Welcome to B95: The Hive of Classic Hits

The Magic Valley’s favorite radio station went on air Wednesday morning with a new buzz. WRJB 95.9 announced this week that the station is rebranding as “B95.”

While the station’s logo, website, and social media will have a new look, the musical format will continue to be focused on classic hits, with a huge library of hits from the 60s through the 90s, with Southern Gospel and local devotional programs on Sundays. 

B95 will be taking a more active role in the community with plans to spotlight local schools, sports, community groups. The station will soon have a vehicle equipped with all the technology required to broadcast anywhere in the quad-county area (Benton, Carroll, Henry, and Humphreys) and will be actively on the road broadcasting area events. 

With the change of branding also comes several changes in staff. Terry Hudson, who has a long history in radio in the area, is heading up the team as program director and is on-air from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each weekday. 

“Our goal is to return to the original vision for the station cast by John Latham in 1976, being an entertainment and news source for and about the four-county area.”

Terry Hudson, Program Director

“Our goal is to return to the original vision for the station cast by John Latham in 1976,” Hudson said, “being an entertainment and news source for and about the four-county area.”

Terry’s radio career began in 1969 at WFWL and has spanned various radio stations in West Tennessee and North Alabama, including notable stints at WTPR, WKAX in Russellville, Alabama, where he was part owner, WVRY in Waverly, WMUF in Paris, WKQZ in Bolivar, where he was part owner, and WHZZ in Huntington as an owner. His first tenure at WRJB was from 1988 till 1993. In January 2022, Hudson began his weekly show “Blue Collar Americana” which quickly became a fan favorite, feature a hodge-podge of music genres from blue grass to blues.  

Terry’s expansive experience, community roots, and commitment to public service make him an integral part of the WRJB team.

Michael Thomas joined the team this week with a live morning drive show every weekday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Thomas is no stranger to radio, and worked in the and 90s with WRJB before taking a local security position, from which he retired this month. 

Noah Brown and Samuel Parker joined the WRJB team in late May working production and will do some live on-air work. 

Brown is a passionate music collector, baseball card enthusiast, and dedicated family man who joined WRJB Radio in May of 2023. Born in California, Noah relocated to Star, Texas at the age of seven. His diverse background, unique interests, and deep ties to the community make him an exciting addition to the WRJB team.

Parker, born and raised in Paris, Tennessee, is a multifaceted musician with a career spanning two decades. The youngest of six siblings, Samuel’s love for music was nurtured early on, culminating in a proficient understanding of multiple instruments, including bass, guitar, harmonica, mandolin, keyboard, and drums.His love for music, his commitment to his community in Camden, and his diverse experiences bring a unique flavor to WRJB Radio. This, combined with his rich background and engaging personality, promises an exciting future for the radio station’s listeners.

Former Benton County chamber director Bill Kee has taken on the sales responsibilities of the station, officially starting this week. Kee has lived in Camden for over 38 years. Born in Camden, His family moved to Peoria, Ill., where his dad worked for Caterpillar Tractor Company. After returning to Camden in the mid 80s, Bill started in radio at WFWL in Camden as an on-air personality and later moved to WVRY in Waverly. Bill’s subsequent jobs have included sales at Ray Smith Chevrolet, Executive Director of the Benton County/Camden Chamber of Commerce and the development of his marketing company, Scrolling Screen Affordable Marketing Solutions His hobbies include, playing the guitar, singing, fishing, boating, and golf. 

Longtime local radio personality Bobby “Flash” Melton will continue to broadcast local sports and live events, in addition to his weekly Saturday morning show “Operation 7570.” Flash needs no introduction to most local readers, having a long history broadcasting Camden Lions football as well as baseball, softball, and basketball. Flash graduated as a communications major from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and worked as a dispatcher for the Camden Police Dept. and eventually as City Clerk for the City of Camden. 

Sports guru Jim Steele will continue to be involved in sports coverage and sports talk. Jim boasts a vibrant career in the sports coverage and broadcasting industry and has done sports coverage and opinion for Magic Valley Publishing’s newspapers for the past 15 years in addition to his participation in broadcasting at WRJB. 

