WMBM

WAHR signed on the air October 31, 1954. Owned by and named for Alan Henry Rosenson,{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49622990/|title=Radio Station WAHR On Air|work=Miami Daily News|date=October 31, 1954|access-date=April 26, 2020|page=10-A}} the station aired a continuous music format. Rosenson owned WLRD (93.9 FM), which changed its call letters to WAHR-FM in 1956.{{Cite web|url= https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=83716 |title= History Cards for WMIA (former WAHR-FM/WMET-FM/WMBM-FM)|publisher=Federal Communications Commission}} (Guide to reading History Cards)

The manager of the station hired a young man, Larry Zeiger, to perform miscellaneous clean-up tasks. When one of the station's announcers suddenly quit, Zeiger was put on the air; Simmons suggested that Zeiger's last name was too ethnic, so he became Larry King.{{cite interview |last= King|first= Larry |interviewer= Cal Fussman |title= Larry King on Getting Seduced |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yD8PzFFNFU#t=226 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/1yD8PzFFNFU |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|publisher=PBS Digital Studios |location= Los Angeles |date= 2001 |work= Blank on Blank |access-date=23 July 2014}}{{cbignore}} King would become the station's sports director, leaving in 1958 for WKAT.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49623940/|title=Ever Know A Poor Yankee?|first=Norris|last=Anderson|date=May 23, 1958|page=3C|work=Miami News|access-date=April 26, 2020}}

Rosenson sold WAHR-AM-FM to Community Service Broadcasters in 1958.{{Cite web|url= https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=65024 |title= History Cards for WMBM|publisher=Federal Communications Commission}} (Guide to reading History Cards) After the $150,000 purchase, the new ownership—most of which hailed from Cincinnati—changed the call letters to WMET, continuing a format emphasizing news, sports and adult music.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49624416/|title='Colonel Hall' Enjoys a Visit|work=Miami Herald|first=Jack|last=Anderson|date=May 19, 1958|access-date=April 26, 2020}} WMET eventually became a full-time Spanish-language outlet, the first in South Florida.

In 1961, the owners of daytime-only station WMBM (1220 AM), Florida's first black radio station—which in turn had just absorbed the call letters and some talent of the previous WMBM at 790 AM{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/48301329/|work=Miami News|title=WMBM, WFUN: Switcheroo On Radio In Miami|date=January 23, 1961|access-date=April 8, 2020|page=4B}}—agreed to a deal with Latin Broadcasting Company to swap facilities.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/48301491/|access-date=April 8, 2020|date=December 14, 1961|first=Kristine|last=Dunn|work=Miami News|page=7B|title=WMBM To Go 24 Hours}} The deal was finalized and announced in March 1962; Consolidated Communications, which owned WMBM, paid $253,000 to acquire the WMET-AM-FM facility.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/48301571/|work=Miami Herald|title=Radio WMBM, WMET Will Make a Switch|page=2-F|date=March 23, 1962|access-date=April 8, 2020}}

On April 3, 1962, the WMET intellectual unit moved to 1220 kHz, and 1490 (and 93.9 FM) received a relocated WMBM.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/48301631/|access-date=April 8, 2020|date=April 2, 1962|first=Kristine|last=Dunn|work=Miami News|title=WVCG-FM To Boost Power|page=4B}} WMBM went on to develop a large and popular history as Miami's premier AM station for rhythm and blues, gospel, jazz and programming targeted to an African-American audience. Noted jazz broadcaster China Valles had a popular show on the station.{{cite news|url=http://www.miaminewtimes.com/music/rip-china-valles-pioneering-miami-jazz-dj-friend-of-duke-ellington-dead-at-89-6441697|title=RIP China Valles, Pioneering Miami Jazz DJ, Friend of Duke Ellington, Dead at 89|first=Jacob|last=Katel|work=Miami New Times|date=December 19, 2014|access-date=May 27, 2016}} In its 1960s heyday, the station attempted a Thanksgiving turkey giveaway which clogged the MacArthur Causeway with drivers from Overtown seeking free turkeys.{{cite news|url=https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/transmission-impossible-6364463|work=Miami New Times|title=Transmission: Impossible|first1=Steven|last1=Almond|first2=Jim|last2=Defede|date=March 31, 1993|access-date=April 26, 2020}} Motivational speaker Les Brown was a disc jockey on WMBM.

In 1992, Eddie Margolis bought WMBM from his father. After a failed half-Haitian, half-gospel format, the station flipped to talk in 1993{{r|trans}} and briefly adopted the call letters WSBH.

On March 10, 1995, the station returned to a gospel format, as it had for much of the 1980s, and the WMBM call letters.{{cite web|url=http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=40045&Callsign=WMBM |title=WMBM Call Sign History |work=United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division }}

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{{AM station data|40045|WMBM}}

• [https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=65024 FCC History Cards for WMBM]

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{{Miami Radio}}

MBM

Category:Radio stations established in 1955

Category:Gospel radio stations in the United States

Category:1955 establishments in Florida