Branding Oldies Radio 1580 Format Oldies | First air date July 9, 1956 | |
City Albemarle, North Carolina Slogan "Good Times & Great Oldies" Frequency 1580 kHz C-QUAM AM Stereo | ||
WZKY (1580 AM) is a radio station licensed to serve Albemarle, North Carolina, USA. The station is owned by Stanly Communications.
WZKY broadcasts an oldies music format that at one time included programming from the Classic Hits network by ABC Radio.
WZKY is where Bob Harris, "Voice of the Blue Devils, got his start in the radio business".
History
In 1967, Bob Harris, now voice of the Duke Blue Devils, offered to take over the job of announcing West Stanly High School football games for WZKY, though his only experience had been as a student announcer for Albemarle High School (North Carolina) Albemarle High School basketball. WZKY station manager Ralph Gardner gave Harris a reel-to-reel tape recorder because the 250-watt station could only broadcast during the daylight hours, and the game would not air until 11 the A.M. on Saturday.
Harris became morning host and sports director, and added more games, including boys' and girls' basketball, until, a 2009 Salisbury Post article said, "By 1975, WZKY was originating more sports programming than any other station in the state." Harris remained sports director at WZKY for eight years before moving to WDNC.