WQSC
Encyclopedia
WQSC is a beach music
radio station
licensed to serve the community of Charleston, South Carolina
.
, bought WHAN in 1955, which was renamed WOKE in 1958.
WOKE was a unique station in Charleston. Its format included "good music", local and regional sports, religious programming, and news and weather forecasts. According to local radio buff J. Douglas Donehue, three of the station's announcers—Harry Weaver, Buck Clayton, and Tennessee Weaver—were all Harry C. Weaver himself. Weaver's daily editorials began and ended in a style reminiscent of the fictional radio newsman Les Nessman
from the TV show WKRP. Saturdays were for sports or The Metropolitan Opera. Sunday airtime was filled with local and national religious programs. Each night, the station would sign off the air following Mr. Weaver's poetry readings.
15 year old John "Cousin Johnny" Busbee co-hosted the stations morning show "Carolina in the Morning" with Weaver's "Buck Clayton" for two years beginning in 1979. When Busbee left for college in 1981, former evening host "Uncle" Dave Bannon took over hosting duties alongside Weaver.
The late morning program, "Talk of the Town" was directed toward housewives/homemakers and was originally hosted by Weaver's wife Ruth, and later by his daughter Kathy. For over twenty years beginning in the 1970's operations manager Wally Momeier did the afternoon drive program "Hits and Gold Records of Yesterday and Today".
Gil Kirkman, who had worked for WOKE, bought the station in 1994, and changed the callsign to the current WQSC and a sports radio
format in 1994. The station moved to new facilities and the old WOKE studios were occupied by an insurance agency in 1999..
Don Imus
was on WQSC prior to April 2007.
As of March 2009, the station dropped News/Talk format in favor of beach music
.
The mission of WQSC 1340 The Boardwalk is to promote, preserve, and perpetuate South Carolina’s most popular music "beach music" and the South Carolina state dance "the shag
".
Beach music
Beach music, also known as Carolina beach music, is a regional genre which developed from various musical styles of the forties, fifties and sixties. These styles ranged from big band swing instrumentals to the more raucous sounds of blues/jump blues, jazz, doo-wop, boogie, rhythm and blues,...
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
licensed to serve the community of Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
.
History
Harry C. Weaver (1916-2001), who had worked for the Knoxville Journal in Knoxville, TennesseeKnoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, bought WHAN in 1955, which was renamed WOKE in 1958.
WOKE was a unique station in Charleston. Its format included "good music", local and regional sports, religious programming, and news and weather forecasts. According to local radio buff J. Douglas Donehue, three of the station's announcers—Harry Weaver, Buck Clayton, and Tennessee Weaver—were all Harry C. Weaver himself. Weaver's daily editorials began and ended in a style reminiscent of the fictional radio newsman Les Nessman
Les Nessman
Les Nessman is a fictional character on the television situation comedy WKRP in Cincinnati played by Richard Sanders. He reprised his role in the sequel series, The New WKRP in Cincinnati.-Background and Appearance:...
from the TV show WKRP. Saturdays were for sports or The Metropolitan Opera. Sunday airtime was filled with local and national religious programs. Each night, the station would sign off the air following Mr. Weaver's poetry readings.
15 year old John "Cousin Johnny" Busbee co-hosted the stations morning show "Carolina in the Morning" with Weaver's "Buck Clayton" for two years beginning in 1979. When Busbee left for college in 1981, former evening host "Uncle" Dave Bannon took over hosting duties alongside Weaver.
The late morning program, "Talk of the Town" was directed toward housewives/homemakers and was originally hosted by Weaver's wife Ruth, and later by his daughter Kathy. For over twenty years beginning in the 1970's operations manager Wally Momeier did the afternoon drive program "Hits and Gold Records of Yesterday and Today".
Gil Kirkman, who had worked for WOKE, bought the station in 1994, and changed the callsign to the current WQSC and a sports radio
Sports radio
Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...
format in 1994. The station moved to new facilities and the old WOKE studios were occupied by an insurance agency in 1999..
Don Imus
Don Imus
John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. is an American radio host, humorist, philanthropist and writer. His nationally-syndicated talk show, Imus in the Morning, is broadcast throughout the United States by Citadel Media and relayed on television by the Fox Business Network.-Personal life:Imus was born in...
was on WQSC prior to April 2007.
As of March 2009, the station dropped News/Talk format in favor of beach music
Beach music
Beach music, also known as Carolina beach music, is a regional genre which developed from various musical styles of the forties, fifties and sixties. These styles ranged from big band swing instrumentals to the more raucous sounds of blues/jump blues, jazz, doo-wop, boogie, rhythm and blues,...
.
The mission of WQSC 1340 The Boardwalk is to promote, preserve, and perpetuate South Carolina’s most popular music "beach music" and the South Carolina state dance "the shag
Carolina shag
Carolina Shag is a six-count partner dance done mostly to moderate tempo music . During the dance the upper body and hips hardly move as the legs do convoluted kicks and fancy footwork. The lead is the center of attention, and the follow's steps either mirror the lead's or mark time while the lead...
".