1940s

The station that became WVEE first signed on the air on July 1, 1948. Its original call sign was WAGA-FM, simulcasting a country music radio format with WAGA (now WDWD). They were owned by Storer Broadcasting, a company that owned several top stations in large American cities.

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1950s and 1960s

In 1959, WAGA-AM-FM were acquired by Plough Broadcasting, a subsidiary of a pharmaceutical company that decided to invest in radio stations. Their call letters were switched to WPLO and WPLO-FM, and the two stations continued to simulcast WPLO's successful country programming.

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In the late 1960s, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began requiring AM stations in larger cities to end full-time simulcasts, promoting new programming on FM stations. WPLO had Georgia State University students program and host a free form "underground" format, giving the students academic credit instead of pay. The arrangement allowed Plough to have an inexpensive FM presence in the years before FM came to dominate the radio spectrum. It created enough interest among the student body that the Georgia Board of Regents obtained a construction permit and license for its own station at the university, WRAS-FM.

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Plough management believed the music programmed by the Georgia State students could become a profitable commercial format if presented professionally. By 1969, WPLO-FM was billing itself as "Atlanta's Alternative High," and described its 103.3 frequency as "103-and-a-third." Program directors in this progressive rock era included Ed Shane, Steve Hosford, and Chris Morgan.

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1970s

In 1974, as more listeners were switching from AM to FM for music listening, Plough-Shearing changed WPLO-FM's format. Keeping the same call letters, WPLO-FM flipped to country music to build on the AM station's popularity. The AM station continued to have more personality, with frequent news and weather updates, while the FM station went in a more-music, limited DJ chatter direction.

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In October 1976, Schering-Plough recognized Atlanta's growing middle-class African-American market by changing WPLO-FM to urban contemporary under the "V-103" moniker and new call sign WVEE. It briefly aired a disco music format in the late 1970s.

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When disco fever cooled, WVEE-FM returned to urban contemporary, and became one of the Atlanta radio market's top stations under the leadership of program director Scotty Andrews. As the first urban station on the FM dial in Metro Atlanta, the "V-103" brand eventually saw other stations around the U.S. follow its formula, including Baltimore sister station WXYV, also known as "V-103", and a Chicago "V-103”.

 

1980s-1990s

In the early 1980s, DKM Broadcasting Corporation purchased WVEE-FM and WAOK. On January 1, 1988, WVEE-FM was sold, along with other DKM-owned properties in Baltimore, Denver, Springfield, Lincoln, Akron, Dayton, and Dallas, for $200 million to The Summit Communications Group, Inc. In March 1995, Summit sold its interests in WVEE FM and WAOK AM to Granum Communications, Inc., owned by Herbert W. McCord, Peter Ferrara, and Michael Weinstein.

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In March 1996, Granum Communications sold both stations to Infinity Broadcasting, which was later folded into CBS Radio.

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2000s

In 2000, V-103, after many years of operating as an urban contemporary station that only played R&B and classic soul throughout the day and only played hip hop music during early evening hours, added hip-hop music full-time to compete with WHTA ("Hot 97.5," now "Hot 107.9") and WALR-FM (Kiss 104.7, now Kiss 104.1), and to appeal more to the 18-34 demographic alongside the original 25-54 demo. With the gain of more competition, WVEE was one of three adult urban stations between 1998 and 2000 when WAMJ (Majic 107.5) took to the air, although WVEE never called itself an urban AC station.

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In 2003, "V-103" changed its longtime station slogan from "The People's Station" to "Atlanta's BIG Station" to signify its dominance of Atlanta urban radio. WVEE-FM was often #1 or #2 in the Arbitron ratings, along with WSB. In 2008, WVEE-FM reverted to the previous slogan "The People's Station" to signify its commitment to the African-American community.

From August 2013 to November 2013, the slogan was modified again by adding The ATL's Home for Hip-Hop and R&B alternating with The People's Station. In November 2016, WVEE added the slogan The ATL's #1 for Hip-Hop and R&B to the primary moniker "The People's Station". WVEE is the only FM radio station in Atlanta to have the same frequency and brand name for at least 40 years.

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Since autumn 2006, WVEE had aired an HD Radio digital subchannel for playing urban adult contemporary (specifically neo-soul) music, with no branding other than "V-103 HD-2". On February 28, 2020, WVEE-HD2 changed their format to international hits, branded as "V-103 International".[9] The HD3 channel is a simulcast of sister station WAOK.

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On November 9th, 2017, CBS Radio merged with Entercom.

 

 

Morning shows

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In the late 1980's, former WIGO morning man Mike Roberts was lured to the morning slot at V103, where he reigned for 10 years -- with Carol Blackmon -- as one of the top rated morning show in Atlanta.  Mike left in 1998 to pursue station ownership with the acquisition of 4 radio stations in Macon.

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From 1998 to 2012, WVEE had been home for Frank Ski and Wanda Smith in the Morning (originally named The Frank Ski Morning Show), when Ski took over the reins from Mike Roberts and Carol Blackmon, after Roberts retired and Blackmon left radio temporarily (now at WAMJ/WUMJ). It consistently maintained one of the highest ratings in the Atlanta region, often finishing as #1 or #2 among morning shows in Atlanta.

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In December 2012, Ski and Smith announced that they both would be leaving WVEE, and former afternoon host Ryan Cameron replaced them. In 2014, Wanda Smith returned to co-host the morning drive alongside Cameron. In February 2018, Ryan Cameron left the station to pursue opportunities outside of radio, and Frank Ski returned to host mornings alongside Wanda Smith and comedian Joe "Miss Sophia" McIntosh. In July 2020, Ski once again exited.  Big Tigger took over hosting the morning drive with the show titled The Morning Culture with Big Tigger.

 

Awards

In 1990, 1992, 1995 and 1998, the station was honored by the National Association of Broadcasters with the Marconi Award for "Urban Station of the Year." In 2000, it tied for the honor with WUSL Philadelphia.  WVEE won the award on its own again in 2010 and in 2013.