WHBQ (560 kHz) – branded ''Sports 56 WHBQ'' – is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

AM radio AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmi ...

station licensed to serve

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. Owned by Flinn Broadcasting, the station covers the

Memphis metropolitan area The Memphis–Clarksdale–Forrest City Combined Statistical Area, TN–MS–AR (CSA) is the commercial and cultural hub of the Mid-South or Ark-Miss-Tenn. The census-defined combined statistical area covers eleven counties in three states, Tenne ...

, and is the local affiliate for

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 ...

, the Memphis Redbirds, and

Ole Miss Rebels football The Ole Miss Rebels football program represents the University of Mississippi, also known as "Ole Miss". The Ole Miss Rebels, Rebels compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Colleg ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. The WHBQ studios and transmitter are located in the city of Memphis. Besides a standard analog transmission, WHBQ is available online. The station is also simulcast over translator W253DF at 98.5 FM.

History

On March 25, 1925, WHBQ first signed on the air. It was among the earliest stations in Memphis and had its studios in the historic Hotel Claridge. During the 1930s, it broadcast at 100 watts on 1370 kilocycles. After the

North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA, ; ) refers to a series of international treaties that defined technical standards for AM band (mediumwave) radio stations. These agreements also addressed how frequency assignments were d ...

(NARBA) went into effect in 1941, WHBQ switched to 1400 kHz, powered at 250 watts. WHBQ moved its studios to Hotel Gayoso. In the 1940s, WHBQ became a network affiliate of the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Golden Age of Radio, ...

. At the end of the 1940s, WHBQ moved to its current spot on the dial, 560 kHz. It got a boost in power to 5,000 watts days and 1,000 watts nights. General Teleradio (later RKO General), the broadcasting arm of the

General Tire and Rubber Company Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, d.b.a. General Tire, is an American manufacturer of tires for motor vehicles, and semi trucks. Founded in 1915 in Akron, Ohio by William Francis O'Neil, Winfred E. Fouse, Charles J. Jahant, Robert Iredell, ...

, purchased the WHBQ stations in March 1954, and later turned the AM counterpart into a leading

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 ...

station. Its reputation was developed by Dewey Phillips, a disc jockey who played

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

music on his night time show, "Red, Hot and Blue." In 1954, Phillips played a recording of " That's Alright Mama" by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

, a young truck driver and budding musician, marking the first time an Elvis recording was broadcast on the radio. For many years, WHBQ was considered a "

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

" for RKO's larger stations. Young, aspiring DJs, such as Rick Dees and game show host Wink Martindale worked there with hopes of being moved up to RKO's larger markets, like

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, New York City, San Francisco, or the biggest Top 40 station in the chain, KHJ in Los Angeles. In the 1960s, under the guidance of programmer Bill Drake, WHBQ became Boss Radio, known for playing the hottest hits with the most popular DJs. Disc jockey George Klein was indicted and convicted of

mail fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. fede ...

in 1977. Klein, a former Program Director for WHBQ, went to trial after being indicted on four counts of conspiring with a former postal employee to steal

Arbitron Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...

diaries. Klein admitted to filling out diaries in order to inflate WHBQ's ratings. Klein was found guilty of conspiracy and sentenced to 60 days in federal prison. By the early 1980s, the once-mighty Top 40 station could no longer compete with the increasing popularity of FM-band contemporary music stations. WHBQ tried playing

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

from 1981 to 1983 before switching to a full service

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

format. It used local talk hosts as well as syndicated programming from NBC Talknet and ABC TalkRadio. In 1988, RKO sold WHBQ to Flinn Broadcasting, a local media company. Flinn tried oldies again, then

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

and even heavy metal late at night. In 1992, WHBQ switched to all sports. For a time it was affiliated with CBS Sports Radio, then NBC Sports Radio. When NBC discontinued full-time sports programming at the end of 2018, WHBQ switched to

. In October 2020, WHBQ began simulcasting on FM translator W253DF (98.5 FM) in Memphis; its previous FM simulcast, WPGF-LP (87.7), dropped its simulcast with WHBQ and began stunting with

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of Music genre, genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas and holiday season, Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of Christmas ...

as "Santa @ 87.7". The arrangement lasted until the end of December 2020; in January 2021, it began running a rock format known as "Drake Hall Memphis Radio." WPGF-LP had until July 2021 to convert to digital and end its radio operations.Santa Comes To Memphis As WHBQ Moves FM Signal
Radioinsight - October 21, 2020

Programming

WHBQ serves as the Memphis area home for the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

and

men's basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, and is also the main outlet for the Memphis Redbirds of baseball's Triple-A East. The station's hosts include: Peter Edmiston, Anthony Sain, Dave Woloshin, Greg Gaston, Eli Savoie, Gabe Kuhn, Brett Norsworthy, and John Hardin. Nights and weekends, WHBQ carries programming from

. Weekly programming includes: - Mornings with Greg & Eli - Hosts: Greg Gaston and Eli Savoie - 7am - 10am - Wolo & Friends - Host: Dave Woloshin - 10 am - 11am - Happy Hour with Johnny Radio - Host: John Hardin - 11am - 1pm - Sportstime with Gabe and Stats - Hosts: Gabe Kuhn and Brett Norsworthy - 3pm - 6pm

Previous logo

(WHBQ's logo under previous simulcast with WPGF-LP)

References

Radio Show Hosts

External links

Official website
–

E-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Al ...

by John Long * *
FCC Information for WPGF-LP
George Klein Radio Ratings Fraud (2008) {{Sports Radio Stations in Tennessee Radio stations in Memphis, Tennessee, HBQ RKO General Sports radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1925 1925 establishments in Tennessee Fox Sports Radio stations