WRBQ
Encyclopedia
WRBQ-FM is a commercial classic hits
music formatted radio station
in Tampa, Florida
.
, Cleveland Wheeler, Scott Shannon
, Dave Saint, Jack Harris
, Bill Garcia, Uncle Johnny, Alan O’Brien, Tedd Webb and a host of other top talents. The first FM rock station in the market to use live DJs, it quickly overtook WLCY-FM
, which had signed on three years earlier with an automated
rock format.
According to engineer Ralph Beaver, the station's call sign
was created when they were looking for a set of unique call letters and tossing out ideas, he suggested ‘RB’ (which happened to be his initials). Southern Broadcasting, which then owned the station, had just signed on WRVQ
in Richmond, Virginia
, and ‘RB’ was available, creating a call sign that sounded similar to its sister station.
When it signed on, WRBQ-FM was owned by Southern Broadcasting. In 1978, the station was purchased by Harte-Hanks
, then in 1983 by Edens Broadcasting, headed by former Southern Broadcasting and Harte-Hanks executive Gary Edens.
For the first 20 years, Q105 was a contemporary hits
and dominated in the ratings in Tampa. In the early eighties, Program Director Scott Shannon & Morning Man Cleveland Wheeler began the "Q Morning Zoo," which spawned imitators across the industry. The station was able to maintain its popularity until 1989, when crosstown Oldies station WFLZ changed to an aggressive Top 40 format called "The Power Pig." Part of WFLZ's plan was to mock and belittle Q105. The main aspect of their campaign were billboards all over Tampa saying "Screw The Q" with the letter "Q" and a large screw through it.
Q105 continued on against The Power Pig for a few more years, but was unable to regain the ratings they once enjoyed. In 1993, the station was purchased by Clear Channel Communications who switched the station to a country music format, keeping the Q105 name and logo (albeit recolored in a red, white and blue motif). The switch to country was an immediate ratings success climbing from 13th all the way to 2nd, beating every station except rival country competitor WQYK-FM
.
At one time, WRBQ was the flagship radio station for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
of the National Football League
, becoming perhaps the first top-40 station in the U.S. to carry live play-by-play sporting events. Jesse Ventura
--the former professional wrestler and actor
who later became governor of Minnesota
--was one of the team's color analysts.
In 2000, as a result of the merger of Clear Channel and AMFM, WRBQ was sold to Infinity Broadcasting, now CBS Radio. In 2002, under the lobbying of former WRBQ Program Director Mason Dixon, who was Program Director of WRBQ's sister station, 92.5/WYUU, which at the time was an oldies station, WRBQ and WYUU
exchanged formats. WYUU became the "Outlaw 92.5" (WYUU later dropped country for a Hispanic format) while WRBQ became an oldies station. Since 2002, WRBQ has had an oldies format under program director Mason Dixon, first as Oldies 104.7, then back to the Q105 branding in July 2005, tweaking the format to classic hits
("The Greatest Hits of All Time").
Mason can still be heard weekday mornings from 5:30 to 10 with Nikki Cruz. You can also stream them live at myQ105.com or wrbq.fm.http://wrbq.fm/
In recent years, WRBQ-FM has brought back jingles from its CHR
days on the air. These include cuts from the "Flamethrower," "Warp Factor," "Skywave," "Turbo Z," and "Z World" packages, all from JAM Creative Productions
; the Q105 jingle melody, in its present incarnation, was modeled after that of "Z100," WHTZ
in New York.
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
music formatted radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
.
History
Formerly WPKM and later WEZX, 104.7 switched to a rock ’n roll format as Q105 in December 1973, home to the Q-Morning ZooMorning zoo
Morning zoo is a format of morning radio show common to English-language radio broadcasting. The name is derived from the "wackiness and zaniness" of the activities, bits, and overall personality of the show and its hosts...
, Cleveland Wheeler, Scott Shannon
Scott Shannon
Michael Scott Shannon is a radio disc jockey, current co-host of the "Scott and Todd in the Morning" show on WPLJ, host of The True Oldies Channel, and the official voice of The Sean Hannity Show.-Early Radio Career:...
, Dave Saint, Jack Harris
Jack Harris (broadcaster)
Jack Harris is an American radio and television personality based in Tampa, Florida who co-hosts the morning drive time program on 970 WFLA and is a broadcaster with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Tampa Bay Storm and the Outback Bowl...
, Bill Garcia, Uncle Johnny, Alan O’Brien, Tedd Webb and a host of other top talents. The first FM rock station in the market to use live DJs, it quickly overtook WLCY-FM
WWRM
WWRM is an adult contemporary music formatted radio station serving the Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida radio market. WWRM began on 107.3 , but later moved to 94.9 with its soft AC format...
, which had signed on three years earlier with an automated
Broadcast automation
Broadcast automation incorporates the use of broadcast programming technology to automate broadcasting operations. Used either at a broadcast network, radio station or a television station, it can run a facility in the absence of a human operator...
rock format.
According to engineer Ralph Beaver, the station's call sign
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
was created when they were looking for a set of unique call letters and tossing out ideas, he suggested ‘RB’ (which happened to be his initials). Southern Broadcasting, which then owned the station, had just signed on WRVQ
WRVQ
WRVQ is a Contemporary Hit Radio formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Richmond, Virginia, serving Central Virginia. WRVQ is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications.-External links:*...
in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, and ‘RB’ was available, creating a call sign that sounded similar to its sister station.
When it signed on, WRBQ-FM was owned by Southern Broadcasting. In 1978, the station was purchased by Harte-Hanks
Harte-Hanks
Harte-Hanks is an advertising and direct marketing company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is particularly associated with the publication of weekly shopper publications, with 13 million circulation weekly in 1100 separate editions of the PennySaver and Flyer each week in California and...
