WDIA

Infobox Radio station
name = WDIA


city = Memphis, Tennessee
area = Memphis, Tennessee
branding = "AM 1070 WDIA"
slogan =
airdate =
frequency = 1070 kHz
format = Urban Oldies/Classic Soul
power =
erp = 50,000 watts daytime
5,000 watts nighttime
class =
callsign_meaning = DIAne, name of original owner's daughter
We Did It Again = when owners also launched similar station in Jackson, MS after World War II
owner = Clear Channel Communications
webcast =
website = [http://www.am1070wdia.com]
affiliations =
sister_stations = KJMS, WDIA, WEGR, WHAL-FM, WHRK, WREC
"Under LMA: KWAM"
"TV stations WPTY-TV and WLMT pending sale to Providence Equity Partners"

WDIA is an AM radio station in Memphis, Tennessee, in the United States of America. Its radio frequency is 1070 kHz. While it was the first U.S. radio station programmed by African Americans, its ownership was white. WDIA went on the air in October 1948. In June 1954 WDIA was licensed to increase its power to 50,000 watts. Its powerful signal reached down into the Mississippi Delta’s dense African-American population and was heard from the Missouri bootheel to the Gulf coast. As a result WDIA was able to reach 10% of the African-American population in United States. [ [http://www.am1070wdia.com/pages/history.html WDIA history] from the station's own website.] Cantor,Louis "Wheelin' on Beale: How WDIA-Memphis Became the Nation's First All-Black Radio Station and Created the Sound that Changed America" Pharos Books, 1992, 264 pages, ISBN 0886876338, 9780886876333.]

WDIA took its community service responsibilities seriously from the start, and its slogan became, "50,000 Watts of Goodwill."

Many music legends got their start at WDIA, including B.B. King and Rufus Thomascite book | last = Fisher | first = Marc | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Something in the Air | publisher = Random House | date = | location = | pages = 44 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 978-0-375-50907-0 ] . Elvis Presley was greatly influenced by the station.

B.B. King had a daily 15 minute show, sponsored by Lucky Strike cigarettes, a first for a major advertiser and a local black show. King credits his days on the station for building his audience and launching his career describing the station as providing a sense of freedom.

At one time, the owners of WDIA back in the 1970s and 1980s also owned KDIA, a similar formatted station in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is now a Christian programmed station.

An excellent resource for information about the early years of WDIA is a 1992 book by Louis Cantor, a former engineer at the station, "Wheelin' on Beale."

References

External links

* [http://www.am1070wdia.com WDIA's official website.]
* [http://www.wfmu.org/listen.ram?show=16164 Sound Documentary on WDIA]