Frequency | 920 AM ( kHz) |
---|---|
Branding | Real Country 920 |
Programming | |
Format | Classic Country |
Ownership | |
Owner | Pilati Investments Corp. |
WKAX | |
History | |
First air date | May 29, 1949 [1] |
Former call signs | WWWR (1949-1987) WJRD (1987-1998) [2] |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 60506 |
Class | D |
Power | 1,000
watts (day) 40 watts (night) |
Transmitter coordinates | 34°30′50″N 87°42′55″W / 34.51389°N 87.71528°W |
Links | |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | wgolam.com |
WGOL (920 AM, "Real Country 920") is a radio station licensed to serve Russellville, Alabama, United States. The station is owned by Pilati Investments Corporation.
WGOL broadcasts a Classic Country music format in C-QUAM AM Stereo. [3]
In addition to its usual music programming, WGOL carries significant sports programming as a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide Sports Network. This includes Alabama Crimson Tide football, [4] men's basketball, [5] women's basketball, [6] baseball, [7] and the Hey Coach call-in show with Crimson Tide head coaches. [8]
This station first signed on in 1949 as WWWR. [1] [2]
WWWR made national headlines in early 1950 when a three-foot rattlesnake forced the radio station off the air for "more than an hour." [9] Engineers discovered the snake had "crawled into the tuning unit, shorting the circuit." [9]
In March 1986, SIS Sound of Russellville, Inc. reached an agreement to purchase WWWR from Franklin Broadcasting, Inc. [10] The deal was approved by the Federal Communications Commission on June 4, 1986, and the transaction was consummated on October 28, 1986. [10] The station's new owners had the FCC assign new call letters WJRD on August 17, 1987. [2]
On November 15, 1997, William A. Grant Jr., the owner of WJRD license holder SIS Sound of Russellville, Inc., died. [11] In March 1998, control of the company passed involuntarily to William A. Grant III and Walter B. Grant. [12] The Federal Communications Commission approved this transfer on May 21, 1998, and it was formally consummated on the same day. [12] The station was immediately put up for sale.
In June 1998, McCurry Broadcasting Company, Inc. reached an agreement to purchase WJRD from SIS Sound of Russellville, Inc. [13] The deal was approved by the FCC on July 29, 1998, and the transaction was consummated on August 12, 1998. [13] The new owners applied for and received new call letters WGOL from the FCC on August 17, 1998. [2]
In December 1999, Wanda Patricia Underwood reached an agreement to purchase WGOL from McCurry Broadcasting Company, Inc. [14] The deal was approved by the FCC on January 20, 2000, and the transaction was consummated on January 24, 2000. [14]
In April 2005, Pilati Investments Corporation (Karl H. Pilati, president) reached an agreement to purchase WGOL from Wanda Patricia Underwood. [15] The station sold for a reported $171,500. [16] The FCC approved the deal on August 25, 2005, and the transaction was consummated on August 31, 2005. [15]