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WGRM (AM)
WGRM (1240 AM) was an American radio station licensed to serve Greenwood, Mississippi, United States. Established in 1938 by P.K. Ewing, the station was owned by the Ewing family for 60 years. WGRM was last owned by Christian Broadcasting of Greenwood, Inc.
WGRM broadcast to the northwestern central region of Mississippi. In the 1940s, the station aired live gospel performances by the Famous St. John's Quartet of Inverness, Mississippi, whose young guitarist would later find fame as B.B. King.
This station first signed on the air in 1938 with studios in Grenada, Mississippi. The station, broadcasting at 1240 kilohertz with 250 watts of power, was assigned the call sign "WGRM" by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In 1939, the station relocated to the second floor of a building at 222 Howard Street in Greenwood, Mississippi, where it would remain for a decade. The station launched under the ownership of P.K. Ewing, Sr., with Fayette C. Ewing as general manager.
By 1943, with the Ewing family in control, Herb Abramson was named the station's program director. The station derived much of its programming from the Blue Network but also aired local music programs daily plus blocks of local religious programming on Sundays. By 1945, Lorene Wood was named program director and the station added programming from the Keystone Broadcasting System. The next year, with the sale of the Blue Network, WGRM switched affiliations to remain with NBC and Shelton Morgan became the program director. By the end of the 1940s, Grace Harris took over the program director role.
In the early twentieth century, the voices of African Americans were rarely heard on the radio in the Southern United States. A notable exception to this rule was live broadcasts of gospel music. In the 1940s, WGRM aired live performances by gospel groups on Sunday afternoons, including the Famous St. John's Quartet of Inverness, Mississippi. Some sources place the first appearance of the quartet on WGRM in 1940 and some in 1943, but all agree that the group featured young Riley King on guitar in his broadcast debut. After several years, Riley King moved to Memphis where he took on the nickname "Beale Street Blues Boy" which was in turn shortened to B.B. King. In the early 1950s, pianist Bobby Hines, bluesman Matt Cockrell, and L.C. "Lonnie the Cat" Cation all recorded songs in these studios. The Mississippi Blues Commission has placed a historical marker at the (now former) WGRM studios and they were the third stop added to the Mississippi Blues Trail, highlighting locations critical in the development of blues music.
In 1950, the station relocated north of the Tallahatchie River to new studios at 600 Walnut Street. The station's programming remained steady through the early 1950s with Lew Sadler becoming program director by 1955. Later that year, however, station founder P.K. Ewing, Sr., died and his wife, Myrtle M. Ewing (listed initially as simply "Mrs. P.K. Ewing"), took both ownership and operational control of the station as executrix of his estate. By 1958, Myrtle Ewing had direct ownership of WGRM and named Ed Smith program director. By 1961, Myrtle Ewing had joined her late husband and control of WGRM passed to Fayette Ewing as the executor of her estate. In 1963, the station upgraded its daytime signal to 1,000 watts while maintaining a nighttime power of 250 watts.
Fayette Ewing retained his position as the station's general manager throughout the 1960s and into the late 1970s. By 1966 Clay Ewing was named WGRM's commercial manager. Thomas E. Ewing took on a variety of roles with the station in the late 1960s including promotions manager, program director, news director, and chief engineer at various times.
In 1971, the station described its musical format as middle of the road" with some programming provided by the NBC Radio network. Clay Ewing was drawn away from the station for a few years when he was elected mayor of Greenwood, Mississippi, in 1973. He would serve in that role until 1977. In 1974, the ownership of the station and broadcast license were transferred from personal ownership by Fayette Ewing to a new company named Twelve-Forty, Inc., still wholly owned by him. By 1976, the station's format was reported as a mix of oldies music, country & western, and middle of the road with specialty blocks of farm news and classical music. At the same time, Clay Ewing began to assume some of the general manager duties for the station. In 1979, the music shifted back to just middle of the road, retaining the classic and farm specialty programs, and Thomas E. Ewing took on new responsibilities as president of the corporation.
