WPLJ (95.5
FM) is a
non-commercial
A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that is not carried out in the interest of Profit (economics), profit. The opposite is Commerce, commercial, something that primarily serves profit interests and is focused on bu ...
, listener-supported radio station,
licensed
A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...
to
New York, New York
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...
. Owned by the
Educational Media Foundation
Educational Media Foundation (formerly EMF Broadcasting, abbreviated EMF) is an American nonprofit Christian media ministry based in Franklin, a suburb of Nashville.
EMF is the parent company of K-LOVE and Air1—the world's largest contempor ...
(EMF), based in
Franklin, Tennessee
Franklin is a city in and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020 Uni ...
, it broadcasts EMF's
Christian adult contemporary
Christian adult contemporary, also known as Christian AC, CAC, or Christian Adult Contemporary Airplay, is a form of radio-played contemporary Christian music, ranging from 1960s Jesus music and 1970s Christian soft rock music to predominately ...
formatted programming service, "
K-Love
K-Love (stylized as K-LOVE) is an American Christian radio network. Owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), a non-profit Christian ministry, it primarily broadcasts contemporary Christian music.
As of June 2019, the network's progr ...
".
WPLJ is a
Class B FM station, with an
effective radiated power
Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...
(ERP) of 6,700 watts,
transmitting
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna with the purpose of signal transmission ...
from atop the
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its n ...
in
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...
. WPLJ broadcasts on several
HD Radio
HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...
digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...
s in addition to its
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 ...
. It is also heard on three
FM translator
A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater ( two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tr ...
s around the
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...
, including 94.3 MHz in
Pomona, 94.9 in
Hauppauge
Hauppauge ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the towns of Islip and Smithtown in western Suffolk County, New York, on Long Island. Its population in 2022 was estimated at 20,401 by the U.S. Census Bureau. Despite the official ...
and 104.5 in
Selden.
History
As WABC-FM
The station went on the air on May 4, 1948, under the
call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...
WJZ-FM. In March 1953, the station's call letters were changed to WABC-FM following the merger of the
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division ...
(ABC) with
United Paramount Theatres
American Broadcasting Companies (originally United Paramount Theatres, and American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres, Inc.) was the post-merger parent company of the American Broadcasting Company and United Paramount Theatres.
History
United Par ...
. As most FM stations did during the medium's formative years, 95.5 FM
simulcast
Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...
the programming of its AM sister station,
WJZ/WABC (770 AM).
In the early 1960s, however, WABC-FM began to program itself separately from WABC (AM). During the
1962–63 New York City newspaper strike
Year 196 ( CXCVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Dexter and Messalla (or, less frequently, year 949 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 196 for this ye ...
, the station programmed
news
News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the te ...
for 17 hours daily. Two-and-a-half years before
WINS launched its own around-the-clock, all-news format in April 1965, it was the first such attempt in the New York market. This was followed by stints with
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
show tune
A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context.
Th ...
s and general
freeform programming, including broadcasts of
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
baseball games. WABC's AM personalities, such as
Dan Ingram
Daniel Trombley Ingram (September 7, 1934 – June 24, 2018) was an American Top 40 radio "disc jockey", in a 50-year career on radio stations, which included WABC and WCBS-FM, both ln New York City.
Career
"Big Dan" started broadcasting at ...
,
Chuck Leonard
Charles Wesley Leonard (March 30, 1937, in Chicago, Illinois – August 12, 2004, in New York City, New York, New York) was an Americans, American radio personality at WABC (AM) in New York City during the 1960s and 1970s. His deep voice and smo ...
, and Bob Lewis, hosted programs on the FM side which were the total opposites of the
contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...
–powered sound for which they were better known on AM. WABC-FM continued to simulcast its AM sister station during Herb Oscar Anderson's morning drive program.
At the start of 1968, ABC split its
radio network
There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many (simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass media, mass-media entertainment, and the two-way radio (Duplex (teleco ...
into four distinct components, one of which was dedicated to FM radio. The following year, WABC-FM and its sister stations—KABC-FM in Los Angeles;
WLS-FM
WLS-FM (94.7 MHz) is a commercial classic hits radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois. Owned by Cumulus Media, the station serves the Chicago metropolitan area, and is the radio home of Dave Fogel. The WLS-FM studios are located a ...
in Chicago;
KGO-FM in San Francisco; WXYZ-FM in Detroit;
KQV-FM
WDVE (102.5 FM) is a classic rock music-formatted radio station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States at 102.5 MHz. It is often referred to by Pittsburghers as simply "DVE". Its studios and offices are located on Abele Rd. in Bridgevil ...
in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
; and newly acquired
KXYZ-FM in
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
—began carrying an
automated
Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, mainly by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machine ...
, youth-oriented,
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...
format known as ''Love''.
