WCFO
Encyclopedia
WCFO, known on air as "News/Talk 1160", is a news and talk radio
station, licensed to East Point, Georgia
, serving the Atlanta, Georgia
radio market. Programming on the station includes both nationally syndicated and locally produced news, information, and talk
programs. CBS Radio
News is carried at the top of most hours and radio personality Matthew Erich Muller, known on-air as "Mancow", weekday mornings. WCFO broadcasts with a power of 50,000 watt
s during the day with a directional antenna pattern using a four tower antenna array, and 160 watts of power at night using one antenna tower in an omni directional antenna pattern.
The sister station to WCFO is WMLB, owned by JW Broadcasting. Prior to becoming WCFO in June 2006, the 1160 kHz facility was the home of WMLB. WWAA was sold to the owner of WMLB, JW Broadcasting, in 2006. The owner, JW Broadcasting, decided to move the WMLB call signs and format from 1160 kHz to the 1690 kHz frequency in order to increase WMLB's coverage area. The facility at 1160 kHz frequency was assigned the WCFO call sign and adopted the business talk radio
format in June 2006. On April 1, 2008, WCFO switched to a news
/talk
format.
On April 6, 2009, it was announced that Don Imus
' syndicated radio program, Imus in the Morning
, will move from WYAY (owned by the show's syndicator, Citadel Broadcasting
) to WCFO, sometime in 2009; the actual date has yet to be announced.
On April 16, 2010 Georgia State athletics & Newstalk 1160 "The Talk of the Town" reached an agreement to serve as the official flagship radio station for Georgia State's inaugural football season. The station will also serve as the radio home for Panther and men's basketball.
when on July 4, 1995, new program director Mitch Faulkner started playing rap music at night and hired younger DJs.
In summer 1996, WERD ended its rhythm and blues format and joined the Prime Sports Network with a sports talk format. The station went off the air in 1997. Atlanta businessman Darrell Spann and Atlanta Area Broadcasting returned the station to the air in July 1998 as WKGE with a classic country
format.
On April 2, 2001, Billy Corey bought WMLB (1170 AM) in Cumming, Georgia
and changed its format, and that of WKGE, to oldies
--specifically oldies that had not been heard on other stations.
The change at WMLB did not make listeners happy. In 1995, WMLB changed from country music
to Americana
, and, although it did not reach all of Atlanta with its 5000-watt signal, it was the only station of its type in the area. The format included familiar names such as Willie Nelson
, Waylon Jennings
, Dolly Parton
, Johnny Cash
, Linda Ronstadt
, Mary Chapin Carpenter
, Bob Dylan
and Tom Petty
, as well as less mainstream artists such as John Prine
, Guy Clark
, Emmylou Harris
, Rodney Crowell
, Townes Van Zandt
, Jerry Jeff Walker
, Son Volt
, Wilco
, Steve Earle
, Jerry Garcia
, and the Atlanta band The Vidalias. WMLB program director Chris Marino won Americana program director of the year from The Gavin Report
in 1997.
WKGE and WMLB became "The Twins: Classic 1160 and Classic 1170." WKGE planned to increase its 10,000-watt signal to 50,000 watts. The playlist included "Palisades Park
" by Freddy Cannon
, "Galveston
" by Glen Campbell
, "Chantilly Lace
" by The Big Bopper
, "Hawaii Five-O
" by The Ventures
, "Suspicion" by Terry Stafford
, "Little GTO" by Ronny & the Daytonas
and "Yes I'm Ready" by Barbara Mason
. The music collection included 9000 songs, including some by The Tams
with their original lineup. General manager Ron McCarter, described as "a voracious record collector," said Americana was "not commercially viable" but also said it was "a great format." WMLB fans wished the pairing of the two stations had resulted in Americana covering the entire area.
The power boost by 1160 AM (not including the limited nighttime signal), which became WMLB, involved moving the tower from East Point
to Austell
. By 2003, when the change took effect, the stations' format was adult standards
from local DJs in the morning and afternoon and the Music of Your Life
network at other times, with such artists as Frank Sinatra
, Nat King Cole
, Tony Bennett
, Ella Fitzgerald
, Norah Jones
and Diana Krall
. The 1170 frequency left the air in 2003.
By 2005, WMLB had what was described as an "eclectic" format.
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
station, licensed to East Point, Georgia
East Point, Georgia
The city of East Point is southwest of the neighborhoods of Atlanta in Fulton County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 33,712...
