio Networks).
WTBF-FM currently simulcasts the AM station during some dayparts, and breaks away for Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
, Clark Howard
Clark Howard
Clark Howard , is a popular U.S. talk radio host of the nationally syndicated consumer advocate program The Clark Howard Show. The show covers consumer and financial news, with advice on how to spend less, save more and avoid rip-offs...
, Ken Hamblin
Ken Hamblin
Ken Loronzo Hamblin II , the self-titled Black Avenger, was host of the Ken Hamblin Show, which was syndicated nationally on Entertainment Radio Networks....
and sports talk shows weekdays, and for sports and syndicated nostalgia shows on weekends. The station also airs music from Citadel's The True Oldies Channel
The True Oldies Channel
The True Oldies Channel is a syndicated radio programming stream begun in the spring of 2004, hosted by American radio personality Scott Shannon...
radio network.
Jess Jordan and Bob "Pappy" Tolbert were the mainstays of WTBF Radio during its first 30 years. Their voices were very familiar to listeners in Pike County, and both were extremely active in the Troy community.
Joe Gilchrist is the original engineer, and still owns the station, along with Asa Dudley and Jim Roling. Jim Roling worked there as a teenager in the 1950s and 1960s, left for South Carolina, then returned in 1980 and bought out one of the original owners. Jim hosted "The Morning Show" since returning in 1980 until semi-retirement in 2007, and is a well-known icon in Pike County.
WTBF-FM (94.7 FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
) is a 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...
broadcasting a mixed Talk/Personality and Adult Standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
/Oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
music format. Licensed to Troy, Alabama
Troy, Alabama
Troy is a city in Pike County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,003. Troy experienced a growth spurt of over 4,000+ people since 2000. The city is the county seat of Pike County....
, USA. The station is currently owned by Troy Broadcasting Corp. and features programming from Citadel Media (formerly ABC Radio Networks).
WTBF-FM currently simulcasts the AM station during some dayparts, and breaks away for Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
, Clark Howard
Clark Howard
Clark Howard , is a popular U.S. talk radio host of the nationally syndicated consumer advocate program The Clark Howard Show. The show covers consumer and financial news, with advice on how to spend less, save more and avoid rip-offs...
, Ken Hamblin
Ken Hamblin
Ken Loronzo Hamblin II , the self-titled Black Avenger, was host of the Ken Hamblin Show, which was syndicated nationally on Entertainment Radio Networks....
and sports talk shows weekdays, and for sports and syndicated nostalgia shows on weekends. The station also airs music from Citadel's The True Oldies Channel
The True Oldies Channel
The True Oldies Channel is a syndicated radio programming stream begun in the spring of 2004, hosted by American radio personality Scott Shannon...
radio network.
Jess Jordan and Bob "Pappy" Tolbert were the mainstays of WTBF Radio during its first 30 years. Their voices were very familiar to listeners in Pike County, and both were extremely active in the Troy community.
Joe Gilchrist is the original engineer, and still owns the station, along with Asa Dudley and Jim Roling. Jim Roling worked there as a teenager in the 1950s and 1960s, left for South Carolina, then returned in 1980 and bought out one of the original owners. Jim hosted "The Morning Show" since returning in 1980 until semi-retirement in 2007, and is a well-known icon in Pike County.
WTBF-FM (94.7 FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
) is a 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...
broadcasting a mixed Talk/Personality and Adult Standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
/Oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
music format. Licensed to Troy, Alabama
Troy, Alabama
Troy is a city in Pike County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,003. Troy experienced a growth spurt of over 4,000+ people since 2000. The city is the county seat of Pike County....
, USA. The station is currently owned by Troy Broadcasting Corp. and features programming from Citadel Media (formerly ABC Radio Networks).