As WPLJ
Album rock era (1971–1983)
In late 1970, Allen Shaw, the then-president of ABC's FM station group, announced two big changes to take place in early 1971: ABC dropped ''Love'' and installed completely live-and-local, freeform rock formats. The network also applied for call letter changes for the seven stations. The New York outlet was slated to be renamed WRIF, but a clerical error on the part of the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...
(FCC) resulted in those calls being awarded to
the former WXYZ-FM in Detroit—whose own request for WDAI ("Detroit Auto Industry") was itself given mistakenly to
WLS-FM
WLS-FM (94.7 MHz) is a commercial classic hits radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois. Owned by Cumulus Media, the station serves the Chicago metropolitan area, and is the radio home of Dave Fogel. The WLS-FM studios are located a ...
in Chicago—leaving WABC-FM to start from scratch for its own rebranding. On February 13, at midnight, the station's call letters changed to WPLJ, chosen after Allen Shaw noticed the letter combination as the name of a song on the 1970
Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention (also known as the Mothers) were an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an R&B band ...
record, ''
Burnt Weeny Sandwich
''Burnt Weeny Sandwich'' is the seventh album by the American rock band the Mothers of Invention, and the ninth overall by Frank Zappa, released in 1970. It consists of both studio and live recordings. Following the Mothers' split in late 1969, ...
''. The song, "
W-P-L-J", was originally performed by the
Four Deuces
The Four Deuces were an American rhythm and blues vocal quartet, formed in the mid-1950s in Salinas, California. The band was started by lead singer Luther McDaniel, and recorded several songs before they broke up around 1957. While active, th ...
in 1955, and stood for "White Port and Lemon Juice". On the air, the station hired
John Zacherle
John Zacherle ( ; sometimes credited as John Zacherley; September 26, 1918 – October 27, 2016) was an American television host, radio personality, singer, and voice actor. He was best known for his long career as a television horror host, oft ...
,
Alex Bennett,
Vin Scelsa
Vincent Anthony Scelsa (born December 12, 1947, in Bayonne, New Jersey) is an American broadcaster who was at "the forefront of the FM radio revolution" as the host of several freeform radio programs, the best-known titled ''Idiot's Delight''. ...
,
Jimmy Fink, and
Michael Cuscuna
Michael Cuscuna (September 20, 1948 – April 20, 2024) was an American jazz record producer and writer. He was the co-founder of Mosaic Records and a discographer of Blue Note Records.
Biography Career
Cuscuna played drums, saxophone and flute ...
(from
WMMR
WMMR (93.3 FM, "93-3 WMMR") is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group through licensee Beasley Media Group, LLC and broadcasts an active rock radio format. ...
and
WXPN
WXPN (88.5 FM) is a non-commercial, public radio station licensed to the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that broadcasts an adult album alternative (AAA) radio format, along with many other format sh ...
in Philadelphia) as personalities. All seven ABC-owned FM stations also adopted a shared logo styling with the
callsign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assi ...
and frequency within a multi-colored oval; WRIF and
KLOS
KLOS (95.5 FM broadcasting, FM, "95-5 KLOS") is a commercial radio station City of license, licensed to Los Angeles, California, and serves the Greater Los Angeles area. The station is owned by Meruelo Group, Meruelo Media. KLOS airs a mainst ...
(the former KABC-FM) continue to use a form of this logo to the present day.
In September 1971, Allen Shaw and ABC programming executive Bob Henaberry designed and pioneered the very first
album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the late 1960s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock.
US rad ...
(AOR) format on WPLJ, playing only the best cuts from the best-selling rock albums with a minimum of disc jockey talk. Using the slogan "Rock 'N Stereo", the station played artists such as
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
,
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
,
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...
,
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
,
Cream
Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...
,
The Doobie Brothers
The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in San Jose, California in 1970. Known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies, the band has been active for over five decades, with their greate ...
,
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band formed in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, in 1971 by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Originally having a traditional band lineup, Becker and Fagen cho ...
,
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
,
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
,
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...
,
Rod Stewart
Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...
,
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
, and
The Allman Brothers
The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969. Its founding members were brothers Duane Allman (slide guitar, lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guitar, ...
. The station also played pop songs from artists such as
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...
,
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...
, and
Carly Simon
Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Billboard Hot 100, top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation (song), Anticipatio ...
, distinguishing itself from top 40 stations (such as co-owned WABC) by playing more tracks from their albums. The station's
Arbitron
Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...
ratings shot up dramatically, and WPLJ became New York's most listened-to FM rock station for most of the 1970s.
