[IRCA] WSM-650's 80th anniversary

This actually came from the “78-L” listserv (78-rpm collectors), since many folks on that lst are interested in old-timey music, of the type WSM would’ve aired in their early days…

Randy Stewart

Springfield MO

Wednesday October 5, 2005 was a tremendously magical day in the history of WSM Radio as we celebrated our 80th birthday.

From 5:30 AM until 7:00 PM, we broadcasted live from our transmitter site in Brentwood, Tennessee. It was truly a special event with on-air interviews with many people within the industry who have been impacted by this great radio station. Besides people like Del McCoury, Jim Ed Brown, John Conlee, Kris Kristofferson, The Jordanaires, 91 year old Johnny Wright (who remembered when WSM went on the air), Kitty Wells, Carl Smith, Little Jimmy Dickens, Bud Wendell, Dan Seals, Andy Griggs, Carol Lee Cooper, Steve Wariner, Mel McDaniel, Neil Craig (the son of WSM's founder Edwin Craig), many others all made the day quite unforgettable.

The Martha White Bluegrass Bus was also on display, and we had live performances from a wonderful new duo on RCA, The Wrights, and some first-rate bluegrass from The Grascals.

Erika Jo, the latest winner of the Nashville Star competition was also present. As an 18 year old native of nearby Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, she has grown up with WSM. When interviewed she was so happy that her new cd debuted at #5 in 'Billboard' and in three months has sold 105,000 copies.

All of these generations of guests realize the validity and importance of this great radio station, as do the millions of listeners that we're fortunate to have.

From 7 PM until 12 Midnight, we wrapped up our day with recordings and programs that have helped to make WSM what it is today. We were honored to have former Operations Manager Kyle Cantrell in studio to share his wealth of knowledge about WSM's rich history and its continued relevance to the present and future.

Unfortunately, for those who were tuned in on Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 111, shortly after we began the evening show, we were pre-empted by a hockey game. Because WSM on Sirius is an Entertainment Channel, Sirius does have the right to do this on occasion, as they have more sports events going on than they have channels to air them.

If you are a customer of Sirius, you are strongly encouraged to voice your opinion by contacting them directly. WSM has heard from many concerned listeners about what happened on Wednesday evening October 5th, and we sincerely apologize. Unfortunately, we had no advance notice. We are telling these listeners as well to contact Sirius directly.

There is good news! If you missed the October 5, evening retrospective on WSM, we will be re-broadcasting the entire five hours on-line at www.wsmonline.com and on Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 111. We have been told that evening will not be interrupted on Sirius.

Many have wondered if our 80th birthday broadcast will be archived, and unfortunately it is too cost prohibitive.

If you were present for our birthday festivities or just tuned in at some point during our eighteen-and-a-half hours of on-air coverage, we sincerely thank you. It was said many times yesterday by young and old alike that WSM is the greatest radio station in the world. Thanks for helping to make it that way.

Eddie Stubbs

WSM-AM Radio

Nashville, Tennessee