WYAY

WYAY

City of license	Gainesville, Georgia
Broadcast area	Atlanta metropolitan area
Branding	Atlanta's Greatest Hits 106.7
Slogan	"Atlanta`s Greatest Hits"
Frequency	106.7 MHz (also on HD Radio)
First air date	1976
Format	Classic Hits
ERP	77,000 watts
HAAT	505 meters
Class	C
Facility ID	48727
Callsign meaning	Atlanta's Y106 (previous branding)
Former callsigns	WWLT, WWID
Affiliations	Georgia Tech Football Radio Network, ABC Radio Network News
Owner	Cumulus Media (Radio License Holding II, LLC)
Sister stations	WKHX, WWWQ, WNNX
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	atlantasgreatesthits.com

WYAY is a 77,000 watt Atlanta FM radio station that plays mainly classic hits music from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Its city of license is Gainesville, Georgia, northeast of Atlanta, but the station moved in toward the metro area in early 1985.

History

This facility was first listed as WWID "Wide 107" in late 1976, then WWLT "Lite 106" in early 1983, and has been WYAY since mid-1984. WYAY "Lite 106" switched to a country music format under "Y106", a moniker it retained until 2000. From 1989 to 1994 there was also "Y104" on the opposite (southwest) side of metro Atlanta, which simulcast with it (except for advertisements) on 104.1 FM (now WALR-FM). In 2000, the station changed to classic country "Eagle 106.7", but its callsign did not change. Both stations are owned by Citadel Broadcasting, who merged several of Disney's ABC Radio stations. Overnights on Eagle 106.7 were satellite-fed from an ABC Radio music network.

In late 2005, WYAY changed transmitters to a new tower that they are sharing with 104.7 WFSH which improved south metro coverage for the 106.7 signal.

On February 29, 2008, Citadel announced that WYAY would drop the country format for oldies. A majority of the on-air talent were released, including Rhubarb Jones, who had served at the station since 1985. Jones was the longest-running morning DJ on Atlanta radio. Dallas McCade and traffic reporter Greg Talmadge were the only on-air survivors and have since moved to sister station WKHX to join Cadillac Jack on the morning show.

On March 9, 2008 at 12:56 p.m., Eagle 106.7 played their last country song, "Stealing Cinderella" by Chuck Wicks. Then the station went on to air the live NASCAR broadcast (the Kobalt Tools 500 from Atlanta Motor Speedway). Then at 7 p.m., just after the race, the station flipped to oldies, rebranding itself as "True Oldies 106.7". The first song on the new 106.7 FM was "Revolution" by The Beatles. The station featured Imus in the Morning and The True Oldies Channel all day, similar to a format flip that occurred on sister station WJZW on February 29, 2008.

The oldies format had been absent from the Metro Atlanta area since Fox 97.1 WFOX-FM, WLKQ-Oldies Lake 102.3 FM, WLCL Cool 105.7, WNSY-FM Sunny 100 all were bought by new owners and/or the formats were switched. It promoted an active playlist rotation of over 5,000 songs. The very large Oldies playlist seems to have been a great boost to WYAY-FM, as it has garnered some very decent ratings. It has scored higher than the late "Fox 97" and "Cool 105.7" did in recent years, as they had very limited Oldies playlists. On October 12, 2009, Randy and Spiff were reunited on True Oldies 106.7.

The station had been the Atlanta market's home to NASCAR race coverage for years; the NASCAR broadcasts continued after the format change for at least the rest of the 2008 season. On November 7, 2008 WYAY announced that it will not carry NASCAR in 2009, it will become the new FM home of Georgia Tech Football and Men's basketball. The GM for WYAY is Mark Richards, who also was the MD at longtime oldies beacon WFOX-FM "Fox 97." Richards was GM there in the final years of the Oldies format there from late 2001- early 2003 before the station let him and all staff go and adopted a new format in early 2003.

On April 6, 2009, it was announced that Imus in the Morning, would move from WYAY (owned by the show's syndicator, Citadel Broadcasting) to competing station, WCFO, beginning April 13, 2009. The show was replaced by Spiff Carner and Freddie Brooks moving their afternoon show to the Mornings.

On November 22, 2010, the station changed its branding to Atlanta's Greatest Hits 106.7, dropped Scott Shannon and The True Oldies Channel feed, and shifted from oldies to classic hits with an emphasis on 1970s and 1980s music. Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.

Randy and Spiff

On October 19, 2009, Randy Cook rejoined Spiff Carner at WYAY-FM, bringing back the "Randy and Spiff" morning show that began at WFOX-FM "Fox 97" when that station launched in 1989. The team had been together before that since 1985 in a few markets, including Charlotte, NC. The duo had great success at WFOX-FM from the beginning in 1989 on in to the early 2000s. In February 2003, Cox Broadcasting (owner of Fox 97) switched the format from Oldies to Urban. A small playlist in later years on WFOX-FM was blamed by many for the change. Then, a few weeks later in May 2003, Randy and Spiff were hired by Clear Channel's new oldies station, WLCL, "Cool 105.7." The station switched to Spanish in 2005, and Randy and Spiff then moved to Clear Channel's "94.9 Lite FM." Despite its decent ratings, in late 2006, Lite 94.9 was changed to a Country format and renamed "The Bull." Clear Channel then put the duo on WGST upon Lite FM's demise. Spiff Carner was let go shortly after the move to WGST, but Randy Cook remained at WGST through the term of his contract, which ended in mid-2009. Spiff had joined WYAY-FM alongside Fred Brooks in afternoons in March 2008.