In 1973, ABC transferred Willard Lochridge, the general manager of WRIF in Detroit, to New York to manage WPLJ. The following year, Lochridge brought his Detroit program director, Larry Berger to WPLJ, and adopted a new slogan: "New York's Best Rock". Some of the personalities on the station during this period included Jim Kerr,
Pat St. John, Jimmy Fink,
Carol Miller, Tony Pigg, John Zacherle, Alex Bennett, Bob Marrone, and Dave Charity. Berger himself hosted a Sunday night call-in show, in which he discussed seemingly any topic with listeners—except the specifics of the playlist. During these call-in segments, some callers suggested that the station sped up (or "pitched up") the music so that they could fit in more commercials while still being able to claim that they played a large number of songs per hour. Berger repeatedly denied that this practice was in use at WPLJ. In the September 20, 1999, episode of ''Crap from the Past'', host
Ron "Boogiemonster" Gerber suggested that music was sped up on WPLJ to make the same music sound less dynamic on other stations.
Another Sunday night show began in 1973, then-
Father Bill Ayres' long-running show, at first called ''On This Rock'' and later (after Ayres left the priesthood in the 1980s) titled ''The Bill Ayres Show''.
[Konig, Susan]
"Q&A: Bill Ayres; In Forefront of Fighting World Hunger"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. March 29, 1998 Known on-air as Father Bill Ayres, the show mixed spirituality and social consciousness together with the music of
Harry Chapin
Harry Forster Chapin (; December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981) was an American singer-songwriter, philanthropist, and hunger activist best known for his folk rock and pop rock songs. He achieved worldwide success in the 1970s. Chapin, a Grammy Award- ...
,
Bob Seger
Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is a retired American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded with the groups Bob Seger and the Last Heard and the Bob Seger System throu ...
, and others. The show also aired on its sister station
WABC on Sunday mornings within the last years of its
contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...
music format. Ayres continued to host the show until the transfer of control of WPLJ to Educational Media Foundation in May 2019.
By the late 1970s, WPLJ tended to emphasize harder rock artists such as Led Zeppelin (there was a nightly "Get the Led Out" segment),
Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
,
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, and
Queen
Queen most commonly refers to:
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen (band), a British rock band
Queen or QUEEN may also refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Q ...
, which all happened to get less airplay than on competing station
WNEW-FM
WNEW-FM (102.7 FM broadcasting, FM, ''NEW 102.7'') is a hot adult contemporary-Radio format, formatted radio station, City of license, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy faci ...
. At this point, the station reduced its play of softer pop songs, and their ratings remained competitive.
Mark Goodman
Mark Goodman (born October 11, 1952) is an American radio host, TV personality and actor. He is best known as one of the original five VJ (media personality), video jockeys (VJs), along with Nina Blackwood, Alan Hunter (VJ), Alan Hunter, J. J. ...
came to WPLJ from
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
in 1980 and was on the air as word broke out of
John Lennon's murder the evening of December 8. Goodman departed the station a few months later to become one of the original
VJs for the
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
cable channel. In 1981, Berger hired Marc Coppola, a rock-oriented disc jockey from suburban rival
WBAB
WBAB (102.3 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Babylon, New York. It is owned by Cox Radio with studios and offices on Sunrise Highway (New York State Route 27) in West Babylon. Morning duo "Roger & JP" (Roger Luce and John Parise ...
on
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
, to do the 10 p.m.–2 a.m. shift Monday through Saturday.
During its AOR phase, the station was noted for its promotional montages consisting of snippets of classic rock songs spliced together by St. John, emphasizing a subject or theme, such as gasoline (during the
gas shortages of the 1970s). From the time of Berger's arrival, WPLJ beat main rock rival WNEW-FM in virtually every Arbitron ratings period.
In 1982, WPLJ received a direct competitor in
WAPP, which adopted a near-identical AOR format to WPLJ (WAPP launched its rock format commercial-free and remained so for the summer of 1982). WAPP beat WPLJ in the ratings in the fall of 1982, and WPLJ reacted by adding more
new wave such as
A Flock of Seagulls
A Flock of Seagulls are an English new wave band formed in Liverpool in 1979. The group, whose best-known line-up comprised Mike Score, Ali Score, Frank Maudsley and Paul Reynolds, hit the peak of their chart success in the early 1980s.
I ...
,
Dexy's Midnight Runners
Dexys (known as Dexys Midnight Runners from 1978 to 2011) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid- 1980s. They are best known in the UK for their songs " Geno ...
,
The Go-Go's
The Go-Go's are an American all-female Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar ...
,
Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...
,
Men at Work
Men at Work are an Australian rock band that was formed in Melbourne, 1979. They were best known for breakthrough hits such as " Down Under", " Who Can It Be Now?", " Be Good Johnny", " Overkill", and " It's a Mistake". Its founding member and ...
, and
Soft Cell
Soft Cell are an English synth-pop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball (electronic musician), David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit versio ...
, mixed in with the usual AOR fare. WPLJ's ratings ended up besting those of WAPP after the latter started playing commercials in the fall of 1982. In early 1983, the station added "
Billie Jean
"Billie Jean" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 3, 1983, as the second single from his sixth studio album, ''Thriller (album), Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson, produ ...
