Founded By Magic Fans, For Magic Fans September 6th, 2004
In Carolinas' radio history, only a handful of stations ever attained the status of being nationally recognized as a leader. Magic 96.1 WWMG in Charlotte may over time rank as one of the region's legendary stations. Magic is gone, and even if in the long run it doesn't rank up there with BIG WAYS in radio lore it will certainly be a long time before it is completely forgotten. This website will long preserve memories of Charlotte, North Carolina's Magic 96.1 FM. Magic's demise was tragic to many listeners and to those who worked there over the years, so we felt Tragic96.Com was an ideal name for this "UNOFFICIAL" Tribute Website!
The Tragic96.com site is dedicated to all the people who ever worked there, but most of all it is dedicated the people who listened to Magic 96.1 over the years!
This site is not affiliated with any radio station or broadcasting company, but rather is a not-for-profit and member financed all volunteer archive of Magic 96.1's history. Content will be continually added as it becomes available to us, provided by former staff & others as our time allows to post it. This is by no means the finished site. So visit often! Watch the WHAT'S NEW column to the right for major site updates.
Between 1987 and 2004 the station first known as Magic 96, and later as the more digitally correct Magic 96.1, erupted with a unique high energy "Rock & Soul" based oldies format delivered Top-40 style. It became the leading adult "non-country" music station in the Carolinas for over 10 years of its 17 year existence and the station's popularity peaked around 2000 before going into a ratings slide. Many consider Magic to rank among the all-time classiest Oldies radio operations ever mounted in the USA.
Magic has been ushered into radio history joining the few other Charlotte rock & soul stations like "BIG WAYS" and WGIV. These Charlotte stations impacted not only the region, but the Rock & Soul Radio Nation at large. Magic 96.1 preserved Charlotte's reputation as one of radio's trendsetter markets since so many high power FM stations in other large markets attempted to duplicate Magic's success with oldies, yet rarely succeeded to the same degree.
In the 21st century world of homogenous "corporate cookie-cutter" stations it was on September 2nd, 2004 that Magic 96.1 joined the roster of those "gone-but-not-forgotten" personality driven rock & soul radio stations that dominated the southland for over 40 years.
By 2000 the radio industry was changing. Yet there was Magic still doing pretty much what it always did. So, compared to most other oldie stations in other big towns Magic was a renegade challenging the conventional wisdom that there was only one right way to do oldies radio. Now that Magic is gone, almost without exception an Oldies station in one large city sounds pretty much identical to an Oldies station in another city thousands of miles away. Calling the generic oldies formats with low key delivery that most oldies stations run these days "McOldies" is a one way to describe it since a McDonalds' cheeseburger tastes the same in Los Angeles as it does in New York or Miami. Magic 96.1 on the other hand (up until late 2000 anyway) was more like the mom & pop cafe that had the biggest and best hamburgers in town, something like Midtown Sundries cooked up near the location of the old Magic Corner Studios. Magic's uniqueness and stubborn resistance to a surging wave of lackluster mediocrity sweeping through America's Oldies stations will always be a source of pride to those who pulled it off at Charlotte's Magic 96.1 so well for so long.
This site's purpose is to accurately preserve some of the heritage, history of the station and its overall feel. Magic served to unite Oldies fans in both North and South Carolina in ways that had never happened before and will likely never happen again. It is the historical value of the audio elements, narrative submissions by those involved and as many visual images as we can find relating to the station that is our primary concern. This chapter in Carolinas' radio heritage should be preserved. At least one other tribute webpage for the station has been launched, and to them we say thank you for recognizing Magic's contribution to Charlotte's colorful radio history.
Those who were inside Magic realize now, perhaps more than even knowledgeable industry peers, that while there may be another oldies station in town... there will never be another station like Magic in Charlotte. In case you haven't noticed, over three full years have gone by and still there's nothing even close to Magic 96.1 in Charlotte proper. To further prove the legend that Magic 96.1 built there is now another Oldies station in NC using the Magic name, but it isn't quite the same is it? Now a second Oldies signal is in town. Interesting that it took two FM stations to replace Magic.
Another station can play all of the same music, but it would likely be little more than a jukebox without the heart, soul, sweat, grit and soaring unbridled glee of the live-in-the-studio people getting the audience involved that made Magic 96.1 the south's leading oldies station for over ten years. To put it into three words, Magic was fun!
