WFOM (1230
AM, "Xtra 106.3") is an
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
-area
radio station
Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting 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 rad ...
broadcasting on a frequency of 1230
kHz. The
radio station
Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting 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 rad ...
is licensed to the city of
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...
. WFOM, along with
WCNN
WCNN (680 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station city of license, licensed to Brookhaven, Georgia, North Atlanta and serving the Atlanta metropolitan area, Atlanta-area radio market. It is owned by Dickey Broadcasting and airs a sports radio ra ...
and
WIFN, are owned by Dickey Broadcasting. The broadcast facilities are in
The Battery Atlanta.
History

WFOM was known around
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...
and
Cobb County for its
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
format during the 1960s and 1970s. Despite a rather inferior signal, WFOM regularly placed within the top-five of rated Atlanta-area stations, Metro-wide. The
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
success of the station, which included prominence in the
music industry
The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...
, influenced Jerry Crowe, the radio executive co-owner in co-creating ''
Video Concert Hall'', precursor to
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
. (Crowe purchased the station from the estate of Jimmy Davenport, who was a leading
rock promoter in the
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. Among other events, the crew convinced
Wolfman Jack
Robert Weston Smith (January 21, 1938July 1, 1995), known as Wolfman Jack, was an American disc jockey active for over three decades. He was famous for his gravelly voice, and credited it with his success, saying, "It's kept meat and potatoes on ...
to stop by during a visit to Atlanta, where he did one live afternoon airshift in 1973.) WFOM was known for breaking many new artists to the Atlanta-area audience over many years, including instrumental California-based surf acts, prior to the national breakout of the
Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by thei ...
in 1963. WFOM was way ahead of its Atlanta-based competitors in adding many
Soul
The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
tunes to its playlist in the mid to late 1960s, by acts such as
The Chambers Brothers,
Dyke & the Blazers and
Johnny Nash. Also added were notable
Album/Progressive rock cuts by
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
,
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...
,
Vanilla Fudge,
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
and others, while the station maintained a "typical" Top 40-AM presentation style. WFOM was by far the first Metro station to air "
The Ballad of John & Yoko" (1969), "
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
" by The Chambers Brothers (August 1968), "
Oh Well" by the pre-pop
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...
and "
No Time" by
The Guess Who (both, late 1969), as well as cuts by groups such as
Blondie (late-1978) and
Culture Club
Culture Club are an English new wave music, new wave band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (musician), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), and Mikey Craig (bass guitar), and formerly included Jon Moss ( ...
(mid-1982). WFOM ended its somewhat unusual format in June 1983. The last song that was played in that format was
Barbara Mandrell's "In Times Like These". The next morning, WFOM started playing
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as 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 Christianity, Chri ...
.
When Dickey acquired the station in the mid 1990s, the format changed to a quick information format specifically for
Cobb County, Georgia
Cobb County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, and is a core county of the Atlanta metropolitan area in the north-central portion of the state. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 766, ...
. After that failed, the station became a simulcast of WCNN's sports format. In 2004, WFOM switched to a simulcast of
WALR's talk format. In 2005, when WALR flipped to Spanish sports, the talk format remained on WFOM. In 2007 WALR briefly simulcast WFOM once again, only to drop the simulcast for sports as a
Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio is an Radio in the United States, American Sports radio, sports radio network. Based in Los Angeles, California, the network is operated and managed by Premiere Networks in a content partnership with Fox Corporation's Fox Sports ...
affiliate.
On August 17, 2015,
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio, which is alternatively branded platform-agnostically as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the banner "SportsRadio ESPN". The netw ...
returned to the station from
WQXI (790 The Zone). The station has since switched to a
Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio is an Radio in the United States, American Sports radio, sports radio network. Based in Los Angeles, California, the network is operated and managed by Premiere Networks in a content partnership with Fox Corporation's Fox Sports ...
affiliation, with parent
WCNN
WCNN (680 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station city of license, licensed to Brookhaven, Georgia, North Atlanta and serving the Atlanta metropolitan area, Atlanta-area radio market. It is owned by Dickey Broadcasting and airs a sports radio ra ...
picking up ESPN Radio.
In 2015, WFOM and WIFN became the flagship stations of
Kennesaw State Owls football.
On January 4, 2018, WFOM rebranded as "The Sports X".
On April 19, 2021, WFOM changed their format from sports to news/talk.
WFOM Becomes Atlanta’s Most Conservative News & Talk
Radioinsight - April 19, 2021 Programming featured on the station includes The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. However, Braves spring training broadcasts were carried on the station on weekdays with weekend games broadcast on WCNN.
Station alumni
Former on-air staff include Barry Chase and Scott Woodside, Jack Hurst (sports, former Atlanta Falcons announcer), Rick Ellis, Stan Mason (Kerry Fink), Harold Thompson, Dale Deason, Keith Connors (WIDE107/Y106, B98.5FM Atlanta. WSIX Nashville. WZZK Bham. Now in Tampa/St Pete MAGIC 94.9, currently 99.5QYK)), Dennis Allen (Stage), Larry Shierbecker, Connie Prichard, Tony Lype, Dain Schult, Scott Evans, Big Hugh "Baby" Jarrett, Garry Kinsey, Oscar Woodall (HayWood Media owner/GM, syndicating: "Today's Sporting News & View" radio commentary, "Woody's Weekend Winners" radio prognostications of HBCU sports and "Afro-American Sports Digest" publication), Mike Adams (Roger Kulz), Mike Durrett, Bob Middleton, Bob Owens/Bob Casey, Pete Owen, Boomer (Steve Sutton), Red Jones, Pepper Martin (sports), Jack Jackson (Jack Giesler), Pat Kelly, David Lloyd, Randy K. Riggs, Barry Brooks, John L. Callihan, Mark Shierbecker, Scott Richards (Rick Ruhl) (Now with KQLH in Los Angeles), Jon Kirby, Don Yow (Sunday Night Talk Show), Darlene Wofford, Mark McCain, Ross Brittian, Gene Lovin, John Drake, Vicki Kay, Herb Emory (air name Jason Woodside), John Long, Gary Pearcey, Bill Duncan, Rebecca Stevens, Vic Jester, Greg McClure, Chris Hiers (air name Roger Clark) and David Raye (Ray Beadles).
References
External links
xtra1063.com website
FCC History Cards for WFOM
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{{News/Talk Radio Stations in Georgia
FOM
News and talk radio stations in the United States
Conservative talk radio