" by
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
, playing it several times a day (many AOR stations, including WNEW-FM, added that song and it charted on the rock tracks chart). In March 1983, WPLJ added Jackson's other hit "
Beat It
"Beat It" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his sixth studio album, ''Thriller (album), Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson, produced by Quincy Jones, and co-produced by Jackson. Jones encouraged Jackson to ...
", which received very positive reaction. While Jackson was not a typical AOR artist, that cut was played by many AOR stations due to
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex V ...
's role in the song. The station also dropped most 1960s songs by May and was cutting back on AOR artists while playing more contemporary rockers.
Top 40 era (1983–1992)
In early 1983, the station began a transition from AOR to
contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...
. With word that a top 40 format was coming to
WVNJ-FM
WHTZ (100.3 FM) is a commercial contemporary hit radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, and broadcasting to the New York metropolitan area. It is owned by iHeartMedia. WHTZ is the flagship station for ''Elvis Duran and the Morning Show'' ...
(100.3 FM), WPLJ moved further in a CHR direction. Though the station began playing artists like
Lionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of the Motown group Commodores; writing and recor ...
and Michael Jackson, Larry Berger stated that he did not make the decision to move to a CHR format until the last week of June; WPLJ adopted a rock-leaning CHR format on June 30, 1983. At that point, the station played predominantly AOR and new wave rock cuts, and mixed in two or three rhythmic pop cuts like "
Flashdance... What a Feeling" by
Irene Cara
Irene Cara Escalera (March 18, 1959 – November 25, 2022) was an American singer and actress who rose to prominence for her role as Coco Hernandez in the 1980 musical film '' Fame'', and for recording the film's title song " Fame", which reach ...
, "
Time (Clock of the Heart)
"Time (Clock of the Heart)" is a song by the British new wave band Culture Club, released as a stand-alone single in most of the world and as the second single from their debut album '' Kissing to Be Clever'' in North America. As the follow-up ...
" by
Culture Club
Culture Club are an English new wave music, new wave band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (musician), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), and Mikey Craig (bass guitar), and formerly included Jon Moss ( ...
, "
She Works Hard for the Money
"She Works Hard for the Money" is a song by American singer Donna Summer and the title track from her eleventh studio album of the same name (1983). The song was written by Michael Omartian and Summer, and produced by the former. It was relea ...
" by
Donna Summer
Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music ...
, and others. The station maintained its "New York's Best Rock" slogan, even though the station moved away from playing predominantly rock songs. Berger discussed the changes on his call-in show in July 1983, to the disapproving reaction from the rock audience. (Competitor
WNBC
WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey� ...
had been a de facto AM top-40 station while
WYNY had been the de facto FM hits station throughout the early 1980s, playing many current songs as part of its hot adult contemporary format). WPLJ's airstaff, which stayed on during the early transition months, gradually changed, as WNEW-FM picked up some of the station's best-known disc jockeys such as Carol Miller and Pat St. John. (Jim Kerr and sidekick Shelli Sonstein remained with the station through the end of the decade.)
Jimmy Fink, Tony Pigg, and Marc Coppola eventually moved to
Infinity Broadcasting
Infinity Broadcasting Corporation was a radio company that existed from 1972 until 2005. It was founded by Michael A. Wiener and Gerald Carrus. It became associated with popular radio personalities like Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, Don Im ...
's
WXRK when it debuted a couple of years later.
In August 1983, at the same time WVNJ had been re-christened as WHTZ ("Z100"), WPLJ became known as "The Home of the Hits", and in October, added top 40-style jingles. In a way, it was "New York's Hit Music Station" just before WHTZ went on the air. The following spring, WPLJ identified itself very briefly as "The New Musicradio PLJ" before segueing to "Hitradio 95" just a short time later. In early 1985, the station became known on-air as "Power 95". Ratings went up after switching to CHR, though they were still just behind Z100 most of the time.
On December 17, 1987, the station changed its call letters to WWPR (to complement its "Power 95" branding). (Rival WHTZ joked that the "PR" in the calls stood for "
Puerto Rican" and that the station planned to flip to a
Spanish-language
Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...
format.) The WPLJ call-sign returned the following year, on December 21, 1988, when research indicated that listeners still identified the station as WPLJ. Berger departed in 1988, replaced immediately by his music director
Jessica Ettinger, who was named acting program director. In 1989, general manager Dana Horner hired
Gary Bryan from
KUBE KUBE or Kube may refer to:
Broadcasting
* KJR-FM, a radio station (93.3 FM) licensed to serve Seattle, Washington, which held the call sign KUBE-FM from 1982 to 2016 and from 2018 to 2022
* KPWK (AM), a radio station (1350 AM) licensed to serve S ...
in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
as program director. Bryan also served as morning show host beginning that July, ousting 15-year WPLJ morning host veteran Jim Kerr, and creating an audience outcry.
