WQLK

Infobox Radio station
name = WQLK


city = Richmond, Indiana
area =
branding = "Kicks 96"
slogan = "The Best Country, The Most Fun"
frequency = 96.1 (MHz)
airdate =
format = Country
erp = 50,000 Watts
haat = 150 meters
class = B
facility_id = 6749
coordinates = coord|39|53|33|N|84|56|09|W
callsign_meaning =
former_callsigns = WGLM
affiliations =
owner = Brewer Broadcasting Corp.
licensee =
sister_stations = WHON
webcast =
website = http://www.kicks96.com

WQLK (96.1 FM) is a radio station licensed to Richmond, Indiana, located at 96.1 MHz on the FM dial. WQLK broadcasts at an effective radiated power of 50,000 Watts with its studios, offices, and tower located east of US 35 on Tingler Road just north of Richmond.

Programming

WQLK plays Country music, mainly from the 1990s and today. It is also broadcasts Indiana University Men's basketball as well as NASCAR SPRINT Cup races on the weekends.

The station used to broadcast Richmond High School football and boys basketball broadcasts until 2000. Those broadcasts have since moved to sister station, News/Talk WHON (930 AM).

History

WQLK is Richmond's oldest FM radio signal. The station signed on as WGLM, featuring a Jazz format. This format continued until the 1970s when the station adopted a Country format. Jazz remained a fixture on the station, however. WQLK continued to broadcast a Sunday morning jazz program until 1992 when the station became "Kicks 96".

In 1978, due to the growth in popularity of the FM side of the radio dial, many radio companies that had owned both AM and FM stations started moving their more popular AM format over to the FM side. WQLK and sister station WHON were no exception. As a result, WHON's Top 40 format moved to WQLK and WQLK's Country format moved to WHON. K-96 was born.

Throughout the early- and mid-1980s, WQLK saw quite a bit of success as a Top 40. What made K-96 stand out from stations in nearby Dayton, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati was that it leaned more to toward the Rock side of the genre. This "Rock 40" format gave artists such as The Police, Duran Duran, Def Leppard, for example, more exposure than heard on a conventional Top 40. K-96 did play some Rhythmic music, but mainly those from bands that were considered to be New Wave Music. By today's standards, "Rock 40" would be termed as a Modern Rock format.

By the end of the 1980s, WQLK became a classic hits station featuring mainly 1970s rock. The format quickly morphed into classic rock by 1990 and then album oriented rock by the early 1990s. The station retained the "K-96" moniker and the koala mascot throughout these format tweaks. In the spring of 1992, and with rumors of a format change in the air, their playlist began to shift slightly incorporating songs by Mary Chapin Carpenter ("Passionate Kisses"), Restless Heart ("When She Cries") and even country crooner Vince Gill ("I Still Believe In You") into their playlists right alongside format regulars Led Zeppelin, Boston and John Mellencamp. Popular air personalities from this time period include The Captain, Jim Rhodes, The Buddha and Mike Fox.

Finally in July 1992, the "K-96" era of the station came to an end. At 5pm on the Friday before the format change, the radio station began playing the song "Kicks" by Paul Revere & the Raiders continuously all weekend. The following Monday at 5am, morning show hosts J.R. & The Buddha premiered the radio station's new contemporary Country format as, "Kicks 96." J.R. & The Buddha remained as the radio station's morning show until J.R. was replaced by Buzz Cannon in 1995. At this time Buzz also took over as the station's Program Director. The Buzz & Buddha morning show remained an integral part of the station's success until Buzz's departure in 1999. Upon Buzz's departure from the station, Buddha took over as Program Director and evening air personality Angie Fox was promoted to mornings. Buddha was replaced as Program Director in 2001 by afternoon air-personality Steve Baker who still oversees the radio station's day to day operation to this day. The radio station's General Manager Dave Strycker has remained the station's G.M. since 1978. Angie & The Buddha have won numerous awards from "The Indiana Broadcasters Association" as have Steve Baker, Sports Director Troy Derengowski, News Director Jeff Lane and Production Director Joe Winters. Though the station has tweaked itself slightly over the years to include older songs and has changed their positioning statement from "Hot Country Kicks 96" to "The Best Country & The Most Fun, Kicks 96", their county format remains relatively the same to this day. Key air-personalities since 1993 include:Mark Brim, Buzz Cannon, The Buddha, Angie Fox, Allan Rantz, Paul Partezana, Dave McKay, Steve Baker, Marta Sebastian, and Big R.

External links

* [http://www.kicks96.com Kicks 96 WQLK official website]
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