WDLP was located at 1200 kHz until 1942, when it moved to 1230 kHz. Soon, the station's calls developed another meaning amongst listeners: "Where Days Linger Pleasantly." Starting at 10 PM a dance was held at the Armory hosted by Tony Bruno and his 10-piece orchestra that lasted until the early morning hours. But, when he asked one man, "Sir, in your opinion, what do the letters WDLP stand for?", the man responded with virtually no hesitation: "I think it stands for 'we drink liquor publicly!'". After some brief words, he interviewed some people in the audience. Quickly afterward, Coe transferred to Tom Yancey, head of the Panama City Chamber of Commerce. It is said that within minutes, the station's phone lines were flooded by angry churchgoers about their music choice. Shortly after an introduction by Coe, the Bay High School band (playing at the First Methodist Church) kicked off the entertainment with a rendition of Beer Barrel Polka. The station went on the air as WDLP at 7:00 PM local time on March 21, 1940. Charles Francis Coe, an author and boxing announcer, was the master of ceremonies. The station's launch, as well as the festivities that would follow, were widely advertised throughout the Panama City News-Herald. Ball (general manager), Fred Phillips ( program director), Tony Veverka (continuity director), and LeRoy Gibson (advertising manager). Personnel at the time of launch was Braden L. Perry (owner of WJAX, WCOA, and later the Panama City News-Herald) changed the calls to WDLP, after his wife Dorothy Lilly Perry. When it was approved, the station was assigned the callsign WRSR, which was never used. In June 1939, Cook put in an application for the construction of a 250- watt-day, 100-watt-night radio station on West Beach Drive.
Cook, Phil Roll, and Ed DeWitt, founded the Panama City Broadcasting Company. Licensed to Panama City, Florida, United States, the station was last owned by iHeartMedia. WDDV (590 AM) was a radio station broadcasting an active rock format.
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