WONE-FM (97.5 FM) is a commercial

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

licensed to

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

, featuring an AOR-leaning

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prima ...

format known as "97.5 WONE". Owned by Rubber City Radio Group, Inc., the station primarily serves the

Akron metro area The Akron, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, sometimes referred to as Greater Akron, is defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget as an area consisting of two counties, Summit and Portage, in Northeast Ohio and anchored b ...

. In addition to a standard

analog transmission Analog transmission is a transmission method of conveying information using a continuous signal which varies in amplitude, phase, or some other property in proportion to that information. It could be the transfer of an analog signal, using an an ...

, WONE-FM broadcasts over one HD Radio channel (as of April 2020) and is available online. Both the studios and transmitter for WONE-FM are located in Akron.

History

The station signed on the air in October 1947 as WAKR-FM. It was co-owned with

WAKR WAKR (1590 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Akron, Ohio, and known as "Soft Hits 93.5 FM". Locally owned and operated by Rubber City Radio Group, Inc., the station primarily services the Akron metropolitan area, includ ...

. In 1974, the station adopted the callsign WAEZ, playing

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

and

beautiful music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator mu ...

. The station adopted its current rock format as WONE-FM on January 1, 1985, when then owner Group One Broadcasting obtained permission to share the WONE base callsign of its sister station WONE in

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

. Prior to the transition from WAEZ "Easy 97" to WONE, general manager Fred Anthony hired the first group of on-air personalities with the assistance of national PD Art Wonderlich (Art Wonder). This would included Deeya McKay, Mike Michelli, Tim Daugherty, Jim Chenot, and Dan Slentz. Their program director would be Ward Holmes. For weeks leading up to the transition, the new on-air staff would go through real-time shifts that were only "skimmed" on air checks (announcing portion) and reviewed by Holmes with the staff. Slentz finished his last "fake" broadcast shift as overnight person on January 1, 1985, at 5a.m. Engineers would cut over from the WAEZ reel-to-reel automation system at 5:30a.m., and GM Fred Anthony made the announcement of the format change. A few minutes after that, McKay would open the mic and play WONE's first rock song, "

Old Time Rock and Roll "Old Time Rock and Roll" is a song written by George Jackson and Thomas E. Jones III, with uncredited lyrics by Bob Seger. It was recorded by Seger for his tenth studio album '' Stranger in Town.'' It was also released as a single in 1979. It i ...

" by

Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and The Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s, break ...

Current programming

In addition to its music format, the station is the full-power FM Akron affiliate of the

Cleveland Browns Radio Network The University Hospitals Cleveland Browns Radio Network is an American radio network composed of 24 radio stations which carry English-language coverage of the Cleveland Browns, a professional football team in the National Football League (NFL ...

. On February 1, 2013, WONE-FM announced that local radio veteran Jeff Kinzbach, best known from his years at

WMMS WMMS (100.7 FM) – branded ''100.7 WMMS: The Buzzard'' – is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. Widely regarded as one of the most influential rock s ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, would take over the station's morning shift. Jeff retired from WONE on September 30, 2020. Current personalities includes Matt Spatz, Amanda Casey, Kathy Vogel, Ben McKee and Ryan Lang.

References

External links

* * * {{Classic Rock Radio Stations in Ohio ONE-FM Album-oriented rock radio stations in the United States Classic rock radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1947 1947 establishments in Ohio