WWWS
Encyclopedia
WWWS is a radio station
broadcasting a Rhythmic Oldies
format. Licensed to Buffalo, New York
, USA, the station serves the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area. The station is currently owned by Entercom and features programing from ABC Radio.
, Danny Neaverth
and Casey Kasem
. During its tenure the radio frequency has featured numerous callsigns (most notably WYSL, which was the station's calls through the mid-1980s) and disparate formats, ranging from Beautiful Music
to Top 40 to heavy metal
, to its present format of "Solid Gold Soul".
In the 1960s and early 1970s the station was owned by top 40 format innovator Gordon McLendon, whose ownership caused many of its personalities to use the station as a springboard to national or international prominence. In a particularly singular example of the station's wide impact, in 1962 dj Ron Baxley after recommendations from WYSL's then-owner, Gordon McLendon
, became programme manager for the offshore pirate radio
station Radio Nord, beaming broadcasts to Stockholm, Sweden. Radio Nord
was financed by McLendon (well known for helming legendary Top 40 stations in the continental U.S. such as KLIF
in Dallas, Texas
and WAKY
in Louisville, Kentucky
) and Clint Murchison of Dallas, Texas
. Meanwhile back in Buffalo, young personalities who would later become prominent on radio and television in the upstate New York region, including Kevin O'Connell, George Hamberger and Jim McLaughlin, got their first foothold in Buffalo (then a top-20 radio market) at WYSL. The station's ability to develop emerging talent made it competitive in the immediate Buffalo city and inner-ring suburban area despite a weak signal, especially when compared with 50,000 watt format rival WKBW
, which could blanket upstate New York by day and the eastern seaboard of North America by night.
(The WYSL calls would end up on a news-talk station in rural Livingston County
, serving the nearby Rochester
metro area, in 1987, not long after the Buffalo station dropped the call sign.)
(103.3 The Edge) as part of the popular "Shredd and Ragan
" show. In 1991 the station began simulcasting sister station WUFX (which would become WEDG), and in 1993 the call letters changed to WWWS.
format. It has a local jock, "The Doctor" James Cornelius, in the afternoons, and features Walt Love
's syndicated programs on weekends.
, now WTLZ
. The station aired a similar format to the current WWWS.
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 Rhythmic Oldies
Rhythmic oldies
Rhythmic Oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, disco or dance genres of music. Playlists may span from the 1970s through the early 1990s...
format. Licensed to Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, USA, the station serves the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area. The station is currently owned by Entercom and features programing from ABC Radio.
History
WWWS went on the air in 1934 as WBNY, and has featured an assortment of famous radio personalities including John OttoJohn Otto (radio personality)
John Otto was a radio talk show host in Buffalo, New York. He began his broadcasting career in the 1940s at the age of 19 at WBNY 1400 AM which has since changed its call sign. He spent most of his radio career doing an evening listener call in show branded Extension 55 at WGR...
, Danny Neaverth
Danny Neaverth
Dan "Danny" Neaverth is an American disc jockey and television personality from Buffalo, New York. He is best known for a run of over 25 years as the morning disc jockey at heritage top-40 and oldies station WKBW-AM/WWKB in Buffalo....
and Casey Kasem
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
. During its tenure the radio frequency has featured numerous callsigns (most notably WYSL, which was the station's calls through the mid-1980s) and disparate formats, ranging from Beautiful Music
Beautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
to Top 40 to heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, to its present format of "Solid Gold Soul".
In the 1960s and early 1970s the station was owned by top 40 format innovator Gordon McLendon, whose ownership caused many of its personalities to use the station as a springboard to national or international prominence. In a particularly singular example of the station's wide impact, in 1962 dj Ron Baxley after recommendations from WYSL's then-owner, Gordon McLendon
Gordon McLendon
Gordon Barton McLendon was a radio pioneer and pirate radio broadcaster. He has been coined the Maverick of Radio. McLendon is widely credited for perfecting, with great commercial success, the Top 40 radio format during the 1950s and 1960s which was first invented by Todd Storz and for developing...
