WHHY-FM (101.9

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

, "Y102") is a

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 ...

licensed A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

to serve

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

, United States. The station is owned by

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is a broadcasting company of the United States and is the second largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States ahead of Audacy and behind iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdi ...

. Y102 broadcasts a top 40 (CHR) music format. The WHHY-FM studios are located on the 3rd floor of The Colonial Financial Center in downtown Montgomery. The broadcast signal, based from a transmitter in Montgomery's northeast side, can be heard as far away as

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, and is generally clear south of there along

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History

The station first operated in downtown Montgomery. During the late 1960s the station moved from the Frank Leu Building downtown, into a house on Norman Bridge Road. A broadcast wing was added to the back of the building in the early 1970s. The original "WHHY" was an AM station (1440 AM) owned by Holt/Robinson. The FM station on 101.9 was an automated FM country music station before becoming a rock station. It would be known as "The Music FM - Y-102". The FM station would simulcast the AM's morning show (06:00-10:00) hosted by longtime personality and program director Larry Stevens. This was followed on AM by Kris O'Kelly (10:00-14:00), "The Thin Man" (14:00-18:00), music director Lanny West (18:00-22:00) Jeffry Tilden (22:00-02:00) and public relations director Mike Sanders (02:00-06:00). During the 1970s Y-102 would split from the AM at 10 am each morning and would broadcast light classic rock (Elton John, ELO, Billy Joel, Bob Seger, etc.) The AM was CHR. WHHY boasted a very large and well equipped news department that was known for pioneering the use of a geographically distributed severe weather team that reported live from locations along the predicted path of severe weather and possible tornadoes. The news team was on call 24-7 and no breaking news events in the broadcast coverage area went uncovered. The news staff included Don Phelps, Angie Wilson, Jennifer Reid, Jim McDade, Jimmy Carter, Henry Schmitt, and the legendary Robert Charles. Charles is fondly remembered for his news closer borrowed from the poetic quatrain of Omar Khayyám, “The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, moves on!”. In January 1979, John Reed (Prater) left the 10-2 midday shift to take over Y-102. It was under the guidance of Reed that Y-102-FM not only became the highest rated station in the Montgomery market during the April–May 1979 sweeps, Radio and Records magazine announced that Y-102 had the highest market share of any FM station in the nation. Those ratings were released during the summer of 1979, and it was not long after that when plans to move the Top 40 WHHY-AM programming to Y-102 in August 1979. The on-air lineup chosen by Reed at Y-102 included Phil “Fish” Horton, Reid Spann, James Spann, Steve Johnson, and Bob Underwood. In the early 1980s, the FM became the focus station of the pair. The FM was changed to CHR. The AM format was changed to

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

. During the 1990s Holt/Robinson broadcasting began to have money problems. Longtime morning show host Larry Stevens exited to rival Colonial Broadcasting. The format was shifted to "New Rock" and known as "Live 101.9". In May 1993, Holt-Robinson Communications Corporation was placed into receivership. Thomas M. Duddy was approved by the FCC as receiver on June 21, 1993. In May 1995, receiver Thomas M. Duddy made a deal to sell this station to McDonald Investment Company, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on July 3, 1995, and the transaction was consummated on September 15, 1995. McDonald in turn sold it to Cumulus Broadcasting. The FM station's format was changed to

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 ...

by McDonald then back to CHR by Cumulus. The AM had several formats, including late 1970s AC with

Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American TV and radio host presenter, author, and former spokesman. He was a WMBM radio interviewer in the Miami area in the 1950s and 1960s and beginning in ...

overnights and

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 ...

. Cumulus Broadcasting changed the format of the AM to talk ("News Radio 1440") and ended the heritage call letters WHHY. The station was reassigned the heritage WHHY-FM call letters by the

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on January 22,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

References

External links

WHHY-FM official website
Connect with Y102: Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AllTheHitsY102/ Twitter https://twitter.com/y102_montgomery * {{Cumulus Media HHY-FM Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States Cumulus Media radio stations Radio stations established in 1962 1962 establishments in Alabama