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WDHA-FM (105.5 MHz) is a
commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...
radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...
licensed to
Dover, New Jersey Dover is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. Located on the Rockaway River, Dover is about west of New York City and about west of Newark, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 18,157,
, and serving the Morris County area of
North Jersey North Jersey comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of northern New Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquial one rather than an administrat ...
. WDHA is owned and operated by
Beasley Broadcast Group Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., based in Naples, Florida, is an owner/operator of radio stations in the United States. , the company owned 63 stations under the Beasley Media Group name. History The company was founded in 1961 by George G. Beasl ...
and airs 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 the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...
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 was compelle ...
. The station's studios and offices are at 55 Horsehill Road in Cedar Knolls. The
transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to ...
is off Casterline Road in
Denville Denville Township is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, located west of Manhattan. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 16,635, reflecting an increase of 811 (+5.1%) from the 15,824 counted in the 2000 census. ...
.


Format

The station's
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, but sometimes a loop. The term has sev ...
is made of up of
classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...
of the 1970s and 1980s as well as
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 ...
from the 1990s, 2000s, and today. The station calls itself "The Rock Of New Jersey." Core artists include the
Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
,
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are c ...
,
Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albu ...
,
Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
,
Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, ...
,
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instru ...
,
Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lamp Richard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo. ...
,
The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...
, Foreigner, Aerosmith,
Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...
,
Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...
and
Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...
. The station is local and live full-time. In terms of ratings, the station is consistently the top local station in the
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 ...
for the
Morristown Morristown may refer to: Places Canada *Morristown, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States * Morristown, Arizona *Morristown, Indiana ** Morristown station (Indiana) *Morristown, Minnesota ** Morristown Township, Rice County, Minnesota *Morris ...
radio market. WDHA has always scored good ratings in North Jersey, even when
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
had as many as three full-time rock stations.


History


Early Years

WDHA first
signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature, placing one's name on a document * Signature (disambiguation) * Manual communication, signing as a form of communication using the hands in place of the voice * Digital signature A dig ...
the air on February 22, 1961. It ran with 3,000 watts of
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 ...
from atop Shongum Mountain, one of the highest peaks in Northern New Jersey. WDHA-FM was one of the first
stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...
stations in the United States, beginning stereo broadcasting within a year of sign-on. The owners actually built their first stereo generator. While the studios were being constructed at 410 Route 10 in Randolph Township near Millbrook Avenue, temporary studios were established on the second floor of the old Goodale Drug Store building at 8 West Blackwell Street in downtown Dover. Ground was broken for the new studios and offices on Monday December 12, 1960, during a snow storm that left high snow drifts and blowing wind. D. Ridgely Bolgiano, general manager, announced that construction of the new site would begin "next week with the station scheduled to go on the air by mid-February." Peter L. Arnow of Convent Station was president of the firm, and Walter C. Blaser of Wharton was named director of music. The studios and transmitter building were still under construction when the station went on the air with non-stop classical music, 18 hours a day, seven days a week. A 100-foot tower was erected next to the transmitter building on Route 10, and a small intercom system was installed to communicate between those at the transmitter site and those at the studios in downtown Dover. 1510 WRAN, also licensed to Dover, did not go on the air until 1963. There was concern that the WDHA tower was affecting WRAN's
directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates or receives greater power in specific directions allowing increased performance and reduced interference from unwanted sources. Directional antennas provide increased performan ...
so WDHA's transmitter was relocated on one of WRAN's towers. (AM 1510 is now WRNJ in Hackettstown.) The WDHA
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 assig ...
stands for "Drexel Hill Associates," the original owner of the station. Drexel Hill was headed by Peter Arnow who moved to Morris County from
Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania Drexel Hill is a neighborhood and census-designated place (CDP) located in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. The population was 29,181 at the 2020 census, up from 28,043 at the 2010 census, and accounting for over a third of Upper Darby's population. G ...
, and along with his associates took the name of "Drexel Hill Associates" for the name of their newly established company. It was often said the radio station was a college graduation gift from Mr. Arnow's father. WDHA was licensed by the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisd ...
(FCC) to the city of Dover, one of the few towns in New Jersey which the FCC allocated both an AM and FM frequency. The AM frequency of 1510 kHz became WRAN. That station operated its studios and transmitter directly behind WDHA. With WRAN's four huge red-blinking towers, for many years passing motorists thought they belonged to WDHA since WDHA's building was located in view of the highway, while WRAN's building sat in the middle of a field, out of sight. In reality, only directional AM stations need more than one tower. Peter Arnow and his associate Robert Linder operated the station together for many years. Eventually, they bought AM 1250 WMTR in Morristown and operated both an AM and FM radio station with one facility being at 10 Park Place in Morristown and the other on Route 10. Even though the music formats were always different, the newscasts were
simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/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, simult ...
on both stations for many years.


