WKSC
Encyclopedia
WKSC-FM is a Top 40 (CHR)
radio station
serving the Chicago
area. They are owned by Clear Channel Communications
. The station is known as "103-5 KISS FM" or simply "103-5". WKSC's main competition is WBBM-FM
"B96".
The original station operated from 7am until midnight. It played a mix of "semi-classical" and beautiful music. It was a competitor to the "beautiful music" stations of its day, like WFMF, WCLM and WFMQ.
Announcers included Bob Burns, Bob Longbons, Wendell Poe, Dick Lawrence, Ned Jaus, and Bill Jurek.
Sponsors included The House of Mena (an expensive furniture store).
WKFM had a "high brow" kind of sound with announcers and pauses between the songs. There were several newscasts daily. The music had several "moods" through the day: it was more upbeat in the morning and more strings at night, and every program had a "theme song." "Rendezvous with Rhythm" was the title of the afternoon drive program.
Though WEFM, the Zenith owned Classical station was the first station to broadcast in stereo, WKFM was the first to broadcast in stereo 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The evening program was known as a good place to really hear stereo-recorded music, featuring lots of "Command" label stereo records.
According to Broadcasting Magazine, when Kovas sold WKFM to RKO in 1971, it brought the most money ever paid for an FM radio station to that date ($1 million).
RKO, the new owner, changed the call letters to WFYR (the letters FYR was a reference to the famous Great Chicago Fire
) installed a Schafer automation system
and for two years used the Drake-Chenault
format, solid gold rock and roll. Later, the Drake format was dumped for live jocks playing oldies.
WFYR also did a "Saturday Night Oldies Dance" from a downtown hotel and RKO eventually operated "The FYR Station," an oldies dance club.
By the early 1980s, WFYR shifted its focus to the '60s and '70s oldies along with some current music and a moderate amount of pre-1960s oldies. They were marketed at that point as an adult contemporary radio station. On weekends they had "oldies weekends" featuring songs from the '50s and '60s.
In 1984, the new WJMK signed at the 104.3 frequency with a format of oldies similar to WFYR, but with more 1955-64 oldies and some current songs. By 1988, WJMK was strictly '50s and '60s and very early '70s oldies. WFYR stayed the course playing the 1964-85 hits with very little currents and pre-64 songs. By 1989, however, WFYR had begun to drop in the ratings. They then dropped the currents and late '80s songs all together, continuing as a '60s and '70s oldies station.
WFYR 103.5 was sold to Summit Broadcasting in 1989 due to the FCC's action against RKO General forcing the company to end their broadcasting operations due to their past dishonest business practices. On October 29, 1989, WFYR's oldies format and DJs were abruptly dropped and replaced with a "soft hits" format.
. Major, a newer company, had success with a high-energy hard rock
format in Salt Lake City at KBER
-FM. With alternative rock
stations WKQX (Q101
) and WXRT
, talk
/comedy
WLUP
, and classic rock
WCKG
, there was a need for a straight-forward rock
station. On March 29, 1991 the sounds of "soft hits" and the early evening program "Love Songs on Fire" gave way to 24 hours of Rock Rock ('til you drop) by Def Leppard
. At noon on April 1, the station "snuffed the fire and stoked The Blaze!" The Blaze featured acts such as Skid Row, Billy Squier
, Ratt
, Ozzy Osbourne
, Slaughter
and other hard rock
and quasi-metal bands. With the change, the call letters became WWBZ. The abandoned WFYR call letters eventually came back into use in downstate Peoria
's 97.3 FM "River Country".
The initial on-air staff consisted of Steven Craig in the mornings, Steve Seaver in middays, Brian Kelly in afternoons, music director Kevin Lewis
and Leslie Harris at night, as well as several personalities from WFYR and some new hires including Jimmy Novak, Brad Jeffries, "Major Tom" Johnson, Scott Childers, Todd Maverick and Ryan (Cherry) Meiers. In addition to the Blaze DJs, helicopter reporter Major Tom was a hit with listeners with his irreverent morning and afternoon traffic updates. Tom also buzzed a Jonathon Brandmeier
(Johnny B) remote in Lincoln Park
which was live on The Loop, WLUP
. When Johnny B figured out what was going on, he went to a commercial. 1992 brought Blazefest, a rock
memorabilia show and concert at the Odeum Expo Center
in Villa Park
, with bands such as Kiss
, Saigon Kick
and Warrant
.
