WABB-FM
Encyclopedia
WABB-FM is a radio station
broadcasting a Top 40 (CHR)
format serving the Mobile, Alabama
area, with coverage in the Pensacola, Florida
, area. It first began broadcasting in 1973. The station is currently owned by Dittman Broadcasting.
format
.
WABB had an FM simulcast
from the very beginning, starting with 107.9 MHz and later 102.1 MHz until it was discontinued in the 1950s.
Shortly after owner Bernie Dittman
moved to Mobile from his native Ohio
to join his father J.W. at the station, Top-40 music became the new format.
WABB 97.5 FM signed on for the first time on February 5, 1973 with the song Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
by Bob Dylan
. WABB-FM was originally a simulcast of its sister station before moving toward the format of album oriented rock.
Notable alumni of WABB include radio personality Scott Shannon
and Craig Andrews.
When WABB-FM made the move to its current contemporary hit radio
format in 1984, the AM station continued to play Top-40 music. Eventually, the economics of AM radio in the United States
meant a move away from music and the station adopted a talk radio format.
WABB's longtime owner, president, and general manager Bernie Dittman died on October 25, 2006 after suffering from a stroke the previous week. Dittman's daughter Betsey succeeded him after relocating to Mobile from Chicago, Illinois.
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 Top 40 (CHR)
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
format 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 coverage in the Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
, area. It first began broadcasting in 1973. The station is currently owned by Dittman Broadcasting.
History
WABB began broadcasting at 1480 kHz on June 19, 1948, when it was owned by the Mobile Register under call letters meaning "Alabama's Best Broadcasters" and had a country musicCountry music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
format
Radio format
A radio format or programming format not to be confused with broadcast programming describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve...
.
WABB had an FM simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
from the very beginning, starting with 107.9 MHz and later 102.1 MHz until it was discontinued in the 1950s.
Shortly after owner Bernie Dittman
Bernie Dittman
Bernard Sidney Dittman was the longtime owner, president, and general manager of radio stations WABB and WABB-FM in Mobile, Alabama...
moved to Mobile from his native Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
to join his father J.W. at the station, Top-40 music became the new format.
WABB 97.5 FM signed on for the first time on February 5, 1973 with the song Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
"Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" is a song written by Bob Dylan that appears on his 1966 album Blonde on Blonde. The album version also appears on 1971's Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II. A live version of this song appears on the 1976 album Hard Rain; and was also released as...
by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
. WABB-FM was originally a simulcast of its sister station before moving toward the format of album oriented rock.
Notable alumni of WABB include radio personality Scott Shannon
Scott Shannon
Michael Scott Shannon is a radio disc jockey, current co-host of the "Scott and Todd in the Morning" show on WPLJ, host of The True Oldies Channel, and the official voice of The Sean Hannity Show.-Early Radio Career:...
and Craig Andrews.
When WABB-FM made the move to its current contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
format in 1984, the AM station continued to play Top-40 music. Eventually, the economics of AM radio in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
meant a move away from music and the station adopted a talk radio format.
WABB's longtime owner, president, and general manager Bernie Dittman died on October 25, 2006 after suffering from a stroke the previous week. Dittman's daughter Betsey succeeded him after relocating to Mobile from Chicago, Illinois.