WSGN


WSGN was the first Birmingham station to adopt a Top 40 format in December 1955 under program director Jim Taber. Its on-air team of "Good Guys" included Duke Rumore, Tommy Charles, and Doug Layton. Other notable announcers were Bill Bolen and Neal Miller.

WSGN competed with WAPI, WENN & WYDE over the years but usually were the Top Dog in Birmingham radio.
The Sky Castle, located behind Ed Salem's Drive-In on 7th Avenue, South.


Kangaroo promotion?
During the 1950s the station moved its studio to the Southern Life & Health Insurance building (1954) at 2318-20 7th Avenue S.
It also built a "Sky Castle" studio in the parking lot of Eli's Drive-In where deejays took live requests from teenagers cruising the area. In the Summer of 1964 the station opened a new studio in the penthouse of the City Federal Building under station manager Ben McKinnon. WSGN was soon challenged by WYDE-AM and WVOK-AM in the pop format, but both of those faded by 1965.

Here's Jim Taber on June 29, 1964. [ LISTEN ] (29:37) Dick Kent is working in the studio on October 4, 1967. [ LISTEN ] (35:06) Steve Norris is dropping the needle on May 24, 1969. [ LISTEN ] (18:07) Here is what John Bass sounded like over the air in 1973. [ LISTEN ] (12:09)

The station was credited with helping break Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billy Joe" to a national audience in 1968. The next major challenge came from the new WERC-AM in 1972.

The upstart station moved into the brighter "teenybopper" pop while WSGN favored harder rock, which attracted a slightly older audience. Rick Dees hosted the morning drive program from 1973 to 1974. Other 1970s personalities included Jon Anthony, John Bass, Scottie Brink, Rick Davis, Amaysa Kincaid, Steve Norris, Glen Powers, and Ronnie Todd.
Jon "Rock & Roll" Anthony at WSGN, the legendary Big 610 back in the day.

By 1976 the station reversed course and tried to take WERC head on. New program director Jan Jeffries brought in Tommy Charles and John Ed Willoughby for the morning show and added Kevin McCartny, a Philly radio veteran.

The date is April 9, 1977 and the man behind the mic is Johnny King. [ LISTEN ] (46:07)


Dave Roddy March 12 1966
The station remained competitive in the Top 40 market until true FM top 40 radio came to Birmingham with WKXX-FM in 1977. By 1981 WSGN was targeting older listeners as adult-contemporary/oldies format "Music 610: The Station That Grew Up With You." The station was one of the first to adopt the "AM Stereo" format.

In February 1984, unable to compete with WMJJ-FM, WSGN went for an even older demographic, playing big bands and adult standards. A year later the station was sold. The final broadcast ended at 12:01 AM on April 26, 1985. The last songs played were "We'll Meet Again" by Vera Lynn and "In the Mood" by Glenn Miller. The station became a simulcast partner for country-format WZZK-FM, adopting its call letters as WZZK-AM. WAPI-AM soon adopted the nostalgia/easy listening format.

WHO WORKED AT WSGN? Here's the list: Jon Anthony, Bill Branigan, Wild Cherokee, Rick Dees, Mike Edwards, Daddy G, Don Herbert, Dick Kent, Amaysa Kincaid, Russ Knight, Chris Love, Dave Nichols, Dave Rockin' Roddy, Ron Roddy, Jim Taber, Bill Thomas, Jim Tyler, and Bill Wright Sr.