Randy and Spiff were fired on Monday, October 3, 2011, after WYAY's new owners (Cumulus) laid off many of its employees.

Georgia Tech football

As of 2009, WYAY is now the FM flagship station for Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football and men's basketball.^{[citation needed]}

Slogans

Former slogans: The Most Music; Atlanta's Country Favorites; Atlanta's Young Country; Today's Hit Country; Real Country Less Talk; Country Legends and The Best of Today, Atlanta's True Oldies Channel

New Slogans: Atlanta's Greatest Hits.

Current on-air staff

• Tripp West (mornings 6-10 a.m.)
• Kristen Charles (mid-days 10-2 p.m.)
• Fred McFarland & Kim Fitz (afternoons 2-7 p.m.)

Former on-air staff

• Gary Kinsey (2000–2006; before that spent 18 years at sister station WKHX. Now retired)
• Bucky Smith
• Cal Cross (selling real estate in Atlanta, foreclosure specialist)
• George Mason-Dixon (currently doing afternoons at 106.1 WNGC in Athens, Georgia with UGA announcer Scott Howard)
• Stonewall Jackson
• General Zach Taylor
• Red Neckerson (last heard on the Bellamy Strickland 120 NASCAR show w/Captin Herb Emory Saturdays on AM 750 WSB, passed away Sept. 14, 2010)
• Andrew Jackson (has also used the names Andy Byrd on WFOX, Fox 97 and Andrew Clark on WSB-AM/FM, WZGC, Z-93, now runs entertainment business with DJs, Game Shows and Casino Events, Andrew Byrd Productions)
• Dallas Turner (last seen on GAC)
• BJ Williams (now reporting for 550 WDUN in Gainesville)
• Cadillac Jack (1996–2000; currently doing mornings at sister station WKHX)
• Evelyn Kay (2005-2010 - now doing fill-in on sister station WKHX)
• Bill Dollar (now doing afternoons & program director for I-92 in Montgomery, Alabama, the same station Rhubarb Jones worked at before coming to WYAY)
• Sandra Carroll
• Jenny Kennedy
• Keith Connors (now at 94.9 in Tampa, Florida)
• Angie Powell (last heard as a traffic reporter on AM 750 WSB)
• Bob Glascoff (last heard as a news reader on AM 750 WSB. Retired from CNN HLN March 20, 2009)
• Ken Polley (last heard on CNN)
• Randy Blake
• Karli Morgan (former morning show co-host on Q102 FM in Rome, Georgia)
• Catfish McDaniels
• Kitty White
• Denise Alexander
• John Roach
• Dominica (last heard on KLTY FM, Dallas, Texas)
• Jamie Austin
• Southside Steve (left the station to return to the Regular Guys, now at 100.5)
• Todd Veal
• Mike Stiles (air name was Billy Ray Evans, former Star 94 morning show producer, now running Sketchworks Comedy and the Stiles Company, LLC)
• Bobby Lanier
• Steve Mitchell (runs voiceover and video production company. Also hosts Thunder Road, a weekly NASCAR and Country music show that was heard on the station before the format change. Fired on February 29, 2008)
• Sandy Weaver (runs voiceover production company, Voicework On Demand, Inc. Fired on February 29, 2008)
• Rhubarb Jones (the longest-running morning DJ in Atlanta radio. Now teaching Communications at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia. Fired on February 29, 2008)
• Dallas McCade (now co-hosting Atlanta's Country Morning Show with Cadillac Jack on sister station WKHX)
• Kevin O'Brien (last country DJ heard on WYAY 3/9/2008. Currently doing production for WKHX and WYAY)
• Boomer (currently doing production for WKHX and WYAY)
• Mark McCain (McCain and Steve Mitchell co-hosted the Mark and Steve Show on WKLS in Atlanta during the 1980s on what is now Project 96.1)
• AJ Cannon -(now on morning drive show at WNGC in Athens, GA (Cox Radio). Voted Man of the Year 2009 by the National Association for the Advancement of Appliantology)
• Greg Talmadge (moved with Dallas McCade to sister station WKHX on March 10, 2008)
• Melissa Miller (now doing mid-days at Kat Country 105.3 in Florida)
• Rob Lee (former host of Country Gold, now doing production for WYAY and WKHX, and 10pm-2am on sister station kicks 101.5 WKHX)
• Matt Ryan
• Gary Cooper
• Dixie Lee
• Commander Dave Foster
• Michael Brooks
• Vanna In The Van
• Jessie Jane (moved to WKHX)
• Sherry Lynn
• David Knight
• Barry Marshall
• Jerry Lee Hughes
• Sally Russell (currently at the Weather Channel)
• Scott Evans
• Kelli Roberts (also used the name Sheila Roberts on J93.3; now deceased.)
• Shawn Austin
• Jody Jackson

Previous Logo

(WYAY's logo under previous "True Oldies" branding)

External links

• Query the FCC's FM station database for WYAY
• Radio-Locator information on WYAY
• Query Arbitron's FM station database for WYAY