History
Establishment as WDGO
Douglas G. Ovaitt, Jr., half of a father-son real estate developer team from Geauga County (father Douglas Ovaitt, Sr. was also the mayor of South Euclid [3] ), filed paperwork with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on February 3, 1960, to construct a radio station at 95.5MHz, and was granted a construction permit on September 20. [4] Ovaitt originally considered building an AM station in Chardon, Ohio, but began pursing an FM station after realizing the signal limitations of an AM facility. Named after both father and son, WDGO's transmitter and studios were co-located at Eastgate Shopping Center in Mayfield Heights, where Ovaitt constructed several storefronts. [5] The 95.5MHz frequency opened up for broadcasting after WCUY in Cleveland Heights moved from 95.3FM to 92.3FM after a transmitter and power upgrade. [6]
WDGO took to the air on April 10, 1961, carrying a fine art format focused on classical music. Plain Dealer critic Russell W. Kane lauded their intent but questioned its commercial viability, saying, "... right or wrong, they are entering an area with laws just as inexorable as those of the real jungle, laws that The Law and Mr. Jones is finding tough to repeal or evade." [7] The station's classical programming was supplemented by concert recordings from the International Good Music service. [8] WDGO also featured a daily afternoon program oriented towards school-aged children. [7] Ovaitt Sr.'s wife owned French poodles and included one of them on station letterhead, giving rise to the transposed misidentification of "WDOG". [3]
The Ovaitts sold WDGO to Janssen Broadcasting Company on November 17, 1961; [9] Ovaitt, Jr. retained a minority ownership stake. [4] Under Janssen ownership, WDGO began broadcasting in multiplexed stereo, and identified any monaural recordings for the benefit of listeners tuning into the station with stereo equipment. [10] WDGO's stereo signal, however, encountered multiple weak spots due to the transmitter being in Mayfield Heights instead of a more centralized location like Seven Hills or North Royalton. [11] WDGO was also the only FM station in Cleveland to broadcast classical music full-time, as other signals only programmed classical on a part-time basis. [10]
Sale to Radio Seaway, change to WCLV
WDGO was sold for the second time in less than a year in August 1962 to Radio Seaway, Inc., [4] a partnership headed by the station's sales manager Cecil K. "Pat" Patrick, and Robert Conrad, program director for, and the co-founder of, Detroit classical station WDTM. [12] Patrick considered buying the station but had no experience in programming, and was introduced to Conrad from his network of contacts. [13] Approved on October 18, 1962, the sale price was misidentified as $38,000, [14] which Patrick corrected to $80,000. [15]
Intending to create a new image for the station, Patrick and Conrad requested new WCLV calls; as Conrad told the Plain Dealer, "... some of the announcers have trouble saying WDGO, and some of our listeners address us as WDOG, and even WGOD." [16] Patrick and Conrad chose WCLV after realizing no other station in Cleveland was named after the city, and were inspired by WNYC in New York City, WDET-FM in Detroit and WBUF in Buffalo, New York. [3] The WCLV calls took effect on November 1, 1962. [4] Patrick and Conrad promised to maintain the existing classical format, along with adding more live programming and linking with New York station WQXR-FM. [14]
A classical music mainstay
The station immediately launched an impressive, for its day, line-up of classical music programming. FM stereo broadcasts were begun on February 4, 1963, just three months after the debut. Two hour-long evening programming blocks also were unveiled within months of each other: first, the Symphony at Seven sponsored by Cleveland Trust on October 5, 1964, and the Heinen's Concert Hall on February 1, 1965. Concert Hall ended its run in 2003, while Symphony at Seven continues to this very day, its sponsorship carried over by Cleveland Trust's successors (Ameritrust, Society Bank and KeyBank). [17] [18] [19]
By 1966, WCLV was among the first FM stations in the market to broadcast continuously through the overnight hours. [20] The Friday overnight slot, however, took a different tone. Booth announcer Martin Perlich—a graduate of Columbia University and University of Chicago and a student at Juilliard School—debuted The Perlich Project in late 1966, a mixture of classical with progressive rock selections along with interviews, personal comments and editorials on events of the day. [21] The Perlich Project was one of the earliest such shows on commercial radio in Cleveland, as similar shows debuted over ethnic station WZAK and Top 40 station WIXY, both in the overnight hours. [22] Perlich also hosted Audition Booth, devoted to newer classical recordings, operated local music store chain Discount Records [23] and once conducted interviews with Orchestra director George Szell and Pink Floyd in the same hour. [24] Perlich was dismissed from WCLV in October 1970 after growing facial hair that ran counter to the Orchestra's public image, and subsequently joined WNCR. [25] [26]
In 1965, the station began broadcasting concerts of the Cleveland Orchestra on Sunday afternoons at 4:00 p.m. That time slot has remained virtually unchanged since. WCLV eventually started national distribution of the Orchestras' broadcasts to stations throughout the country, through its subsidiary syndication arm Seaway Productions. WCLV and Seaway also started to syndicate other programs, including Karl Haas' Adventures in Good Music (which ran from 1970 until 2007), and concert broadcasts of the Detroit Symphony, the Royal Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, and the San Francisco Symphony.
