WLHT-FM
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WLHT-FM (95.7
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
hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
music formatted
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 ...
in
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 ...
, owned by
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 ...
. WLHT's studios are located on Ottawa Avenue Northwest in downtown Grand Rapids, while its transmitter is located in Comstock Park. WLHT-FM is also 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 ...
operation, and features WSLI-FM on its HD-2 subchannel.


WKLW, WZZM-FM, and WZZR

The station signed on the same day as WOOD-FM (now
WSRW-FM WSRW-FM (105.7 MHz "Star 105.7") is a commercial radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It airs an adult contemporary radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia. The studios and offices are on Monroe Center Street in Downtown Grand Rapids. Th ...
) in 1962. The original call letters of 95.7 FM were WKLW. In the mid-1960s, the station came into common ownership with
WZZM WZZM (channel 13) is a television station licensed to Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States, serving West Michigan as an affiliate of ABC. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station has studios on 3 Mile Road NW in Walker (with a Grand Rapids mailing ad ...
-TV Channel 13 and became WZZM-FM, an example of the call letters and rounded frequency number both forming
ambigram An ambigram is a calligraphic composition of glyphs (letters, numbers, symbols or other shapes) that can yield different meanings depending on the orientation of observation. Most ambigrams are visual palindromes that rely on some kind of symmetry ...
s as "96 WZZM". By 1967, the station was block-programmed, with
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 ...
in the morning,
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 ...
music in afternoon drive, and middle of the road music at night. Then, in 1968, WZZM-FM converted its format to full-time Top 40. WZZM-FM "Z96" was one of the first FM Top 40s in Michigan to pose a serious challenge to its AM competition: by the end of 1970 it was ahead of WLAV (1340 AM) and WGRD (1410 AM) in several dayparts, including at night, when the AM competition either had poor signals or was off the air, and on the weekends. In 1971, WZZM-FM picked up a serious competitor when WGRD added an FM signal at 97.9 (formerly WXTO). The reborn WGRD was an instant success. WZZM reacted by evolving its format into a Top 40/ AOR hybrid better known as CHR, and then in 1972, into a Top 40/
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 ...
hybrid. The station gained a "second wind" of sorts and posted a #1 12+ Arbitron showing in Grand Rapids in the summer of 1973, but ratings quickly dropped off again afterwards. In 1977, WZZM-FM changed its calls to WZZR and adopted the name ''Rockradio Z96'' (and using the slogan ''The Wizard of Rock 'n' Roll''). WZZR continued to struggle through the rest of the 1970s and into the 1980s, shifting back and forth between Top 40/"adult contemporary. In 1983, WZZR tweaked its format from CHR into a "Rock of the Eighties" format, but ratings remained low.


WLHT

In 1984, WZZR became WLHT and switched to adult contemporary. Once again, 95.7 FM was a pioneer in the market in terms of trying a new format, and once again, its pioneering spirit led to success and acclaim. In 1998 WLHT was named AC station of the year at the Marconi Award ceremonies. Two years later Regent Communications (now Townsquare Media) purchased the station, along with sister stations WGRD-FM, WNWZ, and WTRV. On April 14, 2006, husband and wife morning team Dave Jagger and Geri Jarvis announced that they would host their final morning show on April 21 after twenty years on the air on W-Lite. They were replaced April 24, 2006, by Denis Pryor and Nanette in morning drive. At the same time, the station re-branded from "95.7 W-Lite" to "Lite Rock 95.7" (but reverted to the "W-Lite" name afterward). WLHT's music rotation also became slightly brighter and more rock-based than previously.


Shift to hot AC

By August
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 ...
, WLHT had moved its format toward
hot AC 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, ...
(of which
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 ...
used to carry until
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
), and its previous mainstream AC format had shifted to sister station WTRV, which previously had aired a MOR/soft AC mix. As a result, WLHT-FM had been leaning
adult top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Syste ...
until the station dropped AC in 2009 (a similar situation done at
adult top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Syste ...
-leaning ACs such as
WNIC WNIC (100.3 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial Radio broadcasting, radio station city of license, licensed to Dearborn, Michigan, and serving the Metro Detroit media market. Owned by iHeartMedia, WNIC broadcasts an Adult contemporary music, ...
in
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
). Also in 2009, former
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 ...
news personality Gerry Barnaby took over the morning show. On October 11, 2010, WLHT re-branded as ''Channel 95-7'' and completed its shift to a hot AC format. The format change brought changes to the station's on-air lineup as well. Channel 95-7 added The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show, giving the station a syndicated morning show for the first time in its history, but was cancelled in October 2012 to be replaced by former Madison, WI morning show "Connie and Fish." - and midday host Kim Carson (a veteran of Detroit radio) moved to WTRV, with Wendy Reed, who had formerly held the same shift at WTRV, taking her place. On November 6, 2017, WLHT-FM rebranded as ''Mix 95.7'', with no change in format.


Sources


Michiguide.com - WLHT-FM History


References


External links

* * * * * * * {{coord, 43.033, N, 85.696, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title LHT-FM Hot adult contemporary radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1962 1962 establishments in Michigan Townsquare Media radio stations