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WGRM (AM)
WGRM (1240 AM) was an American radio station licensed to serve Greenwood, Mississippi, United States. Established in 1938 by P.K. Ewing, the station was owned by the Ewing family for 60 years. WGRM was last owned by Christian Broadcasting of Greenwood, Inc.
WGRM broadcast to the northwestern central region of Mississippi. In the 1940s, the station aired live gospel performances by the Famous St. John's Quartet of Inverness, Mississippi, whose young guitarist would later find fame as B.B. King.
This station first signed on the air in 1938 with studios in Grenada, Mississippi. The station, broadcasting at 1240 kilohertz with 250 watts of power, was assigned the call sign "WGRM" by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In 1939, the station relocated to the second floor of a building at 222 Howard Street in Greenwood, Mississippi, where it would remain for a decade. The station launched under the ownership of P.K. Ewing, Sr., with Fayette C. Ewing as general manager.
By 1943, with the Ewing family in control, Herb Abramson was named the station's program director. The station derived much of its programming from the Blue Network but also aired local music programs daily plus blocks of local religious programming on Sundays. By 1945, Lorene Wood was named program director and the station added programming from the Keystone Broadcasting System. The next year, with the sale of the Blue Network, WGRM switched affiliations to remain with NBC and Shelton Morgan became the program director. By the end of the 1940s, Grace Harris took over the program director role.
In the early twentieth century, the voices of African Americans were rarely heard on the radio in the Southern United States. A notable exception to this rule was live broadcasts of gospel music. In the 1940s, WGRM aired live performances by gospel groups on Sunday afternoons, including the Famous St. John's Quartet of Inverness, Mississippi. Some sources place the first appearance of the quartet on WGRM in 1940 and some in 1943, but all agree that the group featured young Riley King on guitar in his broadcast debut. After several years, Riley King moved to Memphis where he took on the nickname "Beale Street Blues Boy" which was in turn shortened to B.B. King. In the early 1950s, pianist Bobby Hines, bluesman Matt Cockrell, and L.C. "Lonnie the Cat" Cation all recorded songs in these studios. The Mississippi Blues Commission has placed a historical marker at the (now former) WGRM studios and they were the third stop added to the Mississippi Blues Trail, highlighting locations critical in the development of blues music.
In 1950, the station relocated north of the Tallahatchie River to new studios at 600 Walnut Street. The station's programming remained steady through the early 1950s with Lew Sadler becoming program director by 1955. Later that year, however, station founder P.K. Ewing, Sr., died and his wife, Myrtle M. Ewing (listed initially as simply "Mrs. P.K. Ewing"), took both ownership and operational control of the station as executrix of his estate. By 1958, Myrtle Ewing had direct ownership of WGRM and named Ed Smith program director. By 1961, Myrtle Ewing had joined her late husband and control of WGRM passed to Fayette Ewing as the executor of her estate. In 1963, the station upgraded its daytime signal to 1,000 watts while maintaining a nighttime power of 250 watts.
Fayette Ewing retained his position as the station's general manager throughout the 1960s and into the late 1970s. By 1966 Clay Ewing was named WGRM's commercial manager. Thomas E. Ewing took on a variety of roles with the station in the late 1960s including promotions manager, program director, news director, and chief engineer at various times.
In 1971, the station described its musical format as middle of the road" with some programming provided by the NBC Radio network. Clay Ewing was drawn away from the station for a few years when he was elected mayor of Greenwood, Mississippi, in 1973. He would serve in that role until 1977. In 1974, the ownership of the station and broadcast license were transferred from personal ownership by Fayette Ewing to a new company named Twelve-Forty, Inc., still wholly owned by him. By 1976, the station's format was reported as a mix of oldies music, country & western, and middle of the road with specialty blocks of farm news and classical music. At the same time, Clay Ewing began to assume some of the general manager duties for the station. In 1979, the music shifted back to just middle of the road, retaining the classic and farm specialty programs, and Thomas E. Ewing took on new responsibilities as president of the corporation.