Studios were moved from the original location in the Eastgate Shopping Center in Mayfield Heights to downtown Cleveland's Terminal Tower in 1968, to Warrensville Heights in 1986. [27] [28] [29]
In September 1995, WCLV won the National Association of Broadcasters' Marconi Award for Classical Music Station of the Year, [30] followed days later by the Gabriel Award for radio station of the year. [31]
WCLV Saturday Night
On Saturday night, WCLV presented an eclectic program of folk, novelty music and comedy—primarily British comedy—titled WCLV Saturday Night, hosted by Conrad; [32] [33] it debuted on WDGO four weeks prior to the change to WCLV. [34] The program typically aired live on Saturdays and rebroadcast on Wednesdays as WCLV Saturday Night on Wednesday Afternoon, but the inverse occurred when Conrad emceed Saturday night Orchestra concerts at Blossom Music Center. [35] Larry Robinson, owner of a area jewelry store chain (and who later became a radio station owner [36] ), served as the program's title sponsor in 1965. [37] The show was credited for being the first on American radio to play recordings from Monty Python, [38] The Goon Show and P. D. Q. Bach, [34] and was described as an "evangelistic lifeline for younger listeners" by the Akron Beacon Journal [39] and "has to be heard to be appreciated" by the Plain Dealer. [32]
WCLV Saturday Night spawned an hourlong syndicated version in 1982 titled Weekend Radio . [40] By 1990, Conrad retired the local program in favor of the hourlong version, [41] later telling the Plain Dealer, "my wife grew tired of being a Saturday night widow". [38]
Cleveland Orchestra fundraising marathons
In 1970, WCLV began an annual on-air fundraiser for the Cleveland Orchestra, pre-empting regular programming for one weekend in favor of requested Orchestra recordings. [42] [43] The first marathon raised over $30,000 in a 54-hour span. [44] Prior to this, any outstanding debt from the Orchestra was covered by board members who would draw names from a hat, and the board approached WCLV to consider an alternative. [45] WCLV was no stranger to such marathons: It devoted much of October 1970 to air recordings from George Szell after his death, [46] and aired a 17-day marathon of recordings from Lorin Maazel after becoming Orchestra conductor in 1971. Conrad said of the latter, "the Orchestra is to WCLV what the Browns are to WHK." [47] Guest conductors and musicians during the marathons have ranged from Mitch Miller [48] to Bobby McFerrin. [45]
The Orchestra fundraiser marathon quickly became a WCLV fixture and inspired similar fundraisers elsewhere, [49] in particular WCRB's efforts for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. [48] By 1973, the Orchestra fundraisers were moved from the WCLV studios to Severance Hall. [50] Within the first 25 years of the fundraiser marathon's existence, WCLV raised up to $3.7 million total for the Orchestra. [51]
Changes amid industry consolidation
Rebecca Fischer took over as morning host in 1989 following the retirement of Albert Petrak, initiating the station's first major schedule change in 12 years. [52] [53] Owing to family commitments, Fischer left the station in March 2000, prompting a nationwide search for her replacement. [54] Jacqueline Gerber succeeded Fischer as First Program host in April 2001, [55] a role she continues to hold. [56] Gerber's arrival coincided with Tony Bianchi's retirement, concluding for him a 37-year run at WCLV. [57] Wayne Mack retired from WCLV in 1998, but taped reruns of past shows continued until his death on October 15, 2000, at age 89. [58]
Bill O'Connell was named program director in early 1998, the second in its history and succeeding Conrad; under O'Connell, the station instituted the five-hour Monday Music Marathon, eschewing all commercials and most on-air announcements aside from the noon BBC World Service bulletin. The change ran contrary to other large-market classical stations that emphasized shorter pieces in the daytime. [59] Due to rapid consolidation in the market throughout 1998, [60] WCLV became the lone remaining commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland that was locally-owned; as Conrad told the Plain Dealer, "the glory days for radio in this town are over". [61] The station poked fun of their new distinction with print advertising that read, "when it's raining on the North Coast, only one Cleveland FM radio station owner actually gets wet." [62]
