WCKL (97.9

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 ...

) 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 ...

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

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, featuring a Christian contemporary format via the

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 ...

network.

Owned and operated In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...

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), WCKL serves the Chicago metro area with a transmitter located atop the John Hancock Center. One of the oldest surviving FM stations in Chicago, this station signed on the air on April 7, 1942, as W83C. Throughout the station's early existence, it changed callsigns, formats and owners before relaunching itself on March 14, 1977, as WLUP "97.9 The Loop", a nod to the

Chicago Loop The Loop is Chicago's central business district and one of the city's 77 municipally recognized Community areas in Chicago, community areas. Located at the center of downtown Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan, it is the second-largest busi ...

. As WLUP, the station aired various formats ranging from classic rock, pop rock, pop alternative, and adult alternative formats. It changed ownership several times before being sold to Merlin Media in 2011 and subsequently entered a

local marketing agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one corporation, company agrees to operate a radio station, radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it ...

(LMA) 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 ...

in 2014. This LMA was terminated after Cumulus entered into bankruptcy proceedings, prompting Merlin Media to sell the station to EMF, which relaunched the station as part of the K-Love network on March 10, 2018. The classic rock format and "Loop" branding was retained on the second HD

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 compressi ...

of WKQX. In addition to a standard

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

, WCKL broadcasts over four HD subchannels and is available online. WCKL-HD2 carries

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, ...

programming, WCKL-HD3 carries "Boost Radio"

Christian hip hop Christian hip-hop (originally gospel rap, also known as Christian rap, gospel hip-hop or holy hip-hop) is a cross-genre of contemporary Christian music and hip-hop. It emerged from urban contemporary music and Christian media in the United State ...

and WCKL-HD4 features Radio Nueva Vida programming.

History

Early years as W83C/WEHS/WHFC

The station was first granted a construction permit on April 7, 1942, with 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 ...

W83C, licensed to broadcast at 48.3 MHz on the original 42-50 MHz

FM broadcast band The FM broadcast band is a range of radio frequencies used for FM broadcasting by radio stations. The range of frequencies used differs between different parts of the world. In Europe and Africa (defined as International Telecommunication Union ( ...

. The station was owned by Richard W. Hoffman, who also owned WHFC.Cohodas, Nadine (2001).
Spinning Blues Into Gold: The Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records
'.

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...

. p. 213. Retrieved March 6, 2019. Its studios and transmitter were initially located at the Medinah Athletic Club building at 505 N. Michigan Avenue, but were moved to the Bankers Building at 105 West Adams by 1945. On November 1, 1943, the station was assigned the WEHS call sign, and it was granted its first license on October 8, 1945. The callsign stood for "Elizabeth Hoffman's Station", named for owner Richard Hoffman's mother. In January 1946, the station received permission from the FCC to go silent to convert to operation on the new 88-108 MHz FM broadcast band, which the FCC had created on June 27, 1945. On July 31, 1946, the station was reassigned to 100.1 MHz, and then granted a move to 97.9 MHz on September 23, 1947. WEHS was the first commercial radio station to air "storecasts".Radio Market
, '' Broadcasting — Telecasting''. A Continuing Study of Major Radio Markets: Study No. 7: Chicago. October 25, 1948. p. 8. Retrieved March 5, 2019. It broadcast background music for National Tea grocery stores in the Chicago area. When the contract with National ran out in the mid-1950s, WEHS simulcast the foreign language and Black programming of co-owned WHFC for six hours a day, the minimum broadcast time to keep the license. In 1952, WEHS's studios and transmitter were moved to WHFC's studio and transmitter site at 3350 S. Kedzie. L & P Broadcasting Corporation purchased WEHS in February 1963, along with WHFC, for $1 million.Actions By FCC
, ''

Broadcasting Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

''. December 17, 1962. p. 102. Retrieved March 6, 2019. The Chess family of

Chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

, Checker and Cadet Records fame owned L & P Broadcasting (the "L" stood for

Leonard Chess Leonard Samuel Chess (born Lejzor Szmuel Czyż; March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969) was a Polish-American record company executive and the founder of Chess Records alongside his brother Phil. He was influential in the development of the recor ...

while the "P" stood for brother

Phil Chess Philip Chess (born Fiszel Czyż; March 27, 1921 – October 18, 2016) was a Polish-born American record company executive, the founder of Chess Records alongside his brother Leonard. Early life Chess was born to a Polish-Jewish family in the ...

