WCKL (97.9 FM) is a

non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that does not, in some sense, involve commerce, at least relative to similar activities that do have a commercial objective or emphasis. For example, advertising-free community ...

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 to

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, featuring a Christian contemporary format via the K-Love network.

Owned and operated In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...

Educational Media Foundation Educational Media Foundation (formerly EMF Broadcasting, abbreviated EMF) is an American nonprofit Christian media ministry based in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville. EMF is the parent company of K-LOVE and Air1—the world's largest ...

(EMF), WCKL serves the

Chicago metro area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hi ...

with a transmitter located atop the John Hancock Center. One of the oldest surviving FM stations in Chicago, this station signed on the air on April 7, 1942, as W83C. Throughout the station's early existence, it changed callsigns, formats and owners before relaunching itself on March 14, 1977, as WLUP "97.9 The Loop", a nod to the Chicago Loop. As WLUP, the station aired various formats ranging from classic rock, pop rock, pop alternative, and adult alternative formats. It changed ownership several times before being sold to Merlin Media in 2011 and subsequently entered a

local marketing agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it is a sort of lease or tim ...

(LMA) with Cumulus Media in 2014. This LMA was terminated after Cumulus entered into bankruptcy proceedings, prompting Merlin Media to sell the station to EMF, which relaunched the station as part of the K-Love network on March 10, 2018. The classic rock format and "Loop" branding was retained on the second HD

subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or digital terrestrial television, television Television station, station on the same radio freq ...

of WKQX. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WCKL broadcasts over four HD subchannels and is available online. WCKL-HD2 carries

Air1 Air1 is an American Christian radio network. Owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), it primarily broadcasts contemporary worship music, and is a sister to the EMF's K-Love network. History In 1986, KLRD began broadcasting Christia ...

programming, WCKL-HD3 carries "Boost Radio"

Christian hip hop Christian hip hop (originally gospel rap, also known as Christian rap, gospel hip hop or holy hip hop) is a subgenre of contemporary Christian music and hip hop music. It emerged from urban contemporary music and Christian media in the United S ...

and WCKL-HD4 features Radio Nueva Vida programming.

History

Early years as W83C/WEHS/WHFC

The station was first granted a construction permit on April 7, 1942, with the

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

W83C, licensed to broadcast at 48.3 MHz on the original 42-50 MHz

FM broadcast band The FM broadcast band is a range of radio frequencies used for FM broadcasting by radio stations. The range of frequencies used differs between different parts of the world. In Europe and Africa (defined as International Telecommunication Union (I ...

. The station was owned by Richard W. Hoffman, who also owned WHFC.Cohodas, Nadine (2001).
Spinning Blues Into Gold: The Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records
'.

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...

. p. 213. Retrieved March 6, 2019. Its studios and transmitter were initially located at the Medinah Athletic Club building at 505 N. Michigan Avenue, but were moved to the Bankers Building at 105 West Adams by 1945. On November 1, 1943, the station was assigned the WEHS call sign, and it was granted its first license on October 8, 1945. The callsign stood for "Elizabeth Hoffman's Station", named for owner Richard Hoffman's mother. In January 1946, the station received permission from the FCC to go silent to convert to operation on the new 88-108 MHz FM broadcast band, which the FCC had created on June 27, 1945. On July 31, 1946, the station was reassigned to 100.1 MHz, and then granted a move to 97.9 MHz on September 23, 1947. WEHS was the first commercial radio station to air "storecasts".Radio Market
, '' Broadcasting — Telecasting''. A Continuing Study of Major Radio Markets: Study No. 7: Chicago. October 25, 1948. p. 8. Retrieved March 5, 2019. It broadcast background music for National Tea grocery stores in the Chicago area. When the contract with National ran out in the mid-1950s, WEHS simulcast the foreign language and Black programming of co-owned WHFC for six hours a day, the minimum broadcast time to keep the license. In 1952, WEHS's studios and transmitter were moved to WHFC's studio and transmitter site at 3350 S. Kedzie. L & P Broadcasting Corporation purchased WEHS in February 1963, along with WHFC, for $1 million.Actions By FCC
, ''

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 ...

