WFGL (960
AM) 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
Christian radio
Christian radio is a Christian media radio format that focus on programming with a Christian message. Many such broadcasters play contemporary Christian music, though many programs include sermons, radio dramas, as well as news and talk progra ...
format and licensed to
Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Fitchburg is a city in northern Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The third-largest city in the county, its population was 41,946 at the 2020 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private e ...
, United States. The station is owned by Horizon Christian Fellowship of Fitchburg.
History
The station went on the air February 15, 1950, as WFGM at 1580
kilohertz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one h ...
. WFGM's original
studios
A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery ( ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...
were located on the 3rd floor of a downtown building at the corner of Main and Prichard Streets in Fitchburg. The original
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 ...
included one broadcast tower on Lunenburg Street near the current intersection of John Fitch Highway. The station had a power output of 1,000 watts. Several years later, new studios were constructed in a renovated townhouse at 170 Prichard Street, which was then renamed Broadcast House. A new 4-tower transmitter was constructed atop Alpine Hill and the station's frequency was changed to 960 kHz.
In 1960, the station was granted a license for FM station WFGM-FM (104.5), which later became WBNE, WFMP and eventually
WXLO. On November 1, 1962, the stations were sold to local businessman George Chatfield who in turn acquired a local newspaper, ''The Montachusett Review''. The AM's callsign was changed to WFGL in 1967. WFMP-FM became popular for featuring
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, ...
in the 1970s featuring the legendary Gene LaVerne and Dave Brown.
In 1979, WFGL and WFMP were sold to Montachusett Broadcasting. During this time period it featured the on-air talents of Dave Svens, Scott May, Paul Belfay, Greg Vine, Gail Dussault and Al Brodie, among others. Over the years the station had 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, but in 1982 switched to a
standards Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object th ...
format featuring
big bands
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...
from the 1930s and 1940s as well as
easy listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...
hits of the 1940s and 1950s, non-rock songs from the late 1950s and 1960s, and an occasional easy listening song from the 1970s. The station focused on big bands and standards from the mid 1940s to the late 1950s. During this period, WFGL carried the syndicated format
Stardust, initially only in overnights. WFGL was granted a power increase to 2,500 watts in 1984.
By 1986, the station was using the satellite format middays, evenings, overnights, and weekends after noon. The music also gradually was modified both on Stardust and locally as
soft rock
Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...
songs from the 1950s to the early 1980s were being mixed in. By 1990 the station was playing about half baby boomer pop and half standards both locally and on the satellite format.
In 1991, the station shut down locally, the station was renamed to WXLO,
and programming was converted to a simulcast of WXLO-FM. Soon afterward, the station went silent; during the silent period, the WFGL callsign was reinstated.
The station was then sold, and resumed broadcasting in October 1994 with the current Christian format.
In 2001, the studios moved to their current location in a refurbished brick mill building.
WFGL went
silent on November 8, 2018, while the station's transmitter was being repaired;
after repairs were completed, it resumed broadcasting January 26, 2019.
Programming
Throughout its initial years WFGM and WFGL were considered full service radio stations, providing news and current affairs programming to the Fitchburg area communities. Among the programs carried was Frankly Speaking, a telephone call-in talk program that ran in various forms for over thirty years. The station also broadcast a
middle of the road music format, featuring popular
vocalists
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
of the time. On-air talent in the mid-1960s included Ed Broughey, Bill Sterling, Ron Morgan, and Jerry McRell. Walt Clancy and Tom Conry did the news. Jim Chalmers was General Manager and sports announcer. Don Coleman was Chief Engineer, assisted by Jim Sullivan and Mal Coburn. Ray Loter programmed and was on-air for WBNE in the evening, when it did not simulcast WFGM. The stations owned an Amphicar, which made frequent appearances in parades as well as in Lake Whalom. As did many radio stations, in the 1980s the music format shifted to what became known as
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 ...
. The station also featured many popular local personalities including Tal Hood, Ed Broughey, Dick Ziegler. Chester Gaylord and, in the earlier years part-timer Jeff Mitchell. In 1985 the station returned to its musical roots by switching to a
traditional pop music
Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...
format, once again featuring popular vocalists and instrumentals from the 1930s through 1960s, while also serving as a full service outlet carrying live local sports and news. At this time the station was an affiliate of the
CBS Radio Network
CBS News Radio, formerly known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, is a radio network that provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by Paramount Global. It ...
.
See also
*
RenewFM
References
External links
*
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FGL
Radio stations established in 1950
Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Mass media in Worcester County, Massachusetts
1950 establishments in Massachusetts