WROR-FM

WROR-FM

City of license	Framingham, Massachusetts
Broadcast area	Greater Boston
Branding	105.7 WROR
Slogan	Loren & Wally Playing Boston's Greatest Hits
Frequency	105.7 (also on HD Radio) 105.7 HD-2 70's Channel
First air date	1960s (as WKOX-FM)
Format	Classic Hits
ERP	23,000 watts
HAAT	224 meters (735 ft)
Class	B
Facility ID	20438
Callsign meaning	WROR = former call sign of WBZ-FM, original (1996) format was modeled after it
Owner	Greater Media (Greater Boston Radio, Inc.)
Webcast	WROR-FM/HD1 WROR-HD2
Website	wror.com wrornothinbutthe70s.com (HD2)

WROR-FM is a radio station licensed to Framingham, Massachusetts. It broadcasts on 105.7 MHz and serves the Boston market. The station offers a classic hits format, with a timespan of the '60s, '70s and '80s. Its signal reaches as far north as some parts of southern New Hampshire and as south as Providence, Rhode Island.

History

WROR's roots go back to WKOX-FM, the FM sister station of WKOX, then on 1190 AM (now WXKS on 1200). WKOX-FM aired classical music for Boston's MetroWest suburbs until January, 1969, when it began broadcasting a Top 40/Rock format as "FM-105" and later on as "Stereo-105". WKOX-FM was the Boston area's first full time live FM Top 40 station. WKOX-FM converted to stereo broadcasting, in July, 1969. Some of the DJs on WKOX-FM included Brother Bill Heizer, F.M. Douglas, Dick Stephens, John Leisher, Al Fraser, J. William Charles, Ken McKay and Jim Conlee.

WKOX AM and FM were acquired by Fairbanks Communications in July, 1971. After the sale, WKOX-FM became WVBF, "The Electronic Mama", as a top 40/rock station, initially retaining some of the WKOX-FM DJs. The call letters officially stood for Virginia Brown Fairbanks, the wife of station owner Richard M. Fairbanks (who himself had a station named after himself, WRMF in West Palm Beach, Florida). WVBF also began to target the Greater Boston area. Some of the DJs that were added to WVBF during their early months, included Bud Ballou, John Gillis, Bill Freeman (BLF Bash) and Charlie Kendall.

During Fairbanks ownership in the 1970s WVBF, evolved from being a high energy Top 40/AOR hybrid station in 1971/1972, to becoming a full blown top 40 station, by 1975, and eventually evolved into more of a hot adult contemporary format (by today's standards adult contemporary) over the years. WVBF also had many different nicknames over the years, including "F-105" and "Boston 105". In the early 1990s, WVBF was the radio home of Delilah before she became syndicated across the country.

However, in 1993, citing the growing popularity of country music, WVBF became WCLB, for "The Country Club". The format change was made in an effort to throw off Greater Media from launching a country format on smooth jazz station 96.9 WCDJ, which had just been acquired from Emmis Communications. Nevertheness, Greater Media went ahead with their plans, launching 96.9 as WBCS and leaving the city with two country stations. Confusion with other FM stations and a TV station led to a call sign change to WKLB in 1995.

In 1995, WKLB was to be sold to Evergreen Media, and was widely expected to become a talk radio station. However, a series of subsequent trades in 1997 placed WKLB under the ownership of Greater Media, owner of WBCS.

On September 5, 1996, the intellectual property of WKLB merged with WBCS, with the newly merged country station utilizing the 96.9 frequency of WBCS and the WKLB call letters, with a combination of personalities from both stations. Some 105.7 personalities remained there for the new format. In 1997, WKLB-FM relocated to the weaker 99.5 frequency, but returned to full-market coverage in 2006 with the station's move to the 102.5 frequency.

The move enabled 105.7 to pick up a new format, and the station became a 1970s-based oldies station using the WROR call letters that had been used by the station on 98.5 in Boston under ownership by RKO General Inc. and later American Radio Systems Corp. for years, but replaced with call sign WBMX in 1991. For years, 98.5 WROR had been an oldies oriented adult-contemporary station. When 105.7 picked up the call letters, they had been in storage on co-owned 1150 AM (now WWDJ). The station played 1970s pop and rock oldies, disco, some 1960s oldies, 1980s soft rock and top-40 crossovers, and some classic rock. The legendary WROR call letters, previously known for a popular oldies/AC hybrid format on 98.5 (now 98.5 - The Sports Hub), were familiar to many listeners, and the station originally attempted to re-assemble the WROR identity, including hiring several personalities from the defunct WROR. Leading broadcasters who were involved with WROR in the 1970s and early 1980s included program director Gary Berkowitz and air personalities such as Joe Martelle, Phil Redo (former market manager of Greater Media/Boston) Larry Justice and Frank Kingston Smith as well as current WROR General Manager, Tom Baker. By 1999, the format had been modified to a classic rock format, similar to co-owned WMGK in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In 2006, though, WROR gradually moved back to more of a pop-based classic hits format. While the format emphasises pop adult rock hits, the station also mixes in some R&B, disco, and harder rock songs. The station continues to emphasise the 1970s and 1980s but also plays some big 1960s hits. The station is similar to rival WODS, but plays more 1980s music and less 1960s music than its rival.

