WDIA: The Goodwill Station

WDIA: The Goodwill Station is a Tennessee historical marker in Shelby County.

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WDIA, the Goodwill Station, was the first radio station in the nation to have an all-black format. This format made WDIA the top-rated Memphis Station in the early 1950's. In 1948, Nat D. Williams became its first black "D-J". Among those who appeared on WDIA were B. B. King, Dwight More, Rufus Thomas, A. C. Williams, Willa Monroe, Martha Jean Steinberg and Maurice Hulbert. Early programs included Teen-Town Singers, Payday Today, Brown America Speaks and Hallelujah Jubilee.

TodayHistorical map

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USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection

Historical maps covering this location

1909 · Arkansas. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1925 · Memphis, Tennessee (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)
1927 · Memphis, Tennessee (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)
1939 · Memphis, Tennessee (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)
1965 · Northwest Memphis, Tennessee (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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Marker text and location from the Tennessee Historical Commission, as the Commission publishes them on its marker map.

More markers nearby

Gayoso Houseunder 1 mi
The Memphis Daily Appealunder 1 mi
Saturday Night Jamboreeunder 1 mi
Marion Scudder Griffin 1879-1957under 1 mi

On the National Register nearby

Peabody Hotel180 ft
Gayoso-Peabody Historic District (Boundary Increase, Boundary Decrease)260 ft
Bank of Commerce and Trust Company Building290 ft
1 more listed place within 300 feetall Tennessee listings

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.