WYAV (104.1 FM) is a

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

radio station licensed to

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the East Coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as the "Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...

and serves the

Grand Strand The Grand Strand is an arc of beach land on the Atlantic Ocean in South Carolina, United States, extending more than from Little River to Winyah Bay. It is located in Horry and Georgetown Counties on the northeastern South Carolina coast. Th ...

area. The station is licensed by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

(FCC) to broadcast with an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...

(ERP) of 100 kW. The station goes by the name Wave 104.1 and its current slogan is "Classic Rock Wave 104.1." Its studios are located in Myrtle Beach and its transmitter is located in Murrells Inlet.

History

WLAT-FM in

Conway, South Carolina Conway is a city in and the county seat of Horry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 24,849 at the 2020 census, up from 17,103 in the 2010 census, making it the 18th-most populous city in the state. The city is part of ...

played beautiful music at one time. The station then changed its call sign to WYAV and changed the format to a CHR/

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, under their new name as ''"The New Wave 104 FM"''. In the mid-1980s WYAV became the market's first 100,000-watt station and made another format change to AC. At the height of the station's popularity, WYAV bought an ad in the ''Myrtle Beach Sun-News'' to congratulate the listeners on making it the number-one station in the market. The format later changed to

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Syste ...

, and eventually

Classic Rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

in November 1993. In the 1990s, WYAV added

Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American broadcaster and media personality. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from 1 ...

. Eventually, Stern became too controversial and was dropped because the station couldn't sell advertising for him, according to program director Brian Rickman. Mike Gagliano of WWBR

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 ...

became afternoon DJ and music director in 1999. Less than a year later he was back in Detroit at

WRIF WRIF (101.1 FM) is a commercial active rock radio station licensed in Detroit, Michigan and serving Metro Detroit as well as Windsor and Southwestern Ontario. The station is currently owned by Beasley Media Group. WRIF is a grandfathered ...

. Until January 22, 2010, the station aired the syndicated morning show

The Free Beer and Hot Wings Show ''The Free Beer and Hot Wings Show'' is a syndicated morning talk radio show broadcast primarily from the Townsquare Media radio station WGRD-FM in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The show is hosted by Gregg "Free Beer" Daniels, Chris "Hot Wings" Miche ...

. On January 25, 2010, Wave 104.1 and is sister station

WKZQ-FM WKZQ-FM (96.1 MHz, "96.1 KZQ") is an alternative rock radio station licensed to Forestbrook, South Carolina and serves the Grand Strand area. The station is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to broadcast with an effective ...

swapped morning shows. The station is an affiliate of the syndicated

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

program " Floydian Slip." In September 2017, Dick Broadcasting announced the purchase of

Alpha Media Alpha Media LLC is a radio broadcasting company based in Portland, Oregon, and led by Bob Proffitt. The group does business under the Alpha Media name. It was formed from the merger of Alpha Broadcasting, L&L Broadcasting, and Main Line Broadc ...

stations in three markets — 18 stations and two translators in total, at a purchase price of $19.5 million. The acquisition of WYAV by Dick Broadcasting was consummated on December 20, 2017.

References

External links

WYAV official website
* YAV Classic rock radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1978 {{SouthCarolina-radio-station-stub