WBFX (101.3 FM, "Big FM") is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

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 ...

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

. It airs an

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 ...

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, ...

and is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. Most songs are from the 1960s and 70s, with a few 80s titles. Key artists include

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 ...

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

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 ...

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

The Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in ...

WOOD-TV WOOD-TV (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for West Michigan. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Battle Creek–licensed dual American Broadcasting Compan ...

8, the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

Network affiliate In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...

for Grand Rapids, supplies some news and weather updates. WBFX's studios and offices are at 77 Monroe Center in downtown Grand Rapids. WBFX has 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 50,000

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 maximum for most stations in Southern Michigan. 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 near 5 Mile Rd and Lincoln Lake Ave in Lowell.

History

Early years

The station

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

the air in . Its original

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 ...

was WMAX-FM. It then became WYON as a

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

WION WION (World is One News) is an Indian English language news channel headquartered in Noida, India. WION is owned by the Essel Group and is a part of the Zee Media network of channels, whose majority owner is Subhash Chandra and family. As o ...

Ionia, Michigan Ionia ( ) is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Ionia County, Michigan, United States. The population was 13,378 at the 2020 census. Every July it hosts what is said to be the world's largest free-admission fair, the Ionia Free Fair ...

, in 1965. In 1976, the station was purchased by the owners of WCUZ 1230 AM and became WMLW ("Mellow 101"), a

soft 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 ...

station. WMLW switched to album oriented rock as WFFX "The Fox" in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, and then to

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 ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

as WCUZ-FM. It used the slogan 'CUZ-FM 101.3...more of the music you like...on CUZ-FM." For most of the 1980s, country WCUZ was among the ratings leaders in Grand Rapids. But the station saw its ratings erode after the

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

debut of "B93," WBCT-FM, a rival country station on 93.7. By

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, WCUZ was co-owned with its country competitor, WBCT. Both stations came under the umbrella of

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...

(a forerunner of today's iHeartMedia). Clear Channel decided to keep WBCT as the contemporary country outlet, so WCUZ moved to a classic country format, identifying as "Country Gold WCUZ."

Classic Rock

Clear Channel dropped the "Country Gold" format on September 24, 2000. It debuted

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 ...

"101.3 The Fox" that afternoon, following coverage of the MBNA.com 400

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Winston Cup event. The station changed its call letters to the current WBFX on September 27, 2000. The lineup at the debut was ''

The Bob & Tom Show ''The Bob & Tom Show'' is a syndicated US radio program established by Bob Kevoian and Tom Griswold at radio station WFBQ in Indianapolis, Indiana, March 7, 1983, and syndicated nationally since January 6, 1995. Originally syndicated by Pre ...

'', syndicated from

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

for 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 ...

. The rest of the day had local DJs, including Ranger Bob, Aris Hampers, Otto Mation and Alison Harte. Others jocks over the decade would include Matt Hendricks (AKA Big Richard), Jack Lawson, Mark Fuerie, Andy O'Riley, Shafee and Joe Daugherty. The station also featured the syndicated '' Nights with Alice Cooper'' for evenings. Since its inception, WBFX has changed its music style multiple times, although all remained loosely in the rock genre. In late June

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, the station adjusted its format towards

mainstream rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...

, with a mix of harder classic rock songs as well as recent rock music from the 1990s and 2000s. This adjustment was in response to the local

active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

station WKLQ changing formats to

sports talk Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...

. By 2010, however,

Townsquare Media Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

WGRD-FM WGRD-FM (97.9 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is owned by Townsquare Media and it broadcasts a mainstream rock format. It is the flagship station of ''The Free Beer and Hot Wings Show'', a syndicated comedy ...

adjusted its format to

from

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

, and saw a decent rise in the ratings. Meanwhile, WBFX remained roughly the same. After this, WBFX rebranded as "The Next Generation of Classic Rock", and moved its

playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player, either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs that can be played once or in a loop. ...

back towards having a classic rock feel, but with a stronger emphasis on 1980s and 1990s era, taking on

WLAV-FM WLAV-FM (96.9 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is owned by Cumulus Media and it broadcasts a classic rock format. The studios and offices are in the First Community Bank Building on Monroe Center Street NW in ...

The Brew

On February 20, 2013, WBFX began running liners advising listeners that "The Fox Dies Friday". At noon the next day, after playing "

The Breakup Song "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)" is a song written by Greg Kihn and Steve Wright (bassist), Steve Wright and recorded by the American rock band the Greg Kihn Band. It is the first single from the band's sixth studio album, ''RocKihnRoll' ...

" by

The Greg Kihn Band The Greg Kihn Band was an American band that was started by frontman Greg Kihn and bassist Steve Wright (bassist), Steve Wright. Their most successful singles include "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)" (Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' H ...

and " The Final Countdown" by

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, the station rebranded. It became "101.3 The Brew". The moniker acknowledged Grand Rapids being voted as 2012's "Beer City USA" according to a poll conducted on Examiner.com and the noteworthy rise of the popularity and economic impact of

microbreweries Craft beer is beer manufactured by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer than larger "macro" breweries and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, ne ...

in the region. The station launched with "

Enter Sandman "Enter Sandman" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It is the opening track and lead single from their self-titled fifth album, released in 1991. The music was written by Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. Vocalist ...

" by

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

. Musically, the station was tweaked with more rock titles from the 1980s and 1990s added into the playlist. The presentation and formatics became similar to other stations called "The Brew" that Clear Channel has deployed in places such as

Portland, OR Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

Columbus, OH Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

and

Wichita, KS Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

. With sister station

WMAX-FM WMAX-FM (96.1 MHz) is the callsign of a radio station owned by iHeartMedia located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The studios and offices are located at 77 Monroe Center in Downtown Grand Rapids while its transmitter is located near Felch St and 32n ...

having taken the

ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternatively branded platform-agnostically as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the banner "SportsRadio ESPN". The netw ...

affiliation Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation platf ...

in recent years, WBFX continues to air

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

races, as it has for over a decade. On July 6, 2015, WBFX tweaked its format towards an

-leaning

presentation. While titles going back to the 1960s were occasionally played, the emphasis was strongly on rock music of the 1990s and 2000s. The ratings slid a few months after this tweak in the format took place. On February 16, 2016, WBFX shifted the format back to

, with emphasis on 1970s and 1980s rock music. The station also changed the lineup of DJs to prefer locally-based hosts instead of syndicated ones. On January 23, 2017, the station added ''

Rover's Morning Glory ''Rover's Morning Glory'' is a nationally syndicated hot talk morning drive time radio show originating from Cleveland rock station WMMS (100.7 FM). Hosted by radio personality Rover (Shane French), the show first began at cross-tow ...

'', a

hot 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, Interview (jo ...

show from

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, during morning drive time. On March 21, 2019, the station tweaked the playlist once again, eliminating much of the pre-1980s rock music and adding many well-known 1990s rock songs.

Oldies

On October 23, 2020, at 5 a.m., after playing "

Cumbersome "Cumbersome" is a song by American rock band Seven Mary Three and the lead single from their breakthrough album, '' American Standard'' (1995). It was originally included on their independently released debut, '' Churn'', in 1994. The single was ...

" by

Seven Mary Three Seven Mary Three (occasionally abbreviated to 7 Mary 3 or 7M3) is an American rock band. They released seven studio albums and one live album, and are best known for their hit single " Cumbersome". Career Formation Seven Mary Three formed in ...

, WBFX began stunting. It played a loop of the fight songs of

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, and "

Anchors Aweigh "Anchors Aweigh" is the fight song of the United States Naval Academy and unofficial march song of the United States Navy. It was composed in 1906 by Charles A. Zimmermann with lyrics by Alfred Hart Miles. When he composed "Anchors Aweigh", Z ...

", the fight song for the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

. At noon the following day, the stunt shifted to the broadcast of that day's

Michigan State Spartans football The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University (MSU) in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. The Spartans are members of the Big Ten Conference. Michigan State claims a ...

season opener. The team lost to the

Rutgers Scarlet Knights The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are the athletic teams that represent Rutgers University's New Brunswick campus. In sports, Rutgers is famously known for being the "Birthplace of College Football", hosting the first ever intercollegiate football ...

, 38-27. Following the football game, the station debuted a 1960's and 70's-focused

format. The moniker became "101.3 Big FM". The first song on "Big" was "

A Little Less Conversation "A Little Less Conversation" is a 1968 song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley, written by Mac Davis and Billy Strange and published by Gladys Music, Inc., originally performed in the film '' Live a Little, Love a Little''. The song bec ...

" by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

. Positioned as "Grand Rapids' Fun Hits You Know", the new format puts WBFX in competition with

's classic hits station

WFGR WFGR (98.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is an American radio broadcasting, radio station serving Grand Rapids, Michigan. It transmits from their facility in Alpine Township, Michigan, Alpine Township. WFGR is owned by Townsquare Media. The WFGR signal ...

. The only oldies station in the market had been

Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale Charter Township, Michigan, Allendale, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on ...

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 ...

WGVU. The change came after WBFX's classic rock format had a 1.9 share in the September 2020

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

HD Radio

WBFX is licensed for

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 ...

operations. It previously featured

iHeartRadio iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast, radio streaming and Music Streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. Founded in August 2008, iHeartRadio serves as the national umbrella brand for iHeart ...

's "

Full Metal Jackie ''Full Metal Jackie'' is a nationally accredited and syndicated radio metal show created and hosted by Jackie Kajzer. Kajzer is known for her unique playlists and detailed interviews with rock artists, including Ozzy Osbourne, Slayer, Zakk ...

" programming on its HD2

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 ...

.http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=66 HD Radio Guide for Grand Rapids In the show, Jackie Kajzer interviews musical guests and plays hard-edged rock. As of late 2022, this broadcast was eliminated and only the primary HD1 subchannel remains.

References

External links

Michiguide.com - WBFX History
* {{coord, 43.041, N, 85.358, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title Radio stations in Grand Rapids, Michigan, BFX Oldies radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1962 IHeartMedia radio stations