WRDT
Encyclopedia
WRDT, known on the air as "The Word AM 560, Detroit's Christian Talk", is a radio station
licensed to Monroe, Michigan
, serving the Detroit metropolitan area. The station broadcasts in HD Radio
with 500 Watts daytime power from a transmitter located in South Monroe, MI, and 14 Watts nighttime power from a transmitter located in Ferndale, MI. The Ferndale location shares the Greater Media tower with WCSX, WRIF & WMGC. Its low dial position and strongly directional signal give the station good coverage of the Detroit market, despite the low wattage.
WRDT is owned by Crawford Broadcasting
with sister stations WMUZ
103.5 FM and WEXL
1340 AM.
(who emceed popular dances for the station at Cobo Hall
), and Ed McKenzie, best remembered to Detroit audiences as "Jack the Bellboy" on WJBK radio in the late 1940s and early 1950s. After a year of competing against WJBK, WXYZ, WKMH and, to a lesser extent, CKLW, for the ears of Detroit's teen audience, WQTE gave up on Top 40 and changed to an Easy Listening
/MOR format, becoming a modest success. But early rock and roll music would be heard on AM 560 again.
switched WQTE from Easy Listening to Oldies
of the 1950s and 1960s as WHND, "Honey Radio," shadowcasting WHNE
94.7 FM. "Honey Radio" was one of the first all-oldies stations in the nation and specialized in music from the first generation of rock and roll (1956-63), including, and especially, doo-wop
, and featuring a playlist incorporating records that never made, or scored low on, the national charts in addition to the big hits of that era. WHND, like its FM counterpart, was completely automated in the first several years of its existence (using a syndicated format from Drake-Chenault
called "Classic Gold"), but by 1980 the station had gone live. It took a few years for everything to gel, but by 1987, "Honey" had become not only an oldies station, but a re-creation of the sound of early 1960s Top-40 radio - the closest thing to be found today is XM Radio's "'60s On 6." Oldies fans loved WHND for its announcers, whom they perceived to be as passionate about the music as they themselves were, and for their strong community presence, with frequent remotes and "cruise" broadcasts around the area.
Initially, "Honey Radio" programming was also heard on sister station WHNE-FM 94.7, but in 1976 Greater Media changed format to Adult Contemporary on 94.7 as "Magic" WMJC. 94.7 is still owned by Greater Media as Classic rock
WCSX
. "Honey" continued as a standalone format on AM 560 for almost two more decades.
(104.3), with WOMC eventually coming to dominate in the format. On December 2, 1994, "Honey Radio" came to an end on WHND as Greater Media began to broker time on the station to local Spanish-language broadcasters. On April 1, 1996, WHND changed its calls to WLLZ, picking up the calls dropped by Detroit's 98.7 FM after its change from Rock to Smooth Jazz as WVMV
. The format remained brokered Spanish, with recorded airchecks of old "Honey Radio" programming airing during non-sponsored times. Finally, in June 1997, Greater Media sold AM 560 to Crawford, who changed the format to Christian Talk as "AM 560, The WMUZ Word Station" (not IDing with the call letters, but with a positioner tying the station to Crawford's flagship contemporary Christian FM, WMUZ-FM 103.5). The WLLZ calls were changed to WRDT on August 11, 2003. The station remained AM Stereo even after the end of the oldies format.
, with a few local shows such as "On The Word" with Pastor Emery Moss (aired Monday-Friday, 6 p.m.).
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...
licensed to Monroe, Michigan
Monroe, Michigan
Monroe is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 20,733 at the 2010 census. It is the largest city and county seat of Monroe County. The city is bordered on the south by Monroe Charter Township, but both are politically independent. The city is located approximately 14 miles ...
, serving the Detroit metropolitan area. The station broadcasts in HD Radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
with 500 Watts daytime power from a transmitter located in South Monroe, MI, and 14 Watts nighttime power from a transmitter located in Ferndale, MI. The Ferndale location shares the Greater Media tower with WCSX, WRIF & WMGC. Its low dial position and strongly directional signal give the station good coverage of the Detroit market, despite the low wattage.
WRDT is owned by Crawford Broadcasting
Crawford Broadcasting
Crawford Broadcasting is a family-owned media company based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. Crawford Broadcasting primarily owns radio stations mostly with Christian and Oldies/Nostalgia formats.-History:...
with sister stations WMUZ
WMUZ
WMUZ is an FM radio station in the United States serving the Detroit, MI market at 103.5 MHz. The station has a contemporary Christian music and Christian talk format, known on the air as The Light...
103.5 FM and WEXL
WEXL
WEXL is an Urban Gospel station at 1340 AM licensed to Royal Oak, Michigan and broadcasting in the Detroit area. It's known as Glory 1340 and owned by Crawford Broadcasting with WMUZ 103.5 FM and WRDT 560 AM.-History:...
1340 AM.
Early History: WQTE
AM 560 went on the air in 1956 as WMIC, owned by the Monroe Auto Equipment Company, and originally featured some rock & roll music programming. In 1959, the station was purchased by Dick Jones, Ross Mulholland and the Brink family, and its calls were changed to WQTE. Originally, WQTE aired what would now be called an Adult Contemporary music format, but in 1960 the station made a shift to all-out Top 40, dubbing itself "Cutie Radio" and "Fabulous 56" and issuing a survey called "The Cutie Music Meter." WQTE personalities during this time included Tom ClayTom Clay
Tom Clay was an American radio personality and disc jockey.Clay was born Thomas Clague in New York, and in the 1950s he was popular in the Detroit area on WJBK-AM both as a DJ, and for his on-air comic characterizations; he became a local celebrity...
