WKLB-FM
Encyclopedia
WKLB-FM is a radio station licensed to Waltham, Massachusetts
. WKLB was formerly broadcast on 99.5 MHz. It currently has a country music
radio format
. Its transmitter is located in Newton, Massachusetts
. It moved to 102.5 effective December 1, 2006 at noon.
, 96.9
, and 105.7
. 99.5 started out in 1947 as WLLH-FM, the FM counterpart to WLLH
, programming a full-service format to the Merrimack Valley
.
During the 1970s, 99.5 became WSSH (for "Wish 99.5"), which programmed a format of chiefly soft instrumental renditions of pop tunes with a few vocalists an hour, consisting of soft AC and standards cuts. In 1982 WSSH, evolved to a soft AC format, gradually eliminating the instrumental renditions and became home to popular nighttime radio personality Delilah Rene
(before she became nationally syndicated). Ratings were very high through the '80s and WSSH often led other AC stations. By then, the station was separated from WLLH, but it later gained a sister station on 1510 (now WWZN
).
However, in the early 1990s, ratings went from excellent to mediocre, part of the reason was the perception that WSSH was still an elevator music
station. During this time period, the station modified their soft AC format by 1991, adding current product and some up tempo AC tunes, evolving to a mainstream AC format. WSSH became the third place adult contemporary radio station, below WMJX
and WVBF
. So, in 1995, the owner of WSSH, Granum Communications, changed the format to smooth jazz
, under the branding of WOAZ ("99.5 The Oasis"), mirroring Granum's KOAI in Dallas, Texas
.
Meanwhile, 96.9 was a beautiful music
station under the WJIB call sign, and later a smooth jazz station as WCDJ. In 1993, Greater Media
purchased this station and converted it to country under the WBCS call sign; however, 105.7 had dropped the AC format and WVBF calls to become another country station, WCLB, shortly beforehand, effectively giving Boston two country stations. Confusion with other radio stations, including 102.5's past occupant WCRB
, and a TV station
lead to WCLB changing its calls to WKLB-FM in 1995. 105.7 was sold by then-owners Evergreen Media in early 1996 to Greater Media, who combined the two country stations on 96.9 under the WKLB call sign. (105.7 became WROR-FM
at that time).
Then in 1997, CBS
(which had just merged with Infinity Broadcasting, which itself had purchased Granum) sold WOAZ and WBOS
to Greater Media, and on August 22, 1997 it swapped WOAZ and WKLB's formats in a move where the format and personalities of WOAZ moved to 96.9 (but adopting the call sign WSJZ, the station is now WTKK
), while WKLB moved to 99.5, where it stayed until December 1, 2006. Greater Media noted that the move was made as the 99.5 signal is stronger than 96.9 in Essex County
, home to many country music listeners.
The 99.5 license was spun off to Nassau Broadcasting Partners
as a consequence of a deal where Greater Media acquired WCRB
's dial position, with 102.5 adopting the WKLB format and call sign, and Nassau acquired WCRB's call letters and programming. Nassau already has four classical-formatted stations in Maine which are affiliated with WCRB's satellite-delivered classical music format. The two stations switched frequencies at noon on December 1, 2006.http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2006/11/country_and_cla.html The last cut broadcast by WKLB on 99.5 was the U.S. National Anthem. The first song played by WKLB at 102.5 was Life Is A Highway by Rascal Flatts. WKLB's last air personality on 99.5 and consequently first live voice on 102.5 was longtime station midday host Carolyn Kruse. A redesigned website was launched immediately after the frequency change.
), bringing its classical music format to parts of the Boston area which did not get good reception of WCRB (AM)'s directional signal as well as improved audio quality. In 1961, WCRB-FM was the first Boston-area FM station to broadcast in multiplex stereo; for a few years prior to that, WCRB had broadcast some of its programming in stereo by broadcasting one channel on AM, the other on FM. Although Charles River Broadcasting
acquired other radio stations in the last 10 years, WCRB remained the company's flagship station.
In 1975, WCRB ended simulcasting of WCRB-FM, changing call letters to WHET, and its format to big-band/adult standards. In 1978, Charles River sold-off WHET, but retained WCRB, which became increasingly successful over the years as a 24/7 classical music station.
WCRB was under a long term commitment by Charles River Broadcasting to continue to air classical music for the foreseeable future, and it carries no non-classical music programs. However, the decision to interpret the commitment as a request rather than a demand resulted in the announced sale of the station to Greater Media
on December 19, 2005. However, as Greater Media already owned five FM stations in the Boston market - the maximum allowed - one of Greater Media's Boston stations would have to be sold before the company could acquire WCRB. The station that was sold was the 99.5 frequency, which was sold to Nassau Broadcasting, who also purchased WCRB's intellectual property. WCRB's transition from 102.5 to 99.5 was completed on December 1, 2006 at noon local time. The first selection broadcast on the new frequency was the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah. All of the WCRB announcers including Laura Carlo, Don Spencer, Ray Brown, Mark Calder and Dave MacNeill were expected to stay on with the station. Programs including Kid's Classical Hour and the live Boston Symphony Orchestra broadcasts were also expected to continue.
as a classic country station, a spinoff of the popular Sunday Morning Country Oldies program.