''. December 17, 1962. p. 102. Retrieved March 6, 2019. The Chess family of

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

, Checker and Cadet Records fame owned L & P Broadcasting (the "L" stood for Leonard Chess while the "P" stood for brother Phil Chess). Leonard primarily ran the record labels and recording studio while brother Phil was president of the radio company. The WHFC call sign was moved to WEHS on March 3, 1963, while WHFC was assigned the

WVON WVON (1690 AM "The Voice of the Nation", originally "Voice of the Negro") is a radio station serving the Chicago market, which airs an African-American-oriented talk format. WVON is owned by Midway Broadcasting Corporation, and broadcasts at 169 ...

("The Voice of the Negro") call sign. WHFC aired an R&B format and simulcast WVON 24 hours a day.
1964 Broadcasting Yearbook
',

, 1964. p. B-48. Retrieved March 6, 2019.

WSDM

On March 8, 1965, WHFC's call sign was changed to WSDM, which stood for "Smack Dab in the Middle", in reference to the station's position at the middle of the FM dial.WSDM-FM Aircheck
, ''Chicagoland Radio and Media''. February 23, 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2019. The station was also known as "the station with the girls and all that jazz", as it featured all female DJs known as "Den Pals", which included Yvonne Daniels, Danae Alexander, Cody Sweet, Penny Lane, Nancy Plum,

Connie Szerszen Connie Szerszen is an American female radio personality. Szerszen is a native Chicagoan of Polish ancestry. While she was talent coordinator at WCFL, Szerszen was discovered by air personality Penny Lane, who called WCFL one day and soon talked ...

, known on the air as "Dawn", and

Linda Ellerbee Linda Ellerbee (born Linda Jane Smith; August 15, 1944) is an American journalist, anchor, producer, reporter, author, speaker and commentator, noted as longtime Washington correspondent for NBC News and host of NBC News Overnight. She is widel ...

, known on the air as "Hush Puppy".From the Music Capitals of the World
, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''. April 1, 1967. p. 62. Retrieved March 6, 2019.Brack, Ray.
Record Promotion Men Speakers for WSDM, Chi Stereo Station
, ''

''. September 4, 1965. pp. 22, 26. Retrieved March 6, 2019. WSDM played "pop-oriented

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and jazz oriented pop". Program director was Mickey Shorr and later Burt Burdeen. In 1968, the station began airing a nighttime

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

program called ''Underground Den'' on weekends. In early 1971, WSDM began to mix

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

with its light jazz. The station positioned itself as "jazzed up rock". Ownership of the station was transferred to Phil Chess effective October 22, 1971. Phil Chess' son, Terry Chess, was general manager.
1973 Broadcasting Yearbook
',

, 1973. p. B-59. Retrieved March 7, 2019. In 1972, WSDM's transmitter was moved to the John Hancock Center. Cindy Morgan was a DJ on the station in the 1970s.

WLUP

The call sign was changed to WLUP on March 14, 1977. The station adopted an

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 ...

(AOR) format and was rebranded as "The Loop", referring to the nickname of Chicago's central business district. Jason "J." Blackburn was Program Director and Tommy O'Toole served as the station's first morning host and was the first Loop DJ to sign on the air.WLS-FM's Tom O'Toole Reveals Cancer Scare
, ''Chicagoland Radio and Media''. December 23, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2019.The Loop Celebrates Its 40th Anniversary
, ''Chicagoland Radio and Media''. March 14, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2019. The first song O'Toole played on "The Loop" was "

Morning Has Broken "Morning Has Broken" is a Christian hymn first published in 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon and was inspired by the village of Alfriston in East Sussex, then set to a traditional Scottish Gaelic tune, "Bunessan". It is often ...

" by

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...