Loren and Wally

The station is most well known for its morning team, Loren Owens and Wally Brine, co-starring Tom Doyle (voices, parody songs, general comic relief), Sue Cope (news), and Hank Morse (traffic), and produced by Brian "Lung Boy" Bell. The show has several segments:

Men from Maine

Men from Maine is a one to two-minute comedy segment, opening with soap opera organ music and Loren stating something varying along the lines of, "And now for another thrilling episode of the exciting adventures of Men from Maine. As today's action packed drama begins-". Airing typically at 6:17 AM and 7:17 AM, episodes typically revolve around the two main characters Lem (played by Tom) and Ephus (played by Wally), and other residents of Bangor, Maine, such as Ephus' wife Effie and son Ephus Junior, Doc Cider (after Dock Sider shoes) and Pastor Fazool (after pasta e fagioli). The same characters have been used in songs about Maine on the segment "Tom's Townie Tunes" (see below). The humor of the segment is at its root generic "redneck humor", but set in very rural, backwoods Maine as opposed to the American South. Episode themes can run all the way from industrial accidents handled in incompetent ways (many residents, including Lem and Ephus work in the local sawmill), to bestiality. In all cases, the humor comes from the stupidity of the characters, and their obliviousness to it.

At least one listener has found the show offensive, as heard on the first Men from Maine CD (sold during the holiday season to raise money for charity). Offended by the humor poking fun at her home state, a woman called the station, threatening to continue protesting the show until it is taken off the air. But as of September 2011, the segment is still played on the Loren and Wally show and some can be found as a "Loren & Wally Podcast of the Day" on iTunes, and 2 episodes are posted on YouTube.

Tom's Townie Tunes

Tom's Townie Tunes is a segment created by morning crew member Tom Doyle that spoofs classic rock hits, using humorous lyrics to poke fun at towns in Massachusetts (and an additional few songs about the surrounding region, such as Maine). Often the songs are about high crime rates, poverty, and the general misery of residents in low class areas, while other songs satirize Harvard graduates and Kerry Healey's failed run for Governor of Massachusetts (sung to the tune of "867-5309 (Jenny)" by Tommy Tutone). The first ever Townie Tune was about Provincetown, Massachusetts (sung to the tune of Funkytown). Doyle's sports-related songs have occasionally gained airplay on other stations during championship seasons. During the holiday season, Tom often sings parodies of classic Christmas songs.

Other Townie Tunes include:

