WALR-FM (104.1

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

''Kiss 104.1'') is a commercial

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting 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 rad ...

licensed to Palmetto, Georgia and serving Metro Atlanta. It is owned by the

Cox Media Group CMG Media Corporation (doing business as Cox Media Group) is an American media conglomerate principally owned by Apollo Global Management in conjunction with Cox Enterprises, which maintains a 29% minority stake in the company. The company p ...

and airs an urban adult contemporary

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

. The studios are co-located with other Cox-owned radio stations and WSB-TV in

Midtown Atlanta Midtown Atlanta, or Midtown for short, is a Urban area, high-density commercial and residential neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The exact geographical extent of the area is ill-defined due to differing definitions used ...

on West Peachtree Street. WALR-FM is a Class C1 station with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s. The

transmitter 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 (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is on Duncan Memorial Highway (Route 166) in Winston, Georgia. WALR-FM broadcasts in the

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 ...

hybrid format. Its HD2 digital subchannel carries a

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

format known as "The Surge."

Programming

Mornings begin with Atlanta radio legend Frank Rodriguez, known professionally as Frank Ski. Middays are hosted by Dyron Ducati, followed by British rapper Monie Love in afternoons. In the evening, a "Slow Jamz" show is heard until midnight. On Sunday mornings, ordained minister Twanda Black hosts an urban gospel program. In 2018, Terri Avery became the Program Director.

History

Early years

On September 1, 1947, the station first signed on as WLAG-FM. Its

city of license In U.S., Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broadcast ...

was LaGrange, Georgia, about southwest of Atlanta and near the

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

border. It was the FM counterpart to WLAG 1240 AM, owned by the LaGrange Broadcasting Company. Both stations simulcast a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

format. WLAG-FM's power was 29,500 watts and the antenna height was , so it was not heard in the Atlanta area. The station changed its

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 ...

to WWCG in 1977 and continued with a country format. In the early 1980s, the station got a big boost in power. It increased to 100,000 watts, using a tower taller than 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 ...

, giving it coverage of much of the Atlanta radio market. It began broadcasting Al Ham's syndicated " Music Of Your Life" adult standards format with call signs WJYF and WJYA-FM, a simulcast partner with WJYA (1080 AM). In 1985, it was acquired by Zapis Communications, headed by Lee Zapis. In 1987, he switched the format to

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 ...

as WEKS, "Urban Kiss 104." Zapis then sold the station to NewCity Communications in 1989. NewCity had a plan to pair two different FM stations surrounding Atlanta to create one facility covering the market. To bring attention to the change, on June 21, WEKS went silent. The station signed back on the air on June 28, and began stunting with music played by local celebrities, including then-Atlanta mayor Andrew Young. Finally, at 3 p.m. on June 30, WEKS switched back to

as WYAI ("Y104"), simulcasting with WYAY FM (Y106.7) on the other side of Atlanta. The two stations began competing with long-time Atlanta country leader WKHX. On January 1, 1994, the simulcast ended, with 104.1 flipping to a smooth jazz format as "Jazz Flavors 104.1". In addition, the station changed calls to WJZF to match the new branding.

Cox Enterprises Cox Enterprises, Inc. is an American private company, privately held global conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately 55,000 employees and $21 billion in total revenue. Its major ope ...

, owner of WSB, WSB-FM, WSB-TV and two newspapers, entered into a local marketing agreement (LMA) with WJZF. Cox tried to buy the station in 1995. However, 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) denied the request when challenged by Jacor Broadcasting, even though Cox intended to make changes to the WJZF signal "to avoid cross-ownership conflicts."

WALR "Kiss 104"

The station that would later migrate to this frequency began in 1964 in

Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...

as WDOL-FM at 104.7 MHz. At first it simulcast its AM sister station, 1370 WDOL. It later began airing separate programming, first as "Love 104," then as ''"Kiss 104.7"'', an urban contemporary station. (This new "Kiss" on 104.7 was a resurrection of the previous incarnation from WEKS mentioned above, although it only covered the eastern suburbs of the Atlanta market, from its Athens tower.) On August 30, 2000, Cox and Salem Communications swapped frequencies. "Kiss 104.7" migrated to the 104.1 frequency, previously a Christian Contemporary music station known as "The Fish." The former WALR-FM at 104.7 became "104.7 the Fish" WFSH-FM and the 104.1 frequency became Hot Urban AC, "Kiss 104.1," taking the WALR-FM call sign. The smooth jazz format was picked up the following year by WJZZ (now WAMJ). Also, the AM simulcast on what is now WIFN ceased shortly after the switch although it continued to carry the WALR call sign under a changed format for some time. In Atlanta, the rights to the " Kiss FM" brand had been grandfathered; thus Clear Channel Communications (later iHeart), which trademarked the brand for its

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

stations, heard in many U.S. cities such as

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

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 ...

