WGOL

WGOL
City Russellville, Alabama
Branding Real Country 920
Slogan "Franklin County's Real Country"
Frequency 920 AM (kHz)
First air date May 29, 1949[1]
Format Classic Country
Power 1000 watts (day)
40 watts (night)
Class D
Facility ID 60506
Transmitter coordinates 34°30′50″N 87°42′55″W / 34.51389°N 87.71528°W / 34.51389; -87.71528
Former callsigns WWWR (1949-1987)
WJRD (1987-1998)[2]
Owner Pilati Investments Corp.
Sister stations WKAX
Webcast Listen Live
Website wgolam.com

WGOL (920 AM, "Real Country 920") is a radio station licensed to serve Russellville, Alabama, USA. The station is owned by Pilati Investments Corporation.

Programming

WGOL broadcasts a Classic Country music format in C-QUAM AM Stereo.[3]

In addition to its usual music programming, WGOL carries significant sports programming as a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide Sports Network. This includes Alabama Crimson Tide football,[4] men's basketball,[5] women's basketball,[6] baseball,[7] and the Hey Coach call-in show with Crimson Tide head coaches.[8]

History

This station first signed on in 1949 as WWWR.[1][2]

WWWR made national headlines in early 1950 when a three-foot rattlesnake forced the radio station off the air for "more than an hour."[9] Engineers discovered the snake had "crawled into the tuning unit, shorting the circuit."[9]

In March 1986, SIS Sound of Russellville, Inc. reached an agreement to purchase WWWR from Franklin Broadcasting, Inc.[10] The deal was approved by the Federal Communications Commission on June 4, 1986, and the transaction was consummated on October 28, 1986.[10] The station's new owners had the FCC assign new call letters WJRD on August 17, 1987.[2]

On November 15, 1997, William A. Grant Jr., the owner of WJRD license holder SIS Sound of Russellville, Inc., died.[11] In March 1998, control of the company passed involuntarily to William A. Grant III and Walter B. Grant.[12] The Federal Communications Commission approved this transfer on May 21, 1998, and it was formally consummated on the same day.[12] The station was immediately put up for sale.

In June 1998, McCurry Broadcasting Company, Inc. reached an agreement to purchase WJRD from SIS Sound of Russellville, Inc.[13] The deal was approved by the FCC on July 29, 1998, and the transaction was consummated on August 12, 1998.[13] The new owners applied for and received new call letters WGOL from the FCC on August 17, 1998.[2]

In December 1999, Wanda Patricia Underwood reached an agreement to purchase WGOL from McCurry Broadcasting Company, Inc.[14] The deal was approved by the FCC on January 20, 2000, and the transaction was consummated on January 24, 2000.[14]

In April 2005, Pilati Investments Corporation (Karl H. Pilati, president) reached an agreement to purchase WGOL from Wanda Patricia Underwood.[15] The station sold for a reported $171,500.[16] The FCC approved the deal on August 25, 2005, and the transaction was consummated on August 31, 2005.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 "About WGOL". WGOL.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
  3. ↑ "Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
  4. ↑ "Football Radio Network". RollTide.com - The official website of the University of Alabama Athletics. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
  5. ↑ "Men's Basketball Radio Network". RollTide.com. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
  6. ↑ "Women's Basketball Radio Network". RollTide.com. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
  7. ↑ "Baseball Radio Network". RollTide.com. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
  8. ↑ "Hey Coach". RollTide.com. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
  9. 1 2 "Beasts vs. Man". The New York Times Magazine. March 5, 1950. p. 172.
  10. 1 2 "Application Search Details (BAL-19860304EH)". FCC Media Bureau. 1986-10-28.
  11. ↑ "Search Results". Social Security Death Index. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
  12. 1 2 "Application Search Details (BTC-19980306GO)". FCC Media Bureau. 1998-05-21.
  13. 1 2 "Application Search Details (BAL-19980615EF)". FCC Media Bureau. 1998-08-12.
  14. 1 2 "Application Search Details (BAL-19991025AEV)". FCC Media Bureau. 2000-01-24.
  15. 1 2 "Application Search Details (BAL-20050405AAG)". FCC Media Bureau. 2005-08-31.
  16. ↑ "Deals - 4/18/2005". Broadcasting & Cable. 2005-04-18.
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