WPLJ continued to be successful until 1990, when ratings started to decline. With significant pop competition—
WQHT
WQHT (97.1 FM broadcasting, FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding, a subsidiary of the Standard General hedge ...
("Hot 97") playing dance and
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary r ...
and WHTZ playing mainstream pop music—WPLJ dropped the "Power 95" branding and returned to identify by its call letters; musically, the station began leaning toward more pop-rock hits. In May, Bryan left the station to host rival WHTZ's
morning zoo
Morning zoo is a format of morning radio show common to English-language radio broadcasting. The name is derived from the wackiness and zaniness of the activities, segments, and overall personality of the show and its hosts. The morning zoo conce ...
program beginning that August. ABC brass then replaced Horner with Mitch Dolan as general manager and president of programming, while Tom Cuddy was named vice president of programming, and
Rocky Allen was named as the station's new morning host in August.
WPLJ began to regain some momentum; however, in early 1991, Cuddy and Dolan hired
Scott Shannon
Michael Scott Shannon (born July 25, 1947) is an American radio disc jockey best known as the announcer of '' The Sean Hannity Show''.
He also hosted the morning show for WCBS-FM in New York City from 2014 to 2022 as well as ''Scott Shannon Pres ...
, who had just left his rock hits project,
KQLZ ("Pirate Radio") in Los Angeles. Shannon, who was responsible for WHTZ's early success and served as that station's first morning zoo host, took over as WPLJ's program director and morning show host (replacing Rocky Allen) in April 1991. The station then immediately rebranded as "Mojo Radio" on April 2 (Shannon's first show was on April 11), and the station began playing mainstream pop music, with ratings improving slightly. After Shannon had a series of morning show co-hosts over the summer,
Todd Pettengill
Todd Clark Pettengill (born April 18, 1966) is a former American radio disc jockey who most recently worked for WPLJ 95.5 in the New York area. From 1993 to 1997, he also served as an on-screen backstage interviewer for the World Wrestling Federa ...
joined as his permanent co-host on August 19, 1991, forming ''Scott & Todd in the Morning''. Also, WPLJ began
dayparting
In broadcast programming, dayparting is the practice of dividing the broadcast day into several parts, in which a different type of radio programming or television show appropriate for that time period is aired. Television programs are most oft ...
its programming by leaning towards
adult top 40
The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Syste ...
with more gold and recurrents being played during the daytime hours, while still playing some rhythmic material during the evening hours.
Hot AC era (1992–2019)
By February 1992, the station shifted to what was becoming a popular format:
hot adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
(hot AC), at about the same time a slightly different version was being pioneered in Houston at
KHMX
KHMX (96.5 megahertz, MHz, "Mix 96.5") is an American commercial adult contemporary music#Hot adult contemporary, hot adult contemporary radio broadcasting, radio station in Houston, Texas. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and serves the Greater H ...
. In an attempt to differentiate itself from its competitors, WPLJ adopted the slogan "No
Rap
Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...
, No
Hard Stuff, No Sleepy
Elevator Music
Elevator music (also known as Muzak, piped music, or lift music) is a type of background music played in elevators, in rooms where many people come together for reasons other than listening to music, and during telephone calls when placed on ho ...
, Just the Best Songs on the Radio". In addition, the "Mojo Radio" moniker was dropped and the station began using the moniker "95-5 PLJ" (with the "W" typically omitted except for legal
station identification
Station identification (ident, network ID, channel ID or bumper (broadcasting), bumper) is the practice of radio and television stations and broadcast network, networks identifying themselves on-air, typically by means of a call sign or brand na ...
).
The station playlist featured many songs familiar only to New Yorkers and obscure
oldies
Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music.
Since 2 ...
that would not have been typical for the format in other markets. (In a bit of irony, WPLJ may have helped pioneer many of the concepts made popular by the diverse-playlist, music-intensive
adult hits format of 2005.) Initially, WPLJ leaned towards
1970s hits, as well as mixing in liberal doses of
disco
Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
, and did regular theme weekends featuring
one-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music performers with ...
s and number-one songs, among others. Eventually, it also dedicated Monday-Saturday nights to playing nothing but 1970s music, hosted by former
WKTU
WKTU (103.5 FM broadcasting, FM) is a rhythmic adult contemporary formatted radio station city of license, licensed to Lake Success, New York, a suburb of New York City. WKTU is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios at 125 West 55th ...
disc jockey
Al Bandiero
Al Bandiero is an American film, radio personality, and television actor, known for playing Peter Evans in the television series ''Desire''.
Other works
* Extensive TV Hosting; Children's Miracle Network Telethon, TV 2000, This Week's Music, Mu ...
, a practice that continued for the next few years.
