WDAO
Encyclopedia
WDAO "The Real Rhythm Of The City" is a daytime-only commercial AM radio station in Dayton, Ohio
operating on the frequency of 1210 kHz with a power of 1,000 watts. Its studios are currently located on West Third Street with transmitter located in South Dayton.
The WDAO calls came as a result of all stations East of the Mississippi which begins with "W", the "DA" is for Dayton and the "O" is for Ohio.
"Mix 107.7") Not only was it the first R&B-formatted station in the Miami Valley, it was also the first FM station of its kind in America and was the sister to AM daytimer WAVI owned and operated by H.K. "Bud" Crowl its founder (dba:WAVI Broadcasting Corp.) when its original studios were located adjacent to Interstate 75 at 1400 Cincinnati Street. Billed as "the soul of Dayton" it broadcast the hits of the Memphis and Motown soul era of the 1960s and into the Philadelphia disco sound of the 70s. Like its Top 40 AM competitor WING
, it also had a stable of on-air personalities including "Big Ray" Meaders, Bill "Biggie B.C." Carr, "Shotgun" Pleasant, Long John Silver, Lankford "The Man" Stevens, Mack J. Pettigrew, Jim Johnson, Turk Logan, Michael Ecton and the late Rick Smith (later of WHIO-TV
). WING
alumnus Gene "By Golly" Barry also worked at WDAO as program director in the late 1970s in addition to hosting a weekend oldies program on WAVI in the early 1980s. WDAO-FM was the most popular of Crowl's stations,the other being "people power" WAVI-AM with a talk format sometimes mixed with adult standards and a simulcast of WDAO-FM's Sunday evening jazz program. Sunday morning Gospel was hosted by Stanley Henry of Springfield and Sunday evening had a program called "Backpage", hosted by Raymond Graham and RoNita Hawes.
"Mix 107.7.") where both remain to this day. WDAO's morning soul gospel DJ and WDAO's top salesperson, Jim Johnson became station manager of WDAO while Alan Gray became General Manager for both stations. Johnson eventually purchased WDAO-AM from Stoner when they were no longer interested in the station. Stoner merged with Jacor
in the 1990s and later with Clear Channel Communications
in 1998.
In 1955,Crowl purchased the former WWSO (then licensed to and located in Springfield) after it went off the air a year earlier and successfully moved its city of license and entire operation to Dayton and given the WAVI calls that same year. (WAVI was short for "Aviation" to become synonymous with Dayton being known as the "Birthplace of Aviation" and that of Wilbur and Orville Wright.) The move to Dayton was practically coincidental with the move of AM daytimer WJEL from Dayton to Springfield where it became known as WBLY from 1954 to 2002. That station is now known as WULM
. WAVI aired mostly adult standards in the 1950s and 60s before switching to the talk format in the early 1970s. Bob Kweisell, Mike Scinto, A.J. Austin, Brad Clay, and the late Bernie "B.W." Wulkotte (a Dayton Daily News
columnist) were some of WAVI's talkmasters and personalities. For a time, the legendary Gene "By Golly" Barry made WAVI his weekend home, spinning his brand of old 45 RPM Rock & Roll wax.
and FM
, WZLR
FM and WHKO
FM are now based in Atlanta.
WDAO-AM continues its commitment to the Dayton African-American community by airing classic soul, jazz, blues, gospel, news and the local community talk show "Expressions" with Michael Ecton.
According to a Dayton Daily news story dated March 4, 2009,former WAVI alumnus Mike Scinto, host of "Expressions II" was relieved of his duties as host of the conservative talk program on March 2, 2009. Since that time WDAO has been airing a mix of contemporary soul,gospel and blues in the afternoon and early evening hours. Pam Byrd hots "Blues at Sunrise" on Saturday mornings from 6:15 to 11:00 a.m.
WDAO is a daytime-only station and must sign off at local sunset to avoid interference with talk station WPHT
(formerly WCAU (AM)) in Philadelphia.
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
operating on the frequency of 1210 kHz with a power of 1,000 watts. Its studios are currently located on West Third Street with transmitter located in South Dayton.
The WDAO calls came as a result of all stations East of the Mississippi which begins with "W", the "DA" is for Dayton and the "O" is for Ohio.
FM History
WDAO started in the fall of 1964 at 107.7 mHz on FM (currently home to WMMXWMMX
WMMX is a radio station broadcasting a Hot Adult Contemporary format. Licensed to Dayton, Ohio, USA, it serves the Dayton area. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications as Citicasters Licenses, L.P.-History:...
"Mix 107.7") Not only was it the first R&B-formatted station in the Miami Valley, it was also the first FM station of its kind in America and was the sister to AM daytimer WAVI owned and operated by H.K. "Bud" Crowl its founder (dba:WAVI Broadcasting Corp.) when its original studios were located adjacent to Interstate 75 at 1400 Cincinnati Street. Billed as "the soul of Dayton" it broadcast the hits of the Memphis and Motown soul era of the 1960s and into the Philadelphia disco sound of the 70s. Like its Top 40 AM competitor WING
WING
WING "ESPN 1410" is a commercial AM radio station in Dayton, Ohio operating with 5,000 watts at 1410 kHz with studios, offices and transmitter located on David Road in Kettering. It is the first full-time commercial radio station in Dayton...
, it also had a stable of on-air personalities including "Big Ray" Meaders, Bill "Biggie B.C." Carr, "Shotgun" Pleasant, Long John Silver, Lankford "The Man" Stevens, Mack J. Pettigrew, Jim Johnson, Turk Logan, Michael Ecton and the late Rick Smith (later of WHIO-TV
WHIO-TV
WHIO-TV, virtual channel 7, is the CBS-affiliated television station licensed to Dayton, Ohio, serving that state's Miami Valley area. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 41 from its transmitter on Germantown Street in western Dayton....
