New Radio Station Features All Blues

" I want to see Memphis become all it can be. "

By Norm Shaw

It's pretty easy to hear live blues in Memphis. You can drop by Beale Street or any number of clubs. But hearing blues on the radio has been spotty at best.

Sure, there's standard-bearer WEVL-FM 90, which has been playing a bunch of blues for its 20-year run. There's Tater Red on WREG-Rock 103 on Sunday nights. WDIA-AM 1070 offers blues on Saturday, as do some of the educational stations. But there wasn't a 24-hour-a-day blues station. Until now.

WAVN-AM 1240 switched to an all-blues format in May. And according to program director Pat Mitchell, so far so good.

"Basically, we're playing all kinds of blues," Mitchell says in the control room of the station. "We play everything from the old stuff like Robert Johnson to the new stuff. We focus on the hit-oriented blues, like B.B. King. We play a lot of B.B., Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bobby 'Blue' Bland."

While you'll hear a lot blues, you won't hear a lot of talk. The station is operating without deejays at this point. Mitchell said a decision may be made later on adding deejays. Until then, there are history minutes and little other talking. The station is predominately automated. There are 14 compact disc players that hold several CDs each. The CD players rotate automatically.

When the station first went on the air, Mitchell took the first phone calls. She said she was surprised by the mix of listeners, both black and white, and by the age mix. The target audience is the coveted 25-45 male audience. It is too early to tell how the station is doing in the ratings.

Mitchell has no doubt, though, that the city is ready for a 24-hour blues station.

"Music portrays the soul of so many people," Mitchell says. "This is the soul of Memphis." Some might find that odd coming from Mitchell, especially if they know the 25-year-old. She has been a fixture on the Memphis music scene for several years. She writes for several regional and national publications, has worked at Memphis in May and was formerly an on-air personality for WAVN's sister station, FM 107.1 The Zone. Her main love has always been loud, heavy rock 'n' roll. But she's come to love the blues.

"For the longest time I did not like the blues," she says. "I think it was because it was just expected that I should like it. Then I realized I just needed to get over it. In the past five years, I've experienced some really great music. I've come to realize what the blues has to offer."

What the blues has to offer Mitchell right now is another challenge. She is excited about trying to take WAVN as far as she can. Promotional plans are just now gearing up. A marketing and advertising campaign is in the works. And word is spreading about the station. It all adds up to an even greater presence of blues heritage for Memphis, something that gains momentum every day.

"I want to see Memphis become all it can be," Mitchell says. "Kevin Kane (of the Convention and Visitors Bureau), the mayors - there is a total effort to push Memphis. I think it's great. People ask me about Crossroads, what is its hook. I say, 'It's Memphis.' What else do you need to know? There's your credibility right there."

And the addition of a 24-hour blues station does nothing but help that credibility.