WDRQ

WDRQ

City of license	Detroit, Michigan
Broadcast area	Detroit, MI-Windsor, ON
Branding	93.1 Doug FM
Slogan	"We Play Everything"
Frequency	93.1 MHz (also on HD Radio) 93.1 HD-2 Detroit's Party Station Rhythmic AC/Classic Dance
First air date	July 9, 1947
Format	Variety Hits
ERP	26,500 watts
HAAT	204 meters
Class	B
Facility ID	70040
Transmitter coordinates	42°28′16″N 83°12′3″W / 42.47111°N 83.20083°W / 42.47111; -83.20083
Callsign meaning	W Detroit (branding) RadioQ (format)
Former callsigns	WLTI (4/15/85-8/10/96) WDRQ-FM (6/25/80-4/15/85) WDRQ (1972-6/25/80) WDEE-FM (1970-1972) WJBK-FM (1947-1970)
Owner	Cumulus Media (Radio License Holding I, LLC)
Sister stations	WDVD, WJR
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	931dougfm.com

WDRQ is an FM radio station in Detroit, Michigan. The station is branded as 93.1 Doug FM. Doug FM broadcasts from the Fisher Building just north of downtown Detroit and transmits its signal from an antenna 669 feet in length located at the intersection of Ten Mile and Greenfield Roads in suburban Oak Park. The station is owned by Cumulus Media.

WDRQ can be heard in the entire Detroit Metro area, and as far west as Lansing, and as far north as Flint and Lapeer.

History

WJBK-FM/WDEE

WDRQ originally came to Detroit in 1972 as Detroit's first FM talk radio station, with all-news programming weekdays during morning and afternoon drive-time hours (the station's slogan was "DRQ Has News For You"). Prior to 1972, the station had been WJBK-FM and then WDEE-FM, mostly simulcasting the programming of then-sister AM 1500. (WJBK-AM was Detroit's first top 40 station, playing hit music from 1956 to 1964. After 1964 they simulcasted the AM's new easy listening format, and its brief return to Top 40 in 1969. In late 1969, WJBK-AM/FM became WDEE-AM & FM ("The Big D") and simulcasted a country format which attracted listeners with a top 40-style presentation.

93FM WDRQ

Due to new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) restrictions on simulcasting, in 1972 WDEE-FM changed its calls to WDRQ-FM and it became Detroit's first FM talk radio station. One of its earliest, and most well-received, programs was The History of Detroit Radio, a documentary on the then-current and past scene of Detroit radio (with special emphasis given to rock and roll stations) put together by longtime radio enthusiast and former Oakland Press radio columnist Arthur R. Vuolo, Jr.

Ultimately, however, the news/talk format proved to be unsuccessful and WDRQ-FM was sold and became a stand-alone FM station under the ownership of Charter Broadcasting, which at the time owned such legendary AM Top 40 stations as KCBQ in San Diego and WOKY in Milwaukee. Soon after, seeing the growth of FM Top 40 in other markets, WDRQ moved to become a top 40 station using consultant Buzz Bennett's fast-paced "Q" format. Like its rival, CKLW "The Big 8", WDRQ featured a tight playlist which leaned toward R&B and soul records, but unlike "The Big 8", WDRQ was not saddled with Canadian Content regulations requiring them to play a certain percentage of Canadian music in their rotation, which enabled them to play only the top hits and enabled them to make strong ratings inroads against CKLW.

Then, in January 1979, WDRQ made a format shift to "Disco 93", inspired by the success of the all-disco format at WKTU in New York City. The move to disco was not received well in Detroit, and WDRQ tumbled out of the top 20 within a few months. Despite plummeting ratings, WDRQ stuck with all-disco through 1979, returned to top 40 in 1980, then adopted an urban contemporary format (with danceable mainstream hits mixed in) in 1982. The station rebounded well, soaring to #2 overall in its debut book with the urban format in the summer of 1982, although the ratings cooled off shortly afterward. "Continuous Music—93FM WDRQ" was a success, and the opening of Beverly Hills Cop features an advertisement for this version of WDRQ on a city bus. Charter sold the station to Amatuoro Broadcasting in the early 1980s, who later sold it to Keymarket Communications. Viacom later purchased the station in a trade with Keymarket for a station that Viacom owned in Memphis Tenn in the mid-1980s that Keymarket wanted.

93.1 The Lite FM

The urban format lasted until 1985 when it was replaced by the light rock station WLTI "93.1 The Lite FM." Its morning drive team of Rogers and Holiday featured comedic "celebrity" drop-ins by the spoofed likes of Rodney Dangerfield, Clint Eastwood and Eddie Murphy as well as original characters like Mr. Action.

