WRRM
Encyclopedia
WRRM is an adult contemporary station located at 98.5 FM in Cincinnati, Ohio
. The station is owned by Cumulus Media
, which acquired the station from Susquehanna Radio Corporation
.
" station at 104.3 FM. The station applied to move down the dial to 98.5 in order to get a stronger signal. The station became WLQA after moving to 98.5, still with "beautiful music". The current call letters were adapted when the station transitioned to the current format.
The station has used the identifier "Warm 98" since first adopting the adult contemporary format in late 1980. Immediately prior to that, it was playing "beautiful music" under its previous WLQA callsign. To ease the transition to Warm 98, the station said it would play the same songs as it did before, only now they would be performed by the original artists instead of by "beautiful music" performers.
While the "soft rock" format of stations such as "Warm 98" is now very common, it can be said that "Warm 98" was not just one of the first "soft rock" stations in the country, but among the few stations of the genre that has kept this format under the same callsign and identifier for the longest period of time. Its timing worked well out well, as "Warm 98" quickly became popular with women and Baby Boomers at the time when many of them didn't care for trends in popular music in the late 1970s and early 1980s, instead preferring a lighter sound and yearning for the mainstream top 40 hits of the early 1970s. Thus, "Warm 98"'s playlist featuring artists such as The Carpenters
, John Denver
, Bette Midler
, Steely Dan
, Fleetwood Mac
, and Dan Fogelberg
had proven to be a real ratings winner.
In recent years, Warm 98 has dropped the soft 70s songs of The Carpenters and John Denver from its playlist, and is more contemporary playing soft rock songs from artists such as Billy Joel
, Journey
, Elton John
, Sheryl Crow
, and Rod Stewart
.
The station's former frequency of 104.3 on the FM dial is now home to WNLT, a K-Love
Contemporary Christian outlet.
on Saturday nights hosted by midday personality Chris Lynn. The last time a Cincinnati FM station ran the Smooth Jazz format on a full-time basis was WVAE ("94.9 The Wave"), which ran from 1995 to 1999; however, the format had returned to the AM dial (albeit satellite-fed) on 1480 WCIN
, but the station dropped it in May 2009, leaving the Cincinnati radio market without a smooth jazz outlet. However, in early 2011, smooth jazz was reintroduced to Warm 98. Currently, smooth jazz programming can be heard on Warm 98 Sunday mornings 7-12 noon.
Sunday mornings featured the long-running "Sunday Morning Music Hall" hosted by Cincinnati Ballet Music Director Carmon DeLeone. The show first aired on Easter Sunday in 1991 and ended its 16½ year run on Sunday, January 6, 2008.
Recently, some key Warm 98 personalities left the station, including evening personality Jim Smith and morning personalities Dean Miuccio and Randi Douglas. PD Chris Lynn handles mornings and Bobbi Maxwell is on the air for the afternoon drive.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
. The station is owned by Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
, which acquired the station from Susquehanna Radio Corporation
Susquehanna Radio Corporation
The Susquehanna Radio Corporation was a media corporation which operated from 1941 to 2006 that was headquartered in York, Pennsylvania. The company was a unit of Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff, a conglomerate more widely known for the Pfaltzgraff kitchenware line than its broadcasting pursuits.Some of...
.
History
The station began as WAEF, a "beautiful musicBeautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
" station at 104.3 FM. The station applied to move down the dial to 98.5 in order to get a stronger signal. The station became WLQA after moving to 98.5, still with "beautiful music". The current call letters were adapted when the station transitioned to the current format.
The station has used the identifier "Warm 98" since first adopting the adult contemporary format in late 1980. Immediately prior to that, it was playing "beautiful music" under its previous WLQA callsign. To ease the transition to Warm 98, the station said it would play the same songs as it did before, only now they would be performed by the original artists instead of by "beautiful music" performers.
While the "soft rock" format of stations such as "Warm 98" is now very common, it can be said that "Warm 98" was not just one of the first "soft rock" stations in the country, but among the few stations of the genre that has kept this format under the same callsign and identifier for the longest period of time. Its timing worked well out well, as "Warm 98" quickly became popular with women and Baby Boomers at the time when many of them didn't care for trends in popular music in the late 1970s and early 1980s, instead preferring a lighter sound and yearning for the mainstream top 40 hits of the early 1970s. Thus, "Warm 98"'s playlist featuring artists such as The Carpenters
The Carpenters
Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of sister Karen and brother Richard Carpenter. The Carpenters were the #1 selling American music act of the 1970s. Though often referred to by the public as "The Carpenters", the duo's official name on authorized recordings and...
, John Denver
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. , known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success...
, Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
, Steely Dan
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...
, Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
, and Dan Fogelberg
Dan Fogelberg
Daniel Grayling "Dan" Fogelberg was an American singer-songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist, whose music was inspired by sources as diverse as folk, pop, rock, classical, jazz, and bluegrass music...
had proven to be a real ratings winner.
In recent years, Warm 98 has dropped the soft 70s songs of The Carpenters and John Denver from its playlist, and is more contemporary playing soft rock songs from artists such as Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
, Journey
Journey (band)
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
, Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...
, and Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
.
The station's former frequency of 104.3 on the FM dial is now home to WNLT, a K-Love
K-LOVE
K-LOVE is a Contemporary Christian music radio programming service in the United States operated by the Educational Media Foundation. As of January 2011, K-LOVE's programming is carried on over 440 FM stations and translators in 45 states. K-LOVE claims an audience of 250,000 people each week via...
Contemporary Christian outlet.
Programming
For ten years, ending in February 2010, Warm 98 aired five hours of Smooth JazzSmooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....
on Saturday nights hosted by midday personality Chris Lynn. The last time a Cincinnati FM station ran the Smooth Jazz format on a full-time basis was WVAE ("94.9 The Wave"), which ran from 1995 to 1999; however, the format had returned to the AM dial (albeit satellite-fed) on 1480 WCIN
WDJO
WQRT is a radio station licensed to Florence, Kentucky in the Cincinnati, Ohio metropolitan area that carries a conservative talk format primarily from Talk Radio Network.-At 1180 AM:...
, but the station dropped it in May 2009, leaving the Cincinnati radio market without a smooth jazz outlet. However, in early 2011, smooth jazz was reintroduced to Warm 98. Currently, smooth jazz programming can be heard on Warm 98 Sunday mornings 7-12 noon.
Sunday mornings featured the long-running "Sunday Morning Music Hall" hosted by Cincinnati Ballet Music Director Carmon DeLeone. The show first aired on Easter Sunday in 1991 and ended its 16½ year run on Sunday, January 6, 2008.
Recently, some key Warm 98 personalities left the station, including evening personality Jim Smith and morning personalities Dean Miuccio and Randi Douglas. PD Chris Lynn handles mornings and Bobbi Maxwell is on the air for the afternoon drive.