WRLL - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Regional Mexican

Regional Mexican is a radio format for music radio, typically defined to include Banda, Ranchera, Mariachi and Norteña. It is the most popular radio format targeting Hispanic Americans in the United States....

radio station licensed to Cicero, Illinois

Cicero, Illinois

Cicero is an incorporated town in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 83,891 at the 2010 census. Cicero is named for the town of Cicero, New York, which in turn was named for Marcus Tullius Cicero, the Roman statesman and orator....

, and serving the greater Chicago area. It shares time with WCEV

WCEV

WCEV is a radio station licensed to Cicero, Illinois, USA, the station serves the Chicago area. The station is currently owned by Migala Communications Corporation...

, which broadcasts over the same facilities.

The Original WRLL: Real Oldies 1690

The original WRLL (1690 AM) was an oldies

Oldies

Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....

station licenced to Berwyn, Illinois

Berwyn, Illinois

Berwyn is a city in Cook County, Illinois, co-existent with Berwyn Township, which was formed in 1908 after breaking off from Cicero Township. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 54,016.-Demographics:...

, and serving the greater Chicago area. It was owned and operated 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...

. On September 18, 2006, the station became the new frequency for WVON

WVON

WVON is a radio station licensed to Berwyn, Illinois, serving the greater Chicago area, airing an African-American-oriented talk format. WVON is managed by Midway Broadcasting Corporation, via a local marketing agreement with frequency owner Clear Channel Communications. Civil rights leaders the...

. The call letters are now warehoused on 1450AM, WVON's old frequency.

"Real Oldies 1690", as it called itself on the air, played music from the 1950s and early 1960s, featuring pop artists such as Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra

Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...

and Perry Como

Perry Como

Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...

as well as the rock and roll hits of the period. It broadcast from sister station WGRB

WGRB

WGRB, 1390 AM, is a radio station in Chicago owned by Clear Channel Communications. It airs a gospel music format targeted to Chicago's African-American religious community...

's transmitter location. "Real Oldies" was also a format aired by sister stations WSAI

WSAI

WSAI is an AM radio station broadcasting out of Cincinnati, Ohio. Its studios are in the Towers of Kenwood building next to I-71 in the Kenwood section of Sycamore Township and its transmitter is located in Mount Healthy.WSAI is known as "Fox Sports 1360," including The Dan Patrick Show and The...

(now sports/talk "1530 Homer" WCKY (AM)

WCKY (AM)

WCKY is an AM radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, broadcasting at 1530 kHz with 50,000 watts, and its transmitter is located in nearby Villa Hills, Kentucky. It is a class A clear channel station, sharing the frequency with KFBK in Sacramento, and can be heard, particularly at night, over most...

)in Cincinnati and WCOL-AM(now talk station WYTS) in Columbus, Ohio; WHNE-AM in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...

, also a Clear Channel station at that time (now Cumulus

Cumulus Media

Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...

business-talk station WLBY

WLBY

WLBY, "Ann Arbor's Business Talk Radio", is a business talk radio station brodacasting from Saline, Michigan. They carry nationally syndicated programs such as Dave Ramsey, The Clark Howard Show, and The Ray Lucia Show. The station is also home to former WAAM morning host Lucy Ann Lance weekday...

), also aired a variation of the format identified as "Honey Radio". "Dangerous Dan" Allen created the format initially for WSAI who was also its program director and air personality there.

WRLL signed on as a station on the extended AM band on October 8, 2003. Until August 16, 2006 the station featured radio legends Larry Lujack

Larry Lujack

Larry Lujack , a Top 40 Music radio disc jockey, was known for his world-weary sarcastic style, "Klunk Letter of the Day" and darkly humorous "Animal Stories" along with "sidekick Little Tommy", and "Cheap Trashy Show Biz Report." He was also referred to as Superjock, Lawrence of Chicago, Uncle...

and Tommy Edwards in the morning drive, as well as other legendary Chicago area radio personalities, mostly from WLS

WLS (AM)

WLS is a Chicago clear-channel AM station on 890 kHz. It uses C-QUAM AM stereo and transmits with 50,000 watts from transmitter and towers on the south edge of Tinley Park, Illinois....

, along with suburban radio mainstay Len O'Kelly (overnights) and Ron Smith (evenings), with his weekly "Foreign Friday" feature.

The oldies format ended at 12:00 AM CST on September 16th 2006.

WRLL's former oldies format continues to stream at http://www.realoldies1690.com

WVON 1690 AM

WRLL had long been the subject of format switch rumors. Some people thought that it would go off the air and be replaced by progressive talk, featuring programming from Air America Radio

Air America Radio

Air America was an American radio network specializing in progressive talk programming...

in March 2005, but the format instead was picked up by WCPT

WCPT (AM)

WCPT is a progressive talk radio station licensed to Willow Springs, Illinois, and serving the Chicago area. The station carries programming from Dial Global. WCPT is owned by Newsweb Corporation....

850. During the month of August 2006, many of the station's on-air staffers left the station as they announced a pending format change.

Finally, on August 15, it was announced that another radio station, African-American 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...

-formatted WVON

WVON

, would move its format, talk show hosts and call letters from their longtime spot on the dial at 1450 AM to 1690 AM, effective September 18, 2006. WVON signed an agreement with Clear Channel which would allow them to lease the station with an option to buy, and obtain marketing, promotional and production assistance from them as well.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.