WKDF

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WKDF is an FM radio station broadcasting on a frequency of 103.3 mHz from Nashville, Tennessee.

WKDF (formerly WKDA-FM) began as the FM half of former Nashville pioneer rock station WKDA, and was located for many years with its sister station in the downtown Stahlman Building, where its large neon sign remains mounted as of 2006. The station was later moved to Rutledge Hill on Second Avenue South, to a property once occupied by the home of Captain Thomas G. Ryman (of Ryman Auditorium/Grand Ole Opry fame). As the FM format grew, it soon became the dominant station of the two, which eventually separated. For some years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, "KDF" (as it was popularly known after its callsign officially changed to WKDF in 1976) was the dominant station as determined by the number of listeners reported by Arbitron, in the Nashville market.

Although the station, like most 1970s-era album rock outlets, underwent some ratings decline during the early 1980s due to changing tastes among its adolescent listeners (e.g., "New Wave", techno pop), WKDF proved resilient, able to capitalize on the backlash against MTV-influenced artists later in the decade. By the early 1990s, the station shifted its playlist somewhat to reflect the then-rising grunge and alternative rock scenes, leaving other FMs in the area to pick up the oldies from its early days.

After nearly 30 years of programming rock, however, WKDF reformatted to country music on April 1, 1999, after continued ratings losses to competitor FM outlets. Nowadays, the playlist includes a mixture of contemporary and classic country. It is also currently the flagship station of the local NFL team's Tennessee Titans radio network. WKDF is owned by Citadel Broadcasting Corporation.

[edit] Station alumni

Notable disc jockeys from the station's rock era included:

Joe Elvis: afternoons/late 1980s-1998, now at WNRQ, Nashville. Drummer for area rock band Government Cheese. Bandmate Tommy Womack was often a contributor to his program. Both Elvis and Womack also hosted a long-running local music show, "The Nashville Tapes," heard on Sunday nights from the mid-1980s until the 1999 format change.

Carl P. Mayfield: mornings/1980s (later came back during the early period of the country format – now at Sirius).

Ian Case: mornings/early 1990s.

Mike "The Duke" Donegan: mornings 1989-2003 - now at Sirius and stadium announcer for the Tennessee Titans.

Pauly: nights/mid-1990s - later with WBUZ, WNPL and WRVU. Now at WZZP, Clarksville, Tenn.

Sheri Sexton: music director, nights, middays/1990s - now at WRQQ.

B. Derek (Scott): overnights/late 1980s and early 1990s.

Kidd Redd: disc jockey, program director/1980s-1999. Was the original host of "Nashville Tapes" (mentioned above).

Jimmy the K: weekends/1990s - now at WNRQ.

Stevie Stevens (Lisa Walker): Assistant Program Director and evenings - late 1980s and early 1990s.

Jason Joseph: 1990s - later program director at WLRS, Lousiville, Ky. and WBUZ, Nashville.

Jack Sass: 1997-1999 - later program director, WBOP, Harrisonburg, Va. Co-hosted show with Pauly (see above) on Vanderbilt University's WRVU.

Big Dave: morning co-host (with Mike "The Duke" Donegan)/1990s.

Beth Donahue: morning co-host with Big Dave and the Duke/mid-1990s. Comedienne, later with WBUZ.

Steve Dickert: disc jockey, later general manager/1972-2005. Now market manager of Cumulus Nashville (WWTN, WSM-FM, WRQQ, WNFN, WQQK).

Traffic Squeegie: also on sister station WGFX (as Sid). Now at WNRQ.

John Nagara: music director/early 1990s.

Slats: late 1980s; later at WMMS, Cleveland, Ohio. Management suspended him at least once for on-air pranks.

John Haggard: early 1970s.

Jay Franklin: early-to-mid-1970s.

Dick Mason: mid-1970s.

"The Nashville Tapes" aired on KDF Sunday nights, featuring rock music from Nashville and the surrounding area. Hosts included but were not limited to: Kidd Redd, Joe Elvis, Tommy Womack, Morgan, Leslie Hermsdorfer and Aljon. Aljon now hosts the directly-inspired "Local Buzz" program on WBUZ.