. The original Loop air staff included Tommy in mornings, William "Captain Billy" Martin in middays, Lester "Les" Tracy in afternoons, and Bob Shannon evenings. Other early Loop DJs included Greg Budell, Ford Colley, Don Davis, and Glory-June Greaif. Heftel Broadcasting Corporation, owned by Hawaiian Congressman

Cecil Heftel Cecil Landau Heftel (September 30, 1924 – February 4, 2010), popularly known as Cec Heftel, was an American politician and businessman from Hawai'i. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1986 for the First Congre ...

, purchased the station effective March 5, 1979, for $3 million. Lee Abrams was hired as consultant. The rock format was kept in place, but emphasis was put on harder-edged rock. Jesse Bullit was the program director. Steve Dahl, who had been unemployed since WDAI (94.7 FM) went to a

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

format in December 1978, began hosting mornings on March 19, 1979. On July 12, 1979, Dahl staged one of the most famous promotions in radio and sports history, Disco Demolition Night.

Garry Meier Garry Meier (born December 2, 1949) is a Chicago-based radio personality who has been active in Chicago radio since 1973. Meier is well known for being part of the highly successful radio duos " Steve & Garry" and " Roe and Garry", but he also ho ...

, known over the air at the time as "Matthew Meier", was an overnight DJ, and was later teamed with Dahl as the morning newsman.Johnson, Steve.
Shocked Jock
, ''

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 ...

''. November 6, 1994. Retrieved March 7, 2019. Soon thereafter, Meier became Steve's full-time sidekick, and used his real name, Garry Meier.Penchansky, Alan.
Science & Subjective Input Are Vital For AOR Mix - WLUP Exec
, ''

''. November 17, 1979. p. 26. Retrieved March 7, 2019.Widder, Pat.
Steve and Garry Part Ways-For Now-After 15 Years
, ''

''. September 14, 1993. Retrieved March 7, 2019. In 1979, Jeff Schwartz became head of sales and Mitch Michaels was hired as afternoon DJ. Michaels became program director shortly thereafter. Sky Daniels was also hired in 1979, and served as disc jockey and music director.

Chuck Swirsky Chuck Swirsky (born January 30, 1954) is an American–Canadian radio sports announcer. He is the play-by-play voice of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Swirsky's association with Chicago sports started in 1979 with ...

provided sports reports for a period in the early 1980s. Buzz Killman was newsman.Loop 40: Buzz Kilman – WLUP Airstaff interviews
, The Loop. February 19, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2019. On February 6, 1981, Steve Dahl was fired for what WLUP's management and Dahl said was a contract dispute, though Heftel Broadcasting said it was for violating "community standards".Tackett, Michael; Alridge, Ron. "Station fires radio star Dahl", ''

''. February 7, 1981. pp. 1, 4. Garry Meier left the station as well, to remain Dahl's sidekick. A series of morning men including Matt Bisbee,

Mark McEwen Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fin ...

, and the team of R.J. Harris and Pat Still tried their hand until

Jonathon Brandmeier Jonathon "Johnny B" Brandmeier (born July 15, 1956) is a Chicago radio personality and musician. Career Born John Francis Brandmeier to a German father and a Lebanese mother, Brandmeier started his radio career in 1973 at WFON in Fond du Lac, Wi ...

was hired in late 1982. Kilman remained as newsman, and

Bruce Wolf Bruce Wolf (born September 11, 1953) is a veteran Chicago broadcaster and sports anchor who has been on both TV and radio for more than 20 years. He formerly hosted a politics-themed talk show weekday mornings on WLS (AM) radio in Chicago. He al ...

joined the station as a sports reporter in 1982. Greg Solk became program director in 1983.

