WLS-FM

WLS-FM 94.7 FM is a Chicago oldies radio station playing the hits of the late '50s, through the early '80s. It is owned by Citadel Broadcasting, following the 2007 sale of ABC Radio (now Citadel Media) and its stations by Disney. The station switched to oldies on September 26, 2005, first carrying only syndicated "The True Oldies Channel" programming, but later adding local personalities including Rock and Roll Hall of Fame disc jockeys John Landecker, Scott Shannon, Dick Biondi, along with Greg Brown and Danny Lake. The station's official callsign changed to WLS-FM again on June 26, 2008.

History

In 1965, WENR-FM became WLS-FM with a beautiful music format broadcasting in stereo from noon to midnight as well as Blackhawks home games. By 1968, WLS-FM expanded its hours on the air from 6 a.m. to midnight, simulcasting sister AM WLS's Clark Weber morning show from 6 to 8 a.m. and carrying Don McNeill's Breakfast Club from 8 to 9 a.m.

In the summer of 1968, WLS-FM experimented with a locally-produced underground progressive rock show. Dubbed Spoke, the program aired from 10 PM to 12 midnight. It was replaced in 1969 with a syndicated program from the ABC Radio Network entitled Love which aired from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Shortly afterwards, WLS-FM adopted a full-time progressive rock format.

The frequency adopted an AOR format as WLS-FM became WDAI in 1971 in order to establish a separate identity from sister stations WLS AM and WLS-TV. The joke at the time was that "DAI" stood for "Develop An Identity". WDAI call letters had originally been intended for Detroit's WXYZ-FM, but ABC misfiled and the calls instead ended up in Chicago to replace WLS-FM. This implies that Detroit's WRIF had been targeted by ABC for use in Chicago in ABC's 1971 AOR format conversions in New York, Chicago, Detroit, and Los Angeles.

WDAI became the original radio home of Steve Dahl in January 1978, and used the tagline "Chicago's Best Rock with the Morning Sickness with Steve Dahl.

WDAI switched to all-disco as Disco "DAI" in December 1978 and stayed with the disco craze until mid-1980, when it flipped to WRCK FM 95 featuring Bob Sirott in mornings for a brief time. The 1978 flip to disco was the first in a series of ill-fated format changes that continued up to its most recent switch to oldies in September 2005.

In late 1980, WRCK-FM initiated a simulcast of 890 WLS (AM) and flipped its call letters back to WLS-FM in December 1980. WLS-FM 94.7 simulcast 890's Top 40/rock format morning drive (Larry Lujack) and evening programming (Brant Miller) into the mid-1980s. WLS-FM was programmed separately during the day and simulcast 890 at night.

In 1986, WLS-FM broke away from AM and became known as WYTZ "Z-95". Initially, the station played Top 40 and rock but by the late 1980s, the station was more mainstream, as competitor WBBM-FM increasingly focused on R&B; and dance music. WYTZ, also known later as "Hell" (an aborted and controversial one-week stunt) and Hot 94.7, could not withstand the competition from WBBM-FM, "B-96".

After a couple years of very low ratings WYTZ again became WLS-FM in 1991 and became a talk station simulcasting 890 WLS much of the time. After still achieving low ratings, WLS-FM separated from WLS again in 1995. The station took a country music format and became "Kicks 94.7" WKXK just after Christmas of 1995. Unfortunately, Infinity (now CBS Radio) station WUSN continued to do well as the heritage country station while WKXK was unable to even achieve mediocre ratings.

Early in May 1997, WKXK dropped the country format and changed call letters to WXCD, and became known on the air as "CD94.7" WXCD and broadcasted a broad-based classic rock format (similar to today's 97.1 The Drive). After some early ratings success at WXCD, former heritage classic rocker WLUP, which had earlier switched to an adult contemporary format, returned to the classic rock format as a direct competitor of WXCD, causing mediocre ratings at WXCD until 2000.

On November 29, 2000, WXCD 94.7 abruptly dropped classic rock for an 80's format and "The Zone" identifier, and assumed the new call sign WZZN. As "The Zone," the station broadcast 1980s music that leaned to rock and uptempo pop. By 2001, the station had evolved into a gold-based modern rock/AC format. In September 2001, the Zone morphed again to alternative rock to take on Q-101 WKQX 101.1, which previously had the genre to itself.

By 2003, "The Zone" again evolved into more of an active rock format all the while using "94.7 The Zone" as its handle, and positioning itself on the air as "the hardest rock on the planet". This station continued to flounder in the ratings. By 2004, the station began beating WKQX with the shift to active rock but yet beaten again by alternative rock rival WKQX during Spring/Summer 2005 when WDRV moved from classic hits to classic rock and WLUP-FM from classic rock to mainstream rock.

After long-time oldies station WJMK dropped its 60's/70's oldies format in June 2005 for a variety hits format called Jack FM, WZZN dropped its active rock format (and finally ditched "The Zone" handle) at noon on September 26, 2005 for an oldies format (The True Oldies Channel) playing the hits of 1964 to 1969 with some 1955-64 Oldies and some early 70s hits mixed in. This change made WZZN the only oldies station on the FM frequency in Chicago. The format then was strictly off ABC's satellite "The True Oldies Channel". In 2006, the station added some local air personalities who were previously at WJMK when it was an oldies station. Ratings have been good for this format.

In 2007, Walt Disney Company sold its ABC Radio radio division, including WLS (AM) and WZZN, to Citadel Broadcasting. ABC still retains minority ownership in these stations, but they are now primarily owned by Citadel.

On June 19, 2008, Citadel announced that WZZN would become once again WLS-FM. The WZZN call letters were dropped at midnight on June 25, 2008, and as of 12:01am on June 26, 2008, the station has officially been known as WLS-FM. The idea was to bring back the heritage of WLS and its old Top 40 format and jingles. The station is now positioned as 94.7 WLS-FM Chicago's True Oldies.

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