Stewart Brinsfield, Jr
The Norfolk lawyer who purchased the station WRVC, changed the name to WOWI-FM and set the station on a path to a combination of 'very few other stations like it' and notoriety.
Brinsfield was known to hire on the spot and fire about the same way. In many respects, he was part visionary/past businessman and was responsible for building the tower in Deep Creek, boosting the station's coverage to 50,000w and greatly increasing the range, allowing for more listeners. He was in a constant battle with his father who owned 50% of the station and that battle eventually caused the younger Brinsfield to sell the station.
He told us that the biggest regret of his life was in selling WOWI and that on that final night, January 15, 1975 when Art Williamson was rocking towards the last song, Stewart was in his car, driving around, crying 'like a schoolgirl'...he probably wasn't the only one. When we asked him what he would have done if he hadn't sold it, he said, "Continue what we had and make it better!"
According to John Stevens, and verified by Brinsfield, Stewart came close to buying another station in New Orleans after WOWI was sold. He planned to use the same kind of format but his financing fell through. Stevens was ready to move had it happened.
(Stewart died on April 8, 2015 in Raleigh, NC)
Brinsfield was known to hire on the spot and fire about the same way. In many respects, he was part visionary/past businessman and was responsible for building the tower in Deep Creek, boosting the station's coverage to 50,000w and greatly increasing the range, allowing for more listeners. He was in a constant battle with his father who owned 50% of the station and that battle eventually caused the younger Brinsfield to sell the station.
He told us that the biggest regret of his life was in selling WOWI and that on that final night, January 15, 1975 when Art Williamson was rocking towards the last song, Stewart was in his car, driving around, crying 'like a schoolgirl'...he probably wasn't the only one. When we asked him what he would have done if he hadn't sold it, he said, "Continue what we had and make it better!"
According to John Stevens, and verified by Brinsfield, Stewart came close to buying another station in New Orleans after WOWI was sold. He planned to use the same kind of format but his financing fell through. Stevens was ready to move had it happened.
(Stewart died on April 8, 2015 in Raleigh, NC)