History
WIAD in Ocean City, New Jersey signed on in July 1922 at 1200 AM. The station was owned by Howard R. Miller. WIAD eventually relocated to Philadelphia. In 1928, per order of the FRC (Federal Radio Commission), the station moved to 1370 AM. In 1929, calls changed to WELK.
In 1934, Miller sold the station, and the new owners, silk manufacturers Dannenbaum & Steppacher, adopted the WDAS call sign. WDAS broadcast various ethnic programming in languages such as Italian, Yiddish and Polish. In 1941, WDAS moved to 1400 AM, then about 15 years later to its current position of 1480 AM.
In 1950, candy manufacturer Max Leon purchased the station for $495,000 from William Goldman, a theater chain owner. The programming at the time consisted of big band music, ethnic and cultural shows. Leon, the founder and conductor of the original Philly Pops Orchestra, added an all-night classical music show.
Read more about this topic: WDAS (AM)
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