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"Who Am I" is a song by Christian rock band Casting Crowns. This song was released as their second single off their debut album, Casting Crowns.

This song was also the compilation album WOW Hits 2005.

Chart performance[link]

Decade-end charts[link]

Awards and Certifications[link]

On 2005, the song won two Dove Awards: Song of the Year and Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year, at the 36th GMA Dove Awards. It was also nominated for Worship Song of the Year.^[2]

On July 26, 2011, the RIAA certified the single as gold, signifying sales of over 500,000 units. This is Crowns' first ever certified single.

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b c} Peterson, Kevin. "Radio & Records". Radio & Records. Archived from the original on 13 June 2004. http://web.archive.org/web/20040613012400/http://radioandrecords.com/Formats/Christian.asp. Retrieved 21 February 2012. 
2. ^ 2005 Dove Awards - 36th Annual Dove Awards on About.com; Jones, Kim

External links[link]

• "Who Am I?" Lyrics

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Casting Crowns
Casting Crowns performing in 2011 on the Come to the Well Tour.
Background information
Origin	Daytona Beach, Florida, USA
Genres	Contemporary Christian Christian rock Soft rock
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Sony BMG/Beach Street/Reunion (U.S.) Sony Music Philippines (Philippines)
Website	castingcrowns.com
Members
Mark Hall (lead vocals) Juan DeVevo (lead guitar) Hector Cervantes (rhythm guitar) Melodee DeVevo (violin, backing vocals) Megan Garrett (piano) Chris Huffman (bass guitar) Brian Scoggin (drums)
Past members
Andy Williams (drums)

Casting Crowns is a Grammy Award and Dove Award winning Contemporary Christian/Christian Rock band. Casting Crowns was started in 1999 by youth pastor Mark Hall at First Baptist Church in Downtown Daytona Beach, Florida^[1] as part of a youth group. He now serves as a lead vocalist. Later they moved to Stockbridge, Georgia and more members joined creating the band now known as Casting Crowns. Some members of the band currently work as ministers for Eagles Landing First Baptist Church in Stockbridge, Georgia.^[2]

History[link]

Formation and self-titled debut[link]

Christian rock group Casting Crowns began as a student worship band in Daytona Beach, FL, in 1999. Led by singer, songwriter, and youth pastor Mark Hall, the group initially included guitarists Juan DeVevo and Hector Cervantes and violinist Melodee DeVevo. The group relocated to Stockbridge, GA, in 2001, adding Chris Huffman on bass, Megan Garrett on keyboards and accordion, and drummer Andy Williams. This augmented version of Casting Crowns released two independent albums on CD, both of which were well received in the Atlanta area. Both independent albums were efforts on the part of Mark Hall and the rest of the group as outreach projects for youth in the area.^[3] The group won the GMA regional songwriters competition at Palm Beach Atlantic University, West Palm Beach, Florida in both the "Best Song" and the "Best Artist" categories in 2004. Although the group was not searching for a record label, one of the group's albums found its way into the hands of Mark Miller, lead singer for country group Sawyer Brown, who was struck by Casting Crowns' driving pop/rock style and Hall's vocal delivery of his hard-hitting but devout songs. Miller signed Casting Crowns to his fledgling Beach Street Records, a division of Reunion Records with distribution by the Provident Label Group, making Casting Crowns the first artist signed to Beach Street Records.^[4]

Mark Miller took the group into the studio along with co-producer Steven Curtis Chapman, himself a popular artist on the CCM musical scene. The resulting eponymous album, Casting Crowns, was released in 2003 on the Beach Street imprint. The album quickly made them one of the fastest selling debut artists in Christian music history. The album's third single, "Voice of Truth", spent a record-breaking fourteen consecutive weeks at #1 beginning in 2003. "Voice of Truth" is also by the trailer and the ending from the movie Facing the Giants. The album was certified platinum in 2005,^[5] and in 2011, the group received their first gold certification for a single for the song 'Who Am I' from their debut record.