So, instead of bemoaning the closing of yet another chapter in Charlotte's radio history, we invite you to join us in celebrating the miracle that Magic 96.1 ever happened at all!
96 and OUT!
What's New!
Myrtle Beach Musical Chairs WSYN Sunny 106.5, the Cumulus station that has been the Grand Strand's 50KW FM powerhouse Oldies station for years flipped to County Monday April 7, 2008 now known as "THE WOLF." Cumulus moved the oldies to the 8KW signal on Sunny 103.1-FM formerly the home of K-Country 103.1 WYAK. Sunny's new slogan is "Sunny 103.1 the Grand Strand's True Oldies Channel" and is now airing the Scott Shannon satellite fed Oldies programming.
"Oldies BACK in Charlotte!" After playing mostly satellite fed Adult Standards like Sinatra, Streisand and Tommy Dorsey WNMX-FM at 106.1 FM (previously WLWW and WIST-FM) on February 12, 2008 switched call letters to WOLS and the music to mostly 60's and 70's oldies with a few 50's that sound like 60's songs and a few 80's that sound like 70's songs thrown in. The station is actually licensed to Waxhaw, NC with a 32,000 watt signal which covers a large chunk of the Charlotte Total Survey Area and most of the Metro. This is the same station where Randy Rowland's "Sunday Night at the Beach" moved to after Magic 96.1 was flipped to Rhythmic. Besides Randy Rowland, another connection to the old Magic 96.1 is Engineer Gary Hattaway. We've also learned a new taller tower will further improve the signal soon. Morning drive is live and the rest of the day is satellite fed. An oldies station serving Charlotte was overdue and we wish them great success!
"Welcome Back CBS-FM!" The flip back to “Oldies” at CBS Adult Hits WCBS (101.1 JACK FM)/NEW YORK happened Thursday July 12, 2007. The JACK-FM format died much like the HBO show "The Sopranos" as “Don't Stop Believing” by Journey cut off in mid song. That was followed by a montage featuring snips of music from the '60s, '70s and '80s with news and entertainment clips interspersed with well known WCBS-FM jingles. The montage ended precisely at 1:01 P.M. and the station began the “Oldies” format with former New York Mayor ED KOCH commenting it was nice for the CBS people to admit "they blew it. Welcome back, CBS-FM!" The first song was the Beach Boys’ “Do It Again” introduced on the air by Beach Boy Al Jardine. (CLICK HERE for more details!)
NEW Rockin' Ray Gooding Page Ray Gooding, known to the Charlotte radio audience for four decades simply as "Rockin' Ray" got his start on WGIV in 1960. He moved to WBT where his "Original Sunday Night Hall of Fame" Oldies show aired every Sunday night beginning in 1973 until 1995 breaking the color barrier in white radio in Charlotte. Ray then moved to Magic 96.1 for a long run on Sunday nights with the "Sunday Night Memory Lane." Visit our Rockin' Ray Tribute Page HERE.
"Oldies FM's Sign ON in 2 More Cities! (Tragic 96.Com Correspondent Marc Gurkin) WKAZ-FM 107.3 Charleston WV has dropped the "Jack" format for Oldies. West Virginia Radio, the owner of WKAZ 107.3 already has an AM Oldies station under the same call letters. VP Mike Buxser says, "Classic Top-40 KAZ 107.3 FM is an updated oldies type station playing songs from the mid 60's thru the early 80's. Meanwhile Savannah, GA's new Oldies station is WGCO as Oldies 98.3!
"HITS 94.1 FM Now MAJIC!" WTHZ-FM formerly known as HITS 94.1 in Lexington switches their 44,000 watt signal from Rock to OLDIES! Henceforth known as MAJIC 94.1. Swinging Mac from Magic 96.1 is doing afternoon drive!
Those who would like to help insure the continued availability of this site please visit the Patrons Page from the main menu! There is an URGENT need for new Patrons to keep us going! Thanks!
Jingle Freak Notes: The automatically loading jingle on this page is from the Jams Productions "Be Kool" package used on Magic 96.1 from Spring of 1990 until approximately 1995. Another jingle from this package automatically loads upon entry to the "Personalities" page.
Additions, submissions or corrections are welcomed and encouraged! All you have to do is click on the CONTACT US link on the main menu and type your message. Tell us your favorite MAGIC story!
The last song played on Magic 96.1 just before Midnight September 1, 2004 was "American Pie" by Don McLean with the appropriate lyrics, "...But something touched me deep inside, the day the music died."