Dr. Demento Barret Eugene Hansen (born April 2, 1941), known professionally as Dr. Demento, is an American radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograp ...

was carried on WLUP from 1985 through 2010, just prior to when Dr. Demento ceased over-the-air broadcasting.
Chicago Radio Guide
', Vol. 1, Issue 1. May 1985. Retrieved March 9, 2019. Steve and Garry returned in 1986 to host afternoons. In late December 1986, Heftel Broadcasting merged with Statewide Broadcasting, owner of WCFL (1000 AM). In April 1987, WCFL became WLUP, and the FM station was assigned the WLUP-FM call sign.Call Sign History
fcc.gov. Retrieved March 9, 2019.Freeman, Kim.
Vox Jox
, ''

''. May 9, 1987. p. 15. Retrieved March 9, 2019. WLUP (AM) became a partial simulcast of WLUP-FM, and Steve and Garry moved to the AM station. In 1988, WLUP-AM-FM were sold to the newly formed Evergreen Media. By 1989, the AM station would evolve to mostly

talk Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

with a few rock songs mixed in per hour.
Chicagoland Radio Waves
', MediaTies. Spring-Summer 1989. Retrieved March 9, 2019. In the early 1990s, WLUP aired a popular television commercial featuring a fat man dubbed "Joey Bag O' Donuts" dancing.300-Pound Hip-Hopper Proves That Pure Joy Can Have Massive Appeal
, ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

''. July 04, 1993. Retrieved March 8, 2019. In the time span since the original commercial was aired, the footage of the dancing fat man in the commercial has been used by numerous other radio stations across the country and abroad. In September 1992, Steve and Garry returned to mornings on WLUP-FM. In September 1993, the pairing of Steve Dahl and Garry Meier broke up. Shortly thereafter, Dahl moved to AM 1000, which had recently added

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

programming and changed call letters to WMVP.Stark, Phyllis; Boehlert, Eric; Borzillo, Carrie.
Vox Jox
, ''

''. October 2, 1993. p. 100. Retrieved March 12, 2019. On September 27, 1993, the station's lineup was overhauled, and it shifted towards a hot talk format. Garry Meier moved to middays on WLUP-FM, Brandmeier would move to afternoons, and Kevin Matthews moved to mornings for a time (though Brandmeier would later move back to mornings, and Matthews would move to middays).
Chicago Airwaves
'. November/December 1993. Retrieved March 12, 2019.

Danny Bonaduce Dante Daniel Bonaduce (born August 13, 1959) is an American radio personality, actor, television personality, and professional wrestler. Bonaduce is the son of veteran TV writer and producer Joseph Bonaduce (''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', '' One Da ...

hosted evenings,

Ed Schwartz Ed Schwartz (May 5, 1946 – February 4, 2009) was a Chicago media personality who hosted local late-night radio programs from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. He was nicknamed "Chicago Ed." Early life and education A native of the Southeast ...

hosted overnights, and Seka hosted a program Saturday evenings.How Good is Chicago Radio
, ''

''. July 10, 1994. Retrieved March 12, 2019. Liz Wilde was hired to host evenings in March 1995, but her show was cancelled by November of the same year. In February 1996, sister station WYNY in New York City simulcasted WLUP for a day as part of a week-long stunt of simulcasting sister stations nationwide before flipping formats to rhythmic adult contemporary as WKTU. In June 1996, WMVP (1000 AM) dropped their sports format and returned to simulcasting WLUP. WLUP switched to a format featuring a "blend of

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

, pop alternative, and

adult alternative An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...

" music on September 30, 1996. Brandmeier remained the morning man and

Dave Fogel Dave Fogel (born October 2) is an American classic hits radio disc jockey. He has worked in Chicago, Detroit, Washington D.C., San Diego and Kansas City. The bulk of his radio work has been in Chicago, and he is the current morning show host on ...

was brought in for afternoons. In 1997, Evergreen and Chancellor Media merged. In order to stay under federally mandated ownership limits, Evergreen opted to sell WLUP to Bonneville International in July. On July 21 at 5 a.m., after stunting with all-

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

songs as part of a Who concert that previous weekend, WLUP switched back to a rock format. The first song under the relaunched "Loop" was "

Rock and Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

" by

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

. Also that month, Jonathon Brandmeier would be released from the station due to the ownership change. In June 1998, WLUP shifted to

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 ...

and adopted the slogan, "Classic Rock That Really Rocks". During this period, full-time on air personalities included Byrd (now with

WDRV WDRV (97.1 FM, "The Drive") is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois. The station is owned by Hubbard Radio and broadcasts a classic rock format. Its studios were originally located in the John Hancock Center. On May 11, ...

