WAAM

 

 

This article is about the AM radio station in Ann Arbor, Michigan. For the former WAAM-TV in Baltimore, see WJZ-TV

WAAM Talk 1600

City of license	Ann Arbor, Michigan
Broadcast area	[1] (Daytime) [2] (Nighttime)
Branding	WAAM Talk 1600
Slogan	"The More You Listen...The More You Know"
Frequency	1600 (kHz)
First air date	October 1948
Format	News-Talk
Power	5,000 watts
Class	B
Facility ID	72276
Transmitter coordinates	42°11′32″N 83°41′9″W
Callsign meaning	Ann Arbor Michigan
Former callsigns	WHRV (1948-1963)
Owner	Coolarity A2, LLC
Webcast	WAAM Webstream
Website	WAAM Online

WAAM is a radio station in Ann Arbor, Michigan that broadcasts on AM 1600. Known as "WAAM Talk 1600" (with the call letters pronounced like the word "wham"), WAAM broadcasts with 5,000 watts of power. The station is owned by Coolarity A2, LLC. Until recently, the station broadcast in AM Stereo.

History

WAAM Studios, Packard Rd.

Early History: WHRV

The station signed on as WHRV in October, 1948. WHRV was a typical full-service radio station of its day, with a wide variety of music ranging from pop vocals to rock and roll to Southern gospel, and a heavy commitment to local news and sports play-by-play. Ollie McLaughlin, a black DJ on WHRV, is credited for helping to discover early 1960s rocker and Michigan native Del Shannon, and, after he left the station in 1961, helped launch the careers of several other Michigan artists, including Barbara Lewis, The Capitols, and Deon Jackson.

WAAM in the 1960s

The station was sold in 1963 and changed its calls to WAAM. The station's DJs on occasion pronounced the call sign like the word "Wham," and WAAM was affectionately known as "Wham" to many in the Ann Arbor community for years afterward even after the station stopped using the "Wham" name on the air (the "Wham" pronunciation has recently been revived for the station's current talk format). Throughout the 1960s, WAAM featured chiefly MOR music during the day and played Top 40 hits at night. WAAM was also one of the first AM radio stations to feature progressive rock, with a Sunday-night show called "Strobe" and later "Spectrum." WAAM developed a reputation for spotting potential hits before CKLW and other Detroit-area competitors got a hold of them, including "Cherry, Cherry" by Neil Diamond and "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" by Bob Seger.

One WAAM Top 40 DJ during the late 1960s, Greg Siefker, later became the owner of country music radio station WMLM in St. Louis, Michigan.

The WAAM studios were almost completely destroyed by a fire in 1968, forcing the station to broadcast from a trailer in its parking lot for over a year. The station moved into new studios in 1969 and expanded its MOR format to full-time.

Top 40 Era (1972-76): The Super 16

Then, in 1972, the station was sold again, and WAAM transitioned to a full-time Top 40 hit music format, with a high-energy presentation and a continued news and sports play-by-play commitment as well as Casey Kasem's American Top 40 countdown show (added in 1975). Among WAAM's Top 40 jocks were some who went on to greater success in the Detroit market, including Jim Harper (WDRQ, WNIC, WMGC-FM; known on WAAM as "Tom Michaels"), Don Riley (WDRQ; known on WAAM as "Jerry Riley") Jim Michaels (WDRQ, WWKR, WNIC, WTWR, WABX, WJOI, WYST) and The Electrifyin' Mojo (WGPR, WJLB, WHYT, WMXD).

The '80s and '90s: More Changes

In 1976, WAAM was sold again and transitioned from Top 40 to a personality Adult Contemporary sound, eventually adding more call-in talk shows to its schedule. In 1982, the station affiliated with Satellite Music Network's (now ABC Radio) "Star Station" AC format.

Lloyd Johnson (d/b/a Whitehall Broadcasting) acquired the station in 1983 and switched the station to Adult Standards soon afterward. The format shift accompanied Ann Arbor radio legend's Ted Heusel moving to WAAM from 1050 WPAG-AM (which had switched from standards to country music). Over the years, WAAM was affiliated with both Satellite Music Network/ABC Radio's "Stardust" format and Westwood One's "AM Only" format. Eventually WAAM transitioned to airing chiefly news and talk programming during the week with music programming (including the Westwood One standards format and specialty shows such as "Broadway's Biggest Hits" and "The Sounds of Sinatra") available mostly on weekends.

Recent History

In August 2001, owner Whitehall Broadcasting, a subsidiary of a retirement community in Ann Arbor, announced that they would sell WAAM to Clear Channel Communications for $2 million. Over a year later, Whitehall and Clear Channel called off the deal after the FCC voiced concerns that the sale would give Clear Channel, who owned four other stations in the area, a monopoly on the Ann Arbor market. Whitehall did find a buyer for the station, Big D Broadcasting, in August 2003. In October of that year, WAAM sold from Whitehall to Big D for $1.5 million.

Current programming

WAAM's current schedule features nationally syndicated conservative talk show hosts Bill Bennett, Laura Ingraham, Glenn Beck and Michael Savage, as well as Coast-to-Coast AM overnights. In addition, the week day line up features local host Thayrone's "On the Edge with Thayrone" afternoon drive (4-6 p.m.), WAAM also carries Lou Dobbs and Dennis Miller weekday nights.

WAAM's weekend line up is as follows: Saturday mornings from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. it's the well known Appliance Doctor radio program with Joe Gagnon. Gagnon helps callers with major home appliance questions. From 4 - 6 p.m., Rev. Elder Levon Yuille hosts Joshua's Trail, followed by the Clarkcast with Matt Clark at 6 p.m.

The most enduring music show in the Ann Arbor area is featured on WAAM Sunday nights. Thayrone's nationally syndicated program The Bone Conduction Music Show, an Ann Arbor staple since 1984 on stations such as WEMU, WQKL, and now WAAM, airs from 7pm to 11pm.

Visit WAAM Talk 1600's website for all current programming information at: http://www.waamradio.com

See Also

• Media in Detroit

Sources

• Michiguide.com - WAAM History
• WAAM: 50 Golden Years, a documentary put together in 1997 to celebrate the station's 50th anniversary; narrated by Jim Heddle
• Gantert, Tom. "Lucy Ann Lance show off the air." The Ann Arbor News, 31 December 2007; retrieved 11 January 2008. Article

External links

• Query the FCC's AM station database for WAAM
• Radio-Locator Information on WAAM
• Query Arbitron's AM station database for WAAM