WSMZ (850
kHz
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 on ...
) is an
AM 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 ...
in
Muskegon, Michigan
Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expa ...
.
History
Between 1926 and 1999, this station was the original WKBZ, the oldest radio station in Muskegon. It was founded in
Ludington, Michigan
Ludington ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Mason County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,076.
Ludington is a harbor town located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Pere Marquette Rive ...
, by Karl L. Ashbacker, and broadcast on 1170 kHz until 1927, 1500 kHz until 1941, and 1490 kHz until 1947. The station relocated to Muskegon in 1934, establishing studios in the Continental Hotel. (The Ashbackers later built another station in Ludington, starting up
WKLA in 1944.)
The Ashbackers owned WKBZ until December 1951, when Arch Shawd acquired the Ashbacker Radio Company. Shawd sold the station in 1958 to Walter Patterson, who sold his WKBZ Radio Corporation to Frederick Allman and Robert Richards in 1963. Reams Communications Corporation bought WKBZ in 1968 and owned it until 1986, when the station was sold to KBZ Broadcasting.
WKBZ-AM-FM was donated to
Grand Valley State University
Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale, Michigan. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on approximately west of Grand Rapids. The universit ...
by Robert Jewell and Daniel Thill in 1995; the university elected to sell the stations to WLC Communications, Inc., in early 1997.
In November 1998, however, WLC returned WKBZ and
WKBZ-FM 95.3 in
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...
to Grand Valley State, which converted the stations to public radio as WGVS-AM-FM. (The WKBZ call letters moved to
1520 AM
The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1520 kHz: 1520 AM is a United States clear-channel frequency. WWKB in Buffalo, New York, and KOKC in Oklahoma City share Class A status on 1520 AM.
Argentina
* LRI721 in Chascomús, B ...
, which went silent in 2002, and are now on
1090 AM.)
On August 27, 2009, WGVU and WGVS flipped to the oldies format—a first for a public radio station. The station's playlist encompassed hits from the mid-1950s through the mid-1970s and featured many seldom-heard songs not typically played on commercial oldies stations, including some titles by local Michigan artists.
Big band
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...
,
traditional pop
Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western culture, Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known ...
, and
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 ...
songs from the 1940s through the '70s were featured on Sunday mornings during the ''Sunday Morning Standards'' program. Also airing on Sundays was the ''West Michigan Top 40'' show, which counted down the songs on a historic local
record chart
A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often ...
from a given date.
In late 2021, Grand Valley State University announced that it would end the "Real Oldies" format and shut down WGVU and WGVS on January 7, 2022. The university planned to return the AM stations' licenses to 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) and sell their transmitter sites. WGVU-TV and WGVU-FM were not affected by the shutdown of the AM stations.
Effective June 28, 2022, Grand Valley State sold WGVS to Ed and Jennifer Czelada's
Smile FM
Smile FM is a network of non-commercial, contemporary Christian radio stations owned by Superior Communications, a nonprofit organization. Most programming originates from studios in Williamston, Michigan (just east of Lansing) and is relayed (wi ...
for $25,000. While current
silent, the station is expected to join the contemporary Christian-formatted Smile FM network.
References
External links
FCC History Cards for WSMZ
{{coord, 42, 50, 32, N, 85, 37, 05, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title
SMZ (AM)
Radio stations established in 1926
1926 establishments in Michigan