WSIX-FM

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WSIX-FM
City of license Nashville, Tennessee
Broadcast area Nashville, Tennessee
Branding The Big 98 WSIX
Frequency

97.9 (MHz) (also on HD Radio)


97.9-2 (WSIXtra New) for New Country
Format Country
ERP 100,000 watts
HAAT 349 meters
Class C0
Facility ID 59815
Transmitter coordinates 36°02′50.00″N 86°49′48.00″W / 36.04722°N 86.83°W / 36.04722; -86.83
Callsign meaning 638 ("SIX") Tire Company
(home of original WSIX AM)
Owner Clear Channel Communications
Sister stations WLAC, WNRQ, WRVW, WUBT
Webcast Listen Live
Website big98country.com

WSIX-FM is an FM radio station broadcasting in Nashville, Tennessee on a frequency of 97.9 MHz. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications. It has been broadcasting since the late 1950s.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Countrypolitan

Originally the sister station of a similarly-styled AM station (now WYFN which simulcasts the Bible Broadcasting Network's religious programming), WSIX-FM pioneered the broadcasting in Nashville (and likely elsewhere in the U.S.) of the "countrypolitan" "Nashville sound" of country music, which developed in the 1960s, adding violins and other stringed instruments (and occasionally horns) to the traditionally fiddle- and guitar-driven sound of country music. During those years (beginning in 1967 until the late 1970s) WSIX-FM used the tagline, "We're metropolitan country." As such, WSIX-FM became one of the first successful country-formatted stations on the FM dial in the U.S.; country stations were overwhelmingly found on AM until well into the early 1980s.

Legendary Big 98 logo used from the 1980's-August 2011

[1]

[edit] The Big 98 Era

In 1983, then-owners General Electric sold the AM and FM stations, along with WNGE-TV (now WKRN), to other interests. Around that time, the stations' (both were simulcasting by this point) format turned to a more straightforward country sound (i.e., honkey tonk and "Outlaw" recordings that previously did not fit the more mellow, quieter playlist).

[edit] XM Simulcast

From May 1, 2006 to August 8, 2008, WSIX-FM was simulcast on XM Satellite Radio (channel 161). The satellite feed typically had roughly 3–4 minutes of commercials per hour. A song that was not on the station's playlist at the moment would play during commercial breaks as well.

As of June 8, 2011, WSIX-FM has returned to the XM platform, replacing "Nashville" on XM57.

[edit] Current Air-Staff

The current lineup (as of January 3, 2011) is as follows

  • Morning Show (5 a.m - 10 a.m): Billy and Karla
  • Mid-days (10 a.m - 3 p.m): Amy Paige
  • Afternoon Drive (3 p.m - 7 p.m): Anthony Allen
  • Nighttime (7 p.m - 12 a.m): TBD
  • Overnights (12 a.m - 5 a.m): After Mid-Nite w/ Blair Garner

[edit] See also

[edit] Links

[edit] References

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