, serving the Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
radio market. Programming on the station includes both nationally syndicated and locally produced news, information, and talk
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
programs. CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
News is carried at the top of most hours and radio personality Matthew Erich Muller, known on-air as "Mancow", weekday mornings. WCFO broadcasts with a power of 50,000 watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s during the day with a directional antenna pattern using a four tower antenna array, and 160 watts of power at night using one antenna tower in an omni directional antenna pattern.
The sister station to WCFO is WMLB, owned by JW Broadcasting. Prior to becoming WCFO in June 2006, the 1160 kHz facility was the home of WMLB. WWAA was sold to the owner of WMLB, JW Broadcasting, in 2006. The owner, JW Broadcasting, decided to move the WMLB call signs and format from 1160 kHz to the 1690 kHz frequency in order to increase WMLB's coverage area. The facility at 1160 kHz frequency was assigned the WCFO call sign and adopted the business talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
format in June 2006. On April 1, 2008, WCFO switched to a news
News Radio
News Radio can refer to:* NewsRadio, the NBC sitcom which aired from 1995–1999.* News radio, the all-news or news/talk radio format....
/talk
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
format.
On April 6, 2009, it was announced that Don Imus
Don Imus
John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. is an American radio host, humorist, philanthropist and writer. His nationally-syndicated talk show, Imus in the Morning, is broadcast throughout the United States by Citadel Media and relayed on television by the Fox Business Network.-Personal life:Imus was born in...
' syndicated radio program, Imus in the Morning
Imus in the Morning
Imus in the Morning is an American radio show hosted by Don Imus on Cumulus Media Networks , and simulcast for television on Fox Business Network....
, will move from WYAY (owned by the show's syndicator, Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country...
) to WCFO, sometime in 2009; the actual date has yet to be announced.
On April 16, 2010 Georgia State athletics & Newstalk 1160 "The Talk of the Town" reached an agreement to serve as the official flagship radio station for Georgia State's inaugural football season. The station will also serve as the radio home for Panther and men's basketball.
History of the 1160 frequency
WERD was playing classic R&BRhythm 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...
when on July 4, 1995, new program director Mitch Faulkner started playing rap music at night and hired younger DJs.
In summer 1996, WERD ended its rhythm and blues format and joined the Prime Sports Network with a sports talk format. The station went off the air in 1997. Atlanta businessman Darrell Spann and Atlanta Area Broadcasting returned the station to the air in July 1998 as WKGE with a classic country
Classic country
Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country hits from past decades.This genre generally follows one of two formats: those specializing in hits from the 1920s through the early 1970s, and focus primarily on innovators and artists from country music's Golden...
format.
On April 2, 2001, Billy Corey bought WMLB (1170 AM) in Cumming, Georgia
Cumming, Georgia
Cumming is a city in Forsyth County, Georgia, United States. The population was 5,430 at the 2010 census. However, places with a Cumming mailing address have a population of around 100,000...
and changed its format, and that of WKGE, to 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....
--specifically oldies that had not been heard on other stations.
The change at WMLB did not make listeners happy. In 1995, WMLB changed from country music
Country 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...
to Americana
Americana (music)
Americana is an amalgam of roots musics formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and other external influential styles...
, and, although it did not reach all of Atlanta with its 5000-watt signal, it was the only station of its type in the area. The format included familiar names such as Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
, Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
, Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
, Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mary Chapin Carpenter is an American folk and country music artist. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C. clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records, who marketed her as a country singer...
, 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...
and Tom Petty
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
, as well as less mainstream artists such as John Prine
John Prine
John Prine is an American country/folk singer-songwriter. He has been active as a recording artist and live performer since the early 1970s.-Biography:...
, Guy Clark
Guy Clark
Guy Clark is an American Texas Country artist. In his career, he has released more than twenty albums, primarily on major labels. He has also written singles for other artists, including Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner and Rodney Crowell....
, Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
, Rodney Crowell
Rodney Crowell
Rodney Crowell is a Grammy Award-winning musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music....
, Townes Van Zandt
Townes Van Zandt
John Townes Van Zandt , best known as Townes Van Zandt, was an American Texas Country-folk music singer-songwriter, performer, and poet...
, Jerry Jeff Walker
Jerry Jeff Walker
Jerry Jeff Walker is an American country music singer and songwriter. He is probably most famous for writing the song "Mr. Bojangles.-Biography:...
, Son Volt
Son Volt
Son Volt is an alternative country group formed by Jay Farrar in 1994 after the breakup of the band Uncle Tupelo.-History:The group formed after Farrar met Jim and Dave Boquist during the final Uncle Tupelo tour. Together with former Uncle Tupelo drummer Mike Heidorn, the band rehearsed and...
, Wilco
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John...
