City Beat: WFLI-AM 1070 moving forward on museum

Downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee at night
Downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee at night
photo Barry Courter

» WFLI-AM 1070 was a powerhouse of a radio station in the '60s, '70s and early '80s, and it meant a lot to a lot of people. It connected not only listeners but the folks who worked there, as well as some of the radio and TV people who didn't work there, but who wanted to.

The broadcast types in town have an unusually close bond with each other, so when it was announced that WFLI had been bought and would go back on the air back in the summer, many people rejoiced. It was also announced that the plan was to make the iconic facility in Lookout Valley a national radio museum, and that work continues.

Many of those same broadcast folks will gather on Saturday to further discuss the museum and ways they might be able to help. Many of them have memorabilia that would enhance the museum, for example.

Ben Cagle is one such guy, who caught the radio bug early in life. He's back on the air doing "The Best of the '60s" each Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. It also broadcasts on wflionline.com, which explains why he gets emails from listeners around the world.

"I get them from all over the country and places like Germany," he said. "It's amazing. They love the music and they love the format."

Cagle uses many of the old WFLI audio identifiers in his show, so for many folks, it's like stepping back in time.

» I misspoke last week regarding live music at Songbirds Guitar Museum. AC Entertainment, the Knoxville-based entertainment group that books shows at the Tivoli and Memorial Auditorium, in addition to producing festivals such as Bonnaroo, is not involved in booking acts at Songbirds and it won't be involved, at least contractually in the space formerly known as Revelry Room.

The folks who operate Songbirds took over the space on Sunday, and they will be booking both.

» Random question of the day. Maybe the century, actually, as it's a topic that has bothered me for years: Who actually needs, or uses, double vanities in their bathrooms?

I kind of understand the concept, assuming that all members of the household absolutely have to be dressed and ready to walk out the door at the exact same time, and that there is only one working bathroom in the house. I can see where maybe two people MUST brush their teeth at the same time, but that has happened at no time in my life.

I love my wife, and my kids, but bathroom time is not a group activity. And, please don't tell me it means his and hers. It just means hers, and also hers.

Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.

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