‘Sounds of Faith’ are gone forever

It’s a good thing this happened last week and I’m writing about it this week. I was so mad then I could hardly utter a word about it without using unladylike language. I’m still mad but a little more rational. And not as mad about “what” was done as “how” it was done.

Business is business, I know, but this up-starty little business venture has made a whole lot of Atlanta area people hopping mad.

Who would have thought that two guys from Texas starting a radio station in San Antonio in 1972 would turn the Atlanta radio-listening area upside down in 2006?

For those of you who don’t know, the Atlanta radio station formerly known as “WPCH” and “94.9 Lite FM” bit the dust at noon on Monday, Dec. 18, 2006, with out so much as a word of warning, a “farewell” or la-dee- dah.

On Monday at 11:45 a.m., I pulled into the office parking lot and turned off the car radio which was playing Christmas music, as has been that station’s tradition for many, many years.

That evening, at about 6 p.m., I turned the radio back on and was greeted with what I can only describe as loud, annoying and obnoxious.

“94.9 FM ... (explosion) ... the BULL!” an annoying voice exclaimed.

What the ... ? I turned the knob, thinking some local yokel station had temporarily overridden my favorite station’s signal. Nope, there was nothing except the obnoxious voice and twangy country music at that frequency. I turned the radio off in disgust.

When I got home, I went to the Web, seeking some answers. Surely a station as popular as 94.9 could not go off the air without someone saying something about it. Here’s what I found on one Web site:

“In a moved that surprised many radio industry insiders, Clear Channel decided to pull the plug on Lite FM in mid-December, 2006, during its popular Christmas-music marathon to flip formats to The Bull, which will play country music. This format-flip is just one of many Clear Channel launched throughout 2006. Lite FM programming will air, without the local personalities, on a weak signal available south of I-20 in metro Atlanta on 96.7 FM.”

That last statement was not true. No more Christmas music was aired on either station. I was, however, able to find Christmas music played on 98.5 FM which is WSB.

Clear Channel Communications, for those who don’t know (I sure didn’t) is the mega-monster of communications corporations which has been gobbling up communications businesses since 1973. It was started by those two guys in Texas I mentioned previously.

I really wasn’t a fanatical listener of 94.9. They lost me when they started playing rock music in the 1990s. I called and let them know. I had been a constant listener since 1972 when all they played was instrumental music ... something you could turn on in the morning and leave on all day ... even all night if you wanted ... and I wasn’t even an old-timer back then. I was only in my early 30s. They then added vocal music in the ‘80s, and soft rock in the ‘90s.

The best parts of the station’s broadcasts were Sunday morning’s “Sounds of Faith” which featured hymns, praise songs, and Bible readings, from 6 a.m. until noon, and nighttime’s “Delilah” which featured inspirational calls and stories from listeners and wonderful, meaningful music.

I have since learned that Clear Channel purchased distribution rights to Delilah’s show in 2004 and that’s too bad. Sorry, gal. I love you but I won’t be listening to anything Clear Channel owns.

I am not alone. Most everyone I talked to was a “Peach” listener at some time or other. I know I am only one small, insignificant voice, but I just can’t stand businesses who make their money stomping on other people’s heads.

Farewell, dear Peach. You will always be a pleasant memory and a treasured part of Atlanta’s history.