By 1994, Major sold the station to Evergreen Media, parent company of WLUP (97.9 FM) and WMVP (1000 AM). Glam rock
had started to run its course and Major made a minor sum on the sale. They moved into television, producing "The Mort Downey Show," and continued radio with syndicated formats. Evergreen held onto the rock
format, and the Blaze name was kept through the spring, at which time they changed their name to "Rock 103-5," featuring a commercial free "A-Z" kickoff around July 4. The call letters then became WRCX.
Musically alternative
artists were now mixed in with metal artists, but the format was simply a current AOR or active rock
format. Mancow Muller
was added to mornings and soon began receiving the highest ratings on the station.
Evergreen owned the WRCX until 1997 when they merged with Chancellor Media. On June 26, 1998 Mancow Muller
left WRCX and joined Q101 (WKQX) on July 27 (a station he previously talked badly about on a regular basis). By then, WLUP had been sold to Bonneville and returned to a rock
format with a lean on harder edged classic rock
and WKQX was becoming musically closer to WRCX, mixing a moderate amount of active rock
.
With Mancow's morning ratings lead-in gone, (Bob & Tom were briefly aired on WRCX after his departure), Chancellor opted to shut down WRCX in November 1998. Chancellor had been rolling out "Jammin Oldies
" formats on many stations in other markets and decided to put this format on 103.5. The call letters became WUBT, which represented "103-5 The Beat, Chicago's Jammin' Oldies". The format featured '60s Motown, '70s and '80s soul and disco
, '80s dance
, and rhythmic pop
hits from the '70s and '80s. It was marketed as "Not Your Father's Oldies Station." Chancellor merged with Capstar in 1999, becoming known as AMFM Inc. Radio legend Doug James did mornings on the station. The most well known personality on WUBT was Larry Lujack. Lujack was hired out of retirement by program director Jay Beau Jones. Lujack had been off the air (WLS, WCFL) for many years but was still very well known in the market. Lujack did his Saturday show from his home in New Mexico while his co-host, Matt McCann was in the Chicago studio. Lujack's show out performed the rest of the station.
and AMFM Inc. merged, making 103.5 a Clear Channel station. Clear Channel was not interested in keeping the "Jammin Oldies" format in any of their markets and flipped each "Jammin" station one by one in 2001. On January 12, 2001 at 3pm, after "Last Dance
" by Donna Summer
came to an end, 103.5 took a CHR (Top 40)
format and became known as WKSC "Kiss
103.5" At the time of the flip, Big City Radio's WKIE
, WKIF
, and WDEK
had collectively been known as "92 Kiss FM
" (Also with a CHR format) since 1998. Clear Channel
issued a cease and desist to Big City for the use of the Kiss
name because Clear Channel
owns the rights to it in most markets. WKSC's playlist was more rhythmic
than WKIE and the station was heavily voice tracked and automated. Mornings were handled by KIIS
Los Angeles's afternoon host Valentine. Overnights were locally voice-tracked by Craig Carson (AKA Matt Wright), who had most recently held the afternoon spot for the previous format's WUBT "103-5 The Beat." Middays were held by Gary Spears of KIIS (later Randi West of Kiss 107 FM
in Cincinnati), and afternoons were locally-hosted with Zurek (Formerly Rick Party of WGCI-FM). Evenings were also hosted locally by Pyke. Weekends included syndicated Rick Dees
(which was dropped from the station at the end of 2004) and American Top 40
first with Casey Kasem
and later with Ryan Seacrest
.
In the fall of 2001, 103.5 began leaning more rhythmic
, though it still reports as mainstream. On November 19, 2001 Java Joel
was hired to do evenings as "The Rubber Room". The show featured wacky stunts, parodies, and interviews. In September 2002, the station adjusted its slogan from "KISS 103.5" to "103.5 KISS FM" and later that year, Scott Tyler replaced Rick Party in afternoons and Nikki replaced Randi West's voicetracks in middays. In early 2003, Valentine was replaced by former San Antonio host Drex. In late 2004, Scott Tyler was released for allegedly making a negative comment toward Drex and moved to KDWB Minneapolis for nights. He was replaced by Nikki (the midday host) and middays were handled by alternating Rod Phillips and Jeff Murray (AKA Smash).
On January 11, 2005, Java Joel was fired from the station for a comment that was deemed racist by one vocal black listener. He was replaced by Mack. The midday position was filled later in 2005 by Adam Smasher. After a year, Adam Smasher was replaced by Kiss FM
Music Director and former overnight DJ Smash from 10am-Noon and Nikki from Noon-4am. Alexx Dupri was also brought over from sister urban station WGCI-FM to Kiss
for overnights.
