WERV-FM (95.9 MHz "95.9 The River") is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

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 ...

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

Aurora, Illinois Aurora is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area located partially in DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located primarily in DuPage and Kane counties, it is the second most populous city in Illinois, a ...

, and serving the western suburbs of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. It is owned by

Alpha Media Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , whic ...

, through licensee Alpha Media Licensee LLC. WERV-FM has a

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 198 ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when radio was compelle ...

that leans toward

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, prim ...

. Its

playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs, but sometimes a loop. The term has sev ...

stresses the rock hits of the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s such as

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

, U2 and

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald. Original bassist Alec John such qu ...

, but does not play pop and dance artists such as

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

, heard on most classic hits stations. WERV-FM has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would hav ...

(ERP) of 2,850

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s. The studios and

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...

are on Plain Avenue in Aurora.

History

Early years

This station was the radio dream of WLS Radio announcer, emcee, and engineer Russ Salter, who put this station (then WKKD-FM); along with WKKD AM 1580 on the air. WKKD 1580 debuted on September 21, 1960 and WKKD-FM on February 12, 1961. The station's call sign stood for Kane, Kendall and DuPage, which were the primary counties in its coverage area.Ghrist, John R. (1996). ''Valley Voices: A Radio History''. Crossroads Communications. p. 106-107. Both stations' studios, transmitters and towers were at 1880 Plain Avenue in Aurora.History Cards for WERV-FM
fcc.gov. Retrieved December 11, 2018. The station was part of a simulcast with WKKD AM 1580.
1961-62 Broadcasting Yearbook
',

Broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...

, 1961-1962. p. B-51. Retrieved December 14, 2018. Bill Blough hosted a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

program in the station's first years. Chicago weathercaster

Tom Skilling Tom Skilling (born 1952) is an American television meteorologist. Since 1978, he has worked as a meteorologist at WGN-TV in Chicago. Career Beginnings The oldest of four children, Tom Skilling was born in the Chicago suburb of Aurora, Illinoi ...

began his career at WKKD, c. 1966, while he attended High School in Aurora.

The Golden Sounds

By 1968, the simulcast had ended.
1968 Broadcasting Yearbook
',

, 1968. p. B-50. Retrieved December 14, 2018. WKKD-FM was branded "The Golden Sounds". The station aired a

Beautiful music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator musi ...

format in the 1970s and into the early 1980s.
Broadcasting Yearbook 1977
',

, 1977. p. C-59. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1983
', Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1983. p. B-69. Retrieved December 12, 2018.

Adult contemporary era

In late 1983, AM 1580's call sign was changed back to WKKD, and the two stations became part of a partial simulcast.
Chicago Radio Guide
', Vol. 1, Issue 1. May 1985. Retrieved December 12, 2018. The station aired an

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, quie ...

format, branded as "classic hits", playing music from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1985
', Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1985. p. B-78. Retrieved December 12, 2018. Throughout the 1980s, WKKD was originally used on a local access channel in Naperville throughout its AC days on Jones Intercable until the Summer of 1988. In the late 1980s, the station aired a

soft AC 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 sto ...

format, as "Lite Mix", with the branding changing to "K-Lite" in 1989. The station continued to air this format into the early 1990s.Kening, Dan.
The Home Team
, ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

''. April 07, 1992. Retrieved December 10, 2018. In 1992, WKKD-FM became the flagship radio station for

Kane County Cougars The Kane County Cougars are an independent professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play their ho ...

baseball.

Oldies era

In 1993, the station adopted an

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...

format, and was branded "Pure Gold 96".Todorovich, Lisa.
Lettermen Bring Valentine Spirit To Norris
, ''

''. February 12, 1993. Retrieved December 10, 2018.Format Changes
, ''The M Street Journal''. Vol. 10, No. 32. August 11, 1993. p. 1. Retrieved December 10, 2018. WKKD-FM was again part of a simulcast with WKKD AM 1580. In 1998 the station changed its branding to "Kool 95.9," while continuing to air an oldies format.Elsewhere
, ''The M Street Journal''. Vol. 18, No. 01. January 4, 2001. p. 10. Retrieved December 10, 2018. In 2000, the Salter family sold WKKD AM & FM, as well as WRWC in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

to RadioWorks for $6.5 million, plus $1.5 million in consulting and non-compete agreements.

The River

In 2001 WKKD-FM & AM were sold to

NextMedia Group NextMedia Group was an out-of-home media company headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado. NextMedia owns and operates 33 AM and FM stations, 5,700 outdoor advertising display across several regions and markets, as well as an interactive divi ...

for $3.4 million. On January 25, 2001 the station became "95.9 The River", airing a classic hits format with the slogan "Rock 'N Roll Favorites for the 'Burbs". The station's call sign was changed to WERV-FM shortly thereafter. On July 15, 2006, the station debuted an HD-2 station branded "The Rapids!", airing a

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

gold format. NextMedia sold WERV-FM and their 32 other radio stations to Digity, LLC at a price of $84,975,200; the transaction was consummated on February 10, 2014. Effective February 25, 2016, Digity and its 124 radio stations were acquired by

for $264 million. Personalities heard on The River include Scott Mackay and Danielle Tufano, Nick Jakusz,

Mitch Michaels Mitch Michaels (born Richard Salchow in Cleveland, Ohio on March 20, 1948) is an American rock and roll radio disc jockey. Known for his contributions to many spots on the Chicago radio dial, he is best known for helping start WXRT-FM and for h ...

, and Samantha James.Major Change/Switch At WERV-FM & WRXQ-FM
, Chicagoland Radio and Media. September 8, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2018.

References

External links

* * {{coord, 41.769, N, 88.267, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title ERV Radio stations established in 1961 1961 establishments in Illinois Classic hits radio stations in the United States Alpha Media radio stations