 In January 1989, Bill Blevins, using the on-air name Billy Buck, became the new morning host to compete with Charlotte's top DJ, Bill Dollar.On March 23, 1990, the station switched to a "high-octane country" format as WTDR ("Thunder 96.9"), with the first song "If You Don't Like Hank Williams" by Hank Williams Jr.. Research showed many male listeners who liked country music also listened to album rock WRFX.Program director Mark Tudor said the previous target audience was 25-54, while the new audience was 21-37, specifically a median age of 33.