, Steve Earle
Steve Earle
Stephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
, Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
, and the Atlanta band The Vidalias. WMLB program director Chris Marino won Americana program director of the year from The Gavin Report
Gavin Report
The Gavin Report was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs...
in 1997.
WKGE and WMLB became "The Twins: Classic 1160 and Classic 1170." WKGE planned to increase its 10,000-watt signal to 50,000 watts. The playlist included "Palisades Park
Palisades Park (song)
"Palisades Park" is a song written by Chuck Barris and recorded by Freddy Cannon. A tribute to New Jersey's Palisades Amusement Park, the song is an up-tempo tune led by a distinctive organ part. It also incorporates amusement park sound effects....
" by Freddy Cannon
Freddy Cannon
Frederick Anthony Picariello Jr. , known as Freddy Cannon, is an American rock and roll singer, whose biggest international hits included "Tallahassee Lassie", "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans", and "Palisades Park".-Biography:...
, "Galveston
Galveston (song)
"Galveston" is the title of a song written by Jimmy Webb and popularized by American country music singer Glen Campbell. In 2003, this song ranked #8 in CMT's 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music. Glen Campbell's version of the song also made #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the country music...
" by Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.During his 50 years in show...
, "Chantilly Lace
Chantilly Lace (song)
"Chantilly Lace" is the name of a rock and roll song, written and originally performed by The Big Bopper in 1958. The Co-writers of the song were Jerry Foster and Bill Rice...
" by The Big Bopper
The Big Bopper
Jiles Perry "J. P." Richardson, Jr. also commonly known as The Big Bopper, was an American disc jockey, singer, and songwriter whose big voice and exuberant personality made him an early rock and roll star...
, "Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
" by The Ventures
The Ventures
The Ventures is an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington. Founded by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, the group in its various incarnations has had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide. With over 100 million records sold, the group is the best-selling...
, "Suspicion" by Terry Stafford
Terry Stafford
Terry LaVerne Stafford was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his 1964 U.S. Top 10 hit, "Suspicion", and the 1973 country music hit, "Amarillo by Morning".-Biography:...
, "Little GTO" by Ronny & the Daytonas
Ronny & the Daytonas
Ronny & the Daytonas were an American surf rock group of the early 1960s, whose members included Paul Jensen , Thomas Ramey , Lynn Williams , Lee Kraft and John "Bucky" Wilkin , with contributions from many more such as Larry Butler Ronny Clark and Buzz Cason.-History:The group...
and "Yes I'm Ready" by Barbara Mason
Barbara Mason
Barbara Mason is an American R&B/soul singer best known for her 1965 hit song, "Yes, I'm Ready".-Career:A soul singer, Mason initially focused on songwriting when she entered the music industry in her teens...
. The music collection included 9000 songs, including some by The Tams
The Tams
The Tams, sometimes later billed as 'The Joe Pope Tams' are an American vocal group from Atlanta, Georgia, who enjoyed their greatest chart success in the 1960s, and the 1970s, and most improbably in the 1980s. Two separate versions of the group continue to perform and record. One version features...
with their original lineup. General manager Ron McCarter, described as "a voracious record collector," said Americana was "not commercially viable" but also said it was "a great format." WMLB fans wished the pairing of the two stations had resulted in Americana covering the entire area.
The power boost by 1160 AM (not including the limited nighttime signal), which became WMLB, involved moving the tower from East Point
East Point, Georgia
The city of East Point is southwest of the neighborhoods of Atlanta in Fulton County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 33,712...
to Austell
Austell, Georgia
Austell is a city in Cobb County in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 6,581.-History:Austell used to be known as Salt Springs, and was frequented by hunters who would trap and hunt game on their way to the salt licks. Some enterprising hunters claimed...
. By 2003, when the change took effect, the stations' format was 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...
from local DJs in the morning and afternoon and the Music of Your Life
Music of Your Life
Music of Your Life is a satellite-delivered radio network featuring the Adult Standards music format. Created by record executive and jingle writer Al Ham, and now under the direction of Marc Angell, Music of Your Life has more than 50 AM, FM and HD-2 radio station affiliates, and has been in...
network at other times, with such artists as Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
, Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
, Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
, Norah Jones
Norah Jones
Norah Jones is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress.In 2002, she launched her solo music career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album Come Away With Me, which was certified a diamond album in 2002, selling over 20 million copies...
and Diana Krall
Diana Krall
Diana Jean Krall, OC, OBC is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer, known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 6 million albums in the US and over 15 million worldwide; altogether, she has sold more albums than any other female jazz artist during the 1990s and 2000s...
. The 1170 frequency left the air in 2003.
By 2005, WMLB had what was described as an "eclectic" format.