WPLM-FM (99.1 FM, "Easy 99.1") is 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 ...

music station licensed to

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth ( ; historically also spelled as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in and the county seat of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklor ...

. It is owned by Plymouth Rock Broadcasting Co.. Its transmitter is located in Plymouth. With a 50,000 watt signal, WPLM-FM can be received in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

, the South Coast region,

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, and the South Shore.

History

WPLM-FM signed on June 25, 1961. In the station's first decades on the air, it had a

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

format. This was abandoned in February 1994 in favor of an adult contemporary format, branded "Variety 99.1". However, the station saw little success with this format, due to there being several other stations with a similar format within WPLM-FM's coverage area, and as a result it switched to

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 ...

on June 25, 1995. Initially, programming was largely provided by SW Networks' Smooth FM service, with WPLM-FM itself branding as "Smooth FM 99.1". After Smooth FM closed on December 31, 1996, the station switched to a similar service from

Jones Radio Networks Jones Radio Networks & Jones Media Group were branches of Jones International before being sold to Triton Media Group. JRN and JMN provide local radio stations with satellite-delivered formats. They also offer other services to local radio su ...

and reimaged as "Jazzy 99.1". Two years later, the smooth jazz format was discontinued in favor of "Easy 99.1", which initially featured a blend of

adult standards Adult standards (also sometimes known as the nostalgia or Big Band format) is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations. Adult standards started in the 1950s and is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly tho ...

and

. From WPLM-FM's inception, its programming has been simulcast, in whole or in part, with WPLM (1390 AM), which signed on six years earlier; from 1997 to 2015, the AM station broke away on weekdays to carry business news and talk programming from WADN/WBNW (1120). In April 2020, the station temporarily suspended its live streaming due to financial problems stemming from the pandemic. The stream was restored later in the year. WPLM-FM has also taken over

WXKS-FM WXKS-FM (107.9 MHz), branded ''Kiss 108'', is a commercial contemporary hit radio station licensed to serve Medford, Massachusetts, and covering Greater Boston. Owned by iHeartMedia, the WXKS-FM studios are in Medford and the station transmits f ...

's decades-old tradition of playing

Rose Royce Rose Royce is an American soul and R&B group. They are best known for several hit singles during the 1970s including " Car Wash", " I Wanna Get Next to You", " I'm Going Down", " Wishing on a Star", and " Love Don't Live Here Anymore". Career ...

's 1977 single " Wishing On A Star" every Saturday at 12 noon. Notable past and present personnel include Sean Casey, Tom Stewart, Audrey Constant, Scott Reiniche, Hutch, Kevin Cronin, Billy Teed, Chris Rogers,

Ken Coleman Kenneth Robert Coleman (April 22, 1925 – August 21, 2003) was an American radio and television sportscaster for more than four decades (1947–1989). Early life Coleman was born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1925, the son of William (a sale ...

Ron Della Chiesa Ron Della Chiesa is a Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New E ...

, Bill O'Connell, and Barry Scott of ''

The Lost 45s ''The Lost 45s'' with Barry Scott is an American syndicated classic hits retro music radio and interview program. It focuses on seldom played Top 40 hits from the 1970s and 1980s. The ''Boston Herald'' called it "the most successful weekend spe ...

''.

References

External links

{{Adult Contemporary Radio Stations in Massachusetts PLM-FM Soft adult contemporary radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1961 Plymouth, Massachusetts Mass media in Plymouth County, Massachusetts 1961 establishments in Massachusetts