WRZA
Encyclopedia
WCPQ 99.9 FM is a radio station
located in Park Forest, Illinois
, south of Chicago. WCPQ is part of a trimulcast
with WCPT (AM)
, WCPT-FM and WCPY. 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
. WCPQ is owned by Newsweb Corporation.
. From 1977 until 1985, it was WBYG. In February 1985, as WBSW, the station launched a Top 40 format as 99.9 The Bus and changed call letters to WBUS on April 1, 1987. The Bus lasted until August 31, 1996, when it was replaced with Spanish language format La Raza 99.9 with the WRZA call sign. In order to be eligible for inclusion in the Chicago arbitron ratings, the city of license was changed from Kankakee, Illinois
to Park Forest, Illinois
.
coverage into Chicago. With owner Newsweb's purchase of three other rimshot stations in 2005, Nine FM's programming expanded to WKIE (92.7 FM) in the north suburbs and WDEK (92.5 FM) west of the Chicago area. The third station, WKIF
, was broken off from the trimulcast due to overlapping with the stronger WRZA signal and began airing the audio feed from CNN Headline News
.
Sky Daniels was the original program director for Nine FM. When he left in 2005, he was replaced by Matt DuBiel. Nine FM's format tightened a bit over time, to attract more casual listeners, eliminating many of the more obscure songs on the station's playlist.
On May 19, 2006, Chris Chudzik of TKC Entertainment began leasing air time on Saturday nights for a dance music show called Dance Factory FM
, from 8:00PM to 5:00AM hosted By Kyle Kelly (a former DJ from Energy 92.7&5). Dance Factory FM expanded to Friday nights 9:00PM to 5:00AM starting on August 12, 2006, hosted by Luis 2Live Lopez (also a former DJ from Energy 92.7&5).
A year later, on May 14, 2007 Nine FM and Chudzik expanded Dance Factory to seven nights a week from 9:00PM to 4:30AM. The weekend shows carry a DJ mix style format, while the weekday shows carry a Dance Hits music format with live mixes several times nightly.
from 5 a.m. until 9 p.m. Dance Factory still continues to air overnight, and gained an extra half hour (4:30 AM - 5 AM) in the morning. The last song on Nine FM was intended to be "Kiss This Thing Goodbye" by Del Amitri
, but ended up being "Crush
" by Jennifer Paige
, likely an homage to the "WKIE" call letters' 10 year run with "Crush" being one of the first hit songs on the 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...
located in Park Forest, Illinois
Park Forest, Illinois
Park Forest is a village located south of Chicago in Cook County and Will County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 23,462...
, south of Chicago. WCPQ is part of a trimulcast
Trimulcast
The term "trimulcast" was first used in May 1981 by Multimedia Broadcasting's outlets in Little Rock, Arkansas, KAAY-AM and KLPQ-FM when they teamed-up with Cox Cable locally...
with WCPT (AM)
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....
, WCPT-FM and WCPY. During the daytime, the trimulcast simulcasts WCPT
WCPT
WCPT could refer to:In the Chicago area:* 820 WCPT at Willow Springs — had the call sign WAIT from 2005 to 2007, and WCSN before that* 850 WAIT at Crystal Lake — had the call sign WCPT from 2005 to 2007, and WAIT before that...
programming from 5 AM - 9 PM, and operates a Dance Hits format at night known as Dance Factory FM
Dance Factory FM
Dance Factory, also known as Dance Factory Radio, is the Chicago area dance music radio program that airs every night on the Newsweb Corporation trimulcast of WCPY-FM , WCPT-FM and WCPQ-FM...
. WCPQ is owned by Newsweb Corporation.
History
From it's launch in the 1960s until 1977, the station had the WKAK call signCall sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
. From 1977 until 1985, it was WBYG. In February 1985, as WBSW, the station launched a Top 40 format as 99.9 The Bus and changed call letters to WBUS on April 1, 1987. The Bus lasted until August 31, 1996, when it was replaced with Spanish language format La Raza 99.9 with the WRZA call sign. In order to be eligible for inclusion in the Chicago arbitron ratings, the city of license was changed from Kankakee, Illinois
Kankakee, Illinois
Kankakee is a city in Kankakee County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 25,561, and 26,840 as of a 2009 estimate. It is the county seat of Kankakee County...
to Park Forest, Illinois
Park Forest, Illinois
Park Forest is a village located south of Chicago in Cook County and Will County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 23,462...
.
Nine FM and Dance Factory
Nine FM originally started out on 99.9 FM, and had rimshotRimshot (broadcasting)
A rimshot is a radio and television broadcasting term for a station that attempts to reach a larger media market from a distant suburban, exurban, or even rural location. The term is primarily used with FM stations, and mainly in North America...
coverage into Chicago. With owner Newsweb's purchase of three other rimshot stations in 2005, Nine FM's programming expanded to WKIE (92.7 FM) in the north suburbs and WDEK (92.5 FM) west of the Chicago area. The third station, 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...
, was broken off from the trimulcast due to overlapping with the stronger WRZA signal and began airing the audio feed from CNN Headline News
CNN Headline News
HLN, formerly known as CNN Headline News and CNN2, is a cable television news channel based in the United States and a spinoff of the cable news television channel, CNN. Initially airing tightly-formatted 30-minute newscasts around the clock, since 2005, the channel has increasingly aired long-form...
