WOL (1450kHz) is anurban talkAMradio station inWashington, D.C. This is theflagship radio station ofRadio One. It is co-owned withWDCJ,WKYS,WMMJ,WPRS, andWYCB and has studios located inSilver Spring, Maryland. The transmitter site is inFort Totten within DC and sharing with WYCB on 1340kHz.

A Baltimore version of this station,WOLB, was created in the early 1990s and shares some of the same programming as WOL.

The station was granted aconstruction permit, as WWDC, by theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) on October 29, 1940, for a new station to broadcast with 250 watts on 1420 kHz. In March 1941, most stations assigned to this frequency, including WWDC, were reassigned to 1450 kHz, under the provisions of theNorth American Regional Broadcasting Agreement.

WWDC made its debut broadcast at 8 p.m. on May 3, 1941, airing programming from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Studios were at 1000 Connecticut Avenue.^[3] An independent station with nonetwork affiliation, the station advertised it would broadcastAssociated Press newscasts five minutes before every hour, and "through NBCtranscriptions, Station WWDC will present a wide choice of big names in orchestras and radio entertainers from the NBC roster of stars".^[2]

On January 26, 1950, the FCC approved the sale of WWDC by Capital Broadcasting, which had just boughtWOL (1260 AM) fromCowles Broadcasting, toPeoples Broadcasting Corporation, an affiliate of the local People's Drug Stores, and announced the two stations would be swappingcall letters.^[4] The change took place February 20, 1950.^[5] This swap moved the WOL call letters to 1450 AM.

In 1965, the Sonderling Broadcasting Corporation bought WOL and changed the format fromeasy listening torhythm and blues. That year, WOL also became the first rhythm and blues station in Washington to havepublic affairs programming.^[6] "No other medium in the city had WOL's influence and credibility among black Washingtonians from 1965 to about 1975...With finger-popping, hand-clapping and foot-stomping, they were the broadcasters of gospel-influenced, inner city culture,"The Washington Post observed. WOL helped popularize "Chocolate City" as a nickname for Washington, according to thePost.^[7]

Originallysimulcast on its FM sister stationWMOD for more extensive coverage, they later changed the FM station to anoldies format. The station slowly deemphasized its music programming and evolved into anAfrican-American basedtalk station.

For many years the pair was owned bySonderling Broadcasting, who later sold its assets toViacom Broadcasting. (After Viacom took over, WMOD-FM becamecountry stationWMZQ-FM)

Competition from FM stations that had stronger signals andstereo sound reduced WOL's ratings in the late 1970s.^[6] By 1976, the Federal Communications Commission concluded an investigation of allegations ofpayola against WOL and other black stations around the U.S.^[6][7] In late 1979, the Almic Corporation, headed by Dewey andCathy Hughes, purchased the station. Dewey Hughes toldThe Washington Post: "The day of the rapping jock is over. Radio is generally toning down because of a new concern aboutcontemporary adult music."^[7]

During the 1960s and 1970s, WOL was home toPetey Greene, a former convict turned popular talk show host, comedian, and activist, who began his professional broadcasting career at WOL. His story was portrayed in the 2007 filmTalk To Me.

• Joe Madison
• Ambrose I. Lane Sr.
• Rob Redding

• WOL Website
• Facility details for Facility ID 54713 (WOL) in theFCC Licensing and Management System
• WOL inNielsen Audio's AM station database
• FCC History Cards for WOL (covering 1939-1980 as WWDC / WOL)

• African-American history of Washington, D.C.
• Fort Totten (Washington, D.C.)
• Urban One stations
• Radio stations in Washington, D.C.
• Radio stations established in 1941
• 1941 establishments in Washington, D.C.
• News and talk radio stations in the United States

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