WXRT (93.1 FM), also known as XRT and 93-XRT is an

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

radio station in

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 ...

. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. The station broadcasts from a transmitter atop John Hancock Center and its studios are located at Two Prudential Plaza near Chicago's Millennium Park. WXRT broadcasts in the HD Radio format.

Programming

WXRT plays a very broad range of music in a format known as AAA/Triple-A ( Adult album alternative). With a playlist of more than 5,000 songs from wide-ranging genres including

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

, folk-rock, pop, and

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 ...

, WXRT is considered a pioneer in the format.Caro, Mark.
Radiodaze
, ''

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 16, 1997. Retrieved February 1, 2019.Nidetz, Steve.
Rest of the Country Finally Catching Up With WXRT
, ''

''. March 22, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2019. WXRT is well known for several locally produced, original programs such as '' Saturday Morning Flashback'' hosted by Frank E. Lee, Johnny Mars, and Annalisa on a rotating basis, '' Breakfast with the Beatles'' hosted by Terri Hemmert, and the Lin's Bin essay series by longtime morning host Lin Brehmer, which ran from 2002 until 2022, shortly before Brehmer's death. Local music show "Local Anesthetic", hosted by Richard Milne, aired its final show on December 24, 2017. The final "Jazz Transfusion" hosted by Barry Winograd aired February 4, 2018, marking the end of more than four decades of the program. WXRT introduced several popular specialty programs in recent years. 'All Vinyl Saturday' began in 2016 to celebrate Record Store Day by playing individual songs and entire album sides non-stop for 12 hours. The albums selected to be played are from the personal record collections of DJs Marty Lennartz, Frank E. Lee, Annalisa, Johnny Mars, Andy Chanley, Emma Mac, and Don Davis. Due to "All Vinyl Saturdays" popularity, the feature is presented 3 to 4 times a year.

History

WFJL-FM

WFJL – (standing for Frank J. Lewis) went on the air on May 22, 1949. WFJL operated as a non-commercial station by Lewis College of Science and Technology (previous name of Lewis College, now Lewis University).
1955 Broadcasting Yearbook–Marketbook
',

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), ...

, 1955. p. 128. Retrieved February 2, 2019. The station's license was cancelled in 1956. WFJL, under the leadership of

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Auxiliary Bishop Most Rev. Bernard J. Sheil, D.D., of the Archdiocese of Chicago and general manager Jerry Keefe, radio format consisted of religious, educational, news, talk, and CYO

Boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

. WFJL's facilities were located at the Lincoln Tower Building, 75 East Wacker Drive in Chicago, above ground and had an effective radiated power of 29,000 watts. The station was sold to Louis Lee and callsign was changed to WSBC-FM.

WSBC-FM

The station began broadcasting March 15, 1960, holding the call sign WSBC-FM. The station's studios and transmitter were located at the West Town State Bank Building at 2400 W. Madison in Chicago, and it had an ERP of 27,500 watts.History Cards for WXRT
fcc.gov. Retrieved February 1, 2019. WSBC-FM featured a variety of musical programming, including classical,BMW News Editor Takes to Airwaves
, '' Billboard''. September 18, 1961. p. 14. Retrieved February 3, 2019.

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 ...

, folk, and

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

shows, and simulcast some of the ethnic programming of its sister station 1240 WSBC, when the shared-time station was on the air. The station was owned by Louie Lee.Wyman, Bill.
WXRT: Sold Down the River?
, ''

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...

''. March 9, 1995. Retrieved February 2, 2019. In 1962, its ERP was increased to 55,000 watts.

WXRT

In 1963, the station's call sign was changed to WXRT. The station increasingly aired ethnic programming. In 1971, WXRT's studios and transmitter were moved to 4949 West Belmont Ave., where it operated with an ERP of 50,000 watts at a HAAT of 500 feet. In 1981, the station's transmitter was moved to the John Hancock Center. The format as it exists today began in August 1972 as a nighttime-only freeform rock experiment, while a variety of ethnic programming continued to air during the daytime hours.Neumer, Alison.
WXRT still going strong at age 30
, ''

''. October 30, 2002. Retrieved February 1, 2019.Looking Back
, ''The AOR Story''. Radio & Records. 1978. p. 9. Retrieved February 5, 2019. The part-time

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 ...

format was started by Don Bridges, who soon brought in Mitch Michaels and a bit later John Platt, Seth Mason, and Bob Schulman. Norm Winer served as program director from 1979 through 2016. Greg Solk was named program director in 2017. Laura Duncan joined as Program Director in 2021. The format's hours were gradually expanded, and on April 26, 1976, it began airing 24 hours a day.Wyman, Bill.
So Many Records, So Little Time?
, ''

''. November 15, 1990. Retrieved February 5, 2019. The station was branded "Chicago's Fine Rock Station" and later "Chicago's Finest Rock". In the 1980s, the station heavily played music from the new wave,

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...

, and

groups of that era. By the 1990s, the station's format was considered adult album alternative. The station's offices and studios were located at 4949 West Belmont Ave. on the northwest side of Chicago until 2008, when it was relocated to the NBC Tower in downtown Chicago. Rosenthal, Phil.
Some static expected as 'XRT leaves home
, ''

''. February 8, 2008. Retrieved February 2, 2019. On March 16, 2010, it was again relocated to the Prudential Plaza. In 1995, Danny Lee, son of the station's original owner Louie Lee, sold the station to Westinghouse for $44 million. Shortly thereafter, Westinghouse would acquire CBS and Infinity Radio, with the company changing its name to CBS Corp. The Infinity name was retained for its radio division. CBS and Viacom would merge in 2000. In December 2005, Infinity Radio officially became CBS Radio in anticipation of the CBS/Viacom split up. On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom. The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on November 17.

April Fools' jokes

WXRT has performed numerous

April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. ...

jokes, dating back to the 1970s.Jacob, Mark; Benzkofer, Stephan.
10 things you might not know about April Fools' Day
, ''

''. March 28, 2010. Retrieved February 1, 2019. In 1982, the station promoted "Mayor Jane Byrne April Fool Fest" on Navy Pier, promising live performances by multiple artists, some of whom were dead. Hundreds of people showed up to the then-derelict and padlocked Navy Pier, believing that the festival was real. In 1998, WXRT stated that it was now a subsidiary of Playboy Enterprises. The station said it was now "True Adult Radio", and that its call sign was changed to WXXXRT.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control XRT Alternative rock radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1960 1960 establishments in Illinois Audacy, Inc. radio stations