WAEZ (94.9 FM) is a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Mainstream Top 40 radio station serving the Tri-Cities TN-VA

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

with an ERP of 100,000 watts. It is licensed to

Greeneville, Tennessee Greeneville is a town in and the county seat of Greene County, Tennessee, United States. The population as of the 2020 census was 15,479. The town was named in honor of Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene, and it is the second oldest town i ...

. The station started out as a Top 40 station until 2004, when the station went with a

Hot AC 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, quiet sto ...

format, but due to lower ratings, the station reverted to the

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 "cont ...

format in early 2006. WAEZ is owned by Bristol Broadcasting Company, along with "twin stations"

WVSR-FM WVSR-FM (102.7 MHz) is a contemporary hit radio station serving the Charleston, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area with an ERP of 50,000 watts. The station started out as a Top 40 station until 2004, when the station went with a Hot A ...

(Electric 102.7) in Charleston, West Virginia, and WDDJ-FM (Electric 96.9) in

Paducah, Kentucky Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Miss ...

. The station targets active young adult females ages 18 to 34, according to Bristol Broadcasting. Electric 94.9 is one of the most popular stations in the Tri-Cities and currently ranks fourth in the Arbitron ratings for the Tri-Cities market. In 2011, Bristol Broadcasting purchased a translator (W237DV) and it currently re-broadcasts WAEZ on 95.3 in Kingsport, Tennessee. Previously, WAEZ dealt with many (terrain) issues getting the main signal into parts of Kingsport. The station also has to deal with tremendous co-channel interference in and around

Marion, Virginia Marion is a town in, and the county seat of, Smyth County, Virginia, United States. It is positioned upon Interstate 81, in the Blue Ridge portion of the Southern Appalachian mountains in Southwest Virginia. The town is named for American Revolut ...

from

WSLC-FM WSLC-FM (94.9 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Roanoke, Virginia and serving the New River Valley. WSLC-FM is owned and operated by Mel Wheeler, Inc. It airs a country music radio format, using the moniker "94.9 Star Country." W ...

in Roanoke.

Programming

Monday-Friday

*"Electric 94.9" overnights (12 a.m. - 5 a.m.) *"Izzy" mornings (5 a.m. - 10 a.m.) *"Jessica Gamble" mid-days (10 a.m. - 3 p.m.) *"Jason Reed" afternoons (3 p.m. - 7 p.m.) *"Logan" evenings (7 p.m. - 12 a.m.)

Weekends

*AT40 (Saturdays 6 a.m. - 10 a.m.) *Club Electric (Saturdays 9 p.m. - Sundays 5 a.m.) *Son Rise (Sundays 9 a.m. - 11 a.m.) *AT40 (Sundays 8 p.m. - 12 a.m.) *

History

*Until August 2000, WAEZ was located on 99.3 as "Electric 99-3". *From 1985 until 1993, the WAEZ callsign was formerly in Milton, West Virginia located on 106.3 FM. That station is now

WAMX WAMX (106.3 FM, "106.3 The Brew") is a classic rock radio station licensed to Milton, West Virginia, serving the Huntington metro area. Owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The WAMX studios are located in Huntington, while the station transmitter res ...

. *The 94.9 frequency was a country station known as "Big Dog Country" with WIKQ as their call letters up until 2000 when Bristol bought the frequency. The WIKQ call letters are now on the 103.1 FM frequency. *In the early 1970s, the 94.9 frequency carried the call letters WOFM. The station broadcast a country music format. *In the mid-1960s, WAEZ, coincidentally also on 94.9, was owned by and named for Arthur E. Zucker in Miami Beach, Florida. WAEZ was an

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 playing the likes of the Ray Conniff Singers,

Percy Faith Percy Faith (April 7, 1908 – February 9, 1976) was a Canadian-American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of pop and Christmas standards. He is often credited with popularizing the "easy listeni ...

and

Big Band music 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 ...

with no more than four vocals per hour. The entire station was located in the lower lobby of the Deauville Hotel at 6701 Collins Avenue with the transmitting antenna on the roof. Zucker negotiated free rent for the station in return for frequent mention of the hotel name during weather forecasts. An announcer might say, "The temperature in Miami is 88 degrees. Here at the beautiful Deauville Hotel on Miami Beach, it's 85". The hotel still exists and hosts the annual New Art Dealer's Association (NADA) art festival.

External links

Official Electric 94.9 Site

Tri-Cities Radio Market @ Bristol Broadcasting.com
{{coord, 36.076, N, 82.691, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title AEZ Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States