In January 1993, Rocky Allen returned to WPLJ, this time to do afternoon drive for several years, until moving to WABC for the morning drive slot in January 1999. (Allen returned again to WPLJ in late 2005.) A year after Allen's return, WPLJ hired John "Kato" Machay from KUBE Seattle to serve as the station's executive morning show producer and air talent, leading to the station winning Billboard's Morning Show of the Year award for five straight years. In 1995, WPLJ signed an agreement with
Usen Group of Tokyo, a 500-channel audio cable system, to carry the station live in real-time throughout Japan. Also, from August 7 to 13 of that year, WPLJ was simulcast on
Heart 106.2 in London as part of testing transmissions before it signed on September 5 with a hot AC format.
In mid-1996, WPLJ began syndicating ''Scott & Todd'' to
WMTX
WMTX (100.7 FM) is an commercial radio station in Tampa, Florida, known as "Mix 100.7". It has an adult contemporary radio format, switching to Christmas music for much of November and December. It is owned by iHeartMedia, with its studios an ...
in
Tampa, Florida
Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...
(where Scott had launched the "morning zoo" concept into nationwide success) and
WKLI-FM
WKLI-FM (100.9 Hertz, MHz, "100.9/107.1 The Cat") is a commercial radio station, city of license, licensed to Albany, New York, and serving the Capital District, New York, Capital District, including Schenectady, New York, Schenectady and Troy, ...
in
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...
(where Todd would get his first big-market break), with a nationwide syndication deal launching in May 1997. The syndication attempt ended October 16, 1998, as management desired to refocus the show to a local audience.
On February 5, 1999, WPLJ abruptly moved to a
modern adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
format, a variation of the hot AC format. The station eliminated all 1970s music from the playlist and changed its slogan to "New York's Hit Music Station Without the Rap" in an attempt to distance itself from competitors that played rap music. In addition, many on-air personalities exited, including Kristie McIntyre, Danny & Onions, WPLJ veteran Fast Jimi Roberts and, a short time later, Kato Machay. However, modern AC had peaked in 1997-98, and the station transitioned back to a hot AC format, with its playlist consisting of songs from the 1980s, 1990s, and the present.
2000s
In 2005, with ratings in decline, WPLJ once again started to play more music from the 1970s and 1980s. Given its heritage as both a rock station in the 1970s and a pioneering hot AC in the early and mid-1990s, many people in the radio business saw this move as a precursor to the station switching to an adult hits format. However, they were beaten by
WCBS-FM
WCBS-FM (101.1 FM) is a radio station owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. licensed to New York, New York, and broadcasting a classic hits format. The station's studios are in the combined Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood in ...
, which abruptly switched from oldies to the
Jack FM
Jack FM is a radio network brand that is licensed by Sparknet Communications, with the exception of the European Union where it is licensed by Oxis Media. It plays an adult hits radio format, format, in most cases not using disc jockey, DJs.
F ...
format on June 3, 2005 (WCBS-FM would return to the oldies/classic hits format two years later). WPLJ returned to playing music of the late 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.
While not an overall ratings success, WPLJ had for years been among the more financially successful stations in the New York City market, billing in excess of $40 million per year. WPLJ did extremely well with adult women in the lucrative nine
northern New Jersey
North Jersey, also known as Northern New Jersey, comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. As a distinct toponym, North Jersey is a colloquial one rather than an a ...
counties adjacent to New York City.
During its top 40 years, WPLJ used jingles from
JAM Creative Productions
JAM Creative Productions, Inc., is an American company that produces radio jingles, promo music for television, and commercial jingles for advertisers. It has made more radio jingles than any other jingle company and has become part of America ...
, some of which were packages previously used on sister station WABC during its top 40 days; since becoming a hot AC station, WPLJ had used jingles from
TM Studios
Jones Radio Networks & Jones Media Group were branches of Jones International before being sold to Triton Media Group. JRN and JMN provide local radio stations with satellite-delivered formats. They also offer other services to local radio suc ...
.
WPLJ and WABC were included in the sale of ABC Radio and the ABC Radio Networks by
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
to Citadel, announced in February 2006 and finalized on June 12, 2007.
In late February 2008, the ''Rocky Allen Showgram'' featuring Rocky Allen and Blain Ensley was dropped as part of a company-wide series of staff cutbacks at Citadel.
On February 16, 2009, WPLJ started airing the syndicated program ''
The Billy Bush Show'' in the evenings. He was later replaced by local host Ralphie Aversa.
In April 2009, WPLJ adopted a new slogan, "Scott and Todd in the Morning and Today's Best Music". A new logo was introduced that July.
2010s
On July 25, 2011, Scott and Todd, with the new addition of Cooper Lawrence, were part of a six-week summer test of
20th Television
20th Television, Inc. (formerly known as TCF Television Productions, Inc., 20th Century-Fox Television and 20th Century Fox Television) is the television studio arm of 20th Century Studios, owned by Disney Television Studios, a division of the Di ...