[edit] Lifesong and Lifesong Live (2005-2006)

Lifesong followed in 2005, debuting at #9 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The album had three singles: “Lifesong”, “Praise You in this Storm”, and “ Does Anybody Hear Her?”. "Lifesong" spent nine weeks in the top spot, with "Praise You in This Storm" remaining at #1 for seven weeks. Apart from being successful in the charts, Lifesong earned Casting Crowns their first Grammy Award for their work on the album in 2006.

In 2006, the group released Lifesong Live, which included live performances of songs from their studio album Lifesong.

[edit] The Altar and the Door and The Altar and the Door Live (2007-2008)

The band's third studio album The Altar and the Door debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart^[6] and #1 on the Hot Christian Albums chart upon its release in August 2007. Ten weeks after the album’s release date, it was certified gold by the RIAA.^[7] On September 27, 2007 the band embarked on the ‘Altar and the Door’ tour with Leeland and John Waller . The tour was highly successful, grossing $4.4 million ticket sales.^[8] Casting Crowns broke their own record in 2007 when the single "East to West" from The Altar and the Door hit sixteen consecutive weeks at #1. The song ended up enjoying the top spot for a total of nineteen weeks, now their most successful single to date. "Slow Fade" was also released as a single, and was included in the soundtrack of the Kirk Cameron film Fireproof.

In 2008, Casting Crowns scored their eighth number one hit with "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day", a track from their newly-released Christmas album entitled Peace on Earth.

[edit] Until the Whole World Hears (2009-2011)

In early 2009, drummer Andy Williams left to pursue a further calling with blessings from the band. The drummer was replaced with Brian Scoggin and his red locks of hair, an irony Mark mentions on tour.

Casting Crowns was one of the only American bands to ever have been invited to North Korea. They attended the 2009 April Spring Arts Festival in Pyongyang where they performed with The Annie Moses Band. This was Casting Crowns second time invited to the Festival sponsored by Global Resource Services, the first time being in 2007.^[9][10] On August 30, 2009 Casting Crowns performed on Huckabee, Mike Huckabee's political show.

Casting Crown's fourth major studio album, Until the Whole World Hears, was released on November 17, 2009, debuting at #4 on the Billboard 200 and selling over 167,000 copies in its first week alone, setting a new record for the highest Christian album debut in history.^[11] It was certified gold within 4 weeks.^[12] The title track and first single from the album became the groups ninth #1 single in January 2010. Before the album was released, the band went on tour with Matt Redman for the fall Until The Whole World Hears Tour. They went on the first spring leg of the tour with Kutless, and toured with Tenth Avenue North on the second spring leg.

In April 2010, Casting Crowns won the Dove Award for Artist of the Year, their first ever win in that category. A music video for the title track of Until the Whole World Hears was posted on the band's YouTube page on August 23, 2010.

The track Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me) was released as a single in 2011 and reached #1 on Billboard Christian Songs during the week of April 23, 2011.

[edit] Come to the Well (2011-present)

Casting Crowns' latest song, "Courageous", was released as a single on July 19, 2011. The music video for the song was released on June 13, 2011 and promotes the film Courageous. The song was featured on their latest album, Come to the Well, which was released on October 18, 2011.

Ministry[link]

Casting Crowns frontman Mark Hall calls the band's work a ministry akin to what the world would call "preaching to the choir." In keeping with The Great Commission, Hall describes their music as a "ministry of discipleship."