In the spring of 2006, the station finally beat its main rival, WBBM-FM
, B96, in the 12+ Arbitron ratings. Toward the end of July 2006, Kiss FM
dropped the "point" from their name and started referring to themselves as 1035 Kiss FM
, instead of 103.5 Kiss FM
. Nina Chantele from Casa 106.7 KZZA-FM
, in Dallas, TX was named mid-day DJ. Overnight host Alexx Dupri who was filling in for Nikki in middays because Nikki was doing afternoons went back to overnights. On October 4, 2006 Global Records vice president Ty Bentli was hired for the afternoon position. That pushed Nikki out. Ty eventually left late 2010 for a job in LA.
In late 2006, Silly Jilly, a long-time sidekick of Java Joel was hired to work the night shift, 7-11PM. After years of working with Java and on her own both in Chicago and on her own nighttime show in Pennsylvania, to replace Mack at night and local club DJ Special K was given Weekend shifts including hosting CLUB KISS.
In April 2008, WBBM-FM released Candi Gomez and KISS hired her for weekend duties.
In the first week of September 2008, midday host Nina Chantele was moved from 11am-3pm to 10am-1pm; afternoon host Ty Bentli's shift was moved from 3-7pm to 4-8pm, and the mid hours are now covered by the syndicated show of Ryan Seacrest
, which airs 1-4pm. Silly Jilly's shift was moved over to 8pm-1am. Billy Hammond was released from his late night shift.
The station female voice Angi Taylor was added to the cast of the Morning Show.
In late 2009, Silly Jilly left the evening post and was replaced by weekender Special K (8pm-1am). Rufio joined the station for weekend duty.
Music director position was eliminated and Smash was released in 2008.
On December 14, 2010, Drex was unexpectedly fired from Clear Channel management after being the morning host for 8 years. His co-hosts, Mel T and Angi Taylor, also were removed from the station. The following day, it was announced that Charlotte
's "Brotha Fred" would take over the morning show on KISS FM starting January 17, 2011. Angi Taylor would return as a co-host, David L. would be a new host, and Tommy Black would serve as producer. Mel Tovar, a host on Drex in the Morning, was asked to be a part of the new show, but rejected the offer and quit. As of January 12, 2011, there is still no word on why Drex was fired. Fans have started boycotts and internet fan pages in support of bringing him back to WKSC, and over the last few months, KISS FM has dropped in the Arbitron ratings, most likely because of the abrupt decision. Some speculate he was fired because of personal matters, or because his ratings weren't worth his salary.
On January 8th, 2011 the new morning show host Christopher "Brotha Fred" Frederick signed on with his co-host David L. Angi Taylor, the Traffic/News/Weather anchor, also does the "Dirty on 30" segment which includes celebrity gossip. Tommy Black continues as producer of the morning show as well as board operator, and is heard occasionally on-air.
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
serving the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
area. They are owned by Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
. The station is known as "103-5 KISS FM" or simply "103-5". WKSC's main competition is WBBM-FM
WBBM-FM
WBBM-FM, known on air as "B96", is a Rhythmic Contemporary outlet in Chicago, Illinois with a Rhythmic based playlist. The station is owned by CBS Radio and broadcasts at 96.3 MHz with an ERP of 4.2 kW. WBBM's main competition is WKSC-FM "103.5 Kiss FM", as well as urban rivals WGCI-FM &...
"B96".
1950s - 1973
WKFM was the original call sign of the radio station signed on by Frank Kovas Jr. at 103.5 on FM frequency. The original location of WKFM was at 188 W. Randolph, with the transmitter located on the top of the tower. In the last days of Kovas ownership, the antenna fell about 30 stories off the building, but, according to Gary Deeb in the Chicago Sun-Times, no one was injured.The original station operated from 7am until midnight. It played a mix of "semi-classical" and beautiful music. It was a competitor to the "beautiful music" stations of its day, like WFMF, WCLM and WFMQ.
Announcers included Bob Burns, Bob Longbons, Wendell Poe, Dick Lawrence, Ned Jaus, and Bill Jurek.
Sponsors included The House of Mena (an expensive furniture store).
WKFM had a "high brow" kind of sound with announcers and pauses between the songs. There were several newscasts daily. The music had several "moods" through the day: it was more upbeat in the morning and more strings at night, and every program had a "theme song." "Rendezvous with Rhythm" was the title of the afternoon drive program.
Though WEFM, the Zenith owned Classical station was the first station to broadcast in stereo, WKFM was the first to broadcast in stereo 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The evening program was known as a good place to really hear stereo-recorded music, featuring lots of "Command" label stereo records.
