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T
his is not big time corporate radio. This is home town radio, the kind of radio we grew up listening to and where I got my start in broadcasting back in 1965. I’m John Elliott, owner of Suncoast Radio, Inc. and Country Legends Radio. I started our broadcasting “empire” in February 2010 with the purchase of WZCC AM 1240 in Cross City. Dixie County residents might remember the station as WDFL and many other call signs, and owners, over the years. A lightning hit in 2009 took the station off the air. It remained silent until we bought it, rebuilt it, and put it back on the air in March 2010. Our original format was “The Music of Our Generation” rock and roll oldies.
In June 2011 we had the opportunity to expand into Levy County with the purchase of WLQH AM 940 in Chiefland. WLQH had a strong history of serving Chiefland and Levy County with local programming, news, and sports. Their big tower at the north end of Chiefland put out a strong signal. We immediately saw the opportunity to serve the residents of both Dixie and Levy counties, many of whom traveled up and down US 19 between Cross City and Chiefland to either work, shop, or enjoy the many recreational opportunities the entire area had to offer. Since the signal of WZCC in Cross City overlapped the signal of WLQH in Chiefland at the Suwannee River bridge we decided to “simulcast” our programming on both stations. Drivers could switch back and forth between 940 and 1240 as they drove on US 19 and never miss a song! WLQH was the local affiliate for Scott Shannon’s True Oldies Channel which we chose as the new format for both stations.
Our most recent acquisition was a very small (10 watt) FM station located in Newberry. It had been part of a statewide network of stations owned by the Catholic Church. In March 2013 we purchased 93.3 FM but spent many months working with the Federal Communications Commission to boost the power, change the frequency to 93.1 which was clearer, and move the station from Newberry to Chiefland. What is now WLQH’s new FM frequency went on the air in August 2013 just in time to broadcast the Chiefland Indians Fall Classic football game! The clear FM signal now reaches up into Gilchrist County making us truly the Tri-County’s only local broadcast station serving Dixie, Levy, and Gilchrist counties.
In April of 2014 we were notified that The True Oldies Channel would cease broadcasting at the end of June 2014 as Scott Shannon dedicated all his efforts to his new job as the morning DJ on WCBS-FM in New York City. We wish Scott all the best and will miss his love and knowledge of rock and roll oldies he brought to our stations. We continued our format of rock and roll oldies as Classic Hits Radio.
Which brings us to the present. We listened to our listeners! When WDVH in Trenton was sold in 2017 and changed their format from Classic County to Joy FM, fans of great old-time county music and the artists who performed them were left without a place to hear them. We’re talking about the songs from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, and sometimes even earlier. Artists like Patsy Cline, Buck Owens, Hank Sr, Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, and Shania Twain. Welcome to Country Legends Radio! We have a new line up of great DJ’s who love playing these great songs as much as you enjoy hearing them. We will still have our themed weekend shows including Original Country Gold, a 5 hour request show every Saturday night between 7pm and midnight hosted by award winning country music DJ Rowdy Yates! We haven’t forgotten our sports fans. You will still hear local high school football featuring the Chiefland Indians varsity team. And we were the only station in the area that brought you the live broadcast of Super Bowl LII. You’ll hear headline news from CNN, daily stock market reports from Lou Dobbs, and local weather forecasts for the Tri County area, not Gainesville. And don’t forget Country Legends Radio will ALWAYS break into our programming immediately upon receiving a severe weather alert or hurricane update in season from NOAA Weather Radio. New features include the Community Check sponsored by Sunstate Federal Credit Union, a place for local churches and non-profit agencies to list their events at no charge. Community Check airs 3 times a day, Monday through Friday. And we are pleased to add the Prep Zone Nature Coast with Mike Ridaught. Mike is a well known Gainesville sports broadcaster and has put together a special report especially for the Tri-County area featuring not just Chiefland HS football but other sports and other area schools. The Prep Zone Nature Coast is also sponsored by Sunstate Federal Credit Union.
Country Legends is too just big for just one frequency! You can still hear all our programming on all four of our radio stations: FM 93.1 and AM 940 WLQH in Chiefland and FM 96.3 and AM 1240 WZCC in Cross City. So welcome aboard the Tri-County’s one source for great music, news, sports, and weather, Country Legends Radio! Lend us your ears, you’ll be glad you did!!
