KWEM Relaunch at MSCC Brings Musical History Alive

Mid-South Community College, through divine intervention and hard work, brought historic KWEM Radio back to the airwaves on Thursday, May 29, during a much-anticipated “Flip the Switch” ceremony.

“We’re taking a very major step in what we believe is an important journey, an effort that has been years in the making and has involved an entire army of people from time to time,” said MSCC President Dr. Glen Fenter.

“With the help of a clearly discernible and long list of divine intervention, we’re doing something that we sincerely believe has the chance to forever change the way that the rest of the world looks at eastern Arkansas. This is the first step in helping people recognize how powerful the legacy of KWEM is in today’s popular music, and it’s a very important story to tell.”

The story’s importance has spread well beyond MSCC, Crittenden County and the Mid-South with the help of an Associated Press news story published on May 26. The New York Times considered the story important enough to send a reporter and a photographer to cover the historic event.

“I think it’s awesome,” said State Representative Dr. Deborah Ferguson who participated in the event. “I think this is going to really add to the whole Mid-South music scene. People coming to visit and recapture all of this KWEM history is so spectacular.

“I guess I always thought so much of the music started in Memphis. When I found out a lot of it started in Arkansas, I was surprised. It’s really inspiring.”

Munnie Jordan, who has spent nearly two decades promoting the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena-West Helena, praised the KWEM effort.

“I think it’s wonderful,” said Jordan, who is serving on KWEM’s advisory board. “We are neighbors, and I think we should join together and keep this heritage going so that our children and the rest of the world know what happened here in Arkansas….”

Dr. Cliff Jones, MSCC Senior Vice President for Learning and Instruction who is a blues aficionado, called the event “a great night” for Mid-South Community College, KWEM Radio, and the entire state.

“This is really important to the State of Arkansas and the history of eastern Arkansas because so many of the great blues legends as we know it weren’t just from Mississippi or just from Memphis, but spent a large portion of their lives and gave many, many performances in eastern Arkansas. Some of the absolute legends set up camp right here at KWEM and West Memphis, and the rest is history.”
Dale Franklin, a musician, historian, and author who compiled much of the KWEM history, said his research opened his eyes.

“I never knew any music came from West Memphis,” he said. “The more I learned, I thought, ‘You’re kidding me,’ because I’d always heard that the music came from Memphis.”

Dr. Fenter praised Franklin for his efforts to revive the station and publicize its historical significance.

“You can’t tell this story about how we got here without mentioning the involvement of Dale Franklin,” he said. “In 2009, Dale began to do some research that ultimately brought a life back to a forgotten story, a legacy of clubs, musicians, and a little-known radio station in Crittenden County, Arkansas, that helped launch the careers of many of our musical icons.

“To Dale’s credit and our benefit, he never stopped telling the story. He pieced together bodies of research that had, in the past, been done either in a vacuum or separately. When he put the pieces together, he painted a brand new story for the historical saga of this region that obviously has huge implications to the development of what we know today as our modern music.”

Dr. Fenter also praised the MSCC Board of Trustees, Foundation Board, the KWEM Advisory Board, State Sen. Keith Ingram, State Rep. Deborah Ferguson, West Memphis Mayor Bill Johnson, Marion Mayor Frank Fogleman, Crittenden County Judge Woody Wheeless, the West Memphis and Marion Chambers of Commerce, the West Memphis Advertising and Promotions Commission, Main Street West Memphis, the Rockie Smith Endowment for the Arts/A.B. Smith, and DeltaARTS for their contributions to the effort.

MSCC operates the Web-based station and owns numerous artifacts related to its rich musical history. The College has also been granted a low-power FM license and will begin broadcasting KWEM at 93.3 FM later this year. In addition, MSCC has created a campus-based replica of the KWEM studio in its University Center on the South Campus.

The College will also incorporate the station into its Digital Media program.

“We’re going to take an old story and package it with new technologies and infuse unbelievable levels of talent that exist in the young people of this region,” Dr. Fenter said. “What you get is all of the conditions required for a perfect storm.”

Anwar Jamison, who directs the Digital Media program, says students will benefit from the opportunity to tell the KWEM story.

“Education is great in and of itself, but when you can marry practical experience to it, it increases the potential exponentially,” Jamison said. “To know that you will be able to do something that will be seen and heard right away and will mean something to so many people is great. I’m excited about the opportunities this is creating for our students.”

KWEM Radio opened for business in 1947 and gave unknown or little-known Memphis-area artists the opportunity to perform live with an enticing concept: anyone who could pay the $15 to $20 fee (or find a sponsor), could play music on the air.

More than 200 artists took advantage of the opportunity to perform on the West Memphis station, and many went on to sign major-label recording contracts. When the station closed its doors in 1960, its mark was clearly made on music history.

For information on KWEM, see the website at www.kwemradio.com. For general information on Mid-South Community College, see the website www.midsouthcc.edu.