's nightly entertainment news magazine ''
Dish Nation
Dish Nation is an American broadcast syndication, tabloid television, news broadcasting program that is distributed by Fox Corporation for television stations throughout the United States owned by Fox Corporation. Debuting in 2011, it features c ...
''. In January 2012, 20th announced the return of Dish Nation for a full 52-week season with Scott and Todd as members of its four-city roundtable.
Citadel merged with
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is a broadcasting company of the United States and is the second largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States ahead of Audacy and behind iHeartMedia
iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdi ...
on September 16, 2011.
By October 2011,
adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
rival
WWFS
WNEW-FM (102.7 FM, ''NEW 102.7'') is a hot adult contemporary- formatted radio station, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Manh ...
(owned by CBS Radio) shifted to hot AC; this gave New York City two hot adult contemporary stations for the first time since 1998, when
WBIX
WBIX (1260 kHz) branded ''Nossa Rádio USA'' is a commercial Brazilian Portuguese AM radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, and serving Greater Boston. Owned by the International Church of the Grace of God, the WBIX studios are locat ...
dropped it for a
rhythmic oldies
Rhythmic oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, R&B, disco, or dance genres of music. The playlists spans from the 1960s through the 2000s. They depend on market conditions and may be designed for African-American or Hispani ...
format.
On February 7, 2014, Scott Shannon announced his retirement from WPLJ after 22 years. Co-host Todd Pettengill immediately took control of the morning show, which re-branded as ''The Todd Show'' on February 24.
On January 5, 2015, ''The Todd Show'' was re-branded to ''Todd & Jayde in the Morning'', with Jayde Donovan (Patricia Sweet) joining Pettengill as a co-host. With the change, co-hosts Cooper Lawrence, Fitz, and Meatballs (Richard Deaver Jr.) were all released. Monk (Joe Pardavila), Annie (Anne Marie Leamy), and Johnny on the Street (John Mingione, formerly 'John Online' of
WBLI
WBLI (106.1 FM) is a commercial radio station owned by Cox Radio and licensed to Patchogue, New York. It airs a contemporary hit radio format. The station mainly serves Suffolk County, New York on Long Island. Its studios and offices are located ...
on Long Island) were the other cast members of ''Todd & Jayde in the Morning''. During this time, due to increased competition, WPLJ re-added 1980s and 1990s songs to its playlist, as well as adding more rhythmic material. By November 2015, the station removed most of the 1980s music from its playlist.
Sale and transition to K-Love
On February 13, 2019, WPLJ and five other Cumulus Media stations were sold to the
Rocklin, California
Rocklin is a city in Placer County, California, United States, about from Sacramento, and about northeast of Roseville in the Sacramento metropolitan area. Besides Roseville, it shares borders with Granite Bay, Loomis and Lincoln. As of th ...
-based nonprofit broadcaster,
Educational Media Foundation
Educational Media Foundation (formerly EMF Broadcasting, abbreviated EMF) is an American nonprofit Christian media ministry based in Franklin, a suburb of Nashville.
EMF is the parent company of K-LOVE and Air1—the world's largest contempor ...
(EMF) for $103.5 million. This transaction would allow Cumulus to generate "substantial cash for debt repayment and investment in other business opportunities," according to its President and CEO Mary Berner.
After the sale received final approval by the FCC, EMF announced that WPLJ and the other Cumulus stations acquired would all begin broadcasting its primary programming service,
K-Love
K-Love (stylized as K-LOVE) is an American Christian radio network. Owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), a non-profit Christian ministry, it primarily broadcasts contemporary Christian music.
As of June 2019, the network's progr ...
, on June 1 at midnight local time;
this was later moved up to May 31 at 7:00 pm, five hours earlier than originally planned.
Current and surviving former WPLJ air personalities and staffers gathered together for a farewell celebration, held at
The Cutting Room
The Cutting Room is a music venue in New York City that was open at 19 West 24th Street from late 1999 through January 2009 for music of all varieties, and reopened at the beginning of 2013 in a new location at 44 East 32nd Street. It was co-ow ...
on May 23. It was the first event in what would be a week-long celebration of the station's 48-year run, which continued through the
Memorial Day
Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May.
It i ...
weekend with the station "clearing out the library" by playing songs from each year between 1971 and the present, along with vintage jingles and sweepers. The penultimate broadcast day on May 30 was filled with guest appearances from WPLJ alumni, including an on-air reunion of Todd Pettengill and his former morning co-host, Scott Shannon. The current airstaff began their goodbyes as well and that continued into May 31, with the final air shift handled by afternoon personality Race Taylor.
The last songs heard on WPLJ were "
Imagine
Imagine may refer to:
* Imagination
Music Albums
* ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008
* ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002
* ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012
* ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971
** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...
" by
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
—the final song played by WABC before their format switch from Top 40 to
talk
Talk may refer to:
Communication
* Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people
* Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people
* Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct
...
in May 1982—followed by a cover version of "W-P-L-J" by
Hall & Oates
Daryl Hall & John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, were an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1970. Daryl Hall was generally the lead vocalist, while John Oates primarily supplied electric guitar and ba ...
