WBAM-FM/98.9 ("Bama Country 98.9") is a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

formatted

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

that serves the Montgomery Metropolitan Area, broadcasting on the FM band at a

frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...

of 98.9

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

and licensed to

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

. The station is locally owned and operated by Bluewater Broadcasting Company, LLC. The station's

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...

is located in the town of

Grady, Alabama Grady is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Alabama, United States. Grady is located about south of Montgomery. It is at the intersection of Montgomery County Road 28 (Meriwether Trail) and Montgomery County Road 1 (Ramer-Grady Ro ...

. The station's studios are located on Wall St. in Midtown Montgomery. WBAM also participates in Montgomery rating survey by

Arbitron Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...

(Market #150) and is monitored by Mediabase.

History

Circa 1960, the 98.9 frequency was home to easy listening-formatted WFMI.

Pre-Bama Country

WBAM was also known as "Oldies 98"; and then "Star 98.9", a Top 40 formatted station, in the late-1990s and early-2000s.

The birth of Bama Country

In April

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

John Garrett announced on air, "he wanted to play an

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many o ...

record instead". That's when Bama Country was born. WBAM-FM has held on to its heritage call letters while returning to its roots as a

formatted

. The station is still imaged on-air (although not exclusively) as "The Big BAM in Montgomery". During the first three years as "Bama Country" the station put on a series of concerts known as "The Bama Country Birthday Bash" with many of today's top country music artists.

Bama Country Today

Since 2004, WBAM has broadcast a mainstream country format. The majority of the music played on WBAM tends to be newer and from more recent artists. Core artists include: Keith Urban, Brad Paisley,

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's ''Toby Keith'', 1994's ''Boomtown'', 1996' ...

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

Carrie Underwood Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bill ...

, Lady Antebellum,

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cousi ...

Jason Aldean Jason Aldean (born Jason Aldine Williams; February 28, 1977) is an American country music singer. Since 2005, he has been signed to BBR Music Group, Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released ten albums and 40 singles. His 2010 ...

, and more. Legendary artists and songs are reserved for a weekly show titled: ''Legends Saturday Night'' which is hosted by JR "Bubba" Cullpepper. WBAM also features news and weather updates from CBS 8 WAKA, national news updates from

Fox News Radio Fox News Radio is an American radio network owned by Fox News. It is syndicated to over 500 AM and FM radio stations across the United States. It also supplies programming for three channels on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. History In 2003, ...

, and traffic from ''Montgomery Skywatch Traffic''.

Current Staff and Programming

Notable local programming on WBAM includes: John Garrett, Dr. Sam Faulk, and JR "Bubba" Culpepper. Other programs include: ''Legends Saturday Night'', '' American Country Countdown'' with Kix Brooks, Bob Kingsley's '' Country Top 40'' and ''Rise up Country''. WBAM-FM is also a

affiliate.

Technical information

For several years the WBAM-FM

broadcast from the Montgomery Tower Partnership behind the Eastdale Mall in

. The

antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

is a shared panel which still broadcasts several other local FM radio stations. WBAM Broadcast Tower

In the late 1990s

Cox Communications Cox Communications, Inc. (also known as Cox Cable and formerly Cox Broadcasting Corporation, Dimension Cable Services and Times-Mirror Cable) is an American digital cable television provider, telecommunications and home automation services. It i ...

wanted to move a station into the

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

radio market. In order to meet Minimum Distance Separation Requirements set by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

(FCC), WBAM-FM had to first be re-located. The re-location was funded by

and the new tower is located a few miles from the

WSFA-TV WSFA (channel 12) is a television station in Montgomery, Alabama, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power, Class A Telemundo affiliate WBXM-CD (channel 15). The two stations share studios on De ...

tower in

. WBAM-FM broadcasts with a transmitter power output of 30.26 kW using a

Continental Electronics Continental Electronics is an American manufacturer of broadcast and military radio transmitters, based in Dallas, Texas. Although Continental today is best known for its FM, shortwave, and military VLF transmitters, Continental is most signific ...

transmitter into an 8-Bay Shively Labs ''Super-High-Power 6814'' non-directional antenna.

Coverage information

Because WBAM's antenna is nearly above sea level, it blankets Central and Southeast Alabama. WBAM can be heard in the Columbus, Georgia-Auburn, Alabama Combined Statistical Area, Alexander City Micropolitan Statistical Area,

Dothan, Alabama metropolitan area The Dothan Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of Geneva County, Alabama, Geneva, Henry County, Alabama, Henry, and Houston County, Alabama, Houston counties in southeastern Alabama, ...

and parts of the Florida Panhandle. WBAM is often received by many DXing enthusiasts, some as far away as

Toms River, New Jersey Toms River is a township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. Its mainland portion is also a census-designated place of the same name, which serves as the county seat of Ocean County. The sale was part of a multi-company four-station deal valued at a reported $15.3 million. The deal was approved by the FCC on April 21, 2004, and the transaction was consummated on June 21, 2004. At the time of the sale, WBAM-FM was broadcasting a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

format.

Awards and honors

Paul Simpkins, an original WBAM on-air personality from the time of the station's launch in 1953 until the sale in 1984, received a number of honors during his more than three decades with the station. These include being named ''Sterling Magazine'' Personality of the Month and ''TV Radio Mirror'' Personality of the Month in 1967, 1968 and 1972. Simpkins was inducted into the Country Music DJ Hall of Fame in 1998. Cyril Brennan, the general manager and program director of WBAM, was named the 1976 "Program Director of the Year for Country Music" by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine's International Radio Programming Forum.

Popular culture

WBAM is

name-check Name-dropping (or name-checking or a shout-out) is the practice of naming or alluding to important people and institutions within a conversation,. story, song, online identity, or other communication. The term often connotes an attempt to impress ...

ed with "This is country country on WBAM coming to you live, neighbor" in the poem "Pickup" by American poet Paul Allen. Alabama author

Paul Hemphill Paul James Hemphill (February 18, 1936 – July 11, 2009) was an American journalist and author who wrote extensively about often-overlooked topics in the Southern United States such as country music, Evangelicalism, football, stock car racin ...

included references to WBAM in his 1979 novel ''Long Gone'' as the preferred radio station of the protagonist, Jamie Weeks. In 1987, ''Long Gone'' was made into a movie starring

Dermot Mulroney Dermot Mulroney (born October 31, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in romantic comedy, western, and drama films. Appearing on screen since 1986, he is known for his work in various films such as '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' Stay ...

HBO Films HBO Films (formerly called HBO Premiere Films and HBO Pictures) is an American production and distribution company, a division of the cable television network HBO that produces feature films and miniseries. The division produces fiction and non-fi ...

History of call letters

The call letters WBAM were previously assigned to an FM station in New York City. That station's call letters were changed to WOR-FM June 13, 1948.

References

External links

WBAM official website

WBAM coverage map
* * *
Bluewater Broadcasting Company, LLC
{{Country Radio Stations in Alabama BAM Radio stations established in 1978 Country radio stations in the United States Montgomery County, Alabama 1978 establishments in Alabama