In 1989, 41 commercial radio stations in the United States carried a classical format; [63] by 2000, the number dropped to 33, and followed high-profile format switches in Los Angeles, [64] Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit, and a threatened switch in Miami. [65] [66] Conrad told the Miami Herald "tens of millions" were offered by various groups for WCLV, but declined every time "... because WCLV is not a commodity, but a community service for the Cleveland Orchestra, the opera and ballet. It also has longtime employees who'd have difficulty getting jobs in any other kind of radio. So why sell it? We make a very good living." [65] Conrad said in 1997 that while the station could generate more revenue with a more commercially accessible format, "we choose to be a classical music station ... it is a matter of our corporate will." [67]
The 2001 "frequency swap"
On November 1, 2000, the 38th anniversary of WDGO's call sign change to WCLV, Radio Seaway announced the station's intellectual property and format would be donated to a newly-established nonprofit organization. [68] To enable the donation, Radio Seaway sold WCLV's broadcast license to Salem Communications and purchased both the licenses to WHK (1420AM) from Salem and WAKS (104.9FM) from Clear Channel, which in turn purchased the 98.1FM facility licensed to Canton from Salem. Conrad and Radio Seaway partner Rich Marschner negotiated between the two chains for two years [69] and saw the move as a means to perpetuate the classical format. [70]
When the donation was announced, the 95.5FM license had an estimated value of $45 million (equivalent to $82.2 million in 2024), while the 104.9FM license—a class A signal licensed to Lorain [71] and with a tower in Avon [72] —was valued at $8 million (equivalent to $14.6 million in 2024); it was later revealed to be a $40 million deal, with the WCLV Foundation receiving $18.5 million. [66] [68] Conrad later explained, "we were paid a lot to move WCLV from 95.5 to 104.9". [38] Radio Seaway ultimately donated WCLV to ideastream, one of the partners behind the WCLV Foundation, [68] on November 1, 2011. [73]
Radio Seaway's original plan was to use 1420AM as a simulcast of 104.9FM, [74] but purchased the intellectual property and adult standards format of WRMR (which was to be replaced on 850AM with WKNR's sports format and call sign) prior to consummation. [75] While generally regarded as a "frequency swap", [74] when the asset deals closed on July 3, 2001, WCLV changed format to contemporary Christian music (CCM) as "95.5 The Fish" under the WHK-FM call sign (renamed again as WFHM-FM on August 16), while WAKS changed calls to WCLV-FM, bringing over the classical format intact and retaining all on- and off-air staff. [76]
95.5 The Fish
Salem's installation of CCM on 95.5FM followed the implementation of similar "Fish"-themed stations in Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta, with the brand alluding to Ichthys, a traditional Christian symbol. [55] The move also returned the format to Greater Cleveland for the first time since May 1999, when Clear Channel changed 104.9FM's format from CCM (under the WZLE calls) to contemporary hit radio as WAKS. [77] [78] The initial airstaff for "The Fish" included former WZLE operations manager Len Howser, along with secular radio personalities Dan Deely, Daune Robinson and Rob Schuler. [79] Sue Wilson, a veteran programmer best known for her tenure at secular adult contemporary-formatted WDOK, was named as program director; Wilson emphasized that WFHM's format would be "... positive, uplifting music, and definitely spiritual, but it's not churchy, it's not preachy". [55]
Robinson was replaced in 2002 by former Cleveland television news anchor Robin Swoboda; Swoboda's stint lasted for three years, leaving in 2005 due to family commitments. [80] [81] Sue Wilson left as program director in 2006 to take the same role at country-formatted WQMX in Akron, Ohio. [82] Deely left in 2007 [83] and was succeeded by Howser, who co-hosted the morning show for the remainder of The Fish's existence. [84] [85]
Switch to K-Love
In a multi-market transaction, Salem sold WFHM-FM and six other CCM stations in their portfolio to Educational Media Foundation (EMF) on December 30, 2024 for $80,000,000. The sale was initiated to help Salem repurchase and pay off all remaining outstanding debt. [86] WFHM was confirmed as the new market affiliate for K-Love on January 17, 2025. [87] The change took effect on February 1, resulting in the dismissal of the station's airstaff; [85] 95.5FM became WKLV-FM in a call sign swap with a K-Love station in Butler, Alabama. [88]