Technical Profile: DWBYE

AM Technical Profile: DWBYE

Frequency:: 1370
Format:: Gospel, Urban Oldies
Transmitter Location:: [map] [street view: studio] On the western outskirts of Calera on AL-25, on the south side of the highway.
Power (ERP):: Day: 1 kW
Antenna:: Day: 1 tower
Other Information:: [FCC]; [Radio-Locator]; [Wikipedia]; [Bhamwiki]; License deleted 04-06-2012
History:: This station was put on the air in 1955 by M. D. Smith III and his wife, Kirby Jones Smith (as Shelby County Broadcasting Company). Originally a daytime only station with 500 watts on 1370 kHz, it was an early Top 40 music station in the area. The studios and transmitter have been at the same site, listed above, since the beginning.

M. D. Smith would later go on to purchase Bell Radio Company in Birmingham, who'd put on major stations like WBRC-TV and WERC AM and FM. He also had a hand in putting on WAAY AM and TV in Huntsville, as well as in starting the Tennessee Valley's HiWAAY internet service.

Shelby County Advertising Corporation acquired the station in 1959. It's unclear what format(s) they had for the station during their ownership.

In 1983, the station was purchased by B. M. Murchison, and by the mid-80's it was listed in the Broadcasting Yearbook as having a Country music format. T. Ellisworth Leighton acquired the station in 1985. The station was sold to WBYE, Inc. in 1989 for $100,754.

The station appears to have maintained its country music format through at least the early 2000s, when the Broadcasting Yearbook has it listed as both Country and Black Gospel. It is possible that over time the country thinned out until only the Gospel was left. Some years also list Sports as one of the formats. By the 2010's, the station was definitely Gospel with some Urban Oldies mixed in.

In April 2012 the FCC deleted the station's license, for failing to renew on time and not responding to correspondence. Afterwards, the station was noted to still be operating, although by September 2012 it was on the air but with an empty carrier. In early October 2012 the station was finally reported silent, with power cut, including to the tower's lighting.

The tower was removed from the property in mid-March 2021.