Townie Tune	Song parodied
"Stuck With a Kid at B.U."	"Stuck in the Middle With You" by Stealers Wheel
"Fung Wah Bus"	"Magic Bus" by The Who
"F-You Babe"	"I Got You, Babe" by Sonny & Cher
"Somerville Song"	"Summertime, Summertime"
"Buying A Sheep Tonight" (Men From Maine song Posted on YouTube)	"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" by The Tokens
"Brady Shuffle"	"The Curly Shuffle" by Jump 'N The Saddle Band
"I Heard You Came From Brookline"	"I Heard It Through the Grapevine"
"You Ain't Seen Newton Yet"	"You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" by Bachman–Turner Overdrive
"The Rectum of Edmund Fitzgerald"	"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot
"Come To Medford"	"Come Together" by The Beatles
"Haverhill"	"Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffett
"Naked Bare in Ipswich"	"Takin' Care of Business" by Bachman–Turner Overdrive
"Weymouth"	"Tequila" by The Champs
"Curt's So Good"	"Hurts So Good" by John Cougar Mellencamp
"Don't Worry, Big Papí"	"Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin
"Fifty Ways To Kill A Plover"	"50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" by Paul Simon
"In Maine" (Men From Maine song)	"Cocaine" by Eric Clapton
"Livin' in Revere"	"Reelin' in the Years" by Steely Dan
"The Most Miserable Time of the Year"	"The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (Christmas song)
"Golden Banana" (a strip club on U.S. Route 1 in Peabody)	"Copacabana" by Barry Manilow
"Alone Again, Natalie"	"Alone Again (Naturally)" by Gilbert O'Sullivan
"Turkey for Thanksgiving"	"Workin' for a Livin'" by Huey Lewis and the News
"Free Turkey Weekend" (used as a promotion to win a free Butterball turkey for Thanksgiving)	"Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
"Escape to The Cape"	"Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" by Rupert Holmes
"Leased Cadillac" (in honor of Gov. Patrick's official car)	"Pink Cadillac" by Bruce Springsteen
"Red, Red Tide"	"Red Red Wine" by UB40
"Malden Eyes"	"Lyin' Eyes" by The Eagles
"Rehabber's Delight"	"Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang
"The Sex Change Song"	"Stand by Your Man" by Tammy Wynette
"Barry Bonds"	"Charlie Brown" by the Coasters
"Nomar's Number 5" (later rewritten as "No More Number 5")	"Mambo No. 5" by Lou Bega
"Terry's Got a Brand New Team"	"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" by James Brown
"Sanjaya"	"Elvira" by The Oak Ridge Boys
"All I Wanna Do (Is Wipe My Bum)"	"All I Wanna Do" by Sheryl Crow
"Okajima!"	"Oklahoma!" by Rodgers and Hammerstein
"Matsuzaka"	"Macarena" by Los del Río
"Garbage Man"	"Piano Man" by Billy Joel
"The Panty Song"	"Shanty" by Jonathan Edwards
"Groin Fatigue"	"Centerfield" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
"I Want a Girl Like Lindsay Lohan"	"Slow Hand" by the Pointer Sisters
"Casino Song"	"Do You Want to Know a Secret" by The Beatles
"Donald the Coroner"	"Down on the Corner" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
"The Norwood Song"	"I'm Into Something Good" by Herman's Hermits
"Spin The Wheel of Meat" (promotional song for "Wheel of Meat" giveaway)	"Lights" by Journey "We Are Family" by Sister Sledge "I Just Want to Celebrate" by Rare Earth "Shining Star" by Earth, Wind & Fire "Don't Bring Me Down" by Electric Light Orchestra
"You're Still Juan Damón To Me"	"It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" by Billy Joel
"Johnny Damon"	"Johnny Angel" by Shelley Fabares
"Stupid Cheat"	"Super Freak" by Rick James
"These Boots Were Made in Brockton"	"These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra
"The Angels Song"	"Hotel California" by the Eagles
"Foxboro"	"Kokomo" by the Beach Boys
"Very Key People"	"Indian Reservation" by Paul Revere & the Raiders
"Try A Sausage On The Mild Side"	"Walk on the Wild Side" by Lou Reed
"You're 16-0" (later "17 and 0" and "18 and 0")	"You're Sixteen" by Ringo Starr
"It's Time To Beat the Giants"	"She Blinded Me With Science" by Thomas Dolby
"Addicted to Porn"	"Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer
"Beat L.A."	"Walk This Way" by Aerosmith
"Manny Song"	"For the Love of Money" by The O'Jays
"The 401(k) Song"	"Play That Funky Music" by Wild Cherry
"Hazel Mae"	"Maggie May" by Rod Stewart
"Pat's Life"	"That's Life" by Frank Sinatra
"You Don't Mess Around With Lynn"	"You Don't Mess Around With Jim" by Jim Croce
"Bourne Bridge"	"The Unicorn" by the Irish Rovers
"North Shore People"	"Short People" by Randy Newman
"Everybody Plays the Pool"	"Everybody Plays the Fool" by The Main Ingredient
"I'm So Indicted"	"I'm So Excited" by The Pointer Sisters
"Batter Named Shinchuchu"	"Chattanooga Choo-Choo"
"Chatham"	"Shattered" by the Rolling Stones
"Bring Whitey In"	"Mighty Quinn" by Manfred Mann
"Saugus Nights"	"Summer Nights" from Grease
"Dominic the Bookie"	"Dominick The Donkey" by Lou Monte
"Sue Cope Got Pulled Over by a Trooper"	"Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" by Elmo and Patsy
"All My Harvard Friends Are Coming Over Tonight"	"All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight" by Hank Williams Jr.
"T Breakdown"	"Breakdown" by Tom Petty
"Lovely Humarock"	"Loves Me Like A Rock" by Paul Simon
"Wonderland"	"Winter Wonderland"
"The Pothole Song"	"On The Road Again" by Willie Nelson

Holiday music

During the Christmas season, WROR plays Christmas music. Also, from 7-8 p.m. on weekdays, kids can call Santa Claus (played by Tom Doyle) and talk to him about what the kids want for Christmas by phone. Kids can also email Santa Claus,inwich is not real but a resident from finland gets the emails.. It is highly believed that their closest competitor for holiday music is WODS. This is believed because in 2010 & 2011, WROR started Christmas music the same day WODS started theirs. holiday music can start as early as 2 days after columbus day and as late as black friday and usually end around december 26

External links

• Official website
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WROR
• Radio-Locator information on WROR
• Query Arbitron's FM station database for WROR