According to Broadcasting Magazine, when Kovas sold WKFM to RKO in 1971, it brought the most money ever paid for an FM radio station to that date ($1 million).
RKO, the new owner, changed the call letters to WFYR (the letters FYR was a reference to the famous Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871, killing hundreds and destroying about in Chicago, Illinois. Though the fire was one of the largest U.S...
) installed a Schafer automation system
Schafer automation system
The first Schafer Automation System, installed at KGEE in Bakersfield, California in 1956, was dubbed the "blue-wire job" because all of the wiring in it was blue, its inventor, Paul Schafer said. "The owner wanted to program his station all night long without a person being there...
and for two years used the Drake-Chenault
Drake-Chenault
Drake-Chenault Enterprises was a radio syndication company that specialized in automation on FM radio stations. The company was founded in the late-1960s by radio programmer and deejay Bill Drake , and his business partner, Lester Eugene Chenault...
format, solid gold rock and roll. Later, the Drake format was dumped for live jocks playing oldies.
WFYR also did a "Saturday Night Oldies Dance" from a downtown hotel and RKO eventually operated "The FYR Station," an oldies dance club.
1973—80s: Early RKO Years
By 1975, WFYR had flipped to an adult top 40 format, playing the music of the '60s through current hits.By the early 1980s, WFYR shifted its focus to the '60s and '70s oldies along with some current music and a moderate amount of pre-1960s oldies. They were marketed at that point as an adult contemporary radio station. On weekends they had "oldies weekends" featuring songs from the '50s and '60s.
In 1984, the new WJMK signed at the 104.3 frequency with a format of oldies similar to WFYR, but with more 1955-64 oldies and some current songs. By 1988, WJMK was strictly '50s and '60s and very early '70s oldies. WFYR stayed the course playing the 1964-85 hits with very little currents and pre-64 songs. By 1989, however, WFYR had begun to drop in the ratings. They then dropped the currents and late '80s songs all together, continuing as a '60s and '70s oldies station.
WFYR 103.5 was sold to Summit Broadcasting in 1989 due to the FCC's action against RKO General forcing the company to end their broadcasting operations due to their past dishonest business practices. On October 29, 1989, WFYR's oldies format and DJs were abruptly dropped and replaced with a "soft hits" format.
1990s: Format Change to Rock
In early 1991, WFYR-FM (103.5) was sold by its parent company Summit Communications to Major Broadcasting of ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Major, a newer company, had success with a high-energy hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
format in Salt Lake City at KBER
KBER
-External links:*...
-FM. With alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
stations WKQX (Q101
Q101
The Q101 name is used by the following radio stations:* KQDJ-FM, Valley City, North Dakota* WWWN, formerly WKQX, a former alternative rock station in Chicago, Illinois* WMYQ, Ft. Wayne/Warsaw, IN * WAMS-FM, Snow Hill, Maryland...
) and WXRT
WXRT
WXRT, also known as WXRT 93.1, XRT, and 93-XRT is a AAA radio station in Chicago, Illinois. For many years their slogan has been "Chicago's Finest Rock". WXRT is a primary sponsor of the Chicago nonprofit Rock For Kids.-History:...
, talk
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
/comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
WLUP
WLUP
WLUP-FM is a commercial classic rock radio station serving the Chicago metropolitan area. Owned and operated by Merlin Media, LLC, WLUP transmits its signal from an antenna located the top of the Willis Tower in Downtown Chicago at a height of with an effective radiated power of 4,000 watts...
, and classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
WCKG
WCKG
WCFS-FM , known on-air as "WBBM Newsradio 780 & 105.9", is a radio station licensed to Elmwood Park, Illinois and serving the Chicago, Illinois market...
, there was a need for a straight-forward rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
station. On March 29, 1991 the sounds of "soft hits" and the early evening program "Love Songs on Fire" gave way to 24 hours of Rock Rock ('til you drop) by Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
. At noon on April 1, the station "snuffed the fire and stoked The Blaze!" The Blaze featured acts such as Skid Row, Billy Squier
Billy Squier
William Haislip "Billy" Squier is an American rock musician. Squier had a string of arena rock hits in the 1980s. He is best known for the song "The Stroke" on his 1981 album release Don't Say No...
, Ratt
Ratt
Ratt is an American heavy metal band that had significant commercial success in the 1980s. The band is best known for songs such as "Round and Round," "Wanted Man," "Lay It Down," "You're in Love", "Slip of the Lip", "Back For More", "Dance", "Body Talk", "I Want a Woman", and "Way Cool Jr." Ratt...
, Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
, Slaughter
Slaughter (band)
Slaughter is an American heavy metal band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada by lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Mark Slaughter and bassist Dana Strum. The band reached stardom in 1990 with their first album, Stick It to Ya which spawned several hit singles including "Up All Night", "Spend My Life", "Mad...
and other hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
and quasi-metal bands. With the change, the call letters became WWBZ. The abandoned WFYR call letters eventually came back into use in downstate Peoria
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
's 97.3 FM "River Country".
The initial on-air staff consisted of Steven Craig in the mornings, Steve Seaver in middays, Brian Kelly in afternoons, music director Kevin Lewis
Kevin Lewis
Kevin Lewis may refer to:*Kevin N. Lewis, RAND strategic analyst, political satirist*Kevin Lewis , American football linebacker...
and Leslie Harris at night, as well as several personalities from WFYR and some new hires including Jimmy Novak, Brad Jeffries, "Major Tom" Johnson, Scott Childers, Todd Maverick and Ryan (Cherry) Meiers. In addition to the Blaze DJs, helicopter reporter Major Tom was a hit with listeners with his irreverent morning and afternoon traffic updates. Tom also buzzed a Jonathon Brandmeier
Jonathon Brandmeier
-Career:Born John Francis Brandmeier to a German father and a Lebanese mother, Brandmeier started his radio career in 1973 at WFON in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin...
(Johnny B) remote in Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park is an urban park in Chicago, which gave its name to the Lincoln Park, Chicago community area.Lincoln Park may also refer to:-Urban parks:*Lincoln Park , California*Lincoln Park, San Francisco, California...
which was live on The Loop, WLUP
WLUP
WLUP-FM is a commercial classic rock radio station serving the Chicago metropolitan area. Owned and operated by Merlin Media, LLC, WLUP transmits its signal from an antenna located the top of the Willis Tower in Downtown Chicago at a height of with an effective radiated power of 4,000 watts...
. When Johnny B figured out what was going on, he went to a commercial. 1992 brought Blazefest, a rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
memorabilia show and concert at the Odeum Expo Center
Odeum Expo Center
The Odeum Expo Center is a convention center located in Villa Park, Illinois. It features of exhibit space at the North Hall and of exhibit space at the South Hall. Both halls have pitched roofs as high as . The South Hall is also used as an arena with an 85-by-194-foot artificial turf surface...
in Villa Park
Villa Park, Illinois
Villa Park is a suburb of Chicago in DuPage County, Illinois. The population was 22,075 at the 2000 census. A special census in 2003 set the population at 22,517...
, with bands such as Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
, Saigon Kick
Saigon Kick
Saigon Kick was an American rock band from Miami, Florida that formed in 1988.-History:Saigon Kick was formed by lead vocalist Matt Kramer and guitarist Jason Bieler along with bassist Tom Defile, and drummer Phil Varone. They gained a following on the local club scene and generated enough of a...
and Warrant
Warrant (American band)
Warrant is an American heavy metal band from Hollywood, California, that experienced success from 1989-1996 with five albums reaching international sales of over 10 million. The band first came into the national spotlight with their debut album Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich, and one of its...
.
By 1994, Major sold the station to Evergreen Media, parent company of WLUP (97.9 FM) and WMVP (1000 AM). Glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
had started to run its course and Major made a minor sum on the sale. They moved into television, producing "The Mort Downey Show," and continued radio with syndicated formats. Evergreen held onto the rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
format, and the Blaze name was kept through the spring, at which time they changed their name to "Rock 103-5," featuring a commercial free "A-Z" kickoff around July 4. The call letters then became WRCX.
Musically alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
artists were now mixed in with metal artists, but the format was simply a current AOR or active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
format. Mancow Muller
Mancow Muller
Matthew Erich "Mancow" Muller is an American radio and television personality. He is best known for Mancow's Morning Madhouse, formerly on Rock 103.5 and WKQX-FM , both Chicago-based radio shows that have been nationally syndicated mostly in small markets by Talk Radio Network...
was added to mornings and soon began receiving the highest ratings on the station.
Evergreen owned the WRCX until 1997 when they merged with Chancellor Media. On June 26, 1998 Mancow Muller
Mancow Muller
Matthew Erich "Mancow" Muller is an American radio and television personality. He is best known for Mancow's Morning Madhouse, formerly on Rock 103.5 and WKQX-FM , both Chicago-based radio shows that have been nationally syndicated mostly in small markets by Talk Radio Network...
left WRCX and joined Q101 (WKQX) on July 27 (a station he previously talked badly about on a regular basis). By then, WLUP had been sold to Bonneville and returned to a rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
format with a lean on harder edged classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
and WKQX was becoming musically closer to WRCX, mixing a moderate amount of active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
.
