Correction appended
For the past 12 years, Richard Whitmore has been sharing his library of oldies music with Athens County.
In 2004, Whitmore became a founder of WEAK LP 106.7 FM, which is a commercial-free oldies station that includes tracks ranging from the early- to mid-1900s. He and a friend split the cost to start a corporation called Hobby Radio, which eventually came to be WEAK FM. The station will also occasionally play modern songs that sound "like the older stuff."
Along with underground classics and a few modern hits, the station has other weekend programming to offer.
On Saturday mornings, the station has the show "Saturday Morning Dance Parties," which consists of music produced prior to 1954. On Sunday mornings, it plays older gospel music, and on Saturday and Sunday afternoons the station plays mainly old country tunes.
Also on Sundays, Michael “DJ Barticus” Bart, hosts the “Disco Barticus Disco Radio Show” at 9 p.m.
Although the station sticks to its regular schedule most of the year, the holiday season is filled with festive tunes.
“We start playing Christmas songs 24 hours a day at 6 o’clock on Thanksgiving night through Christmas night,” Whitmore said.
The idea to have a non-stop oldies station was rooted in Whitmore’s childhood. He bought records growing up, but he said none of that music is being played on current stations, which typically play "Top 10" tracks. A large volume of the music played on WEAK FM comes from the '70s.
“They have 200 songs that they just play all the time, it gets really really old,” Whitmore said, so he decided to share his library with those who enjoy the same music as him.
Like Whitmore, Jake Butler, a freshman studying undecided business, enjoys listening to oldies music.
“I think (listening to older music) is important because the talent back then goes unappreciated now a days,” he said.
Butler mainly listens to classic rock from the early '60s to late '70s, he said. Although Butler listens to a range of oldies rock, he "likes Led Zeppelin the best.”
The station was not created to strictly play oldies tunes, though.
“Originally, we were going to have interviews with people about their hobbies ... but nobody wanted to volunteer for that, so we just decided to drop that idea,” Whitmore said.
Because WEAK FM does not run advertisements or commercials, it depends on “listener support and business underwriters” to stay on air, according to its website.
WEAK FM is a non-commercial radio station, and according to its website, the station strives to host entertaining and educational programming, provide important information to residents of Athens and train those interested in the broadcast industry.
Andre Gribou, a professor in the School of Music who teaches history of rock classes, says he believes that the younger generations can benefit from listening to older music to avoid being stuck in a "cultural and intellectual vacuum.” Gribou listens to WEAK FM in his car, the only place he listens to the radio and likes how he is reminded of tunes he “hasn’t heard in ages,” he said.
Gribou encourages his students to keep an open mind with what they consume.
“Sometimes it helps to really give things a second or third chance in terms of listening,” he said.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the day on which DJ Barticus' radio show was held. The show is on Sundays. The article has been updated to show the correct information.
