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{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name
| logo = WGFY
| city
| country = [[United States]]
| area =
| branding
| airdate = {{start date and
| frequency
| format
| power
| class
| licensing_authority = [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]]
| facility_id
| coordinates
| callsign_meaning =
| former_callsigns = {{ubl|WWOK (1954–1969)|WAME (1969–1990)|WCNT (1990–1993)|WCNV (1993–1994)|WIST (1994–1996)|WNMX (1996–1997)|WTLT (1997–1998)}}
| owner
| sister_stations
| webcast
| website
| affiliations
}}
'''WGFY''' (1480 [[
On May 25, 2016, WGFY was granted a [[Federal Communications Commission]] [[construction permit]] to increase
==History==
On March 27, 1964, Blackburn and Co. reported the sale of WWOK by Tarlow Associates of [[Boston]] to WWOK Inc. for $400,000. No changes were planned according to general manager Herb Berg. At the time, the station was located at 215 Greystone Road.<ref>"Charlotte Radio Station Is Sold For $400,000," ''The Charlotte Observer'', March 28, 1964, p. 9A.</ref> In early 1965 Wells H. Barnette replaced Berg, who was promoted to commercial manager,<ref>"Names And Changes," ''The Charlotte Observer'', January 7, 1965, p. 20A.</ref> and WWOK began operating 24 hours a day.<ref>Kays Gary, "Don't Lose Your Head Over This Little Joker," ''The Charlotte Observer'', January 16, 1965, p. 1B.</ref>
By 1961, WWOK played country music.{{cn}} In 1969, the station was purchased by Mission Broadcasting of [[San Antonio]], [[Texas]],<ref>Ron Alridge, "Swaggart Purchasing WAME," ''The Charlotte Observer'', September 7, 1978, p. 13B.</ref> an early ancestor of [[iHeartMedia|Clear Channel Communications]]. Around this same time, Mission also purchased [[Miami]] [[R&B]] station [[WSUA|WAME]] ("The Whammy in Miami"). The company flipped the call letters on its two acquisitions, sending WWOK to Florida and bringing '''WAME''' to Charlotte.▼
▲
WAME was part of a "new breed" of country and western stations "presenting it in a more sophisticated manner". The style of "Easy Ed" Robinson, for example, was more like that of big-city stations playing easy listening, described as "polished, metropolitan". One reason was that he was from [[New York City]], not the [[Southern United States|South]]. In addition to the afternoon shift, he recorded commercials and reviewed music.<ref>Don Dayberry, "WAME's 'Easy Ed' Robinson Is One Of The New Breed," ''The Charlotte Observer'', December 13, 1970.</ref> Other popular DJs in WAME's country music days included Ed Galloway,<ref name=Pearl>Ron Alridge, "'Pearl' Has More Subplots Than The Navy Has Ships," ''The Charlotte Observer'', November 16, 1978, p. 13B.</ref> "Large" Larry English, Bill Alexander, John Sutton and Bob Brandon.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} On June 18, 1973, Bob Quay of [[WWVA (AM)]] became the new morning host, replacing Robinson, who moved to afternoons and also served as program manager, while Rich Jones returned to evenings and John Lyon returned to Charlotte from [[WSUA|WWOK]] to do the overnight slot.<ref>{{cite news|title=John's Mind-Searing Haughtiness Was Only To Attract Attention|last=Hanna|first=Charlie|work=The Charlotte Observer|date=June 4, 1973|page=15A}}</ref> The phrases "Whammy"<ref>{{cite news|title=Radio At A Glance|last=Hanna|first=Charlie|work=The Charlotte Observer|date=October 5, 1975|page=128}}</ref> and "Top Dog<ref>{{cite news|title=Randco Mobile Homes ad|work=The Charlotte Observer|date=June 28, 1974|page=16C}}</ref> in Charlotte Country" were used extensively to promote the station in those days.
