WBMX-FM, known on-air as "
Mix 104-1," is a
radio stationRadio broadcasting is an audio broadcasting service, broadcast through the air as radio waves from a transmitter to an antenna and a thus to a receiving device. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast common programming, either in syndication or simulcast or both...
with a hot adult contemporary format in Boston, Massachusetts. started at 98.5
FMIn telecommunications, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its frequency . In analog applications, the instantaneous frequency of the carrier is directly proportional to the instantaneous value of the input signal...
, the station adopted its current format in 1991.
The call letters
WBMX (standing for
Black
Music E
Xperience), were originally assigned to 102.7 on the FM dial in Oak Park/Chicago Illinois from 1973 to 1988. (That station frequency is now home to R&B station
WVAZWVAZ, known locally as "V-103", is an urban adult contemporary radio station that is licensed to Oak Park. WVAZ is owned by Clear Channel, alongside sister stations WGCI-FM and WGRB-AM. In 2005, WVAZ began broadcasting in IBOC digital radio, using the HD Radio system from iBiquity.- History :The...
). In 1991, they were assigned to 98.5 on the FM dial in the Boston area.
On August 12, 2009, the station replaced
WBCNWBCN is a digital-only radio station airing on WBZ-FM HD-2 in Boston, Massachusetts and owned by CBS Radio. Before switching to 98.5 HD-2 on , WBCN ran its rock format for 41 years as an analog radio station on 104.1 MHz . WBCN became a legend in the Rock music industry for breaking many bands,...
at 104.1 as "Mix 104-1," making room for the new WBZ-FM at 98.5.
History
WBMX began its life in 1947 as the FM sister station to WNAC radio. Throughout its early life, WNAC-FM was merely a simulcast of its sister AM station. When John Shepard sold WNAC and WNAC-FM to RKO General in the early 1950s, they also owned Channel 7 WNAC-TV.
WNAC-FM became WRKO-FM in the early '60s but continued to simulcast WNAC until 1963, even though WNAC would later change its letters to
WRKOWRKO is a radio station based in Boston, Massachusetts, currently owned by Entercom. Its transmitter is located in Burlington, Massachusetts, next to the Burlington Mall.-1920-1940:...
as well. In 1963, WRKO-FM did embark on some separate programming.
On October 12, 1966, a new all-automated Top-40 format was introduced on WRKO-FM. Playing the top hits of the day (including the number-one song in Boston every hour on the hour) and using recorded announcing altered to sound like a robot (since the station was positioned as "R-KO [pronounced "arko"], The Shy But Friendly Robot"). WRKO-FM quickly became the most popular FM radio station in the Boston area.
On the AM side, WNAC became top-40 formatted WRKO in March 1967. When that happened, the live programming of WRKO-AM was simulcast on WRKO-FM between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. every day, with the automated "R-KO" format on the FM broadcast from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m..
In late 1968, WRKO-FM became “Stereo 98.5, WROR” with Bill Drake's all-automated “Hit Parade '68” format (what today we would call a “gold-based” contemporary format, with lots of
rock and rollRock and roll is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States after World War II in the late 1940s, from a combination of the rhythms of the blues, from the African American culture, and from America's country music and gospel music scenes...
oldiesOldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on a period 15 to 55 years before the present day.In the 1980s and 1990s, "oldies" meant the 15 years from the birth of rock n roll to the beginning of the singer-songwriter era of the early 1970s, or about 1955 to 1972.In...
mixed in with the currents).
By 1970, WROR evolved to a Top 40/Oldies hybrid format playing the hits from 1955 to the then present. In early 1973, they flipped to a 1950s/early 1960s full time Oldies format. After receiving significant competition from new FM Oldies station WCOP-FM, in late 1973, WROR expanded their Oldies format to include the late 60s and early 70s as well. During this time, the station was known as "The Golden Great 98". In 1979, WROR modified the oldies format to a gold-based AC, dropping most of the pre-64 oldies. Later that same year, the oldies came back on a re-tooled “98-and-a-half”. In early 1981, WRKO evolved to AC during the day and
talkTalk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
at night and by that September, WRKO 680 was strictly talk and news.
