The station originally went on the air October 10, 1975,[1] as WSME-FM, with an automated Drake-Chenaultadult contemporary/oldies hybrid format. The call sign was changed to WEBI on April 23, 1983, and to WCDQ on September 1, 1986.[2]
WCDQ was well known for its on-air staff, as well as creative programming. One such program was "Dead Tracks", an all-Grateful Dead program broadcast on Thursday nights at 10p.m. Another program was "Blue Monday", featuring all blues music hosted by "The First Lady of Mt. Rialto" Sharon Small. Two other groundbreaking programs were "Mt. Rialto Redemption", a reggae music show, and "Local Chords", an opportunity for local, unsigned bands to get their material played on the radio. It was hosted by Steve Biron, who also did afternoons. The show would later be hosted by Pete Casper "The Friendly DJ".
WCDQ claimed that it broadcast from "The Summit of Mt. Rialto", a reference to the common name for movie theaters, popular in the 1930s through the 1950s. It was sometimes called Mt. Rialto Radio. Another fictional locale often referenced by the station was "The Elegante Ballroom", a cavernous hall from which the station's lunch time show was supposedly broadcast. The ruse of the station's broadcast locale was so well done (complete with summit ski and weather reports) that occasionally students from the University of New Hampshire would travel to Sanford with the intent of hiking the non-existent mountain.
WCDQ heralded the weekend's arrival every Friday at 5p.m. by playing "Switchin' To Glide" by The Kings.
The secondary tag line for the radio station was "The Theater of the Mind". This was based on the fact that WCDQ produced its own original radio plays, similar to "The Shadow" and "The Lone Ranger" radio shows from the 1930s and 1940s, before televisions were a common household item. WCDQ staff wrote original plays, together with original music, and performed them on the air. Radio plays included a Christmas story entitled "The Miracle of Mt. Rialto", a 1950s high school drama called "Young Lust", and a soap opera-style story called "The Web of Fate".
Logo used from August 11, 2011, through August 20, 2015
WCDQ was owned by Donald Crown, who sold the station to Phoenix Media/Communications Group. It became WPHX-FM and began simulcasting WFNX, from the Boston, Massachusetts, radio market in the summer of 1999. Phoenix Media/Communications Group announced a sale of the station to Aruba Capital Holdings, licensee of WXEX in Exeter, New Hampshire, in May 2011.[3] On August 11, 2011, Aruba Capital Holdings relaunched the station as WXEX-FM, a simulcast of the oldies/classic hits programming of WXEX.[4]
On April 14, 2015, Port Broadcasting LLC, owner of WWSF in Sanford, Maine, and WNBP in Newburyport, Massachusetts (and their respective FM translators), began operating WXEX and its AM simulcast partner in Exeter under a local marketing agreement (LMA).[5] On August 20, 2015, WXEX-FM and its sister AM station shifted their format from classic hits to classic rock, branded as "Classic Rock 92.1"; the move was made to distinguish WXEX from WWSF's oldies format.[6] In 2015, a merger was proposed with Garrison City Broadcasting, owners of WBYY and WTSN, but never finalized.[7] Effective January 31, 2017, Aruba Capital sold WXEX-FM, WXEX, and W246BP to LMA partner Port Broadcasting. In return, Aruba Capital received a 26.9 percent stake in Port Broadcasting, giving Aruba Capital principal Andrew Hartmann a controlling interest in the new licensee.
During Labor Day Weekend in 2018, WXEX-FM and WXEX stunted with a broadcast of the Drake-Chenault documentary The History of Rock and Roll. On September 3, 2018, the stations changed to an oldies format, in effect reversing the 2015 format change.[8]
WXRV is an adult album alternative radio station licensed to Andover, Massachusetts, and based in Haverhill, with a signal covering most of northeast Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire, and audible as far away as Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Portland, Maine.
WZLX is a classic rock radio station in Boston, Massachusetts. This station is owned and operated by iHeartMedia. WZLX was one of America's first classic rock FM stations. Its studios are in Medford, and its transmitter is atop the Prudential Tower.
Frank FM is the branding used by Binnie Media for its radio stations airing a classic hits radio format. The Frank FM format is similar to the Jack FM format in that these stations play around 1000 songs in regular rotation at any time as opposed to the average number of 300 to 600 songs heard regularly on most commercial radio stations. However, Frank FM playlists otherwise resemble other classic hits stations rather than that of variety hits stations.
WTSN is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Dover, New Hampshire, and serving the Seacoast Region of New Hampshire and Southern Maine. WTSN airs a news/talk radio format. It broadcasts with 5,000 watts of power from a transmitter on Back Road in Dover.