Four members of Casting Crowns currently minister at Eagle's Landing First Baptist Church in McDonough, GA where they play during the Contemporary Worship service on Sunday mornings. They do the band part-time around their full-time work of mentoring teenagers at the church.^[2] They often tour from Thursday- Saturday so that they can be home for church on Sunday morning and Wednesday night.^[13]

Members[link]

Current[link]

• Mark Hall – lead vocals and songwriter (1999–Present)
• Hector Cervantes – lead guitar and background vocals (1999–Present)
• Juan DeVevo – guitar and background vocals (1999–Present)
• Chris Huffman – bass and background vocals ^[14] (2001–Present)
• Megan Garrett – piano, keyboards, backing vocals (2001–Present)
• Melodee DeVevo – violin, backing vocals, cello (1999–Present)
• Brian Scoggin – drums (2009–Present)

Former[link]

• Andy Williams - drums (2001–2009)

Books[link]

• Lifestories by Mark Hall
• Your Own Jesus by Mark Hall
• The Well by Mark Hall

Producers/Executive Producers[link]

• Steven Curtis Chapman - Producer for album Casting Crowns
• Mark A. Miller - Producer for albums Casting Crowns, Lifesong, The Altar and the Door, and Until The Whole World Hears
• Terry Hemmings - Executive Producer for album Lifesong, The Altar and the Door, and Until The Whole World Hears

Discography[link]

Independent albums[link]

• 2001: Casting Crowns
• 2002: What If The Whole World Prayed

Studio albums[link]

• 2003: Casting Crowns
• 2005: Lifesong
• 2007: The Altar and the Door
• 2008: Peace on Earth
• 2009: Until the Whole World Hears
• 2011: Come to the Well

Live albums[link]

• 2004: Live from Atlanta
• 2006: Lifesong Live
• 2008: The Altar and the Door Live
• 2010: Until the Whole World Hears... Live

Music videos[link]

• American Dream
• Does Anybody Hear Her
• Slow Fade
• Until the Whole World Hears
• Courageous
• Just Another Birthday
• Jesus, Friend of Sinners

Achievements[link]

• Career sales have exceeded 5 million records.
• Voted CCM Readers' Choice Awards "Favorite Band", "Favorite New Artist" and "Favorite Album" in 2005.
• "Lifesong" voted "Inspirational Single of the Year" by online music fans in the 2005 CCMSingles.Net Awards.
• "Praise You in this Storm" was the fifth most played song of 2006 according to R&R magazine^[15]
• "East To West" voted "AC Single of the Year" and "Inspirational Single of the Year" by online music fans in the 2007 CCMSingles.Net Awards.
• Casting Crowns was the most played artist on Christian Radio in 2007, according Radio & Records Weekly charts (12/10).
• Casting Crowns is the second fastest Christian band in history to have their first two albums certified platinum, the fastest being Jars of Clay.^[7]

GMA Dove Awards^[16]

Grammy Awards^[17]

References[link]

