WWIL (1490 AM) was a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

broadcasting a

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

format, licensed to

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...

, United States. The station was last owned by James and Maxzine Utley, through licensee CLI Radio, LLC.

History

From 1964 to 1977, the station had the call sign WHSL. R. Darryl Davis was host of "Fat Man's Blues Shop" on WWIL; he later played "

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

in the Night" on

WHQR WHQR is the NPR, National Public Radio (NPR) member station for Southeastern North Carolina, broadcasting on the FM broadcast band, FM band 91.3 MHz. Based in Wilmington, North Carolina, Wilmington and operated by Friends of Public Radio, Inc ...

. Family Radio Network Inc. purchased WWIL in 1992 from a

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

church. Before that, the station was R&B. WWIL began calling itself "Family Radio" in 1993.Ben Steelman, "Praise Radio; It's the Gospel Truth: Christian Radio Is Gaining Popularity," ''Star-News'', December 14, 1999. Jim Stephens worked for a

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

Christian station but vacationed in Wilmington. When he turned on the radio, he found no Christian stations, so he took over WWIL. Stephens struggled financially after moving to Wilmington but he got numerous cards and letters from people who enjoyed the

Contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

and nationally syndicated ministers. Stephens needed for these listeners to prove their support with cash, and they did. WWIL added a 20,000-watt FM signal in 1995. As of 1999, the AM station aired "God's Country" during the day, including

Ricky Skaggs Rickie Lee Skaggs (born July 18, 1954), known professionally as Ricky Skaggs, is an American neotraditional country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, ma ...

, The Gatlin Brothers and traditional

Southern gospel Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music. Its name comes from its origins in the southeastern United States. Its lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as ...

. At night and early in the morning, the station played

urban gospel Urban/contemporary gospel is a modern subgenre of gospel music. Although the style developed gradually, early forms are generally dated to the 1970s, and the genre was well established by the end of the 1980s. The radio format is pitched prima ...

such as

Andrae Crouch Andrae, Andræ (Danish) or Andrä is a surname and given name, which is a variant of Andreae, itself a patronymic (via the Latin genitive case) from the personal name Andreas. Notable persons with this name include: Surname * Ahmed-Tobias Andrä ...

and

Shirley Caesar Shirley Ann Caesar-Williams (born October 13, 1938), known professionally as Shirley Caesar, is an American gospel singer whose career has spanned seven decades. She has won 11 Grammys in addition to Dove Awards and Stellar Awards; Caesar is kno ...

. On August 16, 2022, WWIL’s license was cancelled by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

, due to having been silent for more than a year. FM translator W285FQ’s license was also cancelled.

References

External links

FCC Station Search Details: DWWIL
(Facility ID: 20662)
FCC History Cards for WWIL
(covering 1959-1981) WIL (AM) Radio stations established in 1964 Radio stations disestablished in 2022 Defunct radio stations in the United States 1964 establishments in North Carolina 2022 disestablishments in North Carolina Defunct religious radio stations in the United States

WIL Wil () is the capital of the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Wil in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Wil is the third largest city in the Canton of St. Gallen, after the city of St. Gallen and Rapperswil-Jona, a twin city that merged in ...

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