With Mancow's morning ratings lead-in gone, (Bob & Tom were briefly aired on WRCX after his departure), Chancellor opted to shut down WRCX in November 1998. Chancellor had been rolling out "Jammin Oldies
Rhythmic oldies
Rhythmic Oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, disco or dance genres of music. Playlists may span from the 1970s through the early 1990s...
" formats on many stations in other markets and decided to put this format on 103.5. The call letters became WUBT, which represented "103-5 The Beat, Chicago's Jammin' Oldies". The format featured '60s Motown, '70s and '80s soul and disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
, '80s dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
, and rhythmic pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
hits from the '70s and '80s. It was marketed as "Not Your Father's Oldies Station." Chancellor merged with Capstar in 1999, becoming known as AMFM Inc. Radio legend Doug James did mornings on the station. The most well known personality on WUBT was Larry Lujack. Lujack was hired out of retirement by program director Jay Beau Jones. Lujack had been off the air (WLS, WCFL) for many years but was still very well known in the market. Lujack did his Saturday show from his home in New Mexico while his co-host, Matt McCann was in the Chicago studio. Lujack's show out performed the rest of the station.
2000s: Merge with Clear Channel and the station today
In 2000, Clear ChannelClear channel
A clear-channel station is an AM band Radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. Usually known as class A stations since 1982, they are occasionally still referred to by their former...
and AMFM Inc. merged, making 103.5 a Clear Channel station. Clear Channel was not interested in keeping the "Jammin Oldies" format in any of their markets and flipped each "Jammin" station one by one in 2001. On January 12, 2001 at 3pm, after "Last Dance
Last Dance (song)
"Last Dance" is a hit 1978 song by singer Donna Summer. The song appeared on the Thank God It's Friday movie soundtrack. It was written by Paul Jabara and was co-produced by Summer's regular collaborator Giorgio Moroder, along with Bob Esty...
" by Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
came to an end, 103.5 took a CHR (Top 40)
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
format and became known as WKSC "Kiss
KISS-FM (brand)
KISS-FM is the brand name of a Top 40 music format heard on FM radio stations in many cities in the United States . Clear Channel Communications claims ownership of the KISS-FM brand and operates most KISS-FM formatted stations, though not KISS-FM in San Antonio, Texas itself .-Origin and...
103.5" At the time of the flip, Big City Radio's WKIE
WKIE
WCPT-FM 92.7 FM is a radio station licensed to Arlington Heights, Illinois, and serving the Chicago area. WCPT-FM is part of a trimulcast with WCPT , WCPQ and WCPY. During the daytime, the trimulcast simulcasts WCPT programming from 5 AM - 9 PM, and operates a Dance Hits format at night...
, WKIF
WKIF
WKIF is a radio station broadcasting an adult hits format. The station is licensed to Kankakee, Illinois, USA. WKIF has also broadcast Chicago White Sox, Chicago Bulls, Notre Dame Football and other sporting events. WKIF is owned by Newsweb Corporation.-History:The station went on the air in...
, and WDEK
WDEK
WCPY 92.5 FM is a radio station located in DeKalb, Illinois, west of Chicago. WCPY is part of a trimulcast with WCPT , WCPT-FM and WCPQ. During the daytime, the trimulcast simulcasts WCPT programming from 5 AM - 9 PM, and operates a Dance Hits format at night known as Dance Factory FM...
had collectively been known as "92 Kiss FM
KISS-FM (brand)
KISS-FM is the brand name of a Top 40 music format heard on FM radio stations in many cities in the United States . Clear Channel Communications claims ownership of the KISS-FM brand and operates most KISS-FM formatted stations, though not KISS-FM in San Antonio, Texas itself .-Origin and...
" (Also with a CHR format) since 1998. Clear Channel
Clear channel
A clear-channel station is an AM band Radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. Usually known as class A stations since 1982, they are occasionally still referred to by their former...
issued a cease and desist to Big City for the use of the Kiss
KISS-FM (brand)
KISS-FM is the brand name of a Top 40 music format heard on FM radio stations in many cities in the United States . Clear Channel Communications claims ownership of the KISS-FM brand and operates most KISS-FM formatted stations, though not KISS-FM in San Antonio, Texas itself .-Origin and...
name because Clear Channel
Clear channel
A clear-channel station is an AM band Radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. Usually known as class A stations since 1982, they are occasionally still referred to by their former...
owns the rights to it in most markets. WKSC's playlist was more rhythmic
Rhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may...
than WKIE and the station was heavily voice tracked and automated. Mornings were handled by KIIS
KIIS-FM
KIIS-FM is a Los Angeles, California, USA-based radio station with a partial Top 40 musical format. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications. KIIS is also simulcasted on KVVS in Rosamond, at 105.5 MHz...
