Chattanooga radio icon Earl Freudenberg has announced his retirement after nearly 55 years.
Friday will be the last day for the longtime radio host known to many fans as "Hey Earl."
He was inducted earlier this year into the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame.
Mr. Freudenberg has worked in all phases of broadcasting, including hosting many Southern gospel music programs. He started in radio in 1965 at WDOD in Chattanooga. In 1969, he helped start gospel music on radio in Chattanooga on WDOD FM. Mr.
Freudenberg served at the American Forces Network in Frankfurt in 1972 and 1973, while in the United States Army.
He hosted a Sunday Morning gospel music program in Chattanooga for over 50 years. He has been involved in the city’s Armed Forces Day Parade and Forgotten Child fund. He was named Associated Press broadcaster of the year in 1981.
Congressman Zach Wamp honored Mr. Freudenberg in 1995 on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
In 2005, Mr. Freudenberg joined the staff of all-Christian radio WDYN. He currently hosts the SonRise Broadcast every morning, playing Southern gospel. He has interviewed many of gospel music’s finest, including Bill Gaither, James Blackwood, Hovie Lister, Ben Speer, Mosie Lister, Carroll Roberson, Martin Cook, Buford Abner, and a host of others.
Earl Freudenberg