WSQR (1180 AM) is a

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 ...

broadcasting a

classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 198 ...

format. Licensed to

Sycamore, Illinois Sycamore is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. It has a commercial district based and centered on Illinois Route 64. The population was 18577 at the 2020 census, up from 17,519 at the 2010 census. Sycamore is the county seat of ...

, the station is owned by Nelson Multimedia Inc. WSQR also broadcasts on FM translators W225CC 92.9

Sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the ancient Greek ' (''sūkomoros'') meaning "fig-mulberry". Species of trees known as sycamore: * '' Acer pseudoplat ...

, W263BM 100.5

DeKalb DeKalb or De Kalb may refer to: People * Baron Johann de Kalb (1721–1780), major general in the American Revolutionary War Places Municipalities in the United States * DeKalb, Illinois, the largest city in the United States named DeKalb **DeKal ...

, and W273CZ 102.5

Plano Plano may refer to: Native Americans * Plano cultures, the Late Paleo-Indian hunter-gatherer societies of the Great Plains of North America ** Plano point, the chipped stone tools of the Plano cultures Places in the United States * Plano, Califo ...

History

WSQR began broadcasting on June 11, 1981, and was owned by Hometown Communications.Ghrist, John R. (1996). ''Valley Voices: A Radio History''. Crossroads Communications. p. 412-414."Despite snags, WSQR is on the air", ''

Daily Chronicle The 'Daily Chronicle' was a British newspaper that was published from 1872 to 1930 when it merged with the '' Daily News'' to become the ''News Chronicle''. Foundation The ''Daily Chronicle'' was developed by Edward Lloyd out of a local newspape ...

''. June 12, 1981. p. 2. The station originally broadcast at 1560 kHz, running 250 watts during daytime hours only. The station originally aired a

MOR Mor or MOR may refer to: Names and titles * Mór (given name), a list of people named Mór or Mor * Mor (surname), a list of people named Mor or Mór * Mor (honorific), or Mar, in Syriac Radio and television * Middle of the road (music) genre * ...

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, with the slogan "Welcome to Our Sunshine". A year later, the station began airing a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

format.
Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1984
', Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1984. p. B-84. Retrieved July 22, 2018. In Spring 1989, the station began airing an

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. In late 1990, the station switched back to a country music format. In 1993, after being silent, the station adopted a

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

format, while temporarily being run by

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a Public university, public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of ...

students. The station again went silent in January 1994. In 1994, the station was sold to Larry and Pamela Nelson. The station returned to the air at 6 a.m. on December 5, 1994, airing

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 present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet s ...

music 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 such a ...

, along with local news and information. The station was branded "The Spirit of DeKalb County". The station added nighttime operations in 1996, running 17 watts. In August 1999, the station's format was changed to adult standards, carrying

Timeless Favorites Timeless was a 24-hour satellite music service of Citadel Media (through Citadel Broadcasting). It has distributed a mix of soft oldies and adult standards to radio stations around the United States. It was a combination of two former formats: go ...

programming from

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. WSQR moved to 1180 kHz in late 2006. WSQR continued carrying Timeless network programming from

Citadel Broadcasting Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country. Only iHeartMedia ...

until the network's shutdown in February 2010 when it adopted a classic hits format
Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2010
',

Broadcasting & Cable ''Broadcasting & Cable'' (or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') is a weekly telecommunications industry trade magazine published by Future US. Previous names included ''Broadcasting-Telecasting'', ''Broadcasting and Broadcast Advertising'', and ''Broadca ...

, 2010. p. D-200. Retrieved August 16, 2018. (from Citadel's Classic Hits network). WSQR returned to the adult standards format in late summer of 2011, airing

Dial Global Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The company w ...

America's Best Music America's Best Music is the on-air branding of a soft oldies and adult standards 24-hour radio network, formerly known as AM Only. The service is syndicated by Westwood One, a subsidiary of Cumulus Media. It was one of the original Transtar R ...

, but in November 2012 switched back to classic hits, now airing Dial Global's

Kool Gold Classic Hits (known as Kool Gold until June 17, 2012) is a 24-hour music format produced by Westwood One. Its playlist is composed of oldies music from the mid-1960s to mid-1980s, from artists such as Billy Joel, The Beatles, The Temptations, Flee ...

format. December 2022 92.9 is called the q and on 1180am is still called wsqr.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{coord, 42, 00, 24, N, 88, 40, 40, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title Classic hits radio stations in the United States

SQR SQR (Hyperion SQR Production Reporting, Part of OBIEE) is a programming language designed for generating reports from database management systems. The name is an abbreviation of Structured Query Reporter, which suggests its relationship to SQL ...

Radio stations established in 1981 1981 establishments in Illinois