WDBZ
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| City | Cincinnati, Ohio |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Branding | Soul 101.5 |
| Slogan | The Soul of Cincy |
| Frequency | 1230 kHz |
| Translator(s) | 101.5 W268CM (Cincinnati) |
| First air date | 1924 (as WFBE at 1290) |
| Format | Urban Oldies |
| Power | 1,000 watts |
| Class | C |
| Facility ID | 10139 |
| Callsign meaning | W D BuZz (former branding) |
| Former callsigns | WFBE (1924-1935) WCPO (1935-1966) WUBE (1966-1981) WMLX (1981-1985) WDJO (1985-1990) WUBE (1990-2000) |
| Former frequencies | 1290 kHz (1924-1928) 1220 kHz (1928) 1200 kHz (1928-1941) |
| Owner |
Radio One (Blue Chip Broadcasting Licenses, Ltd) |
| Sister stations | WIZF, WOSL |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 1015soul.com |
WDBZ is an urban oldies-formatted radio station serving Cincinnati, Ohio broadcasting on 1230 AM. The station plays urban oldies music except for weekdays between 10am and Noon, during which time talk show "The Lincoln Ware Show" airs. Saturday mornings and afternoons also feature talk shows. Owned by Radio One, its studios are located at Centennial Plaza in Downtown Cincinnati and the transmitter site is in Eden Park.
WDBZ broadcasts on one of the oldest radio frequencies in Cincinnati. The AM license was originally granted in 1924 and broadcast as WFBE 1290, later moving to 1230. It was the weakest of five AM stations in Cincinnati. Scripps-Howard Newspapers purchased the station in October 1935, renaming it WCPO after The Cincinnati Post. (Scripps-Howard Broadcasting would later launch sister stations WCPO-TV and WCPO-FM.) WCPO-AM was Cincinnati's first Top 40 Rock station, and was in the format from 1956 until it was sold in 1966. WCPO encountered serious competition from the stronger WSAI 1360 when that station entered the Top 40 format in July 1961. WSAI broadcast with 5,000 watts day and night, while WCPO broadcast with 1,000 watts during the day and only 250 watts at night. Some of the DJs on WCPO in the 1960s, included Shad O'Shea, Mike Gavin, Bob Keith, Mark Edwards, Gary Allyn, Steve Young, "Big Al" Law, Wayne Shayne, "Bwana" Johnny, Mike Scott, Johnny Hall and Gary Cory. Morton Downey, Jr. was even there in 1964-65. Scripps-Howard sold the station to Kaye-Smith Broadcasting whose principals were Danny Kaye (the entertainer) and business associate Lester Smith, in January 1966. Starting on January 15, 1966 the station call letters were changed to WUBE, and almost the entire air staff was replaced. After another three-year run as a Top-40 station, under the direction of legendary programmer Bill Drake; known as 1-2-3-W-B it became a country music formatted station in April, 1969. They operated the station along with a sister FM at 105.1 MHz until the late 1970s when they sold all their radio properties to Plough Broadcasting, then a part of the pharmaceutical company, Schering-Plough.
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Wikipedia