1. ^ Norris, Jane (18 May 2009). "There's No Slow Fade in the Forecast for Casting Crowns". The Daily Progress. http://www.dailyprogress.com/cdp/entertainment/music/article/theres_no_slow_fade_in_the_forecast_for_casting_crowns/40282/. Retrieved July 4, 2009. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "CASTING CROWNS SETS SALES RECORD AS HIGHEST DEBUTING CHRISTIAN MUSIC ARTIST IN SOUNDSCAN HISTORY; UNTIL THE WHOLE WORLD HEARS FIRST-WEEK SCANS EXCEED 167,000". Jesus Freak Hideout. 25 November 2009. http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/news/2009/11/25.CASTING%20CROWNS%20SETS%20SALES%20RECORD%20AS%20HIGHEST%20DEBUTING%20CHRISTIAN%20MUSIC%20ARTIST.asp. Retrieved 1 December 2009. 
3. ^ Owen, Linda (2005 November). "Casting Crowns’ "Who Am I"". Christianity Today. http://www.christianitytoday.com/tc/2005/novdec/14.13.html. Retrieved 2009-10-15. 
4. ^ Herman, Michael (2004). "Overnight Sensation". Christianity Today. http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/interviews/2004/castingcrowns-0204.html. Retrieved 2009-10-08. 
5. ^ "RIAA - Gold & Platinum Searchable Database". RIAA. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH. 
6. ^ "Casting Crowns ‘The Altar and the Door’ Debuts at No. 2". CCM Magazine. 2007 September. http://www.ccmmagazine.com/news/headlines/11553550/casting%20crowns/. Retrieved 16 September 2009. 
7. ^ ^{a b} "The Altar and the Door Certified Gold by RIAA in Ten Weeks". CCM Magazine. 2007 September. http://www.ccmmagazine.com/news/headlines/11553550/casting%20crowns/. Retrieved 16 November 2009. 
8. ^ "Casting Crowns Dominates Christian Music in 2007". CCM Magazine. 2007 December. http://www.ccmmagazine.com/news/headlines/11562037/casting%20crowns/. Retrieved 16 November 2009. 
9. ^ Young, Eric (2009-04-21). "Casting Crowns Heads Home After North Korea Trip". Christian Post. http://www.christianpost.com/article/20090421/casting-crowns-heads-home-after-north-korea-trip/index.html. Retrieved 2009-10-23. 
10. ^ French, Rose (2009-04-11). "Musicians hope to ease tensions in North Korea". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/states/tennessee/2009-04-11-2447326404_x.htm?loc=interstitialskip. Retrieved 2009-11-16. 
11. ^ http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/news/2009/11/25.CASTING%20CROWNS%20SETS%20SALES%20RECORD%20AS%20HIGHEST%20DEBUTING%20CHRISTIAN%20MUSIC%20ARTIST.asp
12. ^ http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/news/2009/12/21.CASTING%20CROWNS%20CERTIFIES%20RIAA%20GOLD%20IN%20FOUR%20WEEKS.asp
13. ^ http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/mark-hall-of-casting-486668.html
14. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCH-qjbwcIw
15. ^ As played on the January 7, 2007 Weekend 22
16. ^ "Dove Awards History Artist: Casting Crowns". Gospel Music Association. http://www.doveawards.com/history.php?x=artist. Retrieved 2009-11-16. 
17. ^ "Grammy Award Winners". The Recording Academy. http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Winners/Results.aspx. Retrieved 2009-11-16. 

External links[link]

• Casting Crowns official site
• Casting Crowns Artist Profile on Christian Music Review
• The Altar and the Door album review on Christian Music Review
• Casting Crowns on WorshipSong
• The Altar & The Door Tour 2009 concert review from NewReleaseTuesday.com

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2010)

Who Am I?
File:WhoAmIJackieChan.jpg Hong Kong film poster for Who Am I?
Traditional	我是誰
Simplified	我是谁
Mandarin	Wǒ Shì Shéi
Cantonese	Ngo2 Si6 Seoi4
Directed by	Jackie Chan Benny Chan
Produced by	Leonard Ho Barbie Tung
Written by	Jackie Chan Susan Chan Lee Reynolds
Starring	Jackie Chan Michelle Ferre Mirai Yamamoto Ron Smerczak Ed Nelson Washington Xisolo
Music by	Nathan Wang
Cinematography	Poon Hang Sang
Editing by	Peter Cheung Yau Chi Wai
Distributed by	Golden Harvest Media Asia Columbia Pictures (United States and Britain)
Release date(s)	17 January 1998 (1998-01-17)
Running time	Hong Kong: 120 mins. USA: 107 mins
Country	Hong Kong
Language	English Cantonese South African
Gross revenue	$38,852,845 Hong Kong Dollars

Who Am I? (traditional Chinese: 我是誰; simplified Chinese: 我是谁; pinyin: Wǒ Shì Shéi; Cantonese Yale: Ngo2 Si6 Seoi4) is a 1998 Hong Kong martial arts action film, released by Golden Harvest. It was directed by and stars Jackie Chan, who also performed the song that plays over the end credits.

The film is also known under the following alternative titles in some international releases: Jackie Chan's Who Am I? (USA), Amnesia (Norway) and Jackie Chan Is Nobody (Germany).