). Leonard primarily ran the record labels and recording studio while brother Phil was president of the radio company. The WHFC call sign was moved to WEHS on March 3, 1963, while WHFC was assigned the WVON ("The Voice of the Negro") call sign. WHFC aired an R&B format and simulcast WVON 24 hours a day.
1964 Broadcasting Yearbook
',

, 1964. p. B-48. Retrieved March 6, 2019.

WSDM

On March 8, 1965, WHFC's call sign was changed to WSDM, which stood for "Smack Dab in the Middle", in reference to the station's position at the middle of the FM dial.WSDM-FM Aircheck
, ''Chicagoland Radio and Media''. February 23, 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2019. The station was also known as "the station with the girls and all that jazz", as it featured all female DJs known as "Den Pals", which included Yvonne Daniels, Danae Alexander, Cody Sweet, Penny Lane, Nancy Plum, Connie Szerszen, known on the air as "Dawn", and Linda Ellerbee, known on the air as "Hush Puppy".From the Music Capitals of the World
, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''. April 1, 1967. p. 62. Retrieved March 6, 2019.Brack, Ray.
Record Promotion Men Speakers for WSDM, Chi Stereo Station
, ''

''. September 4, 1965. pp. 22, 26. Retrieved March 6, 2019. WSDM played "pop-oriented

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and jazz oriented pop". Program director was Mickey Shorr and later Burt Burdeen. In 1968, the station began airing a nighttime

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 ...

program called ''Underground Den'' on weekends. In early 1971, WSDM began to mix

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

with its light jazz. The station positioned itself as "jazzed up rock". Ownership of the station was transferred to

effective October 22, 1971. Phil Chess' son, Terry Chess, was general manager.
1973 Broadcasting Yearbook
',

, 1973. p. B-59. Retrieved March 7, 2019. In 1972, WSDM's transmitter was moved to the John Hancock Center. Actress Cindy Morgan was a DJ on the station in the 1970s.

WLUP

The call sign was changed to WLUP on March 14, 1977. The station adopted an

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 and was rebranded as "The Loop", referring to the nickname of Chicago's central business district. Jay Blackburn was Program Director and Tommy O'Toole served as the station's first morning host and was the first Loop DJ to sign on the air.WLS-FM's Tom O'Toole Reveals Cancer Scare
, ''Chicagoland Radio and Media''. December 23, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2019.The Loop Celebrates Its 40th Anniversary
, ''Chicagoland Radio and Media''. March 14, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2019. The first song O'Toole played on "The Loop" was " Morning Has Broken" by

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and musician. He has sold more than 100 million records and has more than two billion st ...

. The original Loop air staff included Tommy in mornings, William "Captain Billy" Martin in middays, Lester "Les" Tracy in afternoons, and Bob Shannon evenings. Other early Loop DJs included Greg Budell, Ford Colley, Don Davis, and Glory-June Greaif. Heftel Broadcasting Corporation, owned by Hawaiian Congressman Cecil Heftel, purchased the station effective March 5, 1979, for $3 million. Lee Abrams was hired as consultant. The rock format was kept in place, but emphasis was put on harder-edged rock. Jesse Bullit was the program director.

Steve Dahl Steven Robert Dahl (born November 20, 1954) is an American radio personality. He is the owner and operator of the Steve Dahl Network, a Subscription business model, subscription-based podcasting network. Dahl gained a measure of national attention ...

, who had been unemployed since WDAI (94.7 FM) went to a

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 ...

format in December 1978, began hosting mornings on March 19, 1979. On July 12, 1979, Dahl staged one of the most famous promotions in radio and sports history,

Disco Demolition Night Disco Demolition Night was a Major League Baseball (MLB) promotion on Thursday, July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, that ended in a riot. At the climax of the event, a crate filled with disco records was blown up on the fiel ...

