FM
WIOQ (Q102) – Philadelphia – late 2001
For a period in the 1990’s, Philadelphia’s Q102 offered a (perhaps surprisingly) dance music-friendly CHR format, making it a favorite among dance radio enthusiasts. However, the station took on a more conventional CHR approach by 1998. This is a sample of the station approximately about 3.5 years after that change. While not focused on dance music any longer, Q102 remained a fun, rhythmic-leaning Mainstream CHR outlet.
WJMX 103.3 (103X) – Cheraw/Florence, SC – 4/21/04 – Dennis Davis
Per Wikipedia, the station currently known as 103X debuted in July 1979 on 103.1 FM, branded as “Z103”. It has generally remained with the CHR format in the 40+ years that have passed. As heard on this aircheck, at this point, 103X put an emphasis on rock, alternative and rhythmic pop selections, with less focus on R&B and hip-hop, in comparison to other Top 40 outlets at the time.
WJRZ 100.1 (JRZ-FM) – Manahawkin/Toms River, NJ – 12/20/91 – Dave Lavender
This is a montage of WJRZ from a period when it was featuring a mix of Adult CHR and Classic Hits, while sprinkling in an assortment of Christmas songs. The station would move back towards CHR about six months later. Please visit Wikipedia for information on the history of this station. NOTE: Most of this aircheck is also featured as part of the “Jersey Shore Sampler“.
WXYV (B102.7) – Baltimore – 2/7/99 – Melanie
In 1997, Baltimore’s WXYV flipped from Urban “V103” to Mainstream CHR as “102.7 XYV”. However, the station would be marred with inconsistency for the next couple of years. It would constantly change its lean from dance to hip-hop to alternative while searching for a gain in audience. In 1998, the name changed to B102.7 in order to prevent a competitor from bringing back B104 and at the same time connected the two CHR’s in Baltimore’s recent history. A newfound mainstream pop lean came in 1999 as it finally found some stability. In 2001, the station moved down the dial and flipped to Urban as “X105.7”. Left intact in this aircheck is a B102.7 commercial recruiting Account Executives.
KKFR (Power 92) – Phoenix – July 2000 – Mini Salas & DJ Earth (Power Workout @ Noon)
Since June of 1997, KKFR — both at its former home on 92.3 FM, and at its current home on 98.3 & 96.1 FM — has made hip-hop and R&B the primary focus of its Rhythmic CHR format. However, around January 1999, the station began incorporating elements reminiscent of its days as a more traditional Rhythmic CHR in the early and mid-90’s. This continued until at least July 2000, as heard on this sample of the “Power Workout at Noon” mixshow. The station’s slogan at this time was a hybrid of two of its positioning statements from the mid to early 90’s – “Power 92 Jams Today’s Hottest Music”.
WAYV 95.1 – Atlantic City – 5/14/98 – BJ Taylor
“Serving the Jersey Shore…” This is a sample of Atlantic City’s longtime hit music station, at a time when it was essentially a Hot AC during overnight hours. To this day, the station remains adult-leaning, offering a CHR format that shies away from hip-hop – presumably in large part due to having 99.3 the Buzz as its sister station.
XETRA-FM (91X) – Tijuana/San Diego – 7/15/96 – B.C.
Broadcasting from Tijuana, Baja California and serving the San Diego, California market, 91X has been one of the longest running Alternative/Modern Rock stations heard in the United States. This is a sample of the station from the mid 90’s, around the time when – per Wikipedia – the marketing and operating rights were acquired by Jacor Communications (later Clear Channel Communications). 91X is currently operated by Local Media San Diego, LLC.
KVIT (Neon 90.7) – Apache Junction (East Phoenix Metro), AZ – July 2018 – DJ Melo & DJ Perry
Neon 90.7 is a non-commercial station licensed to the East Valley Institute of Technology. It offers a broad-based 80’s and 90’s variety hits format. What makes the playlist relatively unique is its inclusion of songs that were hits for a brief time, but generally haven’t received any airplay since then. This is a sample of Neon about six weeks after its launch, when it offered mixshow programming over Independence Day Weekend 2018. Please visit Wikipedia for information on the history of the frequency and station.
WWVZ/WWZZ (Z104) – Washington, D.C. – 4/29/01 – Mike Klein, Gary Star
This is a sample of Washington, D.C.’s Z104 about 5 months before a format change to Modern AC. Following the aforementioned format change, the station later switched to “More Music 104”, then back to “Z104.1”, before becoming the new home of Classical WGMS in January 2006. Our apologies for the overmodulation and inconsistent pitch of the audio on this aircheck.
102.7 KIIS-FM – L.A. – July ’93 – Whitney Allen, John Murphy, Rick Dees
“It’s 7 O’Clock on the West Coast at KIIS…K-I-I-S, FM & AM, Los Angeles”. Voiced by the late and great Brian James, that’s one of my all-time favorite legal IDs, and many variations of it are heard on this compilation from the Summer of 1993. At this time, in celebration of Independence Day, KIIS had a very amusing “Red, White and Balls Weekend” promotion that included liners such as “dangle your balls from your rearview mirror” and “just make sure your balls are visible.” At a time when many CHRs struggled to find success with the increasingly polarized nature of the format, KIIS elected to mix in a number of hits from years past – the station’s slogan at the time was “The Best Hits of the 80′s and 90′s.”
KLAZ (105.9) – Hot Springs, AR – June 1997
“Central Arkansas’ 100,000 watt hit music superstation” This is a brief sample of “Central Arkansas’ 100,000 watt hit music superstation” during surprisingly progressive mixshow programming.
WPLJ (Mojo Radio 95.5 FM) – New York – 6/21/91 – AJ Hammer
**New York City’s 95.5 WPLJ will end its current programming format at 7pm EDT today (Friday 5/31/19), following a sale from Cumulus to Educational Media Foundation. We will be featuring airchecks of this longtime CHR/Hot AC station from the past 30+ years throughout this week.** Per Wikipedia – as a final attempt to find success with the CHR format, WPLJ rebranded as “Mojo Radio” in April 1991, shortly after hiring Scott Shannon as morning show host. Four months later, the station began shifting towards Adult Top 40; by February 1992, it had evolved to Hot AC and began calling itself simply “95-5 PLJ”.