Pop Music

WDHA later played adult pop hits during the day but still had classical music as well as
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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...
block programming at night. The station began broadcasting in stereo in 1972. WDHA studios had been located in Randolph Township while WMTR was located in Cedar Knolls. WDHA and WMTR also simulcast a one-hour lunchtime news/talk show. Over the years, WDHA's music format evolved, and the station began airing contemporary music at night with the classical format during the day. Soon, WDHA dropped its classical format altogether and went with strictly contemporary pop, later adding rock. From 1972 to 1974, WDHA gradually moved away from pop hits and evolved into a
soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...
/
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 present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...
format. Initially, the station avoided hard rock. By 1975, WDHA played the available album versions of hit songs, instead of the shorter single versions of the hits. For a time in the 1970s, WDHA was capable of broadcasting in
quadraphonic sound Quadraphonic (or quadrophonic and sometimes quadrasonic) sound – equivalent to what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four audio channels in which speakers are positioned at the four corners of a listening space. The system allows for t ...
, one of only a handful of stations so equipped. By 1977, WDHA evolved into a hybrid
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 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. "Top 40" or "conte ...
/
Album Rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-orient ...
format, blending both types of music. Harder rock was gradually mixed in while pop hits were being phased out. By 1978, WDHA became known as "The Jersey Giant."


Switch to Rock

By 1980, WDHA had evolved into a full time
album rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-orient ...
station, competing with WPLJ and
WNEW-FM 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 Ma ...
, New York's two rock stations. In 1984, WDHA was the world's first radio station to play
compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Octo ...
s, a new invention that would replace vinyl records. By the late 1980s, more heavy metal bands were heard while the station still kept a balance between classic rock and new rock. In 1990, WDHA moved out of its Randolph facilities and into new Cedar Knolls studios, along with
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 ...
1250 WMTR. In 1991, WDHA and WMTR were sold by Drexel Hill Associates to Signal Communications. The formats were unaffected, and WDHA continued as a rock station. In the mid 1990s, Signal Communications restructured and became known as New Jersey Broadcast Partners. The station began referring to itself as "Classic Rock/New Rock." By the late 1990s, WDHA was positioned between "K-Rock 92.3" WXRK (now
WINS-FM WINS-FM (92.3 MHz) is a radio station licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. WINS-FM simulcasts an all-news radio format branded as "1010 WINS on 92.3 FM"; with the call sign phonetically pronounced as "wins". The statio ...
) which played hard rock and alternative music, and "Q 104.3"
WAXQ WAXQ (104.3 FM) is a classic rock- formatted radio station licensed to New York City. WAXQ is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios in the former AT&T Building in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan; its transmitter is located ...
, which played classic rock.


Ownership Changes

In 2001, WDHA was sold to Greater Media. Included in the deal were co-owned 1250 WMTR Morristown and 95.9 WRAT in Point Pleasant. Greater Media already owned 98.3
WMGQ WMGQ (98.3 MHz Magic 98.3) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to New Brunswick and serving Central Jersey (Middlesex, Union and Somerset Counties). It is owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group, along with sister station WCTC 1450 AM. ...
and 1450
WCTC WCTC (1450 AM "Fox Sports New Jersey") is a commercial radio station broadcasting a sports radio format. Licensed to New Brunswick, New Jersey, the station serves Middlesex, Somerset, and Union counties. The station is owned by Beasley Bro ...
in
New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic Canad ...
. In the early 2000s, WDHA began broadcasting in the
HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...
format. WDHA HD-1 rebroadcasts WDHA's main analog signal. There has been some consideration paid to adding WMTR's
oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as wel ...
format to WDHA HD-2, but no decision has been made on this yet. On July 19, 2016, the Beasley Media Group announced it would acquire Greater Media and its 21 stations, including WDHA, for $240 million. The FCC approved the sale on October 6, and the sale closed on November 1.


Past Personalities

Among the prominent radio and TV people employed over the years at WDHA have been: Curtis Kay,
Eddie Trunk Edward Scott Trunk (born August 8, 1964) is an American music historian, radio personality, talk show host, and author, best known as the host of several hard rock- and heavy metal-themed radio and television shows. Biography Trunk was born o ...
, Rob Moorhead, Ralph Sutton, Kevin Cotrell, Tony Paige, Lenny Bloch, Rich Phoenix, Tony Russomanno, Jeff Ofgang, Dave Holmlund, Bert Baron, Bill Hall, Pat Blowers and Ron Maher. Notable female DJ and current Program Director Terrie Carr has been with the station for over 25 years.


References


External links

* {{coord, 40.855, N, 74.511, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title Mainstream rock radio stations in the United States
DHA DHA, Dha and dha may refer to: Chemicals * Docosahexaenoic acid, a 22:6 omega-3 fatty acid * Dehydroandrosterone, an endogenous androgenic steroid * Dehydroascorbic acid, an oxidized form of ascorbic acid * Dehydroacetic acid, a pyrone derivat ...
Radio stations established in 1961 1961 establishments in New Jersey