WSM Turns 100: How One Nashville Station Leaned on Innovation to Make Radio History

One of the astir important storylines successful state euphony successful 2025 is the solemnisation of the Grand Ole Opry’s 100th anniversary.

But that milestone, which arrives Nov. 25, wouldn’t beryllium without another, earlier centennial: the motorboat of WSM-AM Nashville connected Oct. 5, 1925.

Despite the transition of time, immoderate of the aforesaid aesthetics are astatine enactment astatine the presumption successful 2025 that were determination erstwhile it started successful 1925, according to existent WSM GM/content manager Eric Marcum, including a absorption connected hiring from wrong and a dedication to its technological history. Marcum made the observations during a one-hour speech connected Sept. 4 with Air Castle of the South: WSM and the Making of Music City author Craig Havighurst on Tom Truitt’s WHO KNEW The Smartest People successful the Room webinar.

Given the property of the station, the 30-something Marcum is simply a comparative newcomer to its history, lone becoming alert of it erstwhile helium spotted the WSM microphone connected the screen of the 2008 Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder album Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass – Tribute to 1946 & 1947.

“I’d ne'er seen telephone letters for a vigor presumption that were conscionable 3 telephone letters,” Marcum said. “Everything I had ever heard my full beingness were mostly FM astatine that constituent and 4 telephone letters. It was besides astatine that clip that I learned that thing westbound of the Mississippi was starting with a K. So it was my introduction, really, to radio.”

Marcum started astatine WSM successful 2013, pursuing his graduation from Purdue University, sharing immoderate commonalities with George D. Hay, the presumption PD who founded the Opry. Both were calved successful Indiana, and some joined the unit successful their 20s, though Hay started higher up the ladder erstwhile helium arrived. In conscionable 2 years, Hay had gone from WMC Memphis to WLS Chicago — wherever helium founded The National Barn Dance and was recognized by Reader’s Digest as America’s favourite on-air property — to WSM, joining the presumption precisely 5 weeks aft its archetypal sign-on. Hay inaugurated the Opry little than 3 weeks later, introducing a fiddler, Uncle Jimmy Thompson, who performed for an hour.

Hay’s two-year beforehand successful broadcasting runs partially parallel to Marcum’s ascent up the ranks astatine WSM. Marcum started arsenic a committee operator, progressing steadily into marketing, past traffic, earlier serving arsenic adjunct PD, morning-show shaper and yet GM.

“It was astir apt a caller occupation rubric each 2 to 3 years,” Marcum said.

Longevity has agelong been encouraged astatine WSM. In summation to the Opry, it aired Ernest Tubb’s Midnite Jamboree — the second-longest-running vigor programme — for implicit 75 years. A fig of its staffers person likewise maintained affiliations of 25 years oregon more, including Bill Cody (30 years), Keith Bilbrey (30), Eddie Stubbs (25), precocious signifier manager Vito Pellettieri (43) and precocious Country Music Hall of Fame subordinate Grant Turner (47).

“The mode WSM and National Life [and Insurance], its genitor company, operated successful the aureate epoch — successful the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s — radical I talked to who had worked connected either broadside of that institution talked astir however overmuch mentorship determination was,” Havighurst said, drafting connected the probe for his book. “People stayed retired of loyalty, and due to the fact that they got promoted, their vocation improvement was truly healthy.”

WSM’s telephone letters were an acronym for the National Life slogan — “We shield millions” — and the presumption was utilized to heighten the marque identity.

Radio was the archetypal unrecorded media, and WSM besides utilized a 150-pound portable transmitter to item that strength. The assemblage didn’t antecedently link with the assemblage successful existent clip — quality had lone dispersed done newspapers oregon connection of rima — and the presumption employed that transmitter to broadcast the dependable of the Pan American bid passing done suburb...