Garry Meier Garry Meier (born December 2, 1949) is a Chicago-based radio personality who has been active in Chicago radio since 1973. Meier is well known for being part of the highly successful radio duos " Steve & Garry" and " Roe and Garry", but he also ho ...

, known over the air at the time as "Matthew Meier", was an overnight DJ, and was later teamed with Dahl as the morning newsman.Johnson, Steve.
Shocked Jock
, ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

''. November 6, 1994. Retrieved March 7, 2019. Soon thereafter, Meier became Steve's full-time sidekick, and used his real name, Garry Meier.Penchansky, Alan.
Science & Subjective Input Are Vital For AOR Mix - WLUP Exec
, ''

''. November 17, 1979. p. 26. Retrieved March 7, 2019.Widder, Pat.
Steve and Garry Part Ways-For Now-After 15 Years
, ''

''. September 14, 1993. Retrieved March 7, 2019. In 1979, Jeff Schwartz became head of sales and Mitch Michaels was hired as afternoon DJ. Michaels became program director shortly thereafter. Sky Daniels was also hired in 1979, and served as disc jockey and music director. Chuck Swirsky provided sports reports for a period in the early 1980s. Buzz Killman was newsman.Loop 40: Buzz Kilman – WLUP Airstaff interviews
, The Loop. February 19, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2019. On February 6, 1981, Steve Dahl was fired for what WLUP's management and Dahl said was a contract dispute, though Heftel Broadcasting said it was for violating "community standards".Tackett, Michael; Alridge, Ron. "Station fires radio star Dahl", ''

''. February 7, 1981. pp. 1, 4. Garry Meier left the station as well, to remain Dahl's sidekick. A series of morning men including Matt Bisbee, Mark McEwen, and the team of R.J. Harris and Pat Still tried their hand until Jonathon Brandmeier was hired in late 1982. Kilman remained as newsman, and Bruce Wolf joined the station as a sports reporter in 1982. Greg Solk became program director in 1983. Dr. Demento was carried on WLUP from 1978 through 2010, just prior to when Dr. Demento ceased over-the-air broadcasting.
Chicago Radio Guide
', Vol. 1, Issue 1. May 1985. Retrieved March 9, 2019. Steve and Garry returned in 1986 to host afternoons. In late December 1986, Heftel Broadcasting merged with Statewide Broadcasting, owner of WCFL (1000 AM). In April 1987, WCFL became WLUP, and the FM station was assigned the WLUP-FM call sign.Call Sign History
fcc.gov. Retrieved March 9, 2019.Freeman, Kim.
Vox Jox
, ''

''. May 9, 1987. p. 15. Retrieved March 9, 2019. WLUP (AM) became a partial simulcast of WLUP-FM, and Steve and Garry moved to the AM station. In 1988, WLUP-AM-FM were sold to the newly formed Evergreen Media. By 1989, the AM station would evolve to mostly talk with a few rock songs mixed in per hour.
Chicagoland Radio Waves
', MediaTies. Spring-Summer 1989. Retrieved March 9, 2019. In the early 1990s, WLUP aired a popular television commercial featuring a fat man dubbed "Joey Bag O' Donuts" dancing.
, ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

''. July 04, 1993. Retrieved March 8, 2019. In the time span since the original commercial was aired, the footage of the dancing fat man in the commercial has been used by numerous other radio stations across the country and abroad. In September 1992, Steve and Garry returned to mornings on WLUP-FM. In September 1993, the pairing of Steve Dahl and Garry Meier broke up. Shortly thereafter, Dahl moved to AM 1000, which had recently added

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

programming and changed call letters to WMVP.Stark, Phyllis; Boehlert, Eric; Borzillo, Carrie.
Vox Jox
, ''

''. October 2, 1993. p. 100. Retrieved March 12, 2019. On September 27, 1993, the station's lineup was overhauled, and it shifted towards 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 ...

format. Garry Meier moved to middays on WLUP-FM, Brandmeier would move to afternoons, and Kevin Matthews moved to mornings for a time (though Brandmeier would later move back to mornings, and Matthews would move to middays).
Chicago Airwaves
'. November/December 1993. Retrieved March 12, 2019.

