WLOL (Defunct)

Infobox Radio station
name = WLOL-FM


city = Minneapolis, Minnesota
area = Minneapolis-St. Paul
branding =
slogan =
airdate = 1945 (FM)
frequency = 99.5 FM (MHz) (1956-1991)
105.3 FM (MHz) (1991-1994)
100.3 FM (MHz) (1999-2003)
format = Contemporary Hit Radio, other formats
power =
erp =
class =
callsign_meaning = W Land Of Lakes
former_callsigns =
owner =
webcast =
sister_stations =
website =
affiliations =

WLOL was the call sign used primarily for a station at 99.5 FM, serving the Twin Cities region. Throughout the 1980s, WLOL was most known as a top-rated CHR station.

The current inhabitant of the 99.5 FM frequency is KSJN, owned by Minnesota Public Radio, which purchased the station in 1991. Since then, the WLOL call letters have been used by several AM and FM stations in the area. The WLOL call letters currently reside at 1330 AM, the original station to hold them.

History

The 99.5 frequency dates to 1945 when AM station WMIN started broadcasting on the new FM band. WMIN-FM was sold in 1956 to the owners of WLOL, becoming WLOL-FM, which remained until 1991.

The history of the WLOL call letters is intertwined with many other area stations. WLOL was first used in 1939 by 1330 AM and was a part of the Mutual Broadcasting System.

"Hitradio 99½ WLOL"

For many years, WLOL-FM had a variety of formats. The original classical music format gave way to easy listening in 1975, then later soft rock as "FM100". The AM station was sold to MPR in 1980 and it became KSJN-AM. The owner held on to WLOL-FM, and in 1981, the station dumped soft rock and became "Musicradio 99½ WLOL", the only Twin Cities FM station at the time playing Top 40 music. The new WLOL became a massive success, eventually achieving a 10-share in the Arbitron ratings. At the time, WLOL was noteworthy for their presentation. They combined typical top 40 programming philosophies with a local touch. Local artists such as Prince were given heavy airplay, and the station relied heavily on unusual jingle packages, including the longer, song-like "Get Me Up" jingle.

The station was purchased by Emmis Broadcasting in 1983. New competition arrived later that year when longtime AM top 40 station KDWB returned to their co-owned FM frequency after several years playing album oriented rock. WCCO-FM also briefly switched to top 40 in the fall of 1982, but with dismal results. WLOL and KDWB would go on to have a bitter rivalry throughout the 1980s, with WLOL dominating the format in the Twin Cities for the next five years. In 1988, KDWB, which had been in a massive slump for years, hired a new program director and new airstaff, updated the on-air presentation and promotion, and created a new logo.

By the late 1980s, the tables were turned. Some listeners felt WLOL had grown stale, while KDWB suddenly became the hip new CHR station. From that point on, KDWB jumped ahead of a slumping WLOL, and would, from that point on, be the dominant CHR station in the market. Playing catch-up, WLOL started tweaking the programming and airstaff, shook up its longtime morning show, and finally, in May 1990 teased a format change. Suddenly, WLOL became a rhythmic top 40 station, dropping rock product from bands like Aerosmith and added more dance music, commercial hip-hop and R&B music. They aired dance mixes of songs, sometimes creating their own in-house custom mixes. Labeling themselves as "Today's Best Music", the new "99.5 WLOL" hired a new airstaff and rejuvenated themselves in the minds of many local listeners.

The end of WLOL, and relocation of KSJN

After the retooling, ratings started to improve for WLOL, and they almost caught up to their rival KDWB (whom WLOL personalities derided on-air as "K-DWeeB"). Unfortunately, Emmis, the station's owner, fell on financially tough times due to their purchase of baseball's Seattle Mariners. They started selling off some of their most successful stations, including WFAN in New York and KXXX in San Francisco. In 1991, Emmis found a buyer for WLOL. The shocking news was that the buyer was MPR, who desired to use it as the new location for KSJN (while moving their news/talk station KNOW from 1330 AM). After years of trying to purchase another FM station in the market, MPR agreed to buy the station for $12.5 million. This meant that WLOL would be no more. Pop music fans in the Twin Cities were furious as WLOL slowly counted down to their last day, February 26, 1991. The staff spent WLOL's last day paying tribute to the station by playing assorted music and jingles from the CHR station's entire ten-year history. Former air personalities dropped by or recorded farewell messages. And in a move seen by some as ghoulish, other stations such as KQRS-FM, K102 (where longtime WLOL morning man John Hines was just hired) and even longtime bitter rival KDWB bought advertising time on WLOL, inviting listeners to tune in to their stations. Finally, WLOL signed off just after 6PM, with the last song being "Miss You Much" by Janet Jackson. The next morning, 99.5 FM became the new home of KSJN, and 91.1 was now KNOW-FM.

Future locations of WLOL call letters

Shortly after WLOL's demise on 99.5, KXLV, a station located north of the Twin Cities, picked up the WLOL call letters for their Hot AC format. When the station was purchased and turned into WREV, their new sister station at 1470 AM became the new parking spot for the historic calls. This continued until 1999, when AMFM Broadcasting (soon to be absorbed into Clear Channel Communications purchased the WLOL calls for a new station to debut at 100.3 FM, in attempt at bringing back the WLOL 80s-era excitement, albeit with a 1970s-oriented classic hits format. The new WLOL lasted until 2002, when they flipped to smooth jazz. Hubbard Broadcasting considered putting the call letters on one of their stations, even putting a ten-day hold on them with the FCC, but eventually declined. In 2005, when Starboard Media sought out new call letters following their purchase of 1330 AM, they decided on the unclaimed WLOL, hence bringing the well-travelled call letters back to their place of origin.

Technical aspects of 99.5

In 1971, while it was WLOL-FM, the station participated in "quadcast" (quadraphonic stereo) experiments with KSJN, when that station was located at 91.1 FM in the Twin Cities.

ee also

*KSJN, the current 99.5 FM
*WLOL, now back on 1330 AM

Logo gallery

External links

* [http://www.radiotapes.com/ Radiotapes.com] Historic airchecks of WLOL and other Twin Cities radio stations
* [http://www.nebraskaradio.com/99.htm 99½ WLOL Minneapolis/St. Paul tribute page]
* [http://www.musicweb.uk.net/classrev/2001/Aug01/Stokes1.htm A recollection by Jim Stokes, a former announcer during WLOL-FM's classical music phase]

References

*Mark Durenberger (1999). [http://www.oldradio.com/archives/warstories/md-quad.htm Early quad-casts and other fun.] The Broadcast Archive: War Stories.