.
Sky Daniels was the original program director for Nine FM. When he left in 2005, he was replaced by Matt DuBiel. Nine FM's format tightened a bit over time, to attract more casual listeners, eliminating many of the more obscure songs on the station's playlist.
On May 19, 2006, Chris Chudzik of TKC Entertainment began leasing air time on Saturday nights for a dance music show called Dance Factory FM
Dance Factory FM
Dance Factory, also known as Dance Factory Radio, is the Chicago area dance music radio program that airs every night on the Newsweb Corporation trimulcast of WCPY-FM , WCPT-FM and WCPQ-FM...
, from 8:00PM to 5:00AM hosted By Kyle Kelly (a former DJ from Energy 92.7&5). Dance Factory FM expanded to Friday nights 9:00PM to 5:00AM starting on August 12, 2006, hosted by Luis 2Live Lopez (also a former DJ from Energy 92.7&5).
A year later, on May 14, 2007 Nine FM and Chudzik expanded Dance Factory to seven nights a week from 9:00PM to 4:30AM. The weekend shows carry a DJ mix style format, while the weekday shows carry a Dance Hits music format with live mixes several times nightly.
"Chicago's Progressive Talk"
Newsweb Corporation dropped the Nine FM programming on all three signals Monday, October 20, 2008, and replaced it with a simulcast of sister station WCPTWCPT
WCPT could refer to:In the Chicago area:* 820 WCPT at Willow Springs — had the call sign WAIT from 2005 to 2007, and WCSN before that* 850 WAIT at Crystal Lake — had the call sign WCPT from 2005 to 2007, and WAIT before that...
from 5 a.m. until 9 p.m. Dance Factory still continues to air overnight, and gained an extra half hour (4:30 AM - 5 AM) in the morning. The last song on Nine FM was intended to be "Kiss This Thing Goodbye" by Del Amitri
Del Amitri
Del Amitri were a Scottish pop-rock guitar band, formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1983. The band grew out of Justin Currie's Jordanhill College School band and came together after teenager Currie placed an advertisement in the window of a music store asking for people who could play to contact him...
, but ended up being "Crush
Crush (Jennifer Paige song)
"Crush" is a pop song recorded by American singer Jennifer Paige. The song was written by Andy Goldmark, Mark Muller, Berny Cosgrove and Kevin Clark. It was released as the first single from her debut album, Jennifer Paige . "Crush" reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and remains Paige's...
" by Jennifer Paige
Jennifer Paige
Jennifer Paige is an American singer-songwriter who achieved success with the 1998 pop hit "Crush". She is considered to be one of the 1990s' biggest one-hit wonders.-Biography:...
, likely an homage to the "WKIE" call letters' 10 year run with "Crush" being one of the first hit songs on the station.
Call Sign History
- WRZA 09/23/1996-10/27/2008
- WBUS 04/01/1987-09/23/1996
- WBSW 02/15/1985-04/01/1987
- WBYG 1977-1985
- WKAK 1960s-1977
Weekdays
- 5 AM - 8 AM: The Bill Press Show
- 8 AM - 11 AM: The Stephanie Miller Show
- 11 AM - 2 PM: The Ed Schultz Show
- 2 PM - 5 PM: The Thom Hartmann Program
- 5 PM - 8 PM: The Norman Goldman Show
- 8 PM - 9 PM: The Leslie Marshall Show
- 9 PM - 1 AM: Dance Factory Radio
- 1 AM - 5 AM: Dance Factory Radio
Saturdays
- 9 PM (Fri) - 5 AM: Dance Factory Radio
- 5 AM - 7 AM: Best of Bill Press
- 7 AM - 9 AM: Mighty House
- 9 AM - 11 AM: Stephanie Miller Show
- 11 AM - 1 PM: Hal Sparks
- 1 PM - 4 PM: Dick Kay - Back On The Beat
- 4 PM - 7 PM: Ring of Fire
- 7 PM - 8 PM: Stephanie Miller Show
- 8 PM - 12 AM: Dance Factory Radio
Sundays
- 12 AM - 5 AM: Dance Factory Radio
- 5 AM - 7 AM: Best of Bill Press
- 7 AM - 8 AM: Viewpoints/Radio Health Journal
- 8 AM - 9 AM: Our Town
- 9 AM - 11 AM: The Mike Nowak Show
- 11 AM - 12 PM: Meet The Press
- 12 PM - 1 PM: Both Sides Now
- 1 PM - 2 PM: Alan Colmes Weekend
- 2 PM - 4 PM: Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know?
- 4 PM - 5 PM: The Beacon
- 5 PM - 6 PM: State Of Belief
- 6 PM - 9 PM: Ring Of Fire
- 9 PM - 5 AM (Mon): Dance Factory Radio
Mix Show DJs
- Bobby D
- DJ Markski
- To Kool Chris
- Erik K
- DJ Caffeine
- Danny V
- Alex Andros
- DJ Jonny D
- Zita Zee
- Kevin Phoenix
- DJ MIXX