Danny Bonaduce Dante Daniel Bonaduce (; born August 13, 1959) is an American retired radio personality, actor, television personality and professional wrestler. Bonaduce is the son of veteran TV writer and producer Joseph Bonaduce ('' The Dick Van Dyke Show'' ...

hosted evenings,

Ed Schwartz Ed Schwartz (May 5, 1946 – February 4, 2009) was a Chicago media personality who hosted local late-night radio programs from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. He was nicknamed "Chicago Ed." Early life and education A native of the Southeast S ...

hosted overnights, and Seka hosted a program Saturday evenings.How Good is Chicago Radio
, ''

''. July 10, 1994. Retrieved March 12, 2019. Liz Wilde was hired to host evenings in March 1995, but her show was cancelled by November of the same year. In February 1996, sister station WYNY in New York City simulcasted WLUP for a day as part of a week-long stunt of simulcasting sister stations nationwide before flipping formats to

rhythmic adult contemporary Rhythmic adult contemporary, often abbreviated as rhythmic AC or RAC, is an adult contemporary radio format. The format focuses primarily on rhythmic contemporary, rhythmic hits aimed towards an adult audience, often resembling a mixture of the cla ...

as WKTU. In June 1996, WMVP (1000 AM) dropped their sports format and returned to simulcasting WLUP. WLUP switched to a format featuring a "blend of

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

, pop alternative, and adult alternative" music on September 30, 1996. Brandmeier remained the morning man and Dave Fogel was brought in for afternoons. In 1997, Evergreen and Chancellor Media merged. In order to stay under federally mandated ownership limits, Evergreen opted to sell WLUP to

Bonneville International Bonneville International Corporation is a media and broadcasting company, wholly owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) through its for-profit arm, Deseret Management Corporation. It began as a radio and TV networ ...

in July. On July 21 at 5 a.m., after stunting with all-

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

songs as part of a Who concert that previous weekend, WLUP switched back to a rock format. The first song under the relaunched "Loop" was "

Rock and Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

" by

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 ...

. Also that month, Jonathon Brandmeier would be released from the station due to the ownership change. In June 1998, WLUP shifted to

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 ...

and adopted the slogan, "Classic Rock That Really Rocks". During this period, full-time on air personalities included Byrd (now with WDRV Chicago), Steve Downes, Eddie Webb, Pete McMurray, Seaver, Cara Carriveau, Sari, and Mark Zander. In October 2004,

Emmis Communications Emmis Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Emmis, based on the Hebrew word for "Truth" (''Emet'') was founded by Jeff Smulyan in 1980. Emmis has owned many radio stations, including KPWR ...

traded three of their stations in Phoenix to Bonneville for WLUP-FM and $70 million; the swap was completed in December of that year. While under Emmis ownership WLUP evolved into a

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 ...

format, but in January 2011 it reverted to classic rock. In 2005, Emmis brought back Jonathon Brandmeier to do mornings on The Loop and hired Zakk Tyler to host afternoon drive. Rosenthal, Phil.
Johnny B. good and gone from his Loop radio program
, ''

''. December 1, 2009. Retrieved March 13, 2019.Merlin Media & WLUP-FM Bring Back Zakk Tyler
, ''Chicagoland Radio and Media''. June 13, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2019. Erin Carmen began hosting middays in 2006, remaining with the station until 2009. Brandmeier also exited WLUP in 2009. On January 15, 2007, Chicago's

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 ...

owned-and-operated station In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an network af ...

WMAQ-TV WMAQ-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the market's NBC outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Telemundo station WSNS-TV (chann ...

(channel 5), began a new weekday morning show called ''Barely Today'' which aired from 4:30–5 a.m. The new morning show was simulcast on WLUP-FM and hosted by Bruce Wolf, who was the former weekday morning traffic/sports anchor for WMAQ. The show would be cancelled five months later due to poor ratings. On June 21, 2011, Emmis announced that it would sell WKQX, sister station WLUP-FM, and New York's WRXP to Merlin Media, a group headed by former

Tribune Company Tribune Media Company, also known as Tribune Company, was an American multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through Tribune Broadcasting, Tribune Media was one of the largest television broadcasting companies, owning 39 ...

executive Randy Michaels. Emmis, who would retain a minority stake in Merlin Media, would grant Merlin a

to operate WKQX and WLUP-FM from July 15 until the sale to Merlin officially closed on September 1. On May 3, 2012, Merlin added a satellite-fed version of the

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is commercially oriented crossover jazz music. Although often described as a "genre", it is a debatable and highly controversial subject in jazz music circles. As a radio format, however, smooth jazz radio became the successor to e ...

format on WLUP's HD3 subchannel (97.9-HD3). Radio personality and WEBN alum Maxwell Slater "Max" Logan (Benjamin Bornstein), best known for his years as host of '' The Maxwell Show'' at

WMMS WMMS (100.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio, commonly identified as "The Buzzard". Widely regarded as one of the most influen ...

and WNCX in Cleveland, took over as the WLUP-FM morning host on July 30, 2012. Former personality Zakk Tyler (Dominic Zaccagnini) also returned. On January 3, 2014, Merlin Media announced a

(LMA) with

that would see Cumulus take over operations of WLUP-FM and sister station WIQI as well as inherit Merlin's LMA for WKQX-LP.Deal for 'the Loop' gives radio powerhouse bigger reach in Chicago
, ''

Crain's Chicago Business ''Crain's Chicago Business'' is a weekly business newspaper in Chicago, IL. It is owned by Detroit-based Crain Communications. History The first issue of ''Crain's Chicago Business'' is dated April 17, 1978. In 1977, when Crain Communicati ...

''. January 4, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2019.Cumulus Obtaining All Merlin Media Properties; Alternative Coming Back To 101.1
, ''Chicagoland Radio and Media''. January 3, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2019. The deal included an option for Cumulus to purchase the stations from Merlin. The deal saw Merlin relinquish operations of its last remaining radio stations. The deal also sees an expansion of Cumulus' Chicago reach; the company already owned and operated news/talk station WLS (890 AM) and classic hits station WLS-FM (94.7 FM). On September 12, 2014, WLUP released morning hosts Maxwell (Benjamin Bornstein) and John Czahor and afternoon host Patrick Capone. On September 15, 2014, a new weekday lineup was announced, with Lyndsey Marie hosting middays, Tim Virgin hosting afternoons, and Pyke hosting evenings. Virgin previously worked at The Loop in the mid-1990s. Mornings remained open. On March 30, 2015, Mancow Muller joined WLUP as its new morning show host. WLUP's first ever "Rock Girl", Lorelei Shark, was the official spokesperson and the face of The Loop in the late 1970s and 1980s.Original Loop Rock Girl Erica Fighting For Her Health
, ''Chicagoland Radio and Media''. May 9, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2019. In 2005, the Loop Rock Girl was reintroduced, with Erica Gustafson being the new holder of the title. Another prominent Loop Rock Girl prior to the station's 2018 closure was April Rose Haydock, who also served in that role in 2007.

Sale to EMF

In January 2018, as part of Cumulus Media's bankruptcy proceedings, the company requested that a U.S. Bankruptcy Court release the company from several "extremely unprofitable" contracts, including its LMAs with WLUP-FM and WKQX. Cumulus stated that under the agreement, which carries a monthly fee of $600,000, the company had lost $8.4 million on the two Merlin stations. On March 5, 2018, Merlin Media sold WLUP-FM to

(EMF) for $21.5 million; with the sale, EMF announced it would convert the station to

non-commercial educational A non-commercial educational station (NCE station) is a radio station or television station that does not accept on-air advertisements (television advertisement, TV ads or radio advertisement, radio ads), as defined in the United States by the Fed ...

status. The sale was prompted by Cumulus Media's

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

filing, in which it was determined that Cumulus would not proceed with the existing LMA or a sale of WLUP-FM from Merlin to Cumulus. The move gives EMF its second full-power outlet in Chicago; the organization also owns

translators Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...

and lower-power stations in the market. On March 6, Cumulus ended manned operations on WLUP-FM and the entire air staff was dismissed; however, the '' Mancow'' show continued via its independent online streaming platform. An automated playlist of music continued until March 10 at midnight, when EMF took control of the frequency from Merlin under a new LMA and assumed the K-Love schedule carried by future sister station WJKL (94.3 FM). Cumulus also retained the WLUP-FM call sign, warehousing it on an existing station in

Cambridge, Minnesota Cambridge is a city in Isanti County, Minnesota, United States, located at the junction of Minnesota State Highways 65 and 95. The population was 9,611 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Isanti County. It is located along the Ru ...

. Merlin retained the "Loop"

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

and transitioned that branding to WKQX-HD2 in a fully automated form. The sale of WLUP-FM also ended the annual "Loopfest", a sponsored event the most recent version of which was planned for August 3, 2018 at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, with

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...

to support their final tour with .38 Special and the Marshall Tucker Band. WLUP-FM informed listeners who bought tickets that the event was canceled immediately after the station announced it the previous February, despite leaving event details on its website while not indicating who may take over the sponsorship. Upon hearing the news of the sale, Steve Dahl pointed to WLUP-FM's legacy and heritage, saying: On March 9, 2018, Dahl gave listeners a chance to say goodbye to WLUP-FM via a simulcast of his afternoon program on WLS. Dahl also brought back alumni Sky Daniels and Kevin Matthews to help give WLUP-FM a proper send off, while WDRV paid homage to the station with a day long tribute led by Bob Stroud, another WLUP-FM veteran, with guests and surprises. WGN's 'Dave Plier Show' also aired a reunion of ex-WLUP-FM DJs, including Kevin Matthews, current WGN hosts Wendy Snyder and Bill Leff, and broadcast executive Larry Wert, paying tribute to its legacy. The LMA with EMF took effect March 10, 2018 at midnight, at which point the station switched to K-Love. In a last jab at the impending transition to Christian music, WLUP-FM, after spending a majority of their final hour playing songs themed around farewells and/or departures, closed by playing, for their final block of music, " Shout at the Devil" by

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...

, " The Number of the Beast" by

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

, and (as Dahl suggested) "Highway to Hell". The first song played on WLUP-FM as K-Love was " Whom Shall I Fear" by

Chris Tomlin Christopher Dwayne Tomlin (born May 4, 1972) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, and worship leader from Grand Saline, Texas. He is signed to Universal Music Group, Universal's Capitol Christian Music Group. Some of h ...

. EMF's purchase of WCKL-FM was consummated on May 31, 2018. On January 16, 2020, EMF changed the station's call sign to the current WCKL. Around that time, EMF returned the HD Radio subchannels to the air with its

Christian worship In Christianity, worship is the act of attributing reverent honour and homage to God. In the New Testament, various words are used to refer to the term worship. One is ("to worship") which means to bow down to God or kings. Worship in the N ...

-formatted

network on WCKL-HD2 and Christian classic hits from K-Love Classics on WCKL-HD3. In late 2020, with the demise of the K-Love Classics format, that network became "K-Love Christmas" for the duration of the holiday season. Following that, WCKL-HD3 debuted "K-Love 2000s", a Christian classic hits variant. In March 2021, WCKL-HD3 adopted the "Boost Radio" Christian pop/hip hop format from

KXBS KXBS (95.5 FM broadcasting, FM) is a non-commercial educational station, non-commercial, listener-supported radio station city of license, licensed to Bethalto, Illinois, and serving Greater St. Louis. KXBS and sister station KQBS 97.7 in Potos ...

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

as part of an agreement between that station's owners and EMF, and began simulcasting on translator 97.5 W248BB.A Boost Coming to 97.5 Chicago
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Translators

References

External links

* * {{Authority control CKL (FM) Radio stations established in 1942 1942 establishments in Illinois Contemporary Christian radio stations in the United States K-Love radio stations Educational Media Foundation radio stations CKL (FM)