WTBF-FM currently simulcasts the AM station during some dayparts, and breaks away for Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
, Clark Howard
Clark Howard
Clark Howard , is a popular U.S. talk radio host of the nationally syndicated consumer advocate program The Clark Howard Show. The show covers consumer and financial news, with advice on how to spend less, save more and avoid rip-offs...
, Ken Hamblin
Ken Hamblin
Ken Loronzo Hamblin II , the self-titled Black Avenger, was host of the Ken Hamblin Show, which was syndicated nationally on Entertainment Radio Networks....
and sports talk shows weekdays, and for sports and syndicated nostalgia shows on weekends. The station also airs music from Citadel's The True Oldies Channel
The True Oldies Channel
The True Oldies Channel is a syndicated radio programming stream begun in the spring of 2004, hosted by American radio personality Scott Shannon...
radio network.
Jess Jordan and Bob "Pappy" Tolbert were the mainstays of WTBF Radio during its first 30 years. Their voices were very familiar to listeners in Pike County, and both were extremely active in the Troy community.
Joe Gilchrist is the original engineer, and still owns the station, along with Asa Dudley and Jim Roling. Jim Roling worked there as a teenager in the 1950s and 1960s, left for South Carolina, then returned in 1980 and bought out one of the original owners. Jim hosted "The Morning Show" since returning in 1980 until semi-retirement in 2007, and is a well-known icon in Pike County.
"Doc" Kirby (so nicknamed for his trumpet playing abilities) has been the Program Director since 1974, with one break from 1985-86 when he was a band director at a local school and was replaced by then Morning Show co-host, Joey Meredith. Since 1986, Doc has developed a weekly program called "On The Bookshelf," which is syndicated on the Alabama Radio Network. Doc also became a Methodist minister.
Other long-term employees include Ralph Black, who worked there from the late 1970s until the mid-1980s, when he started the Troy State Sports Network. He was the voice heard on every Troy broadcast game. Ralph was bought out by the college in 2002, and replaced by Barry McKnight, who hosts a sports call-in show on WMSP in Montgomery. Ralph came back to WTBF in 2002, and in 2007 became the host of "The Morning Show".
Many WTBF staffers have gone on to greener pastures—Tonya Terry (WSFA-TV), Michael Buchanan (the Auburn Network), Chris Ingram (Washington, DC radio), Russell Wells (program director at WSVH in Savannah, GA), and so on.
Other popular programs include "Crosby's Country Classics," which was hosted by local personality Ray Crosby from 1998-2006. Ray returned in 2008. In late 2007, Joey Meredith returned to the airwaves on WTBF helming the popular Sunday morning gospel music request show, Gospel Favorites. Allen Stevens helps Joey with the abundance of phone calls on Sunday mornings on the Gospel show.
The engineer is Wade Giddens, who spends three days a week at WTBF and four days a week at WAAO in Andalusia. Joe Gilchrist retired after 59 years on the job, but still owns the station.
WTBF was located on the Troy University campus by the lagoon, from 1947-1997. This original site was torn down in February, 2008.
On June 18, 1997, Joe Gilchrist flipped the switch at the transmitter site. Larry Wells was operating with one CD player at what staffers called "Skylab", the old studios, and Jim Roling and Doc Kirby were waiting at the brand new studios at 67 West Court Square. At 3:00 p.m., Larry faded the music, Joe flipped the switch, and Jim and Doc signed on from the new location.
WTBF Today
AM 970 maintains its initial approach—lots of community news and views, talk shows, MOR music, gospel music on weekends, and a training ground for college students who want to be disc jockeys. FM 94.7, licensed to Brundidge, airs about 8 hours per day of live local programming, but the rest is devoted solely to Citadel's "True Oldies".For a time, the oldies/standards format was provided by Citadel's "Timeless
Timeless (radio network)
Timeless was a 24-hour satellite music service of Citadel Media . It has distributed a mix of soft oldies and adult standards to radio stations around the USA...
" satellite network, but due to its demise in February 2010, it has switched over to its current affiliation.