WYAY is a 77,000 watt Atlanta FM radio station that plays mainly classic hits

Classic hits

Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...

 music from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Its city of license

City of license

A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....

 is Gainesville, Georgia

Gainesville, Georgia

-Severe Weather:Gainesville sits on the very fringe of Tornado Alley, a region of the United States where severe weather is common. Supercell thunderstorms can sweep through any time between March and November, but are concentrated most in the spring...

, northeast of Atlanta, but the station moved in toward the metro area

Metro Area

Metro Area is a Brooklyn-based dance music production team composed of Morgan Geist and Darshan Jesrani.- History :Geist grew up in Wayne, New Jersey, while Jesrani is from upstate New York...

 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

Metro Atlanta

The Atlanta metropolitan area or metro Atlanta, officially designated by the US Census Bureau as the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ninth-largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States...

, which simulcast

Simulcast

Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...

 with it (except for advertisements) on 104.1 FM (now WALR-FM

WALR-FM

WALR-FM is an urban adult contemporary-formatted radio station owned by Cox Media Group. WALR-FM is licensed to Greenville and broadcasts on a class C0 100-kilowatt signal on the 104.1 megahertz frequency...

). In 2000, the station changed to classic country "Eagle 106.7", but its callsign did not change. Both stations are owned by Citadel Broadcasting

Citadel Broadcasting

Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country...

, who merged several of Disney's

The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...

 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 Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

. The station featured Imus in the Morning

Imus in the Morning

Imus in the Morning is an American radio show hosted by Don Imus on Cumulus Media Networks , and simulcast for television on Fox Business Network....

 and The True Oldies Channel

The True Oldies Channel

The True Oldies Channel is a syndicated radio programming stream begun in the spring of 2004, hosted by American radio personality Scott Shannon...

 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

WLKQ-FM

U.S. radio station La Raza 102 is an Atlanta FM station that plays Mexican music. It is owned by Davis Broadcasting. It is simulcast on WNSY 100.1 in Canton, due to WPZE being next door at 102.5....

-Oldies Lake 102.3 FM, WLCL

WWVA-FM

WWVA-FM is an Atlanta radio station broadcasting a Rhythmic contemporary radio format which features R&B, Pop and Dance hits. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications and is licensed to serve Canton, Georgia...

 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

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 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 MG at longtime Gainesville/Atlanta Oldies beacon WFOX-FM Fox 97.1. 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

WCFO

WCFO, known on air as "News/Talk 1160", is a news and talk radio station, licensed to East Point, Georgia, serving the Atlanta, Georgia radio market. Programming on the station includes both nationally syndicated and locally produced news, information, and talk programs...

, 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

Cumulus Media

Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...

 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

WWVA-FM

WWVA-FM is an Atlanta radio station broadcasting a Rhythmic contemporary radio format which features R&B, Pop and Dance hits. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications and is licensed to serve Canton, Georgia...

, "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, but in late 2006, Lite 94.9 was changed to a Country format and renamed The Bull. Clear Channel then put the duo on WGST-AM upon 94.9 Lite FM's demise. Spiff Carner was let go shortly after the move to WGST-AM, 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 3rd after WYAY's new owners laid off many of its employees.

Georgia Tech football

As of 2009, WYAY is now the FM flagship station for Georgia Tech football and men's basketball.

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.)
• 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