Macon has never been the capital of one genre. That’s the point.
The city sat between Memphis, Nashville, Chicago and Atlanta. So its musicians mixed whatever was in reach: church, blues, country and the hits on the radio.
Little Richard was born here, and he helped invent rock and roll. Otis Redding grew up here. In 1969, Phil Walden moved the Allman Brothers Band to Macon for his new label, Capricorn Records, and the band made the city home.
In 1954, Hamp “King Bee” Swain became Macon’s first Black DJ. He was the first DJ to play James Brown’s “Please, Please, Please” on the radio. He also ran a talent show called “Teenage Party,” and Otis won it several times.
Listen across all of it and you hear the same thing. A voice that breaks on purpose. The whoop. The cry. The scream.
Macon is where the mix happens first. The city doesn’t always get the credit.
This station does what Macon has always done: mixes what’s around and sings it like it hurts. This time the mix stays home.