Los Angeles's afternoon host Valentine. Overnights were locally voice-tracked by Craig Carson (AKA Matt Wright), who had most recently held the afternoon spot for the previous format's WUBT "103-5 The Beat." Middays were held by Gary Spears of KIIS (later Randi West of Kiss 107 FM
WFKS
WFKS is a contemporary hits station serving Florida's Space Coast area. The Clear Channel Communications outlet broadcasts at 95.1 MHz with an ERP of 4.3 kW and is licensed to Melbourne, Florida.-History:...
in Cincinnati), and afternoons were locally-hosted with Zurek (Formerly Rick Party of WGCI-FM). Evenings were also hosted locally by Pyke. Weekends included syndicated Rick Dees
Rick Dees
Rigdon Osmond "Rick" Dees III is an American comedic performer, entertainer, and radio personality, best known for his internationally syndicated radio show The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown and for the novelty song "Disco Duck." He is a People's Choice Award recipient, a Grammy-nominated...
(which was dropped from the station at the end of 2004) and American Top 40
American Top 40
American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...
first with Casey Kasem
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
and later with Ryan Seacrest
Ryan Seacrest
Ryan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks,...
.
In the fall of 2001, 103.5 began leaning more rhythmic
Rhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may...
, though it still reports as mainstream. On November 19, 2001 Java Joel
Java Joel
Java Joel is an American radio personality. He hosted a nightly weeknight radio program called The Rubber Room"on WKSC-FM 103.5 Kiss FM in Chicago, Illinois...
was hired to do evenings as "The Rubber Room". The show featured wacky stunts, parodies, and interviews. In September 2002, the station adjusted its slogan from "KISS 103.5" to "103.5 KISS FM" and later that year, Scott Tyler replaced Rick Party in afternoons and Nikki replaced Randi West's voicetracks in middays. In early 2003, Valentine was replaced by former San Antonio host Drex. In late 2004, Scott Tyler was released for allegedly making a negative comment toward Drex and moved to KDWB Minneapolis for nights. He was replaced by Nikki (the midday host) and middays were handled by alternating Rod Phillips and Jeff Murray (AKA Smash).
On January 11, 2005, Java Joel was fired from the station for a comment that was deemed racist by one vocal black listener. He was replaced by Mack. The midday position was filled later in 2005 by Adam Smasher. After a year, Adam Smasher was replaced by Kiss FM
KISS-FM (brand)
KISS-FM is the brand name of a Top 40 music format heard on FM radio stations in many cities in the United States . Clear Channel Communications claims ownership of the KISS-FM brand and operates most KISS-FM formatted stations, though not KISS-FM in San Antonio, Texas itself .-Origin and...
Music Director and former overnight DJ Smash from 10am-Noon and Nikki from Noon-4am. Alexx Dupri was also brought over from sister urban station WGCI-FM to Kiss
KISS-FM (brand)
KISS-FM is the brand name of a Top 40 music format heard on FM radio stations in many cities in the United States . Clear Channel Communications claims ownership of the KISS-FM brand and operates most KISS-FM formatted stations, though not KISS-FM in San Antonio, Texas itself .-Origin and...
for overnights.
In the spring of 2006, the station finally beat its main rival, WBBM-FM
WBBM-FM
WBBM-FM, known on air as "B96", is a Rhythmic Contemporary outlet in Chicago, Illinois with a Rhythmic based playlist. The station is owned by CBS Radio and broadcasts at 96.3 MHz with an ERP of 4.2 kW. WBBM's main competition is WKSC-FM "103.5 Kiss FM", as well as urban rivals WGCI-FM &...
, B96, in the 12+ Arbitron ratings. Toward the end of July 2006, Kiss FM
KISS-FM (brand)
KISS-FM is the brand name of a Top 40 music format heard on FM radio stations in many cities in the United States . Clear Channel Communications claims ownership of the KISS-FM brand and operates most KISS-FM formatted stations, though not KISS-FM in San Antonio, Texas itself .-Origin and...
dropped the "point" from their name and started referring to themselves as 1035 Kiss FM
KISS-FM (brand)
KISS-FM is the brand name of a Top 40 music format heard on FM radio stations in many cities in the United States . Clear Channel Communications claims ownership of the KISS-FM brand and operates most KISS-FM formatted stations, though not KISS-FM in San Antonio, Texas itself .-Origin and...