In 1982, RKO General was found by the FCC to be unfit to hold the broadcast license for WNAC-TV in Boston. That proceeding involved only WNAC, but its findings were used by challengers already seeking the other licenses held by RKO General. RKO settled the WNAC proceedings by not contesting the loss of that property to one of the challengers, which was then granted the license to operate on channel 7. They did sell equipment and programming and intellectual unit to the challengers but lost the broadcast television license. The calls became WNEV (the station is now known as
WHDHThe call letters WHDH may represent:* WHDH-TV channel 7: a television station in Boston, Massachusetts that currently exists* WHDH-TV channel 5: a television station in Boston that existed from 1957 to 1972; replaced by WCVB-TV...
(TV)).
By 1983 98.5 WROR moved to a Gold Based AC format during the week focusing on 1964 to 1979, mixing in a couple of pre-64 songs an hour along with a couple of 80's songs and a current per hour. On weekends WROR played Oldies from 1955 to 1974. From the fall of 1987 until the spring of 1988, WROR ran a
JazzSmooth jazz is a sub-genre of jazz which is influenced stylistically by R&B, funk and pop.Beginning in the early 1970s, it was an evolution into jazz with a modern, electronic sensibility...
/
New AgeNew Age music is music of various styles, which is intended to create inspiration, relaxation, and positive feelings, often used by listeners for yoga, massage, inspiration, relaxation, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or...
music show Sunday through Friday evenings. That show was ended due to very low ratings. Gradually the station's focus changed to an adult contemporary format that targeted women 26-54 years old.
Several years after the Channel 7 decision, the FCC found RKO unfit to operate its 13 radio stations and its Los Angeles and Memphis television stations. Shortly thereafter, a takeover battle ensued for RKO's parent company, Gencorp. To raise money to buy back its own stock, Gencorp proposed "settling" the challenges to its broadcast properties by paying off relevant challengers after selling the licenses to the separate owners for close to market value. The Commission therefore allowed RKO to sell their stations at market value but relevant challengers to each property received a percentage of the purchase price for each license sold. For example, KHJ-TV (now
KCAL-TVKCAL-TV, channel 9, is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, owned by the CBS Corporation. KCAL-TV shares its studio facilities with KCBS-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson.-Early...
) in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
was sold to Disney in 1988 for market value while actual challenger, Fidelity Television, received a percentage of the money paid to Gencorp. Gencorp also sold WOR-TV,
SecaucusSecaucus is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town population was 15,931. The town's name is pronounced "SEE-kaw-cus", with the accent on the first syllable, not the second as often used by non-natives....
, N.J. to MCA TV, which was its only property with a permanent license. In 1988, WRKO and WROR was sold to Atlantic Ventures, which changed its name to Atlantic Radio before merging with two other broadcast companies to form American Radio Systems.
In 1989, WROR modified its format to Hot Adult Contemporary and changed its on air-identity to ROR-FM. Two years and several thousand dollars worth of research later, the station played Roy Orbison's "It's Over," and adopted a format heavy on Motown oldies and hot AC currents, changing its call letters to WBMX, and its on air identity “Mix 98.5”. Initially the station focused on 80's and 90's music with a lot of new songs and a few 60's and 70's big hits mixed in.
The WROR call letters now occupy Greater Media's 105.7 FM, which plays a
classic rockClassic rock was originally conceived as a radio station programming format which evolved from the album oriented rock format in the early-1980s...
leaning format of 60's to 80's music.
WBMX gradually evolved away from AC artists and began to focus on
modern rockModern rock is a term commonly used to describe a rock music format found on American commercial radio. Generally beginning with late 1970s punk but referring especially to rock music since the 1980s, the phrase "modern rock" is used to differentiate the music from "classic rock", which focuses on...
cross-over material and the exclusion of the 60s and 70s oldies which were once a staple of the old WROR. (Many Hot AC stations began to evolve this way.) By 1996, the format had evolved to “Modern AC”.
