WLAY (AM)

The station signed on in 1933 as WNRA, and has since secured its place in American music history thanks to its contribution to what is now commonly referred to as "The Muscle Shoals Sound". Originating its broadcast as a "variety format", WLAY was significant in its early years as a rare frequency that would broadcast both Southern Gospel and Country music and "race music" or music by African American artists. In the American Deep South, this was certainly unique. A number of bluegrass and delta blues musicians made regular live appearances on the radio station including Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, Sonny Boy Williamson and Son House.

Ownership changes

Former logo

The station's independent owners sold the station and it has changed hands many times since. Following the development of WLAY-FM, the AM frequency altered its format a number of times. It has been a Sports station and Oldies station in addition to a Country formatted station. When the frequency was purchased by URBan Radio Broadcasting, the format was changed to reflect the station's history. It now plays only local music recorded or written in Muscle Shoals.

It was announced in October 2007, that WLAY had received permission from the Federal Communications Commission to re-broadcast its programming on the FM band at 92.3. The rebroadcast began on October 31, 2007. This move significantly increased the radio station's reach in the market.

The station celebrated the 92.3 FM launch with a two-day marathon, broadcasting live from two of the city’s most celebrated recording studios. FAME Studios, where legendary recordings by Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, the Allman Brothers Band, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Solomon Burke, George Jones and Otis Redding have been recorded, played host to 92.3 FM on day one of the launch. Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, with an equally impressive pedigree of artists to its credit including Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, Bob Seger, Paul Simon, The Staple Singers, Cher, Boz Scaggs, Cat Stevens, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Willie Nelson, The Rolling Stones, Joe Cocker and Traffic, was the site of the second day’s broadcast.

During the launch, 92.3 FM played host to a virtual who’s who of Muscle Shoals music luminaries. Rare on-air interviews were conducted with FAME Studios owner Rick Hall and Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section members (and former owners of Muscle Shoals Sound Studios) David Hood and Jimmy Johnson. Additionally, the station spent hours sharing stories with famed area songwriters Donnie Fritts ("Breakfast in Bed", "We Had It All"), Earl "Peanut" Montgomery ("We Must Have Been Out Of Our Minds", "What’s Your Mama’s Name, Child?"), Mark Narmore ("What I Love About Sunday"), Gary Baker ("I Swear") as well as legendary session players and contemporary Muscle Shoals-based artists including John Paul White, Jason Isbell, The Drive-By Truckers, Sons of Roswell, Dillon Hodges, Byron Green, Heartland, and The Shoals.

After the addition of the FM translator, WLAY dropped its call letters and began referring to itself as "1450 and 92.3 The Sound" (in reference to the "Muscle Shoals Sound"). The station still identifies itself as "WLAY" in its Legal ID at the top of the hour. Further, The Sound began playing an increased amount of new local music in addition to the "classic" Muscle Shoals titles it had become known for. This made the station one of the few commercial radio stations in the United States playing unsigned, local artists in regular "current" rotation.

In late June 2010 WLAY and Shoals-area WVNA lost the lease on their combined transmitter site. The stations are off the air until a new site can be located and facilities built. The station was reported back on around June 24, 2011 with very low power. The AM was operating from the STL (studio to transmitter link tower) at the studios under a special temporary authority.

In 2012, Urban Radio did not file a license renewal application for the 92.3 translator or another translator located at 101.1 FM in Florence. The licenses expired in April 2012 and were deleted from the FCC database one year later. (FCC Records)

Following the expiration of W222AV 92.3 FM's license, an application for a new Class D FM station at 92.3 FM was filed, resulting in a construction permit being awarded in February 2014. This station signed on the air as WSHF 92.3 FM in June 2015, continuing the Muscle Shoals Music and Oldies format.

On December 7, 2015 Kevin Wagner-led URBan Radio filed a pleading with the FCC to keep the license for WLAY and WVNA active, claiming to have found a buyer for both stations, which was granted on December 15. The stations collectively will have been off for exactly a year on the 16th, which normally means they are automatically deleted by the FCC. As part of the request, URBan wants to return WLAY to the air with 60 watts from a longwire installed behind the URBan Radio studios on Main Street in Tuscumbia. That authorization came on by the 16th with country music and Shoals Country liners, although it is not a direct simulcast. The STA was granted and they kept stringing along on STAs into 2017, when they finally filed an application to permanently move the station's transmitter site to the WVNA-FM tower off New Cut Road, south of Tuscumbia. (Taken from Alabama Broadcast Media Page)

A construction permit for this change and a power decrease to 930 watts was granted on April 18, 2017.[3]

Effective April 1, 2019, URBan Radio sold WLAY and five sister stations to Singing River Media Group, LLC for $1.275 million.

In January 2020, WLAY changed their format to a simulcast of country-formatted WLAY-FM 100.1 Littleville.[4]

• WLAY in the FCC's AM station database
• WLAY on Radio-Locator
• WLAY in Nielsen Audio's AM station database

• FCC History Cards for WLAY