). WING
WING
WING "ESPN 1410" is a commercial AM radio station in Dayton, Ohio operating with 5,000 watts at 1410 kHz with studios, offices and transmitter located on David Road in Kettering. It is the first full-time commercial radio station in Dayton...
alumnus Gene "By Golly" Barry also worked at WDAO as program director in the late 1970s in addition to hosting a weekend oldies program on WAVI in the early 1980s. WDAO-FM was the most popular of Crowl's stations,the other being "people power" WAVI-AM with a talk format sometimes mixed with adult standards and a simulcast of WDAO-FM's Sunday evening jazz program. Sunday morning Gospel was hosted by Stanley Henry of Springfield and Sunday evening had a program called "Backpage", hosted by Raymond Graham and RoNita Hawes.
AM History
Bud Crowl sold both WDAO-FM and WAVI-AM to Stoner Broadcasting shortly before his death in 1985. Stoner chose to move WDAO to the former WAVI AM frequency and rebranding the FM as adult contemporary WWSN "Star 107.7" (now Clear Channel-owned WMMXWMMX
WMMX is a radio station broadcasting a Hot Adult Contemporary format. Licensed to Dayton, Ohio, USA, it serves the Dayton area. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications as Citicasters Licenses, L.P.-History:...
"Mix 107.7.") where both remain to this day. WDAO's morning soul gospel DJ and WDAO's top salesperson, Jim Johnson became station manager of WDAO while Alan Gray became General Manager for both stations. Johnson eventually purchased WDAO-AM from Stoner when they were no longer interested in the station. Stoner merged with Jacor
Jacor
Jacor Communications was a media corporation which owned a large number of radio stations in the United States. Inside the radio industry, Jacor was seen as one of the most competitive broadcast companies in history. Jacor's re-image in 1996 created the slogan "The Noise You Can't Ignore".Jacor was...
in the 1990s and later with 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...
in 1998.
In 1955,Crowl purchased the former WWSO (then licensed to and located in Springfield) after it went off the air a year earlier and successfully moved its city of license and entire operation to Dayton and given the WAVI calls that same year. (WAVI was short for "Aviation" to become synonymous with Dayton being known as the "Birthplace of Aviation" and that of Wilbur and Orville Wright.) The move to Dayton was practically coincidental with the move of AM daytimer WJEL from Dayton to Springfield where it became known as WBLY from 1954 to 2002. That station is now known as WULM
WULM-AM
WULM "Radio Maria" 1600-AM is an American non-commercial AM radio station licensed in Springfield, Ohio serving the Springfield and Dayton area with Catholic insprational programming . It operates at 1600 kHz with a power output of 1,000 watts daytime and with a reduced power of 34 watts...
. WAVI aired mostly adult standards in the 1950s and 60s before switching to the talk format in the early 1970s. Bob Kweisell, Mike Scinto, A.J. Austin, Brad Clay, and the late Bernie "B.W." Wulkotte (a Dayton Daily News
Dayton Daily News
The Dayton Daily News is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio. It is owned by Cox Enterprises. In the 2010 Associated Press Society of Ohio newspaper competition that takes place every year, DaytonDailyNews.com was named "the best large-newspaper web site in Ohio".-History:On August 15,...
columnist) were some of WAVI's talkmasters and personalities. For a time, the legendary Gene "By Golly" Barry made WAVI his weekend home, spinning his brand of old 45 RPM Rock & Roll wax.
WDAO Today
WDAO today has not only earned the distinction of being the first minority-owned commercial radio station in Dayton, it is also one of the last locally owned commercial stations in Dayton. Even the Cox-owned stationsWHIO (AM)WHIO (AM)
WHIO is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Dayton, Ohio, USA, the station serves the Cincinnati and Dayton area...
and FM
WHIO-FM
WHIO-FM is a news/talk radio station licensed to serve the community of Pleasant Hill, Ohio.Until October 30, 2006, WHIO-FM was known as WDPT "95.7 The Point." The station now simulcasts the programming of News/Talk 1290 WHIO in Dayton...
, WZLR
WZLR
WZLR known as "The New 95.3 The Eagle" is a radio station broadcasting a 80's Hits format. Licensed to Xenia, Ohio, USA, it serves the Dayton area. According to the FCC's website, the station has transmitted at 6,000 watts since 1998. The studio and offices are located at 1611 South Main Street...
FM and WHKO
WHKO
WHKO is a country music radio station licensed to Dayton, Ohio. The station is owned by Cox Radio, Inc. With its 50,000 watt signal, WHKO is one of the strongest FM stations in the Southwestern Ohio area, and frequently makes mention of this during on-air promos...
FM are now based in Atlanta.
WDAO-AM continues its commitment to the Dayton African-American community by airing classic soul, jazz, blues, gospel, news and the local community talk show "Expressions" with Michael Ecton.
According to a Dayton Daily news story dated March 4, 2009,former WAVI alumnus Mike Scinto, host of "Expressions II" was relieved of his duties as host of the conservative talk program on March 2, 2009. Since that time WDAO has been airing a mix of contemporary soul,gospel and blues in the afternoon and early evening hours. Pam Byrd hots "Blues at Sunrise" on Saturday mornings from 6:15 to 11:00 a.m.
WDAO is a daytime-only station and must sign off at local sunset to avoid interference with talk station WPHT
WPHT
WPHT is a CBS Radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, broadcasting on 1210 kHz. A 50,000-watt clear-channel station, it broadcasts in an omnidirectional pattern that allows it to cover most of the eastern half of North America at night. It uses the nickname "Talk Radio 1210 WPHT." The...
(formerly WCAU (AM)) in Philadelphia.