WXGM is an
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 ...
-formatted
broadcast
Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...
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 to
Gloucester, Virginia
Gloucester Courthouse ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Gloucester County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,951 at the 2010 census.
History
The Gloucester County Courthouse Square Historic District, ...
, serving
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...
and
Gloucester County, Virginia
Gloucester County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 38,711. Its county seat is Gloucester Courthouse, Virginia, Gloucester Courthouse. T ...
. WXGM is owned and operated by WXGM, Inc.
History
WDDY
WDDY went on the air on January 20, 1957, becoming the first radio station in the Middle Peninsula. The station was owned by S. L. Goodman, the owner of a publishing firm in
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
,
[ ( Guide to reading History Cards)] though the station was almost immediately sold to WDDY, Inc.—owned by station manager Charles E. Springer—upon signing on the air. It broadcast during the daytime only with 1,000 watts. In 1958, Arthur Lazarow, a former announcer at
WWJ radio in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
, acquired WDDY in 1958 by way of his company Cape Radio; minority investors in Cape included John R. Daniels and Arthur Shimmin. The station's full-service format included 12 hours a week each of African American and country programming in 1967.
Lazarow owned WDDY for 23 years until he sold it in 1981 for $90,000 to a new WDDY, Inc., owned by William Eure and Thomas Robinson of
Petersburg, where they owned WSSV AM and WPLZ-FM.
Despite not planning many changes at the outset, changes did come to WDDY: that summer, it relaunched with a country format and picked up coverage of
Virginia Cavaliers football
The Virginia Cavaliers football team represents the University of Virginia (UVA) in the sport of American football. Established in 1887, Virginia plays its home games at Scott Stadium, capacity 61,500, featured directly on its campus near the ...
and the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
. Eure and Robinson laid the groundwork for another change in the 80s by announcing their intention in 1984 to apply for an FM frequency. Eure's stake was subsequently purchased by a new corporation, WXGM, Inc., founded by Robinson and Walter Wurfel, an experienced radio executive who was then vice president of communications for the National Association of Broadcasters.
WXGM
Comprehensive changes came to 1420 AM on September 1, 1988
when the station was relaunched as WXGM with an oldies format. The overhaul also included $40,000 in equipment upgrades. Even more changes came on July 29, 1991, when
WXGM-FM 99.1 launched; the FM and AM stations initially simulcast as adult contemporary "Xtra 99.1 FM". That same year, the AM station reduced its daytime power to 740 watts. Its sports coverage gained a regional appeal the next year when the station began what would be a 9-year relationship with the
William & Mary Tribe
The William & Mary Tribe is a moniker for the College of William & Mary's athletic teams and the university's community more broadly.
William & Mary has won two team national championships (both in men's tennis), the AIAW championships in wo ...
; WXGM ended the deal abruptly in 2001 when it signed a more favorable deal to carry the
athletic events of Christopher Newport University, in which
CNU paid the station and offered to help sell advertising.
After Wurfel died in 2018 and Robinson died in 2020, ownership of the station passed to their widows, Sara Fitzgerald and Marva Paige Robinson.
See also
WDDY AM, Gloucester, Virginia, tribute site
References
External links
*
*
{{Oldies Radio Stations in Virginia
XGM (AM)
Oldies radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1957
1957 establishments in Virginia