WLAC

WLAC is a clear channel radio station based in Nashville, Tennessee, operating at 1510 kHz on the AM dial, took to the air on November 24, 1926. The call letters were chosen to contain an acronym for the first owner of the station, the Life And Casualty Insurance Company of Tennessee.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The station became legendary as a result of a trio of nightime rhythm and blues shows hosted by Gene Nobles, "John R." (John Richbourg), and Herman Grizzard in the 1950s and 1960s which, thanks to the station's clear channel designation, reached most of the Eastern and Midwestern United States, though they targeted Black listeners in the deep South. Also several foreign countries, particularly islands in the Caribbean were within range of the station's nightime signal; it is said to have had a considerable influence on early reggae music as a result.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Performers of later years, for example Johnny Winter, credit the station as being a valuable source of inspiration for their artistic development. What was unknown to most was that John R. was a middle aged Caucasian, the confusion due to his deep voice and frequent use of colloquialisms most familiar to his audience. Bill "Hoss" Allen replaced Gene Nobles after the latter's retirement.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The regular sponsors of the three shows were respectively Randy's Record Shop of Gallatin, Tennessee, Ernie's Record Mart and Buckley's Record Shop both of Nashville, all of which conducted mail order business supplying the recordings featured on the shows, and were linked to record companies in Middle Tennessee. Buckley's Record Shop folded in the late 1960s; Randy's Record Shop ceased operating in the late 1990s. John Richbourg died in 1986.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The station changed format to news and talk in 1980 and has remained that format ever since. It is now the Nashville home for Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Coast to Coast AM, and University of Tennessee athletics. Its main competition is in the form of WWTN, an FM talk radio station.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Clear channel: :This article is about the class of AM radio stations that are called clear channel stations based on their technical parameters, not their owner. For the company named Clear Channel, which owns radio stations most of which are not in this class, please see Clear Channel Communications....

Nashville, Tennessee: Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County in the central part of the state. Nicknamed "Music City", Nashville is the home of the Grand Ole Opry, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and many major record labels. Since much earlier t...

November 24: November 24 is the 328th day (329th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar....