When Memphis made radio history - history of WDIA, Memphis, Tennessee

American Visions, August-Sept, 1993 by George T. Wilson

"After all, radio is very competitive," A.C. Williams adds. "You change with the times, or you go out of business. WDIA is not as much like a family [as it used to be], but you don't expect a family to last forever."

Chicagoan Rick Caffey, current general manager of WDIA, jumped at the chance to move to Memphis to manage this important part of radio history. "As the nation's first all-black station from sign-on to sign-off, WDIA is one of a kind," he says. "We have kept programming abreast of the times without cutting ties to our heritage. Mondays through Fridays we play a collage of black adult music of the '60s, 70s and current favorites. On Saturdays we play the blues, and on Sunday it's gospel."

Caffey confers often with A.C. Williams, and he appreciates the input of such veterans as Mark Stansbury and Rufus Thomas, who does a show on the Saturday blues segment. When asked if WDIA's ties to the past translate to commercial success, Caffey quickly answers: "You bet they do. WDIA is a solid number 3 in the Memphis market with a 10 share. I don't know of a single AM station in the nation's top 75 markets that is rated that high in its market. The next AM in Memphis is ninth. WDIA is about as valuable in an economic sense as it is in a social sense."