WDAS-FM

WDAS-FM is one of at least two legendary radio stations in Philadelphia, pioneers in a format so successful that listenership is passed on from generation to generation. In Philadelphia's African American community, WDAS-FM is the FM equivalent to the perennially popular KYW Newsradio 1060. Widely regarded as the originator of the Urban Adult Contemporary format which it plays today, WDAS-FM continues to occupy its roost amongst the 3 top radio stations in the Delaware Valley as of December 2005 Arbitron ratings . But it was not always this way.

WDAS-FM came on the air in August 1959, as a hybrid rock and classical music format, the latter of which featured on Sundays. The station shared the same WDAS call letters as its AM counterpart on the 1480 frequency. By mid-1960s, the station moved to the classical music format exclusively. However, due to low ratings by April 1968, the format changed back to a rock format, evolving to the new "underground" and album-track trend. This short-lived period introduced much of the new voices of "progressive" FM radio including Michael Tearson and Ed Sciaky alongside a revitalized Hy Lit from WIBG, and later a popular nighttime show by owner Max Leon's son Steve, who called himself "My Father's Son" on the air. Venerable folk music host Gene Shay also did his program from WDAS at this time.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, radio stations were under increased pressure by the Nixon Administration through the FCC to censor music that involved drug content. Steve Leon ignored this directive and continued to play the music that was popular at the time. While playing Arlo Guthrie's "Coming Into Los Angeles", which referenced smuggling marijuana, Leon charged into the station and ripped the turntable arm off the record. Leon then fired his son and the other on-air staff. To fill the void, the AM station's staff were used as replacements.

In March 1971, Leon and a group empowered to direct change at the radio station, and launched the station's new Urban Contemporary format . The station playlist included R&B, soul and funk, playing what would become the classics of their genre and launching careers of national artists like Lou Rawls and "Philadelphia Sound" acts such as The O'Jays, The Stylistics, Patti LaBelle and the Blue Bells, and Teddy Pendergrass. WDAS-FM's rising success paralleled the red-hot popularity of the new R&B sound developed at Philadelphia International Records . By 1975, as the Philly Sound laid the musical groundwork for disco, the station too began to integrate more disco into the station's playlist to go along with its rising popularity. By the end of the decade, WDAS introduced its listenership, by introducing Philly to new sounds of Rap with artists such as Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, and Kurtis Blow as well showcasing local talent like Frankie Smith (of "Double Dutch Bus" fame). By 1980, WDAS-FM was the number one music station in Philadelphia .

WDAS-FM's activistic voice was as powerful as its musical one. Legendary broadcasters George "Georgie The Man With The Goods" Woods and Edward "Ed" Bradley shaped the political voice of the station ,. WDAS-FM earned its position as the "voice of the Black community"

The station was sold in November 1979 to Black-owned Unity Broadcasting Network, and it honed the Urban Contemporary format in 1980. But by 1982 a brand new competition has arrived, its name is WUSL a.k.a. "POWER 99fm". WUSL has forced WDAS-FM to go into a CHUrban/Crossover format WDAS-FM has kept Rap and R&B, but it also added some Pop and Dance music to their playlists. It also further leveraged its community involvement and public affairs programming aimed at both the black and white communities. The station has moved away from Disco and into more Rap, R&B, Pop, and Dance hits. The station also introduced an all new super slogan: "105.3 WDAS-FM, We've Got The Juice!" inspired by Attitude's song of the same name. Despite these efforts WUSL which played every type of Black, White, Latin, Canadian, and even British artists geared to both black and white audiences had won the CHUrban ratings battle.

By 1989 WDAS-FM evolved into a successful, fully fledged black community oriented Urban AC format after that as the AM had flipped to Urban Gospel. In 1994, Unity Broadcasting sold both WDAS stations to Beasley Broadcast Group. In 1995, when the Tom Joyner Morning Show went syndicated nationwide through ABC, WDAS-FM became a flagship affiliate. In May 1996, Beasley sold WDAS-FM to Evergreen, which owned WUSL, making WDAS-AM-FM and WUSL sister stations. In 1997, Evergreen and Chancellor merged to form Chancellor Media and later restructured in 1999 as AMFM, Inc. In 2000, Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia) acquired AMFM.

Tom Joyner Morning Show moved to WRNB in 2005, with the station subsequently picking up The Steve Harvey Morning Show as a replacement. The station was also a former affiliate of Michael Baisden in afternoon drive until it dropped the show in January 2013 (Baisden's show would end its syndication run in March after Cumulus Media failed to reach a new contract agreement).

Since 1979, WDAS-FM has sponsored Unity Day, an annual summer gathering on Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

WDAS-FM is short spaced to WIOV-FM (licensd to serve Ephrata, Pennsylvania) as they operate on first adjacent channels (105.3 and 105.1) and the distance between the two stations transmitter sites is only 50 miles apart. The minimum distance between two Class B stations operating on first adjacent channels according to current FCC rules is 105 miles.[1]

• WDAS-FM Website
• WDAS Civil Rights History
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WDAS
• Radio-Locator information on WDAS
• Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WDAS