WPZS (100.9 FM) is an

urban gospel Urban/contemporary gospel, also known as urban gospel music, urban gospel pop, or just simply urban gospel, is a modern subgenre of gospel music. Although the style developed gradually, early forms are generally dated to the 1970s, and the genr ...

music station located in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

but licensed to Indian Trail. The station is currently owned & operated by Urban One. It carries the syndicated Yolanda Adams Morning Show. The station's studios are located in Southwest Charlotte near Carowinds, and the transmitter site is in Matthews near the intersection of NC 51 and Monroe Road.

History

The station was located in

Albemarle, North Carolina Albemarle () is a city in and the county seat of Stanly County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 16,432 in the 2020 census. History Etymology This place-name is derived from the English surname Albemarle. According to a 190 ...

for many years, where it was called WABZ-FM. Ted Bell hosted "Saturday Night Music Machine" while at WABZ-FM, interviewing

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

Debbie Reynolds Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer and entrepreneur. Her acting career spanned almost 70 years. Reynolds performed on stage and television and in films into her 80s. She was nom ...

, Freddie Cannon,

George Burns George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film, and television. His arched eyeb ...

Phil Everly Phillip Everly (January 19, 1939 – January 3, 2014) was an American musician, who was one half of the duo The Everly Brothers alongside his older brother Don. Early life Phil was born in Chicago in 1939 to Isaac Milford "Ike" Everly, Jr. (190 ...

Teresa Brewer Teresa Brewer (born Theresa Veronica Breuer; May 7, 1931 – October 17, 2007) was an American singer whose style incorporated pop, country, jazz, R&B, musicals, and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of th ...

, Tiny Tim, and

Gene McDaniels Eugene Booker McDaniels (February 12, 1935 – July 29, 2011) was an American singer, producer and songwriter. He had his greatest recording success in the early 1960s, reaching number three on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart wit ...

. The show, which Bell hosted until 1982, featured stars such as

Bobby Rydell Robert Louis Ridarelli (April 26, 1942 – April 5, 2022), known by the stage name Bobby Rydell (), was an American singer and actor who mainly performed rock and roll and traditional pop music. In the early 1960s, he was considered a teen idol. ...

and

Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including the Twist, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighters' R&B song " The Twis ...

. Bell also asked

Johnny Olson John Leonard Olson (May 22, 1910 – October 12, 1985) was an American radio personality and television announcer. Olson is perhaps best known for his work as an announcer for game shows, particularly the work he did for Mark Goodson-Bill Todman P ...

of ''

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is an American television game show where contestants compete by guessing the prices of merchandise to win cash and prizes. A 1972 revival by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman of their The Price Is Right (1956 American game ...

'' to do station IDs. Bill and Susi Norman, owners of

WZKY WZKY (1580 AM, "Magic 103.3 FM") is a radio station licensed to serve Albemarle, North Carolina, United States. The station is owned by Stanly Communications and broadcasts an oldies music format that at one time included programming from the ...

and WXLX, bought WABZ December 28, 1993 (Jenni Communications Inc. was named for their 10-year-old daughter) from Piedmont Crescent Communications.Jo Anne B. Efird, "All in the Radio Family", ''

Stanly News and Press ''The Stanly News Journal'' is a newspaper published on Tuesday and Saturday in Stanly County, North Carolina, USA. History ''The Second Century'' was published for the first time June 10, 1880. The connection between this paper and ''The Stanl ...

'', January 23, 1994. "Inspiration 100.9" played " Southern Gospel Music of today, yesterday and all the favorites", along with the

Trading Post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

, local sports and ministry programs. Johnny Caudle hosted the morning show from 1995 until 2000. In 2004, WABZ moved to its current city of license and changed its letters and format, giving grade A signal quality to the Charlotte area. Radio One, Inc. announced on November 16 that it had purchased WPZS for $11.5 million and moved it to the company's Charlotte facilities. The company already operated WPZS under an LMA earlier in the month, changing the format to

Urban contemporary gospel Urban/contemporary gospel, also known as urban gospel music, urban gospel pop, or just simply urban gospel, is a modern subgenre of gospel music. Although the style developed gradually, early forms are generally dated to the 1970s, and the gen ...

. On August 31, 2011, Radio One announced its intention to sell off their Charlotte stations to Davis Broadcasting, but in April 2012 the deal fell through and Radio One decided to keep the stations. On September 13, 2012, at Midnight, WPZS began simulcasting sister WQNC. WQNC and WPZS also swapped call letters on the same day. The two stations provide a strong combined signal with 60 percent overlap. The simulcast ended on August 14, 2015, with 100.9 reverting to the callsign WPZS.

References

External links

* * {{coord, 35.272, N, 80.765, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title Urban One stations PZS Radio stations established in 1958 Urban gospel radio stations in the United States 1958 establishments in North Carolina PZS