Waltham, Massachusetts
Waltham is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, was an early center for the labor movement, and major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, the city was a prototype for 19th century industrial city planning,...
. WKLB was formerly broadcast on 99.5 MHz. It currently has a country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
radio format
Radio format
A radio format or programming format not to be confused with broadcast programming describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve...
. Its transmitter is located in Newton, Massachusetts
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
. It moved to 102.5 effective December 1, 2006 at noon.
Past WKLB frequencies
Prior to its current location, the WKLB calls and format were located on 99.5WCRB
WCRB is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Lowell, Massachusetts and based in the Brighton area of Boston, which serves the Greater Boston area. It broadcasts a classical music format; it existed as a commercial station from the early 1950s until December 2009, and as a listener-supported...
, 96.9
WTKK
WTKK is a New England commercial talk radio station, first broadcast out of Boston on 96.9 FM beginning in 1999. It can be heard in eastern Massachusetts, the northernmost area of Rhode Island, southern New Hampshire, and southern Maine...
, and 105.7
WROR-FM
WROR-FM is a radio station licensed to Framingham, Massachusetts. It broadcasts on 105.7 MHz and serves the Boston market. The station offers a classic hits format, with a timespan of the '60s, '70s and '80s...
. 99.5 started out in 1947 as WLLH-FM, the FM counterpart to WLLH
WLLH
WLLH is a radio station in the Merrimack Valley region of Massachusetts, licensed to Lowell, Massachusetts. The station is owned by Gois Broadcasting, LLC, and airs a tropical music format. In addition to a transmitter in Lowell, there is a synchronous transmitter in Lawrence, together forming...
, programming a full-service format to the Merrimack Valley
Merrimack Valley
The Merrimack Valley is a bi-state region along the Merrimack River in the states of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, United States. The Merrimack is one of the larger waterways in the New England region and has helped define the livelihood and culture of those living along it since native...
.
During the 1970s, 99.5 became WSSH (for "Wish 99.5"), which programmed a format of chiefly soft instrumental renditions of pop tunes with a few vocalists an hour, consisting of soft AC and standards cuts. In 1982 WSSH, evolved to a soft AC format, gradually eliminating the instrumental renditions and became home to popular nighttime radio personality Delilah Rene
Delilah Rene
Delilah Rene Luke , almost always known mononymously as Delilah, is an American radio personality, author, and songwriter, best known as the host of a nationally syndicated nightly U.S...
(before she became nationally syndicated). Ratings were very high through the '80s and WSSH often led other AC stations. By then, the station was separated from WLLH, but it later gained a sister station on 1510 (now WWZN
WWZN
WWZN is an AM radio station licensed to serve the Boston media market. Its programming is a time-brokered mix between progressive talk radio during the daytime , sports talk and religious programming in the overnight hours...
).
However, in the early 1990s, ratings went from excellent to mediocre, part of the reason was the perception that WSSH was still an elevator music
Elevator music
Elevator music refers to instrumental arrangements of popular music designed for playing in shopping malls, grocery stores, department stores, telephone systems , cruise ships, airports, doctors' and dentists' offices, and elevators...
station. During this time period, the station modified their soft AC format by 1991, adding current product and some up tempo AC tunes, evolving to a mainstream AC format. WSSH became the third place adult contemporary radio station, below WMJX
WMJX
WMJX is a radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts. It has an Adult Contemporary format. The station's transmitter is located atop the Prudential Tower in Downtown Boston...
and WVBF
WROR-FM
WROR-FM is a radio station licensed to Framingham, Massachusetts. It broadcasts on 105.7 MHz and serves the Boston market. The station offers a classic hits format, with a timespan of the '60s, '70s and '80s...
. So, in 1995, the owner of WSSH, Granum Communications, changed the format to smooth jazz
Smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....
, under the branding of WOAZ ("99.5 The Oasis"), mirroring Granum's KOAI in Dallas, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
Meanwhile, 96.9 was a beautiful music
Beautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
station under the WJIB call sign, and later a smooth jazz station as WCDJ. In 1993, Greater Media
Greater Media
Greater Media, Inc., known as Greater Media, is an American media company that specializes in radio stations. The markets where they own radio stations include Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, Charlotte, and the state of New Jersey...
purchased this station and converted it to country under the WBCS call sign; however, 105.7 had dropped the AC format and WVBF calls to become another country station, WCLB, shortly beforehand, effectively giving Boston two country stations. Confusion with other radio stations, including 102.5's past occupant WCRB
WCRB
WCRB is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Lowell, Massachusetts and based in the Brighton area of Boston, which serves the Greater Boston area. It broadcasts a classical music format; it existed as a commercial station from the early 1950s until December 2009, and as a listener-supported...
