WGRB
 |
|
| City | Chicago, Illinois |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Chicago market |
| Branding | Inspiration 1390 |
| Slogan | Music of Power and Praise |
| Frequency | 1390 AM (kHz) (also on HD Radio) |
| First air date | 1923 |
| Format | Gospel |
| Audience share | 0.3 (Holiday 2016, Nielsen Audio[1]) |
| Power | 5,000 Watts |
| Class | B |
| Callsign meaning | Gospel Radio Blessings |
| Former callsigns |
WGCI (AM) (1983–2004) WVON (AM) (1975–1983) WNUS (AM) (c. 1965–1975) WYNR (1962–1965) WGES (1925–1962) WTAY (1923–1925) |
| Owner |
iHeartMedia, Inc. (AMFM Broadcasting Licenses, LLC) |
| Sister stations | WEBG, WGCI-FM, WVON, WKSC-FM, WLIT, WVAZ |
| Webcast | Listen Live (via iHeartRadio) |
| Website | www.gospel1390.com |
WGRB, 1390 AM, is a radio station in Chicago owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications until September 2014). It airs a gospel music format targeted to Chicago's African-American religious community. On Sundays, the station broadcasts the services of several African-American churches in the area. WGRB has studios located at the Illinois Center complex on Michigan Avenue in Downtown Chicago, and it broadcasts from a transmitter based near 87th and Kedzie in the city's southwest side.
The station began in 1923 as WTAY in Oak Park, Illinois and was originally operating on 1360 KC, sharing the frequency with WSBT (owned by the South Bend Tribune) and WJKS (which went on to become WIND (AM)). It was owned by a community newspaper called Oak Leaves. In 1925 Coyne Electrical School purchased the station and moved it to their campus on Chicago's north side. They changed its call letters to WGES, standing for Coyne's slogan, "World's Greatest Electrical School."
In the late 1920s, the station moved to the Guyan Hotel on the West Side of Chicago. The station aired big band music from the nearby Guyan's Paradise Ballroom. Louis Guyan, owner of the hotel and ballroom, purchased the station from Coyne with an idea of serving those in the community by offering many foreign language programs. It broadcast several hours a day of programming in Italian, French, German, Spanish and Polish.
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Wikipedia