Larry Nunnery continues to serve as the station’s engineer and is actively working to help navigate the station through several equipment upgrades. Scott Hill and SCR Network will continue to provide the station with IT support. 

Magic Valley Publishing and Community Broadcasting Co. CEO Daniel Richardson has been taking an active role in the direction of the station since late April and will continue to be involved throughout the transition period and beyond with the goal of directing the station to focus on local content. 

“We’re looking forward growing this station into one of the best community radio stations in the county,” Richardson said Tuesday. “B95 will work hand-in-hand with our sister newspapers the Carroll County News-Leaer, the Camden Chronicle, and the Waverly News Democrat and their digital platforms to create a one-of-a-kiind multimedia local news, community, and entertainment experience.” 

Listeners are encouraged to tune in to 95.9 on their FM dials, or listen live online from anywhere in the world at www.wrjbradio.com or their favorite radio streaming app. 

History of WRJB

WFWL-AM 1220 went on the air in September 1956 from the Lockhart Motel on Highway 70 East in Camden, TN. At the time, there were only a few radio stations in the area and it was a big deal for a small town to have a radio station. The programming consisted of country, pop, and gospel music; and national, regional, and local news.

Freeland stressed that a radio station should always be a “reflection of its community” in terms of its format. In other words: the music, news, programs, and involvement in community events, should be dictated by the listeners rather than the owner’s personal preference. He pioneered things like Man at the Fair, Cancer Crusade Radio Auction, and the Treasure Hunt promotion that had listeners digging up the countryside searching for hidden treasures. Clues for the treasure hunt were broadcast daily. This was one of the most successful promotions.

Some of the individuals heard on WFWL included John Latham, Jim Freeland, John Lashlee, Will Luther, Ricky Fite, Gene Presson, Charlie Banks, Russell Gallimore, Ron Lane, Reid Bell, Charlie Baylor, Jim Hart, Terry Hudson, Bobby “Flash” Melton, Terry Hendrix, Randy Lane, and many others. John Latham was the engineer that built WFWL, and one of the station’s owners (the L in the call letters stood for Latham, while the F stood for Freeland). 

WFWL had three groups of owners from 1956-1985. Mike Freeland and John Latham were the founders and own the station from 1956-1977, Ron Lane and two Union City absentee owners from 1977-1984, and Ray Smith and John Latham from 1985-1994. WFWL was then moved into the same building as WRJB at 117 Vicksburg Avenue. In 1994, a group consisting of Larry Melton, Stanley Melton, and Ron Lane, purchased both WRJB and WFWL. With this change, Ron Lane became general manager. John Latham continued to work in sales until his death a few years later. Ownership changed again in 2008 when the Community Broadcasting Company was acquired into the Media Group of Magic Valley Publishing of Camden, Tennessee.

WFWL improved its coverage and audio quality with the addition of an FM translator in 2012. This made it possible for WFWL’s AM signal to be simultaneously broadcast on 99.7 FM. WFWL became known as The Catfish 99.7 FM/1220 AM. 

In the summer of 1976, a new radio station was born in Camden: WRJB Super 98. The 3,000-watt FM station went on the air featuring adult contemporary music 24-hours a day. WRJB was owned by Ray Smith and John Latham, with Latham managing the station. It quickly became one of the most popular stations in West Tennessee. WRJB featured live sports broadcasts of Tennessee Volunteers football and basketball, and local sports coverage of Camden and Hollow Rock-Bruceton sports. Live announcers manned the mic around the clock, including “Crazy” Larry Nunnery, Gary Powley, Darrell Lynn, Kyle Dewberry, Charlie Baylor, Will Luther, David Poehlein, Buddy Smothers, and Bobby “Flash” Melton just to name a few. WRJB also covered many news events like the train wreck and the chemical explosion in Waverly. John Latham did live reports for days from the scene. 

WRJB obtained permission from the FCC in 2006 to increase power from 3,000 to 6,000 watts. The station was then required to change the frequency from 98.3 to 95.9.