Chicago), Steve Downes, Eddie Webb, Pete McMurray, Seaver,

Cara Carriveau Cara Carriveau has spent three decades hosting radio shows in Chicago, currently on WLS-FM. History She was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Her first professional radio job using her maiden name Cara Stern ...

, Sari, and Mark Zander. In October 2004, Emmis Communications traded three of their stations in Phoenix to Bonneville for WLUP-FM and $70 million; the swap was completed in December of that year. While under Emmis ownership WLUP evolved into a

mainstream rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

format, but in January 2011 it reverted to classic rock. In 2005, Emmis brought back Jonathon Brandmeier to do mornings on The Loop and hired

Zakk Tyler Zakk Tyler or Zakk (born Dominic Joseph Zaccagnini) is an American Multi-Media Manager, Sports, News and Talk Show Personality. Radio career Upon graduation from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (1990) he began his career in Pittsburgh, Pennsylv ...

to host afternoon drive. Rosenthal, Phil.
Johnny B. good and gone from his Loop radio program
, ''

''. December 1, 2009. Retrieved March 13, 2019.Merlin Media & WLUP-FM Bring Back Zakk Tyler
, ''Chicagoland Radio and Media''. June 13, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2019. Erin Carmen began hosting middays in 2006, remaining with the station until 2009. Brandmeier also exited WLUP in 2009. On January 15, 2007, Chicago's NBC

owned-and-operated station In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...

WMAQ-TV WMAQ-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Telemundo outlet WSNS-TV (chan ...

(channel 5), began a new weekday morning show called ''Barely Today'' which aired from 4:30–5 a.m. The new morning show was simulcast on WLUP-FM and hosted by

, who was the former weekday morning traffic/sports anchor for WMAQ. The show would be cancelled five months later due to poor ratings. On June 21, 2011, Emmis announced that it would sell WKQX, sister station WLUP-FM, and New York's WRXP to Merlin Media, a group headed by former Tribune Company executive

Randy Michaels Benjamin Homel, known professionally as Randy Michaels, is an American broadcasting executive and a former member of the National Association of Broadcasters TV Board. Biography Michaels has been involved in large market radio broadcasting since th ...

. Emmis, who would retain a minority stake in Merlin Media, would grant Merlin a

to operate WKQX and WLUP-FM from July 15 until the sale to Merlin officially closed on September 1. On May 3, 2012, Merlin added a satellite-fed version of the

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...

format on WLUP's HD3 subchannel (97.9-HD3). Radio personality and WEBN alum Maxwell Slater "Max" Logan (Benjamin Bornstein), best known for his years as host of '' The Maxwell Show'' at WMMS and WNCX in Cleveland, took over as the WLUP-FM morning host on July 30, 2012. Former personality Zakk Tyler (Dominic Zaccagnini) also returned. On January 3, 2014, Merlin Media announced a

(LMA) with Cumulus Media that would see Cumulus take over operations of WLUP-FM and sister station

WIQI WIQI (95.9 FM) is a radio station in Watseka, Illinois owned by Smash Hit Media. The station currently carries a classic rock format covering Watseka along with Iroquois County, Illinois, Iroquois County and Kankakee, Illinois, Kankakee with an ...

as well as inherit Merlin's LMA for WKQX-LP.Deal for 'the Loop' gives radio powerhouse bigger reach in Chicago
, ''

Crain's Chicago Business ''Crain's Chicago Business'' is a weekly business newspaper in Chicago, IL. It is owned by Detroit-based Crain Communications, a privately held publishing company with more than 30 magazines, including ''Advertising Age'', ''Modern Healthcare'' ...

