WTBF (AM)
WTBF (970 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a sports format. Licensed to Troy, Alabama, USA, the station is currently owned by Troy Broadcasting Corp. and features programming from ABC Radio.
History of Troy Broadcasting Corporation
WTBF began broadcasting in 1947. A classic example of a small town station, they played all kinds of music during the day, from MOR to country music, even with an occasional Talk program.
WTBF signed on at 12 noon on February 25, 1947, with the roll of the timpani leading into "The Star Spangled Banner", played by the Troy High School Band. That drum roll was played by the future Mrs. Ann Gilchrist (wife of owner Joe Gilchrist). The station was then signed on for the very first time by Samuel F. (Sam) Townsend, who in 1949 purchased AM radio station WCNU in Crestview, Florida and relocated there. The original calls were to be WTBC, for Troy Broadcasting Corporation, but those letters were already taken, so they settled on WTBF.
For the first few years, WTBF was at 1490 on the dial, then moved down to 970 during the 1950s. Bob "Pappy" Tolbert, Jess Jordan, and Joe Gilchrist did wild morning shows before the genre was invented. Joe interviewed pigs who lived at the transmitter site; Pappy gave away junk records with crazy trivia questions. Birthdays, anniversaries, giveaways, obituaries, weather, local news (bake sales, gospel sings, barbecues, yard sales, etc.) are part of the Morning Show to this very day.
WTBF-FM
WTBF-FM (94.7 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a mixed Talk/Personality and oldies music format. Licensed to Troy, Alabama, USA. The station is currently owned by Troy Broadcasting Corp. and features programming from Citadel Media (formerly ABC Radio Networks).
WTBF-FM currently simulcasts the AM station during some dayparts, and breaks away for Rush Limbaugh, Clark Howard, Ken Hamblin and sports talk shows weekdays, and for sports and syndicated nostalgia shows on weekends. The station also airs music from Citadel's The True Oldies Channel radio network.
Jess Jordan and Bob "Pappy" Tolbert were the mainstays of WTBF Radio during its first 30 years. Their voices were very familiar to listeners in Pike County, and both were extremely active in the Troy community.
Joe Gilchrist is the original engineer, and still owns the station, along with Asa Dudley and Jim Roling. Jim Roling worked there as a teenager in the 1950s and 1960s, left for South Carolina, then returned in 1980 and bought out one of the original owners. Jim hosted "The Morning Show" since returning in 1980 until semi-retirement in 2007, and is a well-known icon in Pike County.
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