WHER - The Nation's First All Girl Radio Station - Memphis
Posted by: 
Markerman62
N 35° 07.260 W 090° 03.293
15S E 768390 N 3890432
Located in front of the old Holiday Inn building at 972 South 3rd Street, Memphis
Waymark Code: WM13H99
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 12/16/2020
Views: 1
On October 30, 1955, in a Holiday Inn at 972 S. Third Street, the nation's first radio station to staff only women as disk jockeys went on the air as "WHER-1,000 Beautiful Watts." Sam Phillips of Sun Studio and Kemmons Wilson of Holiday Inn developed the idea. Dotty Abbott, Fay Bussel, Dot Fisher, Barbara Gurley, Donna Rae Jackson, Marion Keisker, Becky Phillips, Phyllis Stimbert, and Bobbie Stout were the first set of on-air personalities. At WHER 1430 AM, the Studio was the "Doll Den," the Control Room was the "Playroom," and the Manager's Office was marked "Boss Ma'am." Becky Phillips said the format was "Better music, the kind that lives on through the years to bring back pleasant memories." In 1970, the format gave way to "informational radio," and a male was hired as general manager. The call letters were changed to WWEE in 1972.
Marker Name: WHER - The Nation's First All Girl Radio Station
Marker Location: City
Type of Marker: Other
Marker Number: None
Group(s) Responsible for placing Marker:
The Shelby County Historical Commission, August 2019
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