WDMK; is a commercial FM radio station in Detroit, Michigan. Owned by Beasley Broadcast Group, it broadcasts an urban adult contemporary format. The studios and offices are on Radio Plaza in Ferndale.
WARW is a Christian worship formatted radio station, licensed to Port Chester, New York and is the Air 1 radio affiliate for Westchester County, New York and the Connecticut Panhandle. The station is currently owned by Educational Media Foundation and its transmitter is located in New Rochelle, New York.
KLXB is a non-commercial radio station that is licensed to Bermuda Dunes, California and broadcasts to the Palm Springs radio market in the Coachella Valley. The station is owned by Educational Media Foundation and airs that company's contemporary Christian radio format known as "K-Love". KLXB is also heard on a translator station, K247CL (97.3 MHz) in Indio, California.
WNNH is a commercial radio station owned by Binnie Media. WNNH is licensed to Henniker, New Hampshire, and serves the Concord-Manchester area. Its transmitter is on Watchtower Road in Contoocook and its studios and offices are on Church Street in Concord.
WWLK-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Meredith, New Hampshire, and serving the Lakes Region. The station broadcasts a soft adult contemporary radio format and is owned by Dirk Nadon, through licensee Lakes Media, LLC. The studios and offices are on Church Street in Concord, New Hampshire.
WXTG is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Hampton, Virginia, and serving Hampton Roads, including Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News and Virginia Beach. WXTG is owned and operated by Terry Suggs, through licensee TL Broadcasting LLC. It carries a classic soul and urban oldies radio format.
WAWR is a radio station broadcasting a Christian worship format airing programming from the nationally syndicated Air1 feed. Licensed to Remsen, New York, United States, the station serves the Utica–Rome area. The station is owned by Educational Media Foundation.
WBYY is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Somersworth, New Hampshire, United States, with studios in Dover, the station serves the Seacoast Region of New Hampshire and Southern Maine. The station is owned by Binnie Media.
WEMJ is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk format. Licensed to Laconia, New Hampshire, United States, the station is owned by Binnie Media and licensed to WBIN Media Co., Inc. WEMJ features programming from ABC News Radio. WEMJ is known on-air as 107.3 WEMJ. It is part of the "Pulse of NH" trimulcast with 107.7 WTPL in the Manchester area and 98.1 WTSN in the Seacoast Region.
WBAN is a radio station broadcasting an adult contemporary format. Licensed to Veazie, Maine, United States, the station serves the Bangor area. The station is owned by Port Broadcasting, LLC, and features programming from ABC News Radio.
WWSF is a radio station airing an oldies format. Established in 1957 as WSME, the station is licensed to serve Sanford, Maine, United States. WWSF is owned by Port Broadcasting.
WAKC is an American licensed radio station in Concord, New Hampshire. The station is owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF) and is part of its K-Love network of contemporary Christian music outlets. EMF also owns WLKC in Campton, serving the White Mountains and Lakes Region.
WFYX is a radio station broadcasting an oldies music format. Licensed to Walpole, New Hampshire, United States, it serves the Monadnock Region in Southwestern New Hampshire and Southeastern Vermont. It first began broadcasting in 2001 under the call sign WLPL. The station is owned by Great Eastern Radio. Programming is simulcast with the third HD Radio channel of WHDQ in Claremont and translator W294AB in Hanover, which serve the Lebanon-Rutland-White River Junction area.
WPKC is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Exeter, New Hampshire, and covering the New Hampshire Seacoast region and Southern Maine. The station's format is contemporary Christian music, supplied from the K-Love network. The station's license is held by the Educational Media Foundation. The station simulcasts its sister station, 92.1 WPKC-FM in Sanford, Maine. In addition, WPKC operates two FM translators: W246BP in Exeter, and W298CU (101.5) in Chester.
WBWL is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Lynn, Massachusetts. Established in 1963, WBWL is owned by iHeartMedia and serves the Boston metropolitan area. The station broadcasts a country music format. The station's studios are located in Medford and the transmitter site is on Murray Hill, also in Medford.
W248AW is a commercial FM radio station translator in Indianapolis, Indiana, broadcasting at 97.5 FM. Owned by the Educational Media Foundation and operated under LMA by iHeartMedia, the station simulcasts a business news format on WOLT's HD2 subchannel, known as "Business News 97.5". Studios are located on Fall Creek Road with transmitter on the northwest side of Indianapolis, near Meridian Hills.
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