, and a TV station
WCVB-TV
WCVB-TV, channel 5, is a television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by Hearst Television and affiliated with the ABC Television Network. WCVB-TV's studios and transmitter are co-located in Needham, Massachusetts. WCVB is also one of six Boston television stations seen in Canada by...
lead to WCLB changing its calls to WKLB-FM in 1995. 105.7 was sold by then-owners Evergreen Media in early 1996 to Greater Media, who combined the two country stations on 96.9 under the WKLB call sign. (105.7 became WROR-FM
WROR-FM
WROR-FM is a radio station licensed to Framingham, Massachusetts. It broadcasts on 105.7 MHz and serves the Boston market. The station offers a classic hits format, with a timespan of the '60s, '70s and '80s...
at that time).
Then in 1997, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
(which had just merged with Infinity Broadcasting, which itself had purchased Granum) sold WOAZ and WBOS
WBOS
WBOS is a commercial radio station located in Brookline, Massachusetts, broadcasting to the Greater Boston area on 92.9 FM. The station airs a mainstream rock format branded as "Radio 92.9"...
to Greater Media, and on August 22, 1997 it swapped WOAZ and WKLB's formats in a move where the format and personalities of WOAZ moved to 96.9 (but adopting the call sign WSJZ, the station is now WTKK
WTKK
WTKK is a New England commercial talk radio station, first broadcast out of Boston on 96.9 FM beginning in 1999. It can be heard in eastern Massachusetts, the northernmost area of Rhode Island, southern New Hampshire, and southern Maine...
), while WKLB moved to 99.5, where it stayed until December 1, 2006. Greater Media noted that the move was made as the 99.5 signal is stronger than 96.9 in Essex County
Essex County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Parker River National Wildlife Refuge* Salem Maritime National Historic Site* Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site* Thacher Island National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:...
, home to many country music listeners.
The 99.5 license was spun off to Nassau Broadcasting Partners
Nassau Broadcasting Partners
Nassau Broadcasting Partners LP is a company based in Princeton, New Jersey that owns radio stations in New England and the Mid-Atlantic United States. Nassau's stations, which include both AM and FM frequencies, are located in Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey,...
as a consequence of a deal where Greater Media acquired WCRB
WCRB
WCRB is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Lowell, Massachusetts and based in the Brighton area of Boston, which serves the Greater Boston area. It broadcasts a classical music format; it existed as a commercial station from the early 1950s until December 2009, and as a listener-supported...
's dial position, with 102.5 adopting the WKLB format and call sign, and Nassau acquired WCRB's call letters and programming. Nassau already has four classical-formatted stations in Maine which are affiliated with WCRB's satellite-delivered classical music format. The two stations switched frequencies at noon on December 1, 2006.http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2006/11/country_and_cla.html The last cut broadcast by WKLB on 99.5 was the U.S. National Anthem. The first song played by WKLB at 102.5 was Life Is A Highway by Rascal Flatts. WKLB's last air personality on 99.5 and consequently first live voice on 102.5 was longtime station midday host Carolyn Kruse. A redesigned website was launched immediately after the frequency change.
History of the 102.5 license
The 102.5 license started in 1954 as WCRB-FM, the FM sister station of WCRB (AM) (now WRCAWRCA
- External links :*...
), bringing its classical music format to parts of the Boston area which did not get good reception of WCRB (AM)'s directional signal as well as improved audio quality. In 1961, WCRB-FM was the first Boston-area FM station to broadcast in multiplex stereo; for a few years prior to that, WCRB had broadcast some of its programming in stereo by broadcasting one channel on AM, the other on FM. Although Charles River Broadcasting
Charles River Broadcasting
Charles River Broadcasting was the owner of three classical music stations, one classic rock station, one CNN Headline News relay in Rhode Island, and a syndicated classical satellite delivery program service.- History :...
acquired other radio stations in the last 10 years, WCRB remained the company's flagship station.
In 1975, WCRB ended simulcasting of WCRB-FM, changing call letters to WHET, and its format to big-band/adult standards. In 1978, Charles River sold-off WHET, but retained WCRB, which became increasingly successful over the years as a 24/7 classical music station.
WCRB was under a long term commitment by Charles River Broadcasting to continue to air classical music for the foreseeable future, and it carries no non-classical music programs. However, the decision to interpret the commitment as a request rather than a demand resulted in the announced sale of the station to Greater Media
Greater Media
Greater Media, Inc., known as Greater Media, is an American media company that specializes in radio stations. The markets where they own radio stations include Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, Charlotte, and the state of New Jersey...
on December 19, 2005. However, as Greater Media already owned five FM stations in the Boston market - the maximum allowed - one of Greater Media's Boston stations would have to be sold before the company could acquire WCRB. The station that was sold was the 99.5 frequency, which was sold to Nassau Broadcasting, who also purchased WCRB's intellectual property. WCRB's transition from 102.5 to 99.5 was completed on December 1, 2006 at noon local time. The first selection broadcast on the new frequency was the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah. All of the WCRB announcers including Laura Carlo, Don Spencer, Ray Brown, Mark Calder and Dave MacNeill were expected to stay on with the station. Programs including Kid's Classical Hour and the live Boston Symphony Orchestra broadcasts were also expected to continue.
HD Radio
WKLB broadcasts on 102.5 HD2HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
as a classic country station, a spinoff of the popular Sunday Morning Country Oldies program.