, became programme manager for the offshore pirate radio
Pirate radio
Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
station Radio Nord, beaming broadcasts to Stockholm, Sweden. Radio Nord
Radio Nord
Radio Nord was a Swedish offshore commercial station that operated briefly from 8 March 1961 to 30 June 1962 from a ship anchored in international waters of the Baltic Sea off Stockholm, Sweden. While the station was dubbed as a pirate radio station, its actual operation took place within the laws...
was financed by McLendon (well known for helming legendary Top 40 stations in the continental U.S. such as KLIF
KLIF
KLIF is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Dallas, Texas, USA. The station is owned by Cumulus Media. KLIF broadcasts a conservative-leaning news/talk radio format to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.-Call sign history:...
in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
and WAKY
WKRD (AM)
WKRD is a sports talk formatted radio station in the Louisville, Kentucky metropolitan area. It is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications, and is known as My Sports 790...
in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
) and Clint Murchison of Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. Meanwhile back in Buffalo, young personalities who would later become prominent on radio and television in the upstate New York region, including Kevin O'Connell, George Hamberger and Jim McLaughlin, got their first foothold in Buffalo (then a top-20 radio market) at WYSL. The station's ability to develop emerging talent made it competitive in the immediate Buffalo city and inner-ring suburban area despite a weak signal, especially when compared with 50,000 watt format rival WKBW
WKBW
WKBW is a set of call sign which has been used on two broadcast stations in Buffalo, New York:*WKBW-TV, Channel 7*WKBW Radio AM 1520, Now WWKB...
, which could blanket upstate New York by day and the eastern seaboard of North America by night.
(The WYSL calls would end up on a news-talk station in rural Livingston County
Avon (town), New York
Avon is a town in Livingston County, New York, United States. The town is bordered on the north by the town of Rush, New York in Monroe County. Avon is south of Rochester. The population was 6,443 at the 2000 census. The town is named after the river Avon...
, serving the nearby Rochester
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
metro area, in 1987, not long after the Buffalo station dropped the call sign.)
Rebel Radio
The frequency is perhaps most infamously known for a one-year period (from Sept. '90 to Sept. '91) when it operated as 14X Rebel Radio. Under the call letters WXBX, the station broadcast a mix of hard rock and heavy metal just before Grunge music began to dominate the airwaves. Ted Shredd, the afternoon drive DJ on 14X, would go on to work at WEDGWEDG
WEDG is a radio station in Buffalo, New York, USA. The station's on air branding is "103.3 The Edge" and broadcasts on 103.3 MHz FM. WEDG has an active rock format and is best known for its afternoon-drive hosts, "Shredd and Ragan," and being the co-flagship of the Buffalo Bills Radio Network...
(103.3 The Edge) as part of the popular "Shredd and Ragan
Shredd and Ragan
Ted Shredd and Tom Ragan are hosts of The Shredd and Ragan Show a talk radio show on WEDG. The show also features James, Josh Potter, and producer Jim Jacka...
" show. In 1991 the station began simulcasting sister station WUFX (which would become WEDG), and in 1993 the call letters changed to WWWS.
Programs
WWWS runs a Urban oldies/soul musicSoul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
format. It has a local jock, "The Doctor" James Cornelius, in the afternoons, and features Walt Love
Walt Love
Rev. Walter Shaw, who goes by the on-air nickname Walt "Baby" Love, is a radio host in the United States. Having been in the business for over 35 years, Walt ‘Baby’ Love hosts three syndicated radio programs, Gospel Traxx, The Countdown and The Urban AC Countdown. All three feature, at Love's...
's syndicated programs on weekends.
Other uses
The WWWS call letters, which stand for "W-3 Soul", were once used by a station in Saginaw, MichiganSaginaw, Michigan
Saginaw is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw was once a thriving lumber town and manufacturing center. Saginaw and Saginaw County lie in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of Michigan...
, now WTLZ
WTLZ
WTLZ is a radio station licensed to Saginaw, Michigan broadcasting an urban adult contemporary format.WTLZ retains a strong signal south of Saginaw toward Flint, but moving eastward toward the Lapeer County area, WSAQ 107.1 "Q Country" signal tends to overpower WTLZ as they are both on the same...
. The station aired a similar format to the current WWWS.