Plot[link]

Somewhere in the jungles of South Africa, a multinational military unit, Special Force Unit, ambushes a convoy and kidnaps several scientists working on a highly-volatile compound extracted from a recently discovered meteorite. Among the operatives is a Hong Kong national identified as "Jackie Chan". Morgan (Ron Smerczak) of the CIA is sent to South Africa to investigate the incident, not knowing that Morgan and newly-retired Lieutenant General Sherman (Ed Nelson) orchestrated the abduction for their personal profit. At the same time, the CIA assigns another operative in South Africa for a more covert operation.

Chan wakes up in a tribal village somewhere in the African veldt, still recovering from injuries sustained in an accident he cannot remember; due to this, when asked for his name by the natives, he responds by asking himself, "Who Am I?", and is referred to as that by the natives. The tribesmen show him the remains of a crashed helicopter and graves of those who perished aboard. He spends weeks recuperating from his wounds and learning about the tribe's culture. After spotting rally cars from several miles away, "Who Am I?" bids the village farewell and ventures on a journey back to civilization. He befriends Japanese rally navigator Yuki (Mirai Yamamoto) after saving her brother from a snake bite and offering to help them finish the race.

When they reach Johannesburg, "Who Am I?" meets Christine Stark (Michelle Ferre), a journalist sent to interview him about his rally adventure. However, Morgan hears of "Who Am I?" and sends hitmen to kill him. Morgan also pretends to be his ally, telling him to contact him if he is in danger. After escaping from the hitmen, Christine cracks a secret code written on a matchbook found on one of the dead operatives, which leads them to Rotterdam, Netherlands. "Who Am I?" and Christine bid Yuki farewell and head for Rotterdam to find more answers to his identity.

In Rotterdam, "Who Am I?" discovers that Christine is actually an undercover CIA agent. Not knowing whom to trust, he sneaks into the Willemswerf alone, where he discovers the masterminds behind the kidnapping of the scientists. It is revealed that Morgan and Lieutenant General Sherman are about to sell the extraterrestrial compound to a powerful arms dealer. While waiting for the online transaction to finish, the three men leave the conference room for a coffee break — giving "Who Am I?" time to sneak in and steal the disc containing the compound information. He also cancels the transaction and sends the money to a children's organization, infuriating the arms dealer. After escaping from the building, "Who Am I?" regroups with Christine, who calls for the execution of a "Plan B", to surround the Erasmus Bridge and corner Morgan. After Christine takes Morgan into custody, "Who Am I?" throws the disc off the bridge and tells Christine he will return to Africa.

Cast[link]

• Jackie Chan as Himself aka "Who Am I?"
• Michelle Ferre as Christine Stark (doubled by Sam Wong)
• Mirai Yamamoto as Yuki
• Ron Smerczak as Special Agent Morgan
• Ed Nelson as General Sherman
• Ron Smoorenburg as Taekwondo hitman
• Kwan Yung as Cai Li Fo hitman
• Yanick Mbali as Baba
• Washington Xisolo as the Village Chief
• Tom Pompert as CIA Chairman
• Glory Simon as CIA Secretary
• Fred Van Ditmarsch as Airforce
• Fritz Krommenhoek as Navy
• Dick Rienstra as Army
• Rinaldo Van Ommeren as Army Assistant
• Chip Bray as Middleman
• Piet Hoogstraten as Middleman Bodyguard
• Russ Price as Middleman
• Michael Roben as Middleman Bodyguard
• Ronald Schuurbiers as Middleman Bodyguard
• Michel Struik as Middleman Bodyguard (uncredited)
• David Vlok as Head thug
• Caz Abrahams as thug
• Leen Ducienne as thug
• Marco Maas as thug
• Robin Mes as thug
• Ral Sitaropoulos as thug
• Brent Houghton as thug (uncredited)
• Stephen Ghazi as thug
• Paul Andreovski as thug
• Brad Allan as thug (uncredited)
• Kane Kosugi as Commando (as Kosugi Kane Takeshi)
• Steve Brettingham as Commando
• Ted John Michael Lundell as Commando
• Ken Lo as Commando
• Nicholas Ng as Commando

