WSLC-FM (original) (raw)

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Radio station in Roanoke, Virginia

WSLC-FM
Roanoke, Virginia
Broadcast area Roanoke, VirginiaLynchburg, VirginiaNew River Valley
Frequency 94.9 MHz
Branding 94.9 Star Country
Programming
Format Country
Ownership
Owner Mel Wheeler, Inc.
Sister stations WFIR, WSLQ, WPLI, WPLY, WVBB, WVBE-FM, WXLK, WZZU
History
First air date July 11, 1948; 76 years ago (1948-07-11)
Former call signs WDBJ-FM (1948–1969)WPVR (1969–2000)
Call sign meaning Super Lovin Country
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority FCC
Facility ID 30156
Class C
ERP 100,000 watts (with beam tilt)
HAAT 598 meters (1962 ft)
Transmitter coordinates 37°11′50.0″N 80°9′11.0″W / 37.197222°N 80.153056°W / 37.197222; -80.153056
Links
Public license information Public fileLMS
Webcast Listen Live
Website 949starcountry.com

WSLC-FM (94.9 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Roanoke, Virginia and serving the Roanoke Valley and New River Valley. WSLC-FM is owned and operated by Mel Wheeler, Inc.[2] It airs a country music radio format, using the moniker "94.9 Star Country." WSLC-FM's studios and offices are on Electric Road in Roanoke.[3] The transmitter is off Honeysuckle Road in Bent Mountain.[4]

The station is powered at 100,000 watts effective radiated power (ERP) on a tower 1962 feet in height above average terrain (HAAT). The Class C signal can be heard over much of Southwest Virginia and into North Carolina and West Virginia.[5] On occasion, WSLC-FM can be picked up more than 200 miles away.

On July 11, 1948, the station signed on as WDBJ-FM.[6] It was owned by the Times World Corporation, publisher of The Roanoke Times-World, which in 1955 started Channel 7 WDBJ-TV. At first, WDBJ-FM simulcast its AM counterpart, AM 960 WDBJ (now WFIR).

In the early 1960s, WDBJ-FM was separately programmed with an automated beautiful music format, which lasted till the mid-1990s. The station concentrated on instrumental versions of popular songs, as well as Broadway and Hollywood showtunes.

Logo used for WPVR from November 1, 1969 to the mid-1990s.

In 1969, Jim Gibbons Radio, Inc. bought the station. While the format remained beautiful music, on November 1, the call sign was changed to WPVR.[7] In the 1980s, the station began playing several vocal songs each hour, moving to an easy listening sound.

In the 1990s, many easy listening stations began decreasing the orchestrated instrumentals, and by 1992, WPVR had evolved into soft adult contemporary, branded as "Lite 95."[8] In 1995, WPVR became "Arrow 94.9" with a classic rock format.[9]

94.9 Star Country WSLC-FM

[edit]

In 2000, Mel Wheeler, Inc. bought the station, along with 99.1 WSLQ-FM and 960 WFIR.[10] At noon on May 25, the call sign was switched to WSLC-FM. The format flipped to country music, branded as "The New 94.9 Star Country". The sister station of WSLC-FM, AM 610 WSLC, had played country music for over 50 years, so both the AM and FM carried the same call letters and country music imaging for two years. On March 13, 2002, AM 610 ended its run as a country station, becoming urban adult contemporary WVBE, "The Vibe."[11] In 2016 it flipped to sports radio as WPLY.

After April 1, 2004, WSLC-FM stopped calling itself "The New 94.9 Star Country," and began using the branding "94.9 Star Country; Your Big Giveaway Station".

The station's logo appeared during a segment in Borat where he mocked the US National Anthem in a county fair in Salem, VA.[12]

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WSLC-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "WSLC Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  3. ^ 949StarCountry.com/contest-rules
  4. ^ Radio-Locator.com/WSLC-FM
  5. ^ Radio-Locator.com/WSLC-FM
  6. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1950 page 310
  7. ^ "A Place to Relax". Archived from the original on August 28, 2008.
  8. ^ "Amfmdx.net is for sale".
  9. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1998 page D-463
  10. ^ "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
  11. ^ "WSLC AM 610". Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  12. ^ youtube.com/watch?v=ePQ9_re7f1A