WAME became Charlotte's second full-time [[Christian radio]] station at 11 P.M. December 31, 1978 after [[Jimmy Swaggart]]'s Swaggart Broadcasting bought the station. The format was mostly [[Contemporary Christian Music]] such as [[B.J. Thomas]], [[Dave Boyer]] and [[Evie Tornquist]]. Jeff Flanders, an official for Swaggart, called it "a blend of music that would not offend anyone", and he said the objective was to get listeners who would not otherwise listen to Christian music.<ref name=Gallman>Vanessa Gallman, "Radio Station Switches To Religious Programs," ''The Charlotte Observer'', January 3, 1979, p. 2B.</ref> Galloway moved to [[WHVN|WIST]] despite a [[noncompete clause]].<ref name=Pearl/> In early 1980, Swaggart denounced Contemporary Christian Music through his publication ''The Evangelist'',{{citation needed|date=August 2018}} and WAME changed to "teaching programs and middle-of-the-road, family-oriented music."<ref>"Stations Put Christian Message On Airwaves Of Metrolina," ''The Charlotte Observer'', December 16, 1980.</ref> By 1980 half the programming was "spoken word".<ref>Mark Wolf, "Radio Station WQCC To Shift To A Christian Music Format," ''The Charlotte Observer'', October 6, 1980, p. 5B.</ref> Popular DJs in WAME's Christian days were [[Danny Dyer]], [[Teresa Gardner]] and Bob Harris.▼
As WAME, the station was responsible for one of the first radio controversies in Charlotte, when the station's billboards showed a woman in tight jeans (and little else) having the WAME logo branded on her posterior.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}
In March 1990, WAME was sold to a subsidiary of [[Pat Robertson]]'s [[Christian Broadcasting Network]], which changed the call letters to '''WCNT''' and began its own in-house syndicated talk network which included [[Harley David]], [[Cliff Kincaid]] and [[Bob Kwessel]].<ref>Tim Funk, "Radio Show Aims to Please - And Rankle", ''The Charlotte Observer'', April 25, 1990.</ref> Following the demise of the network shows, WCNT became a primarily local [[talk radio]] station. [[Gerry Vaillancourt]] started his talk show on WCNT,<ref>Tim Funk, "Inside Business: WCNT Adds Business News to Format", ''The Charlotte Observer'', April 25, 1991.</ref> and [[H. A. Thompson]] did a daily show on the station for several months.▼
▲WAME became Charlotte's second full-time [[Christian radio]] station at 11 P.M. December 31, 1978 after [[Jimmy Swaggart]]'s
▲In March 1990, WAME was sold to a subsidiary of [[Pat Robertson]]'s [[Christian Broadcasting Network]], which changed the call
During 1991, on Saturday and Sunday evenings, WCNT aired ''[[When Radio Was]]'', hosted by [[Art Fleming]], with [[Serial (radio and television)|radio serials]] such as ''[[The Shadow]]'' and ''[[Fibber McGee and Molly]]''.<ref>Tim Funk, "Listen Up: From 'Radio Free Bubba' to 'The Shadow,' Area Radio's Ready to Turn You On," ''The Charlotte Observer'', July 12, 1991.</ref>
Late in 1991, WCNT began airing mostly [[sports talk]]. However, the station was never able to make a profit, with CBN taking the station silent at 9 AM on November 6, 1991, and searched for a buyer.<ref>Tim Funk, "Hear Ye, Hear Ye: Radio Stations Are Bustling with Activity," ''The Charlotte Observer,'' December 14, 1991.</ref>▼
▲Late in 1991, WCNT began airing mostly [[sports talk]]. However, the station was never able to make a profit, with CBN taking the station
Early in 1993, new owners [[Christ Covenant Church (Matthews, North Carolina)|Christ Covenant Church]] returned the station to the air as '''WCNV''' ("Charlotte's News Voice"), airing the audio portion of [[CNN]]'s [[HLN (TV channel)|Headline News Channel]] 24 hours a day. As with its previous format, unprofitability and expenses forced the station silent by year's end.▼
▲Early in 1993, new owners, the
In 1994, the owners of WHVN took over the station's operations under a [[local marketing agreement]] with Christ Covenant, and brought the station back on air as
In July 1997, WNMX, the current [[WAME]] in [[Statesville, North Carolina|Statesville]], and [[WAVO]] in [[Rock Hill, South Carolina]] formed the "Total Radio Network". WNMX became
On August 13, 2014, Disney put WGFY and twenty-two other [[Radio Disney]] stations up for sale, in order to focus more on digital distribution of the Radio Disney network.<ref name=b&c-radiodisneysell2014>{{cite news|last1=Lafayette|first1=Jon|title=Exclusive: Radio Disney Moving Off Air to Digital|url=http://broadcastingcable.com/news/currency/exclusive-radio-disney-moving-air-digital/133166|
==References==
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==External links==
{{AM station data|10889|WGFY}}
{{Charlotte Radio}}
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