WLTI initially positioned itself as a cross between more up-tempo AC competitor WNIC and beautiful music Joy 97, featuring a blend of soft hits and oldies from artists like Barry Manilow, The Carpenters, Anne Murray, Olivia Newton-John, and Frank Sinatra. By 1994, most of the easy MOR artists were gone and WLTI had become more contemporary, but the station could never match WNIC for dominance in the AC market.

The WLTI callsign and radio format were resurrected on a radio station in Syracuse, New York.

The New DRQ/93.1 DRQ

WDRQ logo from 1996-2005

In July 1996, WDRQ returned to the 93.1 frequency as a Rhythmic Adult Contemporary music station. Viacom sold the station to ABC Radio during this time. Initially the station called itself "The New DRQ: Detroit's Station For Women." With only an announcer used for on-air bumper promos, and without any disc jockeys, the station chiefly played a random mix of programmed dance, disco and pop music from the late 1970s through the early 1990s, with some new music factored in sporadically. More current dance-oriented top 40 music was added to the play list into the fall. By early 1997, a lite mix of pop-friendly R&B and hip-hop music was also adopted to further cement the stations mainstream hook. With this being the first time a top 40/dance music station had been on Detroit radio since the reformatting of 96.3 WHYT two years earlier, DRQ immediately attracted a large listening audience upon its re-launch. Subsequently, the station quickly abandoned the 'for women only' angle and steadfastly recruited a line-up of on-air staff. The station began calling itself "Detroit's Dance Music Station" (later "Today's Best Music," then "Today's Hit Music," and finally "Detroit's #1 Hit Music Station.")

By 2000, the station had evolved into more of a mainstream top 40 station (albeit still geared more toward playing dance music than other like-formatted stations in the area) and was eating away at its adult-leaning top 40 competitor Q95-5. By the final quarter of 2001, both WDRQ and WKQI were leaning very heavily toward Rhythmic CHR. For a time, WDRQ consistently defeated WKQI in the ratings, but after Clear Channel re-launched WKQI as "Channel 9-5-5" in February 2002, WKQI pulled ahead of DRQ—garnering both larger ratings and revenue.

93.1 Doug FM

At 1 p.m. EST on April 1, 2005, Disney/ABC Radio (who held the 93.1 FM Federal Communications Commission (FCC) radio broadcasting license in Detroit) abruptly pulled WDRQ off the air, without any warning being given to the listeners or employees.^{[citation needed]} Some thought this was a bad April Fool's Day prank. This, though, was no joke. DRQ was replaced with a variety hits format - "93.1 Doug FM—We Play…Everything!" - similar to that of the various Jack FM and Bob FM stations. The music selection for this format is very broad, similar to that of 96-3 WDVD, 100.3 WNIC, and Magic 105.1, combining a wide variety of songs from the 1960s through the 2000s.

Many former DRQ listeners were both confused by and disgruntled over the format change. Its overall ratings have remained more or less the same since before the reformatting.

ABC sold its non-Radio Disney and ESPN Radio stations, including WDRQ, to Citadel Broadcasting in 2007. Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.^[1]

HD radio

On January 29, 2009, WDRQ's HD2 Channel changed to "Doug's Wedding Reception," a mix of variety hits usually heard at weddings. Before that, the HD2 channel had been broadcasting a party hits format using old DRQ jingles from the 1990s.

When WDRQ-HD2 first went on the air, it was originally a simulcast of AM talk station WJR.

As of July 2011, WDRQ-HD2 is once again "Detroit's Party Station," a Gold Rhythmic AC station featuring Rhythmic Oldies and Classic Dance music from the '70s, '80s and '90s.

Former on-air staff

Early/mid-1970s original DRQ Jocks

• Joey Ryan
• Al Casey
• Bill Bailey (formerly of WLS Chicago, now at WGVU-AM in Grand Rapids]]
• "Rockin" Ron Baptist
• Ken Levine ("Beaver Cleaver")
• Don Cristi
• Howard Hoffman
• Ted Ferguson ("China Jones")
• Jonnie King
• Bill Vogel (as "Jack O'Neill," later a longtime morning fixture at WKHQ in Northern Michigan as "The Captain")
• Mick Rizzo
• Brian White
• Jerry St. James
• Spanky "The Kid" Lea (now news anchor John Kessler at KPIX-TV, San Francisco)
• Kevin Jackson (later "Kevin 'Boom Boom' Anderson" at KZAP and KRXQ Sacramento)
• Larry Hudson
• Mike Vaughn (now "Michael Right" at KXRA-FM in Alexandria, MN.)
• Doug Banks
• Jeff Goodrich
• Paul Nicholas (The Gospel According To Paul)