Jackie Chan Stunt Team[link]

• Brad Allan
• Paul Andreovski
• Chan Man-ching
• Andy Cheng
• Johnny Cheung
• Rocky Lai
• Sam Wong
• Nicky Li
• Ken Lo

Production notes[link]

Willemswerf building

Who Am I? was shot on locations in Namibia, South Africa and Netherlands between February and March 1997. The film features several landmarks such as Sun City in South Africa, Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam, the Beurstraverse (which was portrayed by the film makers as being in Johannesburg), the Cube houses and the Willemswerf building (which served as the headquarters of the villains and from the side of which, "Who Am I?" escaped by sliding to the ground).

DVD releases[link]

United States[link]

The US DVD release is cut by 9 minutes with the following changes and omissions:

• A scene in which "Who am I?"'s special forces unit is double-crossed appears as a black-and-white flashback in the middle of the original film. For the US release, that scene is placed immediately after Chan's unit completes their mission.
• "Who am I?"'s interaction with the African tribe has been reduced dramatically. Cuts include a scene in which he asks the tribal boy, Baba, how many days it takes to walk to civilization; a scene showing the tribe's farewell ceremony for 'Who am I?'s journey; and a his scene in which he performs an interpretation of the tribal dance.
• The rally race scene has been shortened.
• A scene where "Who am I?" recovers feeling in his mouth (as he chewed herbal leaves into an anesthetic to cure Yuki's brother's snake bite) and explains his situation to Yuki has been cut.
• All but two instant replay shots (wherein "Who am I?" drives through a fruit stand, and where he narrowly escapes falling furniture in Rotterdam) have been deleted.

Hong Kong[link]

The Hong Kong Universe Laser DVD (now out of print) contains the film as it was originally intended. The "double-cross" scene is not shown until during the interrogation scene as a "revelation flashback." It is meant to be a mystery as to what happened until the viewer sees these flashbacks. It also contains Jackie Chan's full interaction with the African tribe. However, Jackie Chan's English dialogue during this interaction is dubbed into Cantonese during this part. There are English subtitles provided for the whole film. The presentation is not anamorphic, however.

Japan[link]

Warner Bros. Japan has released two DVD editions of the film: the single-disc DVD contains the original Hong Kong cut of the film with an anamorphic presentation, but with no English subtitles, and it retains the Cantonese dub of Jackie Chan during the African tribe scenes. The two-disc anamorphic edition contains both versions of the film, with English subtitles for the Hong Kong cut.

Box office and reception[link]

Who Am I? grossed HK $38,852,845 in its Hong Kong theatrical run. It is currently rated at 63% on Rotten Tomatoes.^[1]

Awards and nominations[link]

• 1999 Hong Kong Film Awards
  • Winner: Best Action Choreography (Jackie Chan)
  • Nomination: Best Actor (Jackie Chan)
  • Nomination: Best Film Editing (Peter Cheung, Chi Wai Yau)
  • Nomination: Best Picture (Barbie Tung) (executive producer)
  • Nomination: Best Sound Design

See also[link]

• Jackie Chan filmography
• List of Hong Kong films

References[link]

External links[link]

• Who Am I? at the Internet Movie Database
• Who Am I? at AllRovi
• Who Am I? at Rotten Tomatoes
• Who Am I? related article PodcastOnFire.com

v t e Cinema of Hong Kong Actors Directors Cinematographers Ocean Shores Producers Shaw Brothers Studio Films A–Z Action films Writers Films by year: 1909–1929 1930s 1940s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

WHO is a clear channel radio station broadcasting 50,000 watts on 1040 AM with a news/talk format. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications and is located in Des Moines, Iowa. The station can be heard over most of the continental United States during nighttime hours. During daytime hours, its transmitter power and Iowa's flat land allows it to be heard in almost all of Iowa, as well as parts of Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, and Wisconsin.

