WWFF-FM (93.3

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 ...

) is an American

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 radi ...

licensed to

New Market, Alabama New Market is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Madison County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the CDP was 1,543 ...

, and serving the

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in ...

, market. Owned by

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 8 ...

, the station broadcasts a oldies-leaning

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, ...

format branded as ''93.3 Nash Icon''. Studios are located in

Athens, Alabama Athens is a city in and the county seat of Limestone County, in the U.S. state of Alabama; it is included in the Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 21,897. Histo ...

while its transmitter is located in Huntsville.

History

The station started in 1962 as WJIG-FM in

Tullahoma, Tennessee Tullahoma is a city in Coffee and Franklin counties in southern Middle Tennessee, United States. The population was 20,339 at the 2020 census. In 2019, the population was estimated to be 19,555. It is the principal city of the Tullahoma micropo ...

(simulcasting WJIG-AM), northeast of Huntsville. In 1987 as WKQD-FM, the transmitter was moved to Elora, Tennessee, near the Alabama state line, and the station began serving the Huntsville market. Its legal station ID at that time became "WKQD-FM, Tullahoma-Huntsville." The station has sported various formats over the years, including disco (as "Boogie 93," WBGY-FM), CHR (as "The New Power 93 FM," WKQD),

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

(as "93.3 The Ugly," WKQD),

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

(as "93.3 Huntsville's Country," WHVK; "93.3 The Twister," WTZT; "93.3 The Possum," WPZM; "US 93 FM," WUSX; and "93.3 The Wolf," WWFF-FM), and

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

(as "Mix 93.3," WXMR). After an ownership change in 2003, it switched to a

mainstream urban Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso ...

format (again branded "The All New Power 93.3"), originally playing

Rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

and R&B music as WHRP to compete with heritage urban station WEUP-FM. Over the course of several months in late 2005, the station gradually shifted from Hip Hop and R&B to

Urban Adult Contemporary Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music ...

under the branding "93.3 WHRP, The Adult Mix." On April 5, 2006, Cumulus acquired 94.1 WXQW, and it immediately began simulcasting WHRP. On December 21, 2007, 94.1 WXQW switched to the WHRP call letters, and 93.3 was assigned WWFF-FM. The new

WHRP WHRP (94.1 FM) is a radio station licensed to serve Gurley, Alabama, United States. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and the license is held by Cumulus Licensing LLC. WHRP broadcasts an urban adult contemporary music format to the Huntsv ...

maintained the Urban AC format, and on January 12, 2008, WWFF-FM switched back to country, again branded as "The Wolf". In 2008, the station's license was reassigned to

, northeast of Huntsville, and the transmitter was again moved, this time to Drake Mountain in Huntsville. The 1,096-foot tower located one mile northwest of Elora that once broadcast the 93.3 MHz signal stood silent for many years with no antenna signal coming from it, still being owned by Cumulus Broadcasting, LLC of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, who acquired it from the Dunnavant family. The tall tower visible for miles was dismantled in 2022. Following three-and-a-half years of poor ratings as a country outlet, on August 31, 2011, WWFF began stunting with a "wheel of formats" that consisted of

classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as ...

, CHR,

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...

urban oldies Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...

, and

urban AC Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...

, as well as news and local history trivia. It also included a tribute to

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

and snippets of

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice No ...

describing the then-new

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Oc ...

technology from a 1980s broadcast of his '' American Top 40'' show. At exactly 9:33 AM on September 2, the station began airing its new format as "Journey 93-3", with a three-minute introduction, and a short promo by Randy Jackson, former bass player for the 1970s/1980s rock band

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

, followed by the group's 1981 song "

Don't Stop Believin' "Don't Stop Believin' is a song by American rock band Journey. It was released in October 1981 as the second single from the group's seventh studio album, ''Escape'' (1981), released through Columbia Records. "Don't Stop Believin'" shares writ ...

". WWFF Becomes Journey 93.3
/ref> The format was promoted as a "journey" through 1980s and 1990s popular music, similar to other Journey-branded stations launched by Cumulus in

( W250BC) and

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

(

WNNF WNNF (94.1 MHz, “Cat Country 94.1”) is a commercial FM radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The station broadcasts a country music radio format and is owned by Cumulus Media. Its studios and offices are on Montgomery Road in Norwood, Ohio, wi ...

) earlier in the summer of 2011 (both have since changed formats). WWFF-FM began airing all-Christmas music on November 16, 2012, at 5 p.m., still using the "Journey" moniker. It switched back to its 1980s/1990s hits format on December 26 at midnight. On November 14, 2014, after stunting briefly with Christmas music, WWFF returned to country music under Cumulus's "

Nash Icon Nash is a media brand owned by Cumulus Media. It covers country music-related properties owned by Cumulus, including radio stations, digital properties and publications ('' Nash Country Daily''), Nash TV (a video on-demand service operated in pa ...

" format, which focuses primarily on popular country music acts from the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.

Ownership

The station was originally owned by

Jerry Newton Jerry Newton was the older brother of Wayne Newton. He and Wayne performed as the Rascals in Rhythm in Las Vegas Strip, Las Vegas as children, as well as later on ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' and ''Ozark Jubilee''. In the 1966 ''Bonanza'' episode ...

(the brother of famed

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

entertainer

Wayne Newton Carson Wayne Newton (born April 3, 1942) is an American singer and actor. One of the most popular singers in the nation from the mid-to-late 20th-century, Newton remains one of the best-known entertainers in Las Vegas. He is known by the nicknam ...

) and started circa 1973. In 1987, the station became WKQD and moved its transmitter to Elora, Tennessee, which would cover the original city of license (

) along with the Huntsville area. The Dunnavant family LMAed the station in 1991 and eventually purchased the station outright. On April 1, 2003, the then-WUSX was sold by Athens Broadcasting Co. (William E. Dunnavant, president) to Cumulus Broadcasting, Inc. as part of a four-station deal with a total sale price of $22 million in cash and Cumulus common stock. The acquisition of the stations was completed in July 2003.

References

External links

WWFF-FM official website
* {{Cumulus Media WFF-FM Radio stations established in 1962 1962 establishments in Tennessee Cumulus Media radio stations