, then in 1983 by Edens Broadcasting, headed by former Southern Broadcasting and Harte-Hanks executive Gary Edens.
For the first 20 years, Q105 was a contemporary hits
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
and dominated in the ratings in Tampa. In the early eighties, Program Director Scott Shannon & Morning Man Cleveland Wheeler began the "Q Morning Zoo," which spawned imitators across the industry. The station was able to maintain its popularity until 1989, when crosstown Oldies station WFLZ changed to an aggressive Top 40 format called "The Power Pig." Part of WFLZ's plan was to mock and belittle Q105. The main aspect of their campaign were billboards all over Tampa saying "Screw The Q" with the letter "Q" and a large screw through it.
Q105 continued on against The Power Pig for a few more years, but was unable to regain the ratings they once enjoyed. In 1993, the station was purchased by Clear Channel Communications who switched the station to a country music format, keeping the Q105 name and logo (albeit recolored in a red, white and blue motif). The switch to country was an immediate ratings success climbing from 13th all the way to 2nd, beating every station except rival country competitor WQYK-FM
WQYK-FM
WQYK-FM is a commercial country music radio station in Tampa, Florida. It is currently under ownership of CBS Radio.-External links:*...
.
At one time, WRBQ was the flagship radio station for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, becoming perhaps the first top-40 station in the U.S. to carry live play-by-play sporting events. Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura
James George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...
--the former professional wrestler and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who later became governor of Minnesota
Governor of Minnesota
The Governor of Minnesota is the chief executive of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty different people have been governors of the state, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. Alexander Ramsey, the first territorial...
--was one of the team's color analysts.
In 2000, as a result of the merger of Clear Channel and AMFM, WRBQ was sold to Infinity Broadcasting, now CBS Radio. In 2002, under the lobbying of former WRBQ Program Director Mason Dixon, who was Program Director of WRBQ's sister station, 92.5/WYUU, which at the time was an oldies station, WRBQ and WYUU
WYUU
WYUU WYUU WYUU (92.5 FM, is a radio station broadcasting from Safety Harbor, Florida and serving the Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida area. The station plays a Tropical Latin format branded as "Maxima FM."-History:...
exchanged formats. WYUU became the "Outlaw 92.5" (WYUU later dropped country for a Hispanic format) while WRBQ became an oldies station. Since 2002, WRBQ has had an oldies format under program director Mason Dixon, first as Oldies 104.7, then back to the Q105 branding in July 2005, tweaking the format to classic hits
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
("The Greatest Hits of All Time").
Mason can still be heard weekday mornings from 5:30 to 10 with Nikki Cruz. You can also stream them live at myQ105.com or wrbq.fm.http://wrbq.fm/
In recent years, WRBQ-FM has brought back jingles from its CHR
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
days on the air. These include cuts from the "Flamethrower," "Warp Factor," "Skywave," "Turbo Z," and "Z World" packages, all from JAM Creative Productions
JAM Creative Productions
JAM Creative Productions, Inc., is an American company that produces radio jingles, promo music for television, and commercial jingles for advertisers. It has made more radio jingles than any other jingle company and has become part of American pop culture....
; the Q105 jingle melody, in its present incarnation, was modeled after that of "Z100," WHTZ
WHTZ
WHTZ — branded Z100 — is a commercial pop/contemporary hit radio radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey serving the New York metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications...
in New York.
Present
The current lineup (as of November 01, 2010):- Mason In The Morning with Mason Dixonhttp://myq105.radio.com/shows/mason-in-the-morning/ and Nikki Cruzhttp://myq105.radio.com/shows/nikki-cruz/
- Scott Walker (Middays & Saturday Night Dance Party; also program director)
- JoJo Kincaid (Afternoon drive-time)
- Jack Miller (Evenings)
Past
- Bill Connolly
- JoJo Walker
- Rico Blanco
- "Marvelous Marvin" Boone
- Mike Reeves
- Marc Haze
- John Kelly
- Terrance McKeever
- Scott ShannonScott ShannonMichael Scott Shannon is a radio disc jockey, current co-host of the "Scott and Todd in the Morning" show on WPLJ, host of The True Oldies Channel, and the official voice of The Sean Hannity Show.-Early Radio Career:...
- Dave Saint
- Bill Garcia
- Uncle Johnny
- Dave Collins
- Tim Davidson
- Alan O’Brien
- Don Wallis
- Scott Dennis (AM)
- Tedd Webb
- Alicia Kaye
- Dr. Chuck Stevens
- Jon "Rock N Roll" Anthony
- Ronnie "Night Train" Lane
- Arch Deal
- Nancy Alexander
- Roger Shulman
- Pat Brooks
- Cat Sommers
- Brian "BC" Christopher
- Chuck Bear
- Dave Mann
- Don Capone
- Pat George
- Brian Thomas (PD & on-air)
- Scott Summers
- Deputy Mike
- Jack HarrisJack Harris (broadcaster)Jack Harris is an American radio and television personality based in Tampa, Florida who co-hosts the morning drive time program on 970 WFLA and is a broadcaster with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Tampa Bay Storm and the Outback Bowl...
- Kathy "Wild" West
- Shadow Logan, aka JoJo Morales
- Sara Marx (Marxy)
- T.R. Campbell
- Doug Bevis as "Bevis"
- Brandon David
- Kevin Summers
- Tramonte Watts
- Cosmic Jon Barry
- Mike Rivers
- Al Brock
- Cleveland Wheeler
- Randy Kabrich
- Brian Christopher
- John Clay
- Nancy Knight
- Mike Williams (Fudge)
- Mark Alan Biggs http://www.linkedin.com/in/mabiggs