, instead of 103.5 Kiss FM
KISS-FM (brand)
KISS-FM is the brand name of a Top 40 music format heard on FM radio stations in many cities in the United States . Clear Channel Communications claims ownership of the KISS-FM brand and operates most KISS-FM formatted stations, though not KISS-FM in San Antonio, Texas itself .-Origin and...
. Nina Chantele from Casa 106.7 KZZA-FM
KZZA-FM
KZZA is a radio station broadcasting an Regional Mexican format. Licensed to the suburb of Muenster, Texas, it serves the Dallas-Ft. Worth metropolitan area. It first began broadcasting in 1990 under the call sign KKDL. The station is currently owned by Liberman Broadcasting...
, in Dallas, TX was named mid-day DJ. Overnight host Alexx Dupri who was filling in for Nikki in middays because Nikki was doing afternoons went back to overnights. On October 4, 2006 Global Records vice president Ty Bentli was hired for the afternoon position. That pushed Nikki out. Ty eventually left late 2010 for a job in LA.
In late 2006, Silly Jilly, a long-time sidekick of Java Joel was hired to work the night shift, 7-11PM. After years of working with Java and on her own both in Chicago and on her own nighttime show in Pennsylvania, to replace Mack at night and local club DJ Special K was given Weekend shifts including hosting CLUB KISS.
In April 2008, WBBM-FM released Candi Gomez and KISS hired her for weekend duties.
In the first week of September 2008, midday host Nina Chantele was moved from 11am-3pm to 10am-1pm; afternoon host Ty Bentli's shift was moved from 3-7pm to 4-8pm, and the mid hours are now covered by the syndicated show of Ryan Seacrest
On Air with Ryan Seacrest (radio)
On Air with Ryan Seacrest is the name of an American syndicated radio program hosted by Ryan Seacrest. As of 2010, the daily morning radio show airs on Los Angeles top 40 station KIIS-FM and was launched at the same time as the television show with the same name, although Seacrest had hosted a...
, which airs 1-4pm. Silly Jilly's shift was moved over to 8pm-1am. Billy Hammond was released from his late night shift.
The station female voice Angi Taylor was added to the cast of the Morning Show.
In late 2009, Silly Jilly left the evening post and was replaced by weekender Special K (8pm-1am). Rufio joined the station for weekend duty.
Music director position was eliminated and Smash was released in 2008.
On December 14, 2010, Drex was unexpectedly fired from Clear Channel management after being the morning host for 8 years. His co-hosts, Mel T and Angi Taylor, also were removed from the station. The following day, it was announced that Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
's "Brotha Fred" would take over the morning show on KISS FM starting January 17, 2011. Angi Taylor would return as a co-host, David L. would be a new host, and Tommy Black would serve as producer. Mel Tovar, a host on Drex in the Morning, was asked to be a part of the new show, but rejected the offer and quit. As of January 12, 2011, there is still no word on why Drex was fired. Fans have started boycotts and internet fan pages in support of bringing him back to WKSC, and over the last few months, KISS FM has dropped in the Arbitron ratings, most likely because of the abrupt decision. Some speculate he was fired because of personal matters, or because his ratings weren't worth his salary.
On January 8th, 2011 the new morning show host Christopher "Brotha Fred" Frederick signed on with his co-host David L. Angi Taylor, the Traffic/News/Weather anchor, also does the "Dirty on 30" segment which includes celebrity gossip. Tommy Black continues as producer of the morning show as well as board operator, and is heard occasionally on-air.
Current staff
As of March 6, 2011, the current on-air staff of WKSC included:- Brotha Fred, David L., Angi Taylor, and Tommy Black (mornings)
- Nina Chantele (early middays)
- On-Air with Ryan SeacrestRyan SeacrestRyan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks,...
(late middays) - Jordan (afternoons)
- Special K (evenings and KISS-XM21 satellite radio)
- Candi (weekends)
- Finnigan (weekends and KISS-XM21 satellite radio)
- Ratboy & Staypuff (weekends and KISS-XM21 satellite radio)
- Dawson McAllisterDawson McAllisterDawson McAllister is an American speaker, radio host, and author. He is the host of the radio program Dawson McAllister Live on Sunday nights from 10:00-12:00 pm ET, which has an average audience of 500,000 listeners a week, and for over seventeen years, he has been speaking out for and giving...
(Sunday evenings) - AT40 with Ryan SeacrestRyan SeacrestRyan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks,...