, did not attempt to take legal action against Cox.

Switch to urban oldies

On February 21, 2003, WALR-FM switched to Urban Oldies, while retaining the "Kiss" branding. Cox wanted to draw a distinction between "Kiss" and co-owned WFOX (97.1 FM). At the time, WFOX experimented with a format consisting of R&B,

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

and

rap music 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 backing ...

from the 1980s to present. With the format shift, WALR-FM's longtime slogan changed from ''Atlanta's R&B Station'' to ''Atlanta's Old School R&B Station''. In late 2004, WALR switched to a new tower, closer to Atlanta. It also began broadcasting in

IBOC In-band on-channel (IBOC) is a hybrid method of transmitting digital radio and analog radio broadcast signals simultaneously on the same frequency. The name refers to the new digital signals being broadcast in the same AM or FM band (in-band) ...

digital radio Digital radio is the use of digital technology to transmit or receive across the radio spectrum. Digital transmission by radio waves includes digital broadcasting, and especially digital audio radio services. This should not be confused with In ...

, using the

system from

iBiquity iBiquity Digital Corporation was a company formed by the merger of USA Digital Radio and Lucent Digital Radio. Based in Columbia, Maryland, with additional offices in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, Los Angeles, California, and Auburn Hills, Michigan, ...

. WALR-FM became the last Atlanta station owned by Cox Radio targeting the

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

audience. On August 16, 2010, co-owned WBTS flipped from

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...

WSBB-FM WSBB-FM (95.5 Hertz, MHz) is a commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Doraville, Georgia, and serving Atlanta metropolitan area, Metro Atlanta. WSBB-FM and co-owned WSB (AM), WSB (750 AM) simulcast a talk radio, news/talk radio ...

, a

news-talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, interviews wi ...

simulcast of WSB. Previously, co-owned WFOX had played

music as "97.1 Jamz" until

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, when it flipped to classic hits and

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

as WSRV "The River."

Return to urban AC

In June

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, WALR-FM shifted back to urban AC; the station added more

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music Music genre, genre, originating from African Americans, African-American musicians in the 1980s that combines rhythm and blues with elements of Pop music, pop, Soul music, soul, funk, Hip-hop, ...

music and dropped some of the older titles, after spending eight years as a classic and gold-based R&B and

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...

format. This helped WALR-FM increase its listeners, especially against longtime CBS-owned

WVEE WVEE (103.3 FM broadcasting, FM) – branded as ''V-103'' – is a commercial American radio station in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs an urban contemporary radio format. WVEE is one of the highest-r ...

and direct format rival WAMJ/

WUMJ WUMJ (97.5 FM broadcasting, FM, "Majic 107.5/97.5") is a radio station simulcasting an urban adult contemporary radio format, format with sister station WAMJ 107.5 FM. Licensed to the suburb of Fayetteville, Georgia, it serves the Atlanta metrop ...

. WALR-FM's logo and slogan were modified as well from ''Atlanta's Old School R&B Station'' to ''Atlanta's R&B''; in addition, the station's branding was shortened to simply ''Kiss 104'', omitting the ".1". At the same time, WALR-FM dropped all weekend mix shows, and expanded its nighttime slow jams show. As of February

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, the station has not been listed on the

Mediabase Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analytic ...

urban AC add board. In 2017, WALR-FM changed its

from LaGrange to Palmetto, Georgia, a suburban community about 15 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta. WALR-FM had been the longtime Atlanta affiliate for "The Tom Joyner Morning Show" and also carried the syndicated " Michael Baisden Show" in afternoons. The morning

drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...

show was replaced with Art Terrell and comedian Roy Wood Jr. on November 27, 2017. Wood decided to concentrate on his TV appearances and was replaced by Cory "Zooman" Miller. Baisden's show was replaced by Sasha the Diva, who in turn was replaced by British rapper Monie Love in afternoons.

References

External links

* {{COXMG Cox Media Group HD Radio stations ALR-FM Radio stations established in 1947 Urban adult contemporary radio stations in the United States 1947 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)