In 1997, American Radio agreed to merge with CBS, but an agreement was announced by which WRKO,
WEEIWEEI is a sports radio station in Boston, Massachusetts that broadcasts on 850 kHz from a transmitter in Needham, Massachusetts and is owned by Entercom Communications. The station is one of the top rated sports talk radio stations in the nation. Studios are located in Brighton, Massachusetts...
,
WEGQWMKK is a radio station licensed to serve Lawrence, Massachusetts. The station plays a wide variety of popular music, serving as the Boston market's answer to the Jack FM craze. The lean is adult rock hits though some non-rock is played as well. The music spans from 1964 to a few current hits with...
, and
WAAFWAAF is a Boston, Massachusetts, area commercial Album Oriented Rock/Active rock radio station that mixes music that is popular in the modern rock, heavy metal and classic rock genres....
would be placed in a trust until an alternate buyer could be found. Entercom would buy these stations later that year. CBS then purchased WBMX, pending final FCC approval; the merger was consummated in June, 1998.
Today WBMX is co-owned with
WBZWBZ is the callsign for an AM radio station in Boston, Massachusetts which is owned by CBS Radio , which itself is owned by the CBS Corporation...
1030,
WBZ-FMWBZ-FM is a sports radio station known as "98.5 The Sports Hub" and broadcasting on 98.5 MHz in Boston, Massachusetts. Owned by CBS Radio, the current WBZ-FM began on August 13, 2009 and competes with AM sports talk stations WEEI and competed with the ESPN Radio pair of WAMG and WLLH before their...
98.5,
WODSWODS, known on-air as "103.3 WODS" is a radio station in Boston, Massachusetts. WODS has a pop leaning Classic Hits format with music mostly from 1964 to 1979 , and is also involved in the organization of several concerts and events within the Boston area. WODS is a CBS Radio station. The station...
103.3,
WZLXWZLX is a prominent classic rock radio station in the Boston market. WZLX was one of the first classic rock FM stations in America...
100.7,
WBZ-TVWBZ-TV is a CBS owned-and-operated television station, located in Boston, Massachusetts, broadcasting mainly a high-definition digital signal on channel 30...
Channel 4, and
WSBKWSBK-TV is an independent television station for eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire that is licensed to Boston. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter along the Needham and Wellesley town line southwest of the MA 9 and I-95 / MA 128...
Channel 38. WBMX moved to slightly more of a mainstrean Hot AC by 2000 though it still leans toward rock.
Switch to 104.1
On July 13, 2009,
CBS RadioCBS Radio Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, fourth behind main rival Clear Channel Communications , Cumulus Media and Citadel Broadcasting...
announced that the
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the 1960s. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, country music and also drew on folk music, jazz and classical music....
format on sister station WBCN would sign off the 104.1 FM frequency on August 13, 2009, and WBMX and its Hot Adult Contemporary format would move to 104.1 FM, known as "Mix 104-1." This made room for an all-sports talk format at the 98.5 frequency where Mix was heard. 98.5 is known as "The Sports Hub." Mix 98.5 aired on its final day, silently, as WBZ-FM. While waiting for the switch to 104.1, the WBMX call letters were reassigned to WFNA-AM 1660, an all sports talk station in Charlotte, North Carolina. The call letters were brought back to Boston when WBCN signed off 104.1. The WBCN call letters now occupy 1660-AM in Charlotte, as a Conservative Talk station. WBCN's rock format moved to 98.5's HD2 subcarrier. The first song Mix played on 104.1 was
Use Somebody"Use Somebody" is the second single from Only by the Night, the fourth studio album by Kings of Leon, released on December 8, 2008. The music video was premiered exclusively on the band's MySpace page on November 4, 2008....
by
Kings of LeonKings of Leon is an American rock band, that formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1999, consisting of brothers Anthony "Caleb" Followill , Ivan "Nathan" Followill and Michael "Jared" Followill , with their cousin Cameron "Matthew" Followill...
.