WCRY (1460 AM, "Joy 1460") was a

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 ...

broadcasting a black gospel music format. Licensed to serve

Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina Fuquay-Varina ( ) is a town in southern Wake County, North Carolina, United States, lying south of Holly Springs and southwest of Garner, and north of the Harnett County town of Angier and west of the unincorporated community of Willow Spr ...

, United States, it broadcast to the

Research Triangle The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont region of North Carolina in the United States, anchored by the cities of Raleigh and Durham and the town of Chapel Hill, home to ...

metropolitan area. It first began broadcasting in 1949 under the

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

WFVG, and ceased operations in 2004. The station was owned by Willis Broadcasting.

History

The station went on the air in 1949 as WFVG, a 1,000-watt

daytimer A clear-channel station is an AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The system exists to ensure the viability of cross-coun ...

in Fuquay Springs owned by Wake Broadcasting Company; the call letters stood for "Watch Fuquay-Varina Grow". In 1950, S. S. Adcock sold a 60-percent interest in the station to J. M. Stephenson and W. J. Davis for $34,000; a few months later, Adcock sold his remaining interest to Stephenson and Davis for over $50,000. Davis sold his stake to B.H. Ingle Sr. for $16,000 in 1951; Ingle then sold his stake to Stephenson after applying for a station in

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

. WFVG became an affiliate of the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...

in 1957. James M. Stephenson was part of a group that bought WKIX AM- FM in Raleigh in 1958; as a condition of this purchase, Stephenson sold WFVG to a group led by James F. Flanagan for $42,000. In 1960, Gail Lewis sold his 37.5-percent stake in the station to the remaining partners, Flanagan and Dr. Robert C. Currin, for $10,000; the sale coincided with Lewis' purchase of WEYE in Sanford. H. Cloid Wade Jr. and Carl W. Venters Jr., owners of WFAG in

Farmville ''FarmVille'' is a series of agriculture-simulation social network game developed and published by Zynga in 2009. It is similar to ''Happy Farm'' and ''Farm Town''. Its gameplay involves various aspects of farmland management, such as plowing l ...

, bought WFVG in 1962. As WFVG, the station provided agricultural information, along with

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, ...

and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

. In 1967, WFVG was sold to Gray Broadcasting Corp.; on October 18, it changed its call letters to WAKS. As WAKS, the station programmed a full-time country music format. Gray Broadcasting sold WAKS to Joseph B. Wilder, James M. Butts, and L. Keith Whittle for $125,000 in 1971. In 1978, the station increased its power to 5,000 watts and changed its

city of license In American, Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broa ...

to Fuquay-Varina; Fuquay Springs and Varina had merged in 1963. An FM sister station, WAKS-FM (103.9), was added on December 9, 1980; it simulcast 90 percent of WAKS' programming. Wake County Broadcasting sold WAKS and WAKS-FM to Mohr-Engledow Broadcasting for $850,000 in 1986. After WAKS-FM changed to

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

station WAZZ in 1987, the country format remained on WAKS. Meca Broadcasting sold WAKS and WAZZ to Ceder Communications for $1.43 million in 1989. On October 20, 1989, the call letters were changed to WNBR, as the station moved to a business

news/talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

format. The station was also granted 122 watts of nighttime power. In December 1991, WNBR dropped the business news format and went silent. The station changed its call letters to WCRY on April 15, 1992. In February 1993, WCRY returned to the air with a news/talk format as the flagship station of the "North Carolina Talk Network", which also included

WEEB WEEB (990 AM) is a radio station licensed to Southern Pines, North Carolina, United States, broadcasting a news/talk format. The station is currently owned by Pinehurst Broadcasting Corporation. History WEEB as it exists today was formed from ...

Southern Pines Southern Pines is a town in Moore County, North Carolina, Moore County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 12,334 as of the 2010 United States Census. History Southern Pines was founded as a winter health resort for Northeastern U ...

and WHPY in Clayton; later that year, WCRY was sold to Pinehurst Broadcasting Corporation. In August 1996, the station switched to a black gospel format and entered into a

local marketing agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it is a sort of lease or tim ...

with WSRC; WCRY was then sold to WSRC's owner, Durham Christian Radio, controlled by L. E. Willis, for $175,000 and became part of Willis Broadcasting Corporation. 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) ordered Bishop Willis to surrender the licenses for four of his AM stations —

KLRG KLRG (880 AM) is an American radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. It is licensed to Sheridan, Arkansas, and serves the Little Rock Metro area from its transmitter located 5 Miles from the Arkansas State Capitol. The station is owne ...

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

, KVLA in

Vidalia, Louisiana Vidalia is the largest city and the parish seat of Concordia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,299 as of the 2010 census. Vidalia is located on the west bank of the Mississippi River. The city of Natchez, Mississippi, lies ...

, WCRY, and WSVE in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

— on June 16, 2004, after accumulating $84,000 in fines due to violations of FCC rules dating to 1999. By June 21, 2004, WCRY had left the air; on June 24, WCRY's license was cancelled by the FCC.

References

External links

FCC History Cards for WCRY (WAKS)
{{Raleigh radio

CRY Crying is the dropping of tears (or welling of tears in the eyes) in response to an emotional state, or pain. Emotions that can lead to crying include sadness, anger, and even happiness. The act of crying has been defined as "a complex secreto ...

Defunct radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1949 1949 establishments in North Carolina Radio stations disestablished in 2004 2004 disestablishments in North Carolina Defunct religious radio stations in the United States