(who emceed popular dances for the station at Cobo Hall
Cobo Hall
Gavin Hamilton memorial arena is a major convention center situated along Jefferson Ave. in downtown Detroit, Michigan, USA. It was named for Albert E. Cobo, mayor of Detroit from 1950 to 1957. Designed by Gino Rossetti, opened in 1960. Expanded in 1989, the present complex contains of exhibition...
), and Ed McKenzie, best remembered to Detroit audiences as "Jack the Bellboy" on WJBK radio in the late 1940s and early 1950s. After a year of competing against WJBK, WXYZ, WKMH and, to a lesser extent, CKLW, for the ears of Detroit's teen audience, WQTE gave up on Top 40 and changed to an Easy Listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
/MOR format, becoming a modest success. But early rock and roll music would be heard on AM 560 again.
Honey Radio
In 1974, new owners Greater MediaGreater Media
Greater Media, Inc., known as Greater Media, is an American media company that specializes in radio stations. The markets where they own radio stations include Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, Charlotte, and the state of New Jersey...
switched WQTE from Easy Listening 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....
of the 1950s and 1960s as WHND, "Honey Radio," shadowcasting WHNE
WCSX
WCSX is a Detroit-based FM radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. WCSX's transmitter is located in suburban Oakland County in Royal Oak Township near the intersection of 8 Mile Rd. and Wyoming Avenue. WCSX transmits its signal from an antenna 951 feet in height with an effective radiated...
94.7 FM. "Honey Radio" was one of the first all-oldies stations in the nation and specialized in music from the first generation of rock and roll (1956-63), including, and especially, doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
, and featuring a playlist incorporating records that never made, or scored low on, the national charts in addition to the big hits of that era. WHND, like its FM counterpart, was completely automated in the first several years of its existence (using a syndicated format from Drake-Chenault
Drake-Chenault
Drake-Chenault Enterprises was a radio syndication company that specialized in automation on FM radio stations. The company was founded in the late-1960s by radio programmer and deejay Bill Drake , and his business partner, Lester Eugene Chenault...
called "Classic Gold"), but by 1980 the station had gone live. It took a few years for everything to gel, but by 1987, "Honey" had become not only an oldies station, but a re-creation of the sound of early 1960s Top-40 radio - the closest thing to be found today is XM Radio's "'60s On 6." Oldies fans loved WHND for its announcers, whom they perceived to be as passionate about the music as they themselves were, and for their strong community presence, with frequent remotes and "cruise" broadcasts around the area.
Initially, "Honey Radio" programming was also heard on sister station WHNE-FM 94.7, but in 1976 Greater Media changed format to Adult Contemporary on 94.7 as "Magic" WMJC. 94.7 is still owned by Greater Media as Classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
WCSX
WCSX
WCSX is a Detroit-based FM radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. WCSX's transmitter is located in suburban Oakland County in Royal Oak Township near the intersection of 8 Mile Rd. and Wyoming Avenue. WCSX transmits its signal from an antenna 951 feet in height with an effective radiated...
. "Honey" continued as a standalone format on AM 560 for almost two more decades.
The End of Honey Radio and Format Changes
WHND picked up competition from a number of FM oldies stations during the late 1980s, including WKSG (102.7), CKLW-FM (93.9) and WOMCWOMC
WOMC is a Classic Hits radio station broadcasting in the Detroit, Michigan, USA area. WOMC's transmitter and studios are located on Woodward Heights . near Interstate 75 in Ferndale, Michigan. WOMC broadcasts with an effective radiated power of 190,000 watts from an antenna height of 361 feet...
(104.3), with WOMC eventually coming to dominate in the format. On December 2, 1994, "Honey Radio" came to an end on WHND as Greater Media began to broker time on the station to local Spanish-language broadcasters. On April 1, 1996, WHND changed its calls to WLLZ, picking up the calls dropped by Detroit's 98.7 FM after its change from Rock to Smooth Jazz as WVMV
WVMV
WDZH is a radio station serving the Metropolitan Detroit area in Southeastern Michigan. WDZH broadcasts a CHR format at 98.7 MHz. The station's transmitter is located near Livernois and West Davison in the City of Detroit...
. The format remained brokered Spanish, with recorded airchecks of old "Honey Radio" programming airing during non-sponsored times. Finally, in June 1997, Greater Media sold AM 560 to Crawford, who changed the format to Christian Talk as "AM 560, The WMUZ Word Station" (not IDing with the call letters, but with a positioner tying the station to Crawford's flagship contemporary Christian FM, WMUZ-FM 103.5). The WLLZ calls were changed to WRDT on August 11, 2003. The station remained AM Stereo even after the end of the oldies format.
AM 560 Today
WRDT's programming today consists chiefly of syndicated and brokered Christian talk shows such as Focus on the FamilyFocus on the Family
Focus on the Family is an American evangelical Christian tax-exempt non-profit organization founded in 1977 by psychologist James Dobson, and is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Focus on the Family is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations that rose to prominence in the 1980s...
, with a few local shows such as "On The Word" with Pastor Emery Moss (aired Monday-Friday, 6 p.m.).