Radio WLAY

WLAY is a radio station serving the Florence/Muscle Shoals, Alabama, market and is heard at 1450 AM and on a translator at 92.3 on the FM band; it is licensed to the city of Muscle Shoals, Alabama. WLAY is owned by URBan Radio Broadcasting and is part of a six-station cluster operated by URBan in northwestern Alabama and southern central Tennessee.

The station signed on in 1933 as WNRA, an experimental radio station, and has since secured its place in American music history thanks to its contribution to what is now commonly referred to as "The Muscle Shoals Sound". Originating its broadcast as a "variety format", WLAY was significant in its early years as a rare frequency that would broadcast both Southern Gospel and Country music and "race music" or music by African American artists. In the American Deep South, this was certainly unique. A number of bluegrass and delta blues musicians made regular live appearances on the radio station including Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, Sonny Boy Williamson[disambiguation needed] and Son House.[edit] Cultural influenceIn the 1950s, the WLAY balanced both country music and Rock and Roll music on its playlist. Sam Phillips, future founder of Sun Records, worked as a disc jockey at the radio station in his formative years and frequently cited the station's "open playlist" as the inspiration for what would become Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, blending both country and blues music to form Rock and Roll).In the early 1960s, Muscle Shoals began to develop as a popular music capital in the United States and WLAY played an important role in this growth. Following the success of local resident Arthur Alexander (and his hit single "You Better Move On"; later covered by the Rolling Stones), the area quickly saw the rise of numerous recording studios. With this, WLAY became a meeting place for numerous Muscle Shoals musicians and songwriters as they would frequent the studios with new recordings. Percy Sledge's "When A Man Loves A Woman" was recorded at Norala Sound Studio by WLAY disc jockey Quin Ivy and WLAY Chief Engineer Paul Kelley. Kelley built Norala with equipment borrowed from WLAY's studios.With the establishment of Rick Hall's FAME Studios, WLAY would often play recordings as they were completed at the legendary studio. The WLAY audience would frequently choose the "single" by artists such as Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Clarence Carter, and several others to be shipped nationwide after having heard the entire, completed session on the air. The station's independent owners sold the station and it has changed hands many times since. Following the development of WLAY-FM, the AM frequency altered its format a number of times. It has been a Sports station and Oldies station in addition to a Country formatted station. When the frequency was purchased by URBan Radio Broadcasting, the format was changed to reflect the station's history. It now plays only local music recorded or written in Muscle Shoals.[edit] MemorialsThe original sound board for WLAY is now permanently housed in the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. The radio station is also regarded as a Historic Landmark by the Alabama Historical Society. In 2007, WLAY was nominated for Radio Station of the Year by the Alabama Broadcasters Association.