What was unique about WDIA in Memphis?

In 1948-49 white-owned WDIA in Memphis became the nation’s first all-black radio station. Its owners, Bert Ferguson and John R. Pepper, hired Nat D. Williams, the first publicly identified black disc jockey.

What was the most powerful black radio station in Memphis?

WDIA was the nation’s first radio station that catered to a Black audience. More than just a radio station, WDIA was the heart that pumped life into the very soul of Memphis.

Who was the DJ at WDIA known as the first radio station for the black community?

Nat D. Williams
Half of the listeners who could hear WDIA’s signal were African-American, and WDIA hired the first black disk jockey in the South. Nat D. Williams, a syndicated columnist and high-school teacher, started Tan Town Jubilee in October 1948.

What was the first all-black radio station in the south?

In 1949, station WDIA in Memphis, Tennessee, became the first to employ an all-Black on-air announcing staff. Later that year WERD in Atlanta began broadcasting as the first Black-owned radio station.

What is the significance of the WDIA radio station?

The first radio station in the United States programmed by and for African Americans, WDIA was one of only six stations broadcasting in Memphis, Tennessee when it hit the airwaves in 1947.

Who owns Wdia Memphis?

iHeartMediaWDIA / Owner

Who owns WDIA Memphis?

How did America get its first black radio station?

In 1948, Memphis channel WDIA became a community voice and a rock ‘n’ roll star-maker. Although nearly 10 percent of the United States’s population was African-American following World War II, you wouldn’t know it by listening to the radio, the main form of entertainment at the time.

Who was the first Black DJ?

Jack Leroy Cooper
Jack Leroy Cooper (September 18, 1888 – January 12, 1970) was the first African-American radio disc jockey, described as “the undisputed patriarch of black radio in the United States.” In 2012, he was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame.

Where is WDIA radio station located?

Memphis
1070 Wdia 2650 Thousand Oaks Blvd Memphis, TN Radio Stations – MapQuest.

What is Wdia phone number?

To learn more about advertising with iHeartMedia and 1070 WDIA, contact us at 1-844-BUY-RADIO, or send us an inquiry.

What is the history of WDIA in Memphis?

It was the first program in the U.S. to specifically target black-listeners. WDIA soon became the number 2 station in Memphis. Shortly afterwards the station made a switch to all-black programming and became the city’s top station.

How did WDIA change in 1954?

In June 1954 WDIA was licensed to increase its power from 250 to 50,000 watts, which meant moving to 1070 kHz. Its powerful signal reached the Mississippi Delta ’s dense African-American population and was heard from the Missouri Bootheel to the Gulf Coast. WDIA reached 10% of the African-American population in United States.

What was BB King’s first job at WDIA?

History. B.B. King joined WDIA in early 1949. He had a daily 15-minute show, promoting first a patent medicine called Pep-Ti-Kon, and later Lucky Strike cigarettes, the first major advertiser for the station. The next year he took a DJ position on an afternoon show previously hosted by Maurice “Hot Rod” Hulbert.