MURFREESBORO, TN - With the ringing in of the New Year 2026, WGNS officially begins its 79th year of service to Murfreesboro and Rutherford County. Your Good Neighbor Station didn’t let the milestone slip by quietly. In true WGNS fashion, the station marked the occasion with a lighthearted “annual checkup,” making sure the Good Neighbor is still fit for duty.
Engineers joked that the station easily passed the first test: staying mentally and socially engaged. After all, WGNS has been talking with the community 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for decades. Conversation, connection, and companionship are what the station does best.
But one recommendation from local fitness experts proved a bit more challenging—keeping a consistent sleep schedule and avoiding late‑day caffeine. That’s easier said than done when you’ve been awake 24/7 for more than 42 years. WGNS has never been one to sleep on the job, and being a Good Neighbor sometimes means staying up all night. The station used to get a few hours of shut‑eye back in the early days, dozing off at midnight and catnapping until 6:00AM. That all changed in 1984, when the Good Neighbor made the leap to full 24‑hour broadcasting. From that moment on, WGNS has stayed wide awake so the community never has to wonder who’s on the air or where to turn for news, weather, or a friendly voice in the middle of the night.
The station’s story began on January 1, 1947, when Rutherford County’s first radio station signed on the air and rang in the New Year with a brand‑new voice. The G‑N‑S in the call letters stood for “Good Neighbor Station,” a promise that has guided WGNS ever since. With just a dozen more years to go, the station is already eyeing its century mark.
WGNS extends heartfelt thanks to the residents who tune in, read the news online, and support the station’s mission year after year. Local businesses that continue to advertise make it possible for the Good Neighbor to keep serving the community it loves, and their partnership remains one of the station’s greatest strengths.
And, as many longtime listeners know, WGNS is still very much a “mom and pop” family business. That identity shapes everything the station does. It’s a daily reminder of why being a Good Neighbor matters—why local voices deserve to be heard, why community stories deserve to be told, and why Murfreesboro and Rutherford County will always come first on the WGNS dial and website.
From its beginnings on AM 1450 to its expansion to FM 101.9 in Murfreesboro, FM 100.5 in Smyrna, and worldwide streaming at WGNSradio.com, the station remains committed to informing, uplifting, and connecting The Heart of Tennessee.
WGNS first came on the air in Murfreesboro, TN at 10:30 p.m. on the night of December 31, 1946 and our first full day of being on the air was on January 1, 1947. We were able to actually ring-in the 1947 New Year. Imagine all the news stories and history that has been heard by listeners over that time frame.
Listen back to some of the shows as we celebrate the 79th anniversary.
A Trip Down Memory Lane
Action Line with Bart Walker and John Hood. WGNS came on the air Dec. 31, 1946 at 10:45PM. Rutherford County's first radio station rang in the New Year of 1947. One of the station's early broadcasters, John Hood, and former State Representative, shares early memories about the Good Neighbor Station:
We invite you to turn back the clock with us and listen to a few vintage recordings, some dating back to 1947. Here are a few we've collected over the years...
WGNS in the 1940's and 1950's
1947 - This is a sponsor ID that aired on the station announcing it was 5:00...
1949 - McCord and Harris on the Square Commercial by Bill Barry:
1950 - Jerry Brown, voice of the Hub Store on the local Square:
1950 - Sewart Air Force Base, John Hood WGNS Host:
In the 1940’s and into the early 1950’s, WGNS would team up with the Liberty Broadcasting System to carry big band concerts that were held at the Sewart Air Force Base in Smyrna, TN.
Music from the 1948 to 1950 era was heard through the radio network…
On an interesting sidenote, the Liberty Broadcasting System radio network was founded by Gordon McLendon. The Texas based network would re-create Major League Baseball games with sound effects after a popular team won a game. Many listeners never knew they were not listening to the actual game at the time.
Here is another performance from the Sewart Air Base in Smyrna from 1949 with John Hood...
This is a news intro from 1949...
WGNS Into the 1970's
In the early 1970's, this was one of the many jingles you'd hear on WGNS AM 1450...
Wolfman Jack, who was on WGNS, doing a news promo in 1976...
American Top 40 with Casey Kasem was on WGNS. This is a local break from the program in 1976...
WGNS in Murfreesboro, TN was known as "The News Authority" in the 1950's, 60's, 70's and beyond, as announced on air by John Young...
That youthful voice of John Young went on to do voiceover work for TV stations around the country, including NewsChannel 5 in Nashville. He also did voiceover work for big Hollywood Movie trailers. In fact, he still records today and has a studio in his Middle Tennessee home.
WGNS into the 1990's
It was 1990 and advertiser Adkins TV in Murfreesboro was letting the WGNS audience know about their repair service. Bart Walker voiced this commercial on WGNS AM 1450...
This is a WGNS promo that aired in the 1990's with a WGNS singing jingle at the end of the spot...
Melanie Davenport operated Cellular Concepts in the 1990’s, where they offered the latest cellphones and beepers (pagers)...
Almost 30-years ago in 1993, you likely heard this radio program promotion if you were tuned into WGNS AM 1450...
WGNS’ Bryan Barrett, who has covered news in Rutherford County since the 90’s, is heard updating listeners in 1993 about a weather alert…
WGNS' Scott Walker announcing a weather update about 30-years ago in 1993 on WGNS Radio...
In the 1990's, video rental stores were HUGE and families would rent VHS movies and later DVD movies every Friday and Saturday night. Here is WGNS' Jon Dinkins voicing a Broadway Video commercial on WGNS Radio...
If you have early recordings of WGNS radio commercials or broadcast, let us know - we'd love to hear them!
