WZEE (104.1 FM) is a radio station licensed to

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, and serving South Central

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. Known on-air as "Z104", the station is owned and operated by

iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...

and broadcasts a top 40 (CHR) music format.

History

The station was first licensed on November 1, 1949, as WFOW, owned by Earl W. Fessler. The

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 as ...

was changed to WMFM on July 15, 1952. In 1974, the station converted from

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

to its current Top 40 (CHR) format, adopting the WZEE

and "Z104" on-air brand as well. During its early years, "Z104" ran an automated Top 40 format XT40 from

Drake-Chenault Drake-Chenault Enterprises (originally American Independent Radio Inc.) was a radio syndication company that specialized in automation on FM radio stations. The company was founded in the late-1960s by radio programmer and deejay Bill Drake ...

programming, but live-and-local content would be added to the station over the years. In June 1987, Z104 was one of several Top 40 stations in the United States to ban

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...

's top-charting song ''

I Want Your Sex "I Want Your Sex" is a song by English singer and songwriter George Michael. Released as a single on 18 May 1987 in the United States and on 1 June in the United Kingdom, it was the third hit from the soundtrack to ''Beverly Hills Cop II'' and t ...

'' entirely by the station's music director Matt Hudson. Hudson replied to ''

The Capital Times ''The Capital Times'' (or ''Cap Times'') is a weekly newspaper published Wednesday in Madison, Wisconsin, by The Capital Times Company. The company also owns 50 percent of Capital Newspapers, which now does business as Madison Media Partners. ...

'' that the station's huge teenage audience made the recording too hot to handle, and he did not want to be responsible for putting out the message that is okay to say the title of the song, especially for the 12-year-olds who listened to Z104. Z104 was original home to the popular morning drive-time pairing of "Connie and Fish" during the 2000s; the pair would move to Clear Channel's

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

classic rock sister station WQBW in 2008, with the show remaining on WZEE in a simulcast. When WQBW became Top 40 station

WRNW WRNW (97.3 FM) is a commercial radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, known as "97.3 The Game". It airs a sports radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios are on West Howard Avenue in Greenfield. WRNW is a Class B FM s ...

in 2010, "Connie & Fish" became "Connie & Curtis" after "Fish" Calloway left Clear Channel to work for the competitor

WJQM WJQM (93.1 FM broadcasting, FM) is a radio station serving Madison, Wisconsin and surrounding areas. The station is owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting and launched a rhythmic contemporary format as "106.7 Jamz" in January 2007 before moving ...

. On September 4, 2012, "Connie & Curtis" (who had left for WLHT in

West Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for a region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Generally, it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Peninsula's Lake ...

) would be replaced on both WZEE and WRNW by the nationally syndicated ''

Elvis Duran and the Morning Show ''Elvis Duran and the Morning Show'' (formerly known as ''The Z Morning Zoo'') is an American syndicated weekday morning radio program hosted by Elvis Duran. The show originates from the studios of Newark-licensed WHTZ in New York City, a To ...

''. "Z104" schedule features voicetracked or syndicated programming (including ''Elvis Duran'' and fellow

Premiere Networks Premiere Networks, Inc. (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. It is th ...

show ''

On Air with Ryan Seacrest ''On Air with Ryan Seacrest'' is a weekday radio syndication, syndicated radio program hosted by Ryan Seacrest. It was launched in 2004 as a drive time show at the same time on Los Angeles contemporary hit radio, Top 40 station 102.7 KIIS-FM a ...

'').

HD Radio

WZEE broadcasts a

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 ...

signal, with its HD2 subchannel originally carrying an

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary r ...

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

format to complement the main "Z104" format; that format was replaced in fall 2013 by a simulcast of "Classical Highlights", a classical music channel that is heard on iHeartMedia's

iHeartRadio iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast, radio streaming and Music Streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. Founded in August 2008, iHeartRadio serves as the national umbrella brand for iHeart ...

platform. By December 2022, Classical Highlights would be replaced with "The Standard", iHeartRadio's channel devoted to music and artists of the

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 golden oldies genres. WZEE briefly aired a simulcast of sister sports station

WTSO WTSO (1070 AM broadcasting, AM, "1070 The Game") is a commercial radio station in Madison, Wisconsin, known as "1070 The Game." The station is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc., and airs a sports radio radio format, format. The offices a ...

on its HD3 subchannel in 2012. The HD3 signal would be restarted by July 2021, carrying the

contemporary worship music Contemporary worship music (CWM), also known as praise and worship music, is a distinct genre of Christian music used in contemporary worship. It has evolved over the past 60 years and is stylistically similar to pop music. The songs are of ...

network

Air1 Air1 is an American Christian radio network owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), a non-profit Christian ministry. It primarily broadcasts contemporary worship music, and is a sister to the EMF's K-Love network. History On July 15, ...

and serving as the originating signal of low-power simulcast W277AE, which is owned by Air1 parent

Educational Media Foundation Educational Media Foundation (formerly EMF Broadcasting, abbreviated EMF) is an American nonprofit Christian media ministry based in Franklin, a suburb of Nashville. EMF is the parent company of K-LOVE and Air1—the world's largest contempor ...

."FCC Monitor: New FM’s Sign On at Tip of Minnesota’s Arrowhead,"
from Northpine.com, 7/25/2021 (accessed 12/12/2022)

References

External links

* * * {{coord, 43.051, N, 89.487, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title ZEE Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States IHeartMedia radio stations Radio stations established in 1949 1949 establishments in Wisconsin