WCQL (95.9 FM) is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

broadcasting a Top 40 (CHR) format. Licensed to

Queensbury, New York Queensbury is a town in Warren County, New York, United States. The population was 27,901 at the 2010 census. It contains the county seat of Warren County, located at a municipal center complex on U.S. Route 9 south of the village of Lake George ...

, United States, the station serves the

Saratoga Springs Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...

Glens Falls Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census. The name was given by Colonel Johannes Glen, the falls refe ...

area. The station is currently owned by Regional Radio Group, LLC and features live and local programming Johnny Ray with the Hits Hot Breakfast in the morning. Program Director John Pratt handles afternoon drive and oversees the rest of the staff at their new location in Queensbury, New York.

History

The radio station began operations in September 1967 as WWSC-FM, originally licensed to

Glens Falls, New York Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census. The name was given by Colonel Johannes Glen, the falls refe ...

and simulcasting MOR formatted

WWSC WWSC (1450 AM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a classic rock radio format. Licensed to Glens Falls, New York, the station serves Warren, Washington, and northern Saratoga counties (from which the WWSC call letters are derived). It is ...

. In 1978, the call letters were changed to WYLR-FM, and the format to a syndicated, automated

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

format called "The Love Rock", although the station still simulcast WWSC in the morning. The format was flipped to automated

album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-oriente ...

in 1981. The daily simulcast with WWSC ended completely in 1982 when a live morning show was added. During the 1980s the station added live midday and afternoon drive shifts. The format changed to an early version of

hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

in 1984, followed by

dance top 40 Dance radio is a format that consists of current and recent dance and electronic music. While the format is popular in Europe and Asia, it has yet to make an impact in North America, although there are several top 40 and rhythmic radio stations ...

in 1988 and then

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

in 1991 as ''Y96''. In late 1995, the format was changed to

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

(as ''North Country 95.9''), but this only lasted until late 1997, when the station was sold, and the format was returned to classic rock, with the new call letters WCQL and the ''Cool Rock 95.9'' branding. Classic rock lasted this time on WCQL for over seven years, until May 2005, when the station tweaked towards

active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

due to new classic rock competition from the much more powerful

classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980s ...

-formatted WNYQ. In September 2005, the station flipped to its current Top 40 format, ''Hits 95.9'', due to competition from

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

-leaning hot AC station

WKBE WKBE (107.1 MHz, "Big Country 107.1") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Corinth, New York and serving Glens Falls and Saratoga Springs. It is owned by Pamal Broadcasting and broadcasts a classic country radio format. WKBE has an ef ...

. Due to WNYQ's move to

Malta, New York Malta is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The town is in the central part of the county and is south of Saratoga Springs. The population was 17,130 as of the 2020 census. Malta, along with Stillwater, is home to the Luther ...

, the station's community of license was changed to

in 2006.

Logos

File:WCQL former logo (Late 1997-February 2002).png, Former logo used between late 1997 and February 2002 File:WCQL former logo (Spring 2002-December 2003).png, Former logo used between March 2002 and December 2003 File:WCQL former logo (September 2005-December 2009).png, Former logo used between September 2005 and December 2009 File:WCQL former logo.png, Former logo used in 2010 and 2011

References

External links

CQL Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1967 1967 establishments in New York (state) {{NewYork-radio-station-stub