History[link]

WHO first began broadcasting on April 11, 1924, from the top floor of the Liberty Building in downtown Des Moines. The station was originally owned by Bankers Life, which is now the Principal Financial Group. After the FRC's General Order 40 reallocated frequencies in 1928, WHO ended up sharing time on the same frequency with WOC in Davenport. In 1930, B. J. Palmer, owner of WOC, bought WHO, and the two stations operated together as WOC-WHO until a new 50,000-watt transmitter near Mitchellville began operating on November 11, 1933. (WOC ceased broadcasting that day but returned on another frequency a year later.) WHO moved from 1000 AM to the current 1040 AM on March 29, 1941, as a result of the North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement. Today WHO is one of only two 50,000-watt AM radio stations in Iowa (KXEL in Waterloo is the other-however, it is not on a clear channel like WHO), though WHO's signal is non-directional and KXEL's is directional [1].

In 1948, WHO-FM 100.3 signed on the air; WHO-FM has changed formats and call letters several times since then and now broadcasts as KDRB, "100.3 The Bus." In 1954, WHO-TV began broadcasting on channel 13.

WHO was owned by the Palmer family until Jacor Broadcasting purchased the station in 1997; Jacor merged with Clear Channel Communications a year later. WHO and the other Clear Channel radio stations in Des Moines (KDRB, KPTL, KKDM, and KXNO) continued to share a building with WHO-TV until they moved into a new facility in 2005.

For many years, WHO has used an owl as its mascot--an apparent play on its call letters.

Personalities and programming[link]

Future President Ronald Reagan working for WHO in the mid-1930s

United States President Ronald Reagan worked as a sportscaster with WHO from 1932 to 1937. Among his duties were re-creations of Chicago Cubs baseball games as did many radio stations in those days when sports networks had not yet become widespread.

Current local talk show hosts include Van Harden and Bonnie Lucas, co-hosts of the Van & Bonnie[2] morning show; followed by Jan Mickelson in the Morning; and Simon Conway, originally from London, England, taking over the afternoon drive slot in April 2011. Weekend local talk shows include Saturday Morning Live and the WHO Radio Wise Guys. WHO also carries syndicated talk shows such as those hosted by Rush Limbaugh, Dave Ramsey, and Steve Deace. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad also does an hour-long call-in show on WHO the 2nd Tuesday of the month.

WHO was the longtime flagship station of University of Iowa sports. Jim Zabel, who joined WHO in 1944 [3], was their play-by-play voice for Hawkeye football and basketball games from 1949 to 1996. That's when the University of Iowa licensed exclusive rights to do radio play-by-play to Learfield Sports, which picked Gary Dolphin as the play-by-play announcer for Hawkeye men's and women's basketball. Zabel remains with WHO as co-host (with Jon Miller of HawkeyeNation.com) of the Sound Off sports talk show that airs after Hawkeye games, and as co-host of Two Guys Named Jim on Sunday nights with former Iowa State University football coach Jim Walden.

WHO perennially ranks at or near the top of the Arbitron ratings in the Des Moines market.

WHO broadcasts an Internet stream 24 hours per day at WHORadio.com.

References[link]

• Stein, Jeff, Making Waves: The People and Places of Iowa Broadcasting (ISBN 0-9718323-1-5). Cedar Rapids, Iowa: WDG Communications, 2004.

External links[link]

• WHO official website
• WHO radio historical artifacts from DesMoinesBroadcasting.com
• WHO-Tour of Transmitter and History
• Query the FCC's AM station database for WHO
• Radio-Locator Information on WHO
• Query Arbitron's AM station database for WHO