WQBC was an

AM broadcasting AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmis ...

station licensed on 1420 kHz at

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vic ...

, USA. It was licensed on October 24, 1927, and made the claim of being the oldest operating radio station in Mississippi and one of the few remaining stations that still had their original

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 ...

s. Its license was surrendered on September 28, 2020, after having been off the air since January 12, 2019. Well-known alumni of WQBC include Blues extraordinaire

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

, and his

Jubilee Singers The Fisk Jubilee Singers are an African-American ''a cappella'' ensemble, consisting of students at Fisk University. The first group was organized in 1871 to tour and raise funds for college. Their early repertoire consisted mostly of traditiona ...

Adrian Cronauer Adrian Joseph Cronauer (September 8, 1938 – July 18, 2018) was a United States Air Force SergeantGood Morning, Vietnam ''Good Morning, Vietnam'' is a 1987 American war comedy film written by Mitch Markowitz and directed by Barry Levinson. Set in Saigon in 1965, during the Vietnam War, the film stars Robin Williams as a radio DJ on Armed Forces Radio Service, who ...

'', and Woodie Assaf, the longest-serving weatherman in the United States, who began his broadcasting career at WQBC in the 1940s before moving to 620 WJDX (AM) in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

and working at its sister station,

WLBT WLBT (channel 3) is a television station in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Television, which also operates American Spirit Media–owned Fox affiliate WDBD (channel 40) and Vicksburg-licensed MyNet ...

TV 3 from its sign-on in December 1953.

History

WQBC was first licensed on October 24, 1927 in

Utica, Mississippi Utica is a town in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 820 at the 2010 census, down from 966 at the 2000 census. Utica is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Utica was originally an area known as ...

to I. R. Jones, who built and first operated the station. The call letters were randomly assigned from a sequential roster of available call signs. In 1930 the station was purchased by Delta Broadcasting (W.B Ford and E.M. Pace) and moved to Vicksburg. In 1931, it was bought by the Cashman family, owners of the ''Vicksburg Evening Post''. When

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) rules banned

cross ownership Cross ownership is a method of reinforcing business relationships by owning stock in the companies with which a given company does business. Heavy cross ownership is referred to as circular ownership. The Japanese economy is alleged to be heavily ...

of newspapers and broadcast stations in the same area, WQBC was sold to Frank Hollifield, then to Elizabeth Owens. Bill Stanford bought the station in 1987. The station was later owned by Michael Corley. WQBC was last owned by Costar Broadcast Group, a Chicago, Illinois, multi-media communications firm. The company's president was

Michael M. Davis Michael M. Davis (1879–1971) was the Executive Chair of the Committee for the Nation's Health Throughout his life he was a major figure in health care policy.. During Harry S. Truman's time as President of the United States, President, Davis kep ...

, a nativeof Lorman, Mississippi - the site of

Alcorn State University Alcorn State University (Alcorn State, ASU or Alcorn) is a public historically black land-grant university adjacent to Lorman, Mississippi. It was founded in 1871 and was the first black land grant college established in the United States. O ...

, the first African-American land grant institution in the United States. WQBC lost the lease on its tower site and went silent on March 12, 2010, while the sale to Michael M. Davis was pending. It received an extension to remain silent on November 18, 2010, pending studies for a new construction permit. On January 12, 2019, WQBC went silent. Its license was surrendered on September 28, 2020, and cancelled by the FCC on September 29, 2020.

References

External links

FCC Station Search Details: DWQBC
(Facility ID: 60000)
FCC History Cards for WQBC
(covering 1927-1979) Radio stations established in 1927 1927 establishments in Mississippi QBC Hinds County, Mississippi Vicksburg, Mississippi Radio stations disestablished in 2020 2020 disestablishments in Mississippi Defunct radio stations in the United States QBC {{Mississippi-radio-station-stub