WENN
Hoover, Alabama/Birmingham
Branding	"Hallelujuah 105.5"
Slogan
Frequency	105.5 (MHz)
Format	Urban Gospel
Owner	Clear Channel Communications
First air date
Call Letters meaning
ERP	29,500 watts
Website	http://www.hallelujah1055.com/

WENN, "Hallelujuah 105.5", is a Clear Channel-owned urban gospel radio station that broadcasts on the 29.5 kilowatt 105.5 frequency and be licensed to Hoover. But the WENN call letters are synonymous to many listeners from Birmingham and most of Central and North Alabama as a legendary urban with a wide reaching signal. Jump to: navigation, search Image File history File links Hallelujah1055. ... Hoover is a city in Jefferson and Shelby counties in middle central Alabama. ... Birmingham is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Jefferson County. ... BRANDING refers to either the imprinting of brand marks on live skin, see Livestock branding and Branding persons a marketing technique, see Brand This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Look up Slogan on Wiktionary, the free dictionary A slogan is a memorable phrase used in political or commercial context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. ... Sine waves of various frequencies; the lower waves have higher frequencies than those above. ... A megahertz (MHz) is one million (106) hertz, a measure of frequency. ... A radio format or programming format describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. ... Black gospel is primarily a marketing term used to help potential buyers distinguish it from other forms of Christian music, such as contemporary Christian music or Christian rock and Southern gospel (a merger of barbershop quartet style harmony and country instrumentation, see also Southern Gospel Music Association), which have similar... Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the company. ... Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video signals (programs) to a number of recipients (listeners or viewers) that belong to a large group. ... Call sign can refer to different types of call signs: Airline call sign Aviator call sign Cosmonaut call sign Radio and television call signs Tactical call sign, also known as a tactical designator See also: International Callsign Allocations, Maritime Mobile Service Identity This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid... In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or ERP is determined by subtracting system losses from system gains. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Jump to: navigation, search The front page of the English Wikipedia website. ... Jump to: navigation, search Clear channel stations are AM radio stations that are designated as such so that only one or two 50,000 watt powerhouses operate at night on each designated frequency, covering a wide area via sky wave propagation. ... Jump to: navigation, search Black gospel is primarily a marketing term used to help potential buyers distinguish it from other forms of Christian music, such as contemporary Christian music or Christian rock and Southern gospel (a merger of barbershop quartet style harmony and country instrumentation, see also Southern Gospel Music... Hoover is a city in Jefferson and Shelby counties in middle central Alabama. ... In radio (including television), a callsign or call sign (also call letters) is a unique designation for amateur, broadcast, and sometimes military radio use, as well as for broadcast television. ... Birmingham is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Jefferson County. ... Central Alabama is the region in the state of Alabama that stretches approximately 170 miles from the western border with Mississippi to eastern border with Georgia and 136 miles from the northern border of Cullman County to the Alabama River in southern Autauga County. ... North Alabama is a region of the U.S. state of Alabama, generally thought to include these 16 counties: Blount, Cherokee, Colbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Morgan and Winston. ... The term urban contemporary was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the early 1980s. ...

History

WENN-FM came on-air on 107.7 frequency in 1969 when local black insurance company owner, A.G. Gaston, purchased then sister station WENN-AM. The station began as FM simulcast of its AM urban contemporary sister station primarily playing R&B, soul, and gospel, but by the end of the 1970's its sister station migrated to a primarily gospel-oriented playlist. Throughout its time as an urban station, WENN created strong local ties to the community through on-air personalities such as Tall Paul, Shelly Stewart, and Dave Donell. Jump to: navigation, search 1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday For other uses, see Number 1969. ... Frequency modulation (FM) is a form of modulation which represents information as variations in the instantaneous frequency of a carrier wave. ... Jump to: navigation, search Amplitude modulation (AM) is a form of modulation in which the amplitude of a carrier wave is varied in direct proportion to that of a modulating signal. ... Rhythm and blues (or R & B) is a musical marketing term introduced in the United States in the late 1940s by Billboard magazine. ... Jump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Soul music (disambiguation). ... Jump to: navigation, search Black gospel is primarily a marketing term used to help potential buyers distinguish it from other forms of Christian music, such as contemporary Christian music or Christian rock and Southern gospel (a merger of barbershop quartet style harmony and country instrumentation, see also Southern Gospel Music...

