WSIX-FM

History

Early years

The first WSIX-FM signed on the air in 1948. It was the sister station to WSIX 980 AM (now WYFN), on the air since 1927. They were owned by Louis and Jack Draughon and had studios in the Nashville Trust bank building.

The FM station broadcast on 97.5 megacycles. They were network affiliates of ABC Radio, simulcasting its dramas, comedies, news and sports. The stations called themselves "The Voice of Tennessee's Capital City." But few people owned FM receivers in those days and management saw little opportunity to make WSIX-FM profitable. So in the early 1950s, the first WSIX-FM was taken dark. The owners decided to concentrate on setting up a television station, WSIX-TV, originally on channel 8 (now WKRN-TV channel 2).

After a few years, management decided to give FM radio another try. In 1959, the current WSIX-FM came on the air, this time on 97.9 MHz. It still mostly simulcast 980 AM. As network programming moved from radio to television, WSIX-AM-FM began playing country and western hits and other styles of music. In the late 1960s, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) started requiring AM-FM combos in large cities to separate most of their programming. WSIX-FM began offering a different kind of country sound.

Countrypolitan

WSIX-FM is credited with pioneering the "countrypolitan" Nashville sound, which developed in the 1960s. Violins and other stringed instruments, and occasionally horns, were added to the traditional fiddle and guitar-driven sound of country music. During those years (beginning in 1967 until the late 1970s) WSIX-FM used the slogan "We're metropolitan country."

As such, WSIX-FM became one of the first successful country-format stations exclusively on the FM dial in the U.S. Until then, country music formats were typically found on AM stations until well into the early 1980s.

The Big 98 Era

In 1983, WSIX-AM-FM were owned by General Electric. GE decided to sell the AM and FM stations. The television station, WNGE-TV (now WKRN-TV), was also sold to separate owners.

Around that time, the stations were simulcast and the format turned to a more straightforward country sound (i.e., honkey tonk and "outlaw country"). They used the moniker "The Big 98." 98 could refer to the FM station's dial position, rounding off 97.9 MHz. It could also refer to the AM station, dropping the zero from 980 kHz. In 2000, WSIX-FM was acquired by San Antonio-based Clear Channel Communications, a forerunner to today's iHeartMedia.

XM simulcast

From May 1, 2006 to August 8, 2008, WSIX-FM was simulcast on XM Satellite Radio (channel 161). The satellite feed included some commercials. A song that was not on the station's playlist at the moment would be heard on XM while FM listeners in Nashville were hearing local commercials.

After a leave of absence, on June 8, 2011, WSIX-FM returned to the XM platform, replacing "Nashville" on XM 57. Station owner Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia) sold off its ownership stake in Sirius XM Radio during the second quarter of fiscal year 2013. As a result of the sale, nine of Clear Channel's eleven XM stations, including WSIX-FM, ceased broadcast over XM Satellite Radio on October 18, 2013.

HD Radio

WSIX-FM began broadcasting in the HD Radio format. For its HD2 subchannel, it launched with a new country format, branded as WSIXtra and later The Nashville Channel. In August 2014, it was replaced by No Shoes Radio, which featured a freeform format curated and hosted by country musician Kenny Chesney. It was also available nationally on the iHeartRadio app and on sister station KNIX-FM. In March 2016, Clear Channel announced that No Shoes Radio would move exclusively to SiriusXM on April 12. On April 1, 2016, the channel was replaced by The Bobby Bones Top 30 Countdown.

On September 2, WSIX-FM HD2 relaunched as classic country station 98.3 The Big Legend. It would be simulcast on FM translator station 98.3 W252CM. On September 21, 2018, the subchannel and translator flipped to a simulcast of co-owned talk radio station WLAC 1510 AM. The Big Legend is currently heard on the HD3 subchannel.

Emergency Alert System

WSIX is the Local Primary 1 (LP1) station for the Emergency Alert System in the Nashville, Tennessee operational area.

References

References

1. [http://www.robertsoncountyarc.org/rcarc_newsletter_june_2013.pdf Robertson County Amateur Radio Club newsletter], 6/2013
2. [https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1950/RADIO%20&%20TV%20ALL%20YB%201950%20B&W-11.pdf ''Broadcasting Yearbook 1950'' page 284. Retrieved Aug. 28, 2025.]
3. [https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1977/C%20Section%20Radio%20Broadcasting%20Yearbook%201977%20P-6.pdf ''Broadcasting Yearbook 1977'' page C-198. Retrieved Aug. 28, 2025.]
4. (1967-06-10). "Billboard".
5. [https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/2010/D-2010-BC-YB-7.pdf ''Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2010'' page D-508. Retrieved Aug. 28, 2025.]
6. (2013-08-02). "Clear Channel Sells SiriusXM Stake; Stations To Leave Service".
7. (2013-10-15). "SiriusXM Adjusting Lineup: Z100/KIIS-FM Come To Sirius".
8. "Kenny Chesney's 'No Shoes' Radio Moves from the Internet to the Satellite".
9. (2016-09-02). "iHeart Debuts The Big Legend 98.3 Nashville". RadioInsight.
10. (2018-09-21). "The Big Legend Gives Way To WLAC Simulcast In Nashville". RadioInsight.