Late 1970s DRQ jocks

• Jim Harper (now mornings at Magic 105.1)
• Jerry St. James
• Zack Burns
• Don Riley
• Jay Michaels
• J.C. Floyd
• Jim Ryan
• Mike Vaughn
• Don Geronimo
• Barry Chase
• Kim Carson
• Tom Jeffries
• Scott Moore (now weekends at 104.3 WOMC)
• Eddie Rogers (formerly of CKLW)
• Brother John
• Paul Nicholas (The Gospel According To Paul)
• Charlie Foxx (Gary Firth, Program Director)

1980s DRQ jocks

• Kim Carson (now at WLHT)
• Chris O'Brien
• Kevin O'Neill (now at WMGC-FM)
• Art Morrison
• Jay Michael McKay
• Valery Fox
• Phil Latio

Light FM jocks 1980s-1990s

• Kim Carson
• Rogers and Holiday (Eddie Rogers and Pat Holiday)
• Jeff Silvers
• Barry Zate
• Tom Summers
• Doug Boynton
• Gail McKnight
• Dave Welling
• Julie Foster
• Rob Bennett
• Kim Stewart
• Brad Waldo (Program Director)

WDRQ jocks 1990s-2005

• Brent Carey
• Eric Chase (now PD at WAEB in Allentown, PA)
• Keith Curry
• "Trixie DeLuxxe"( Ed Dobski), Drag Queen, (replaced Lynne Woodison in the morning show slot> was first partnered with Mark Mitchell and Sharon Santonie then partnered with Joe Mama)
• Domino
• Jake Edwards (now mid-day host on WDRQ's sister station 96.3 WDVD)
• Dave Fuller (now nights at 104.3 WOMC)
• Gelman
• Steve Grunwald (now mornings on 99.5 WYCD)
• Crystal Harris
• Mile High (now the Afternoon host on WIOG in Saginaw, MI)
• Hugh Holesome
• Rachael Hunter (now mornings on 99.5 WYCD)
• Jason "The 300-Pound Intern" (now mornings on 99.5 WYCD as Jason The 300 lb Cowboy)
• Jayson Richards (now Producer Detroit Events and Tour Manager CC & LIve Nation)
• Rob Kelley (now doing nights as Rob Kruz on HOT 99.5 Washington, D.C.)
• Clark Kent (later Monkeyboy on WYSP, Philadelphia)
• J-Kruz (now Program Director at WREW in Cincinnati)
• "Joe Mama" (replaced Lynne Woodison in the morning show slot partnered with Drag Queen Trixe Deluxxe.)
• Scott Free/Swing jock from Cleveland, OH 1998-1999 (now PD WINK in Elmira, NY)
• Man @ Large (now PD at KFAT in Anchorage Alaska)
• Lisa "Lisa Lisa" Orlando - now mid-days on 106-7 The Beat of Detroit
• Terri McCormick (now midday host at KKMG in Austin, TX)
• Chad Mitchell
• Ol' Dirty (Matt Vaughn)
• Jimi Love (Jimi Jamm, whose career also included KQKQ, KC101, WKSE and a stint as Group PD of Clear Channel/Poughkeepsie before moving on to music promotion.)
• Lisa Rodman (one of 93.1 DRQ's Program Directors who came from Cleveland, Ohio's WZJM to engineer 93.1 DRQ's revival)
• Jamie Reese (Su-Anna) (former nighttime host at 99.5 WYCD between 1996–1998)
• Stick
• Tic Tak (Mark Allen) - now afternoons at 98.7 KUPL in Portland, Oregon
• Jay Towers (hosted DRQ's Jay Towers and the Morning Revolution - Now morning host on 100.3 WNIC, afternoon host on WISX in Philadelphia and Program Director of WDTW-FM 106.7 The Beat. He is also a weekend TV reporter, who replaced City Council President Charles Pugh on Fox 2 News).
• Renee Vitale (now mornings at 100.3 WNIC)
• Lynne Woodison - hosted the first morning show on the "new" WDRQ in 1996, she was fired after only a month and replaced by Joe Mama and, Drag Queen Trixie DeLuxxe.(the first morning show was mark mitchell and sharron santonie. Then Trixie deluxxe was hired to join them. That december of 1996 they were let go and Trixie Deluxxe was then joined by Joe mama.
• Copey (Mark Copeland)(now Mid-days at Ann Arbor's 107.1 WQKL)
• Mark Mitchell and Sharon Santonie

See also

• Dave FM^{[disambiguation needed ]}
• Jack FM
• Joe FM
• Hank FM
• Sam FM
• DJ Marquis Willaims (1994-2005)- Rec. Artist/Remixer/Night Club DJ/VJ in Metro Detroit

References

1. ^ "Cumulus now owns Citadel Broadcasting". Atlanta Business Journal. September 16, 2011. http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2011/09/16/cumulus-now-owns-citadel-broadcasting.html. Retrieved September 16, 2011. 

Sources

• Michiguide.com - WDRQ History
• - Detroit Radio News

External links

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