The late 1980's and early 1990's brought major changes to the on-air presentation of the station. WENN began to shift from a R&B/soul-based urban contemporary to a more mainstream Urban with the introduction of hip-hop and rap to its playlist, and moved the slower R&B and soul songs to its quiet storm program at night. It also adopted the station moniker and slogan 107.7 WENN, The People's Station, to reinstate that it was still the station for the people regardless the shift in music focus. The station maintained a strong position in the Birmingham radio market in the top 5 in ratings throughout this time. Mainstream Urban, a term used to describe a radio format that very similar to an urban contemporary format. ... Hip hop is a cultural movement that began among urban African Americans and Latinos in New York City in the early 1970s, and has since spread around the world. ... Jump to: navigation, search Rap sucks ... Quiet storm is a late-night radio format, featuring soulful slow jams, pioneered in the mid 1970s by then station intern Melvin Lindsey at Howard University Radio, WHUR-FM, in Washington, D.C. Smokey Robinsons like-titled hit single, released in 1975 as the title track to his third...

In 1997, the station owner, A.G. Gaston, passed away at the age of 101, and brought a sense of uncertainity to WENN because of the station's heirs lack of focus. Also in the wake of the passing of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, WENN-FM was then sold to Dick Broadcasting, and this lead to shock and fear of the future of the station from the local community. The 105.9 signal has always been a hinderance to ratings, so Dick Broadcasting, who operated WRAX for American General Media. Dick Broadcasting then made the decision to switch WENN 107.7FM with its alternative rock station, WRAX-FM,"106 the X" because their belief was that the alternative format was more profitable than that of an urban. The switch occurred, but soon after the legendary WENN fell victim of a poor signal and new competition from the Cox-owned duo, "95.7 Jamz" & "98.7 Kiss FM", and fell silent. Jump to: navigation, search 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the first major overhaul of United States telecommunications policy in nearly 62 years, modifying earlier legislation, primarily the Communications Act of 1934. ... Jump to: navigation, search The terms alternative rock and alternative music were coined in the early 1980s to describe punk rock-inspired music genres which didnt fit into the mainstream genres of the time. ... Cox Enterprises is the successor to the publishing company founded at Dayton, Ohio, by James Middleton Cox, who began with the Dayton Daily News. ... WBHJ, known locally over the air, 95. ... WBHK-FM, as known as 98. ...

In 1999, WENN came back on the air as an urban oldies station with the moniker, "Jammin' Oldies 105.9". WRAX, now known as "107.7 the X", with it's new big signal now does quite well in the ratings. Jammin' Oldies 105.9, seemed to be only popular where the tiny class D signal that covers the east side of Birmingham where it could be received. In January 2000, WENN switched to a urban adult contemporary format with a new moniker, "V-105.9", competing against 98.7 Kiss FM. They then tweaked its format up a bit towards urban contemporary with more new rap and hip hop to compete more with 95.7 Jamz. In September 2002, it again changed its moniker to "Power 105.9" focusing even more on hip hop, rap and R&B, to compete with 95.7 Jamz. However, all these changes with its format the station fail to gain a substantial audience against the Cox-owned stations, so it switched to gospel, "Hallelujah 105.9" on February 1, 2003. It moved to the more powerful 105.5 (becoming "Hallelujah 105.5") on September 1, 2005. Jump to: navigation, search 1999 is a common year starting on Friday Anno Domini (or the Current Era), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... January is the first month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the year 2000. ... Urban Adult Contemporary is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. ... September is the ninth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four Gregorian months with 30 days. ... Jump to: navigation, search 2002(MMII) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 2003(MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External Links

• Official Website of Hallelujah 105.5