, recorded live during a visit by the group to the station several years earlier. Taylor then played the closing lyrics of "
The End
The End may refer to:
Film
* The End (1953 film), ''The End'' (1953 film), a film by Christopher Maclaine
* The End (1978 film), ''The End'' (1978 film), a comedy by Burt Reynolds
* ''The End'' (1995 film), a List of Canadian films of 1995, Cana ...
" by the Beatles, before offering WPLJ a final
toast, completing the closedown at 7:02 pm. Following just over a minute of silence, EMF began operating WPLJ as the new New York City outlet of K-Love; K-Love programming had previously been heard in the New York area since May 2011 over
Port Chester, New York
Port Chester is a administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the largest part of the town of Rye (town), New York, Rye in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County by populati ...
-licensed WKLV-FM (96.7 FM). EMF changed WKLV-FM's call letters to
WARW and its format to secondary service
Air1
Air1 is an American Christian radio network owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), a non-profit Christian ministry. It primarily broadcasts contemporary worship music, and is a sister to the EMF's K-Love network.
History
On July 15, ...
on July 19, 2019.
In addition to converting the 95.5 FM license to
noncommercial educational
A non-commercial educational station (NCE station) is a radio station or television station that does not accept on-air advertisements ( TV ads or radio ads), as defined in the United States by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and was ...
status, EMF also acquired the WPLJ call letters from Cumulus.
HD Radio
WPLJ signed on digital operations in late 2005. WPLJ-HD1 carries a digital simulcast of the analog signal. The WPLJ-HD2 subchannel originally broadcast all-
70s hits, and then programming from
Scott Shannon's True Oldies Channel that was distributed by
ABC Radio. On July 4, 2014, WPLJ-HD2 flipped to an
adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
format known as "FAS" (referring to former sister station
WFAS-FM
WVBN (103.9 MHz) is a radio station licensed to Bronxville, New York. The station is owned by VCY America and features a Christian radio format, consisting of teaching and traditional Christian music. WVBN's transmitter and tower are located on ...
, which flipped from AC to
urban AC
Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...
), due to the discontinuation of The True Oldies Channel's distribution. (The "FAS" programming was also relayed on translator W232AL (94.3 FM), located in
White Plains, New York
White Plains is a city in and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, and a commercial hub of Westchester County, a densely populated suburban county that is home to about one milli ...
). The FAS programming moved to WPLJ-HD3 (which had previously aired a simulcast of
WABC) in autumn 2017, with the Russian-language "Russkaya Reklama" programming moving from
WNEW-FM
WNEW-FM (102.7 FM broadcasting, FM, ''NEW 102.7'') is a hot adult contemporary-Radio format, formatted radio station, City of license, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy faci ...
-HD4 to WPLJ-HD2. On May 1, 2019, the FAS programming on WPLJ-HD3 and W232AL ceased operations.
After EMF acquired the station on May 31, 2019, WPLJ-HD2 adopted a simulcast of the Christian-formatted "Bridge Radio" fed by
WRDR
WRDR (89.7 FM, "Bridge FM") is a radio station broadcasting a Christian radio format. Licensed to Freehold Township, New Jersey, it serves the New York metropolitan area. The station is owned by Bridgelight, LLC. Bridgelight, LLC was created a ...
in
Freehold Township, New Jersey
Freehold Township is a township in western Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Crisscrossed by several major highways, the township is a commercial hub for Central New Jersey (home to the Freehold Raceway and Freehold Raceway M ...
(this would later be moved to WPLJ-HD4, with the
K-Love Classics
K-Love Classics was a Christian classic hits radio network owned by Educational Media Foundation (EMF) and was carried over FM stations, translators, and HD subchannels in the United States. Such stations include WAIW 88.1 in Wheaton, Illino ...
service being installed on the HD2). Also in 2019, WPLJ-HD3 adopted a simulcast of the Christian-formatted "Air1".
Logo history
Image:PLJ LOGO.png, WPLJ logo used from 2005 to 2009
Image:PLJ LOGO 2014.png, WPLJ logo used from February 24, 2014 to October 30, 2014.
Image:WPLJ Logo 2014.png, WPLJ logo from October 30, 2014 to May 31, 2019.
References
Further reading
Larry Berger's Years At WPLJ(archived 2005)
*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110715055904/http://pctv76.com/show.php?epid=589 Brad Blanks, WPLJ morning contributor interview
External links
*
* (
Guide to reading History Cards)
;Repeater
;Translators
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{Authority control
1948 establishments in New York City
PLJ
Christian adult contemporary radio stations in the United States
Educational Media Foundation radio stations
K-Love radio stations
Radio stations established in 1948
PLJ