''. January 4, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2019.Cumulus Obtaining All Merlin Media Properties; Alternative Coming Back To 101.1
, ''Chicagoland Radio and Media''. January 3, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2019. The deal included an option for Cumulus to purchase the stations from Merlin. The deal saw Merlin relinquish operations of its last remaining radio stations. The deal also sees an expansion of Cumulus' Chicago reach; the company already owned and operated news/talk station WLS (890 AM) and

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 ...

station

WLS-FM WLS-FM (94.7 MHz) is a commercial classic hits radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois. Owned by Cumulus Media, the station serves the Chicago metropolitan area, and is the radio home of Dave Fogel. The WLS-FM studios are located at t ...

(94.7 FM). On September 12, 2014, WLUP released morning hosts Maxwell (Benjamin Bornstein) and John Czahor and afternoon host Patrick Capone. On September 15, 2014, a new weekday lineup was announced, with Lyndsey Marie hosting middays, Tim Virgin hosting afternoons, and Pyke hosting evenings. Virgin previously worked at The Loop in the mid-1990s. Mornings remained open. On March 30, 2015,

Mancow Muller Matthew Erich "Mancow" Muller (born June 21, 1966) is an American radio and television personality, actor, and former child model. Considered a shock jock, his career has been well known for controversy and clashes with the Federal Communicatio ...

joined WLUP as its new morning show host. WLUP's first ever "Rock Girl", Lorelei Shark, was the official spokesperson and the face of The Loop in the late 1970s and 1980s.Original Loop Rock Girl Erica Fighting For Her Health
, ''Chicagoland Radio and Media''. May 9, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2019. In 2005, the Loop Rock Girl was reintroduced, with Erica Gustafson being the new holder of the title. Another prominent Loop Rock Girl prior to the station's 2018 closure was April Rose Haydock, who also served in that role in 2007.

Sale to EMF

In January 2018, as part of Cumulus Media's bankruptcy proceedings, the company requested that a

U.S. Bankruptcy Court United States bankruptcy courts are courts created under Article I of the United States Constitution. The current system of bankruptcy courts was created by the United States Congress in 1978, effective April 1, 1984. United States bankruptcy c ...

release the company from several "extremely unprofitable" contracts, including its LMAs with WLUP-FM and WKQX. Cumulus stated that under the agreement, which carries a monthly fee of $600,000, the company had lost $8.4 million on the two Merlin stations. On March 5, 2018, Merlin Media sold WLUP-FM to

(EMF) for $21.5 million; with the sale, EMF announced it would convert the station to

non-commercial educational A non-commercial educational station (NCE station) is a radio station or television station that does not accept on-air advertisements (TV ads or radio ads), as defined in the United States by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and was or ...

status. The sale was prompted by Cumulus Media's

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...

filing, in which it was determined that Cumulus would not proceed with the existing LMA or a sale of WLUP-FM from Merlin to Cumulus. The move gives EMF its second full-power outlet in Chicago; the organization also owns translators and lower-power stations in the market. On March 6, Cumulus ended manned operations on WLUP-FM and the entire air staff was dismissed; however, the ''

Mancow Matthew Erich "Mancow" Muller (born June 21, 1966) is an American radio and television personality, actor, and former child model. Considered a shock jock, his career has been well known for controversy and clashes with the Federal Communicatio ...

'' show continued via its independent online streaming platform. An automated playlist of music continued until March 10 at midnight, when EMF took control of the frequency from Merlin under a new LMA and assumed the K-Love schedule carried by future sister station WJKL (94.3 FM). EMF also retained the WLUP-FM call sign, warehousing it on an existing station in

Starke, Florida Starke is a city in and the county seat of Bradford County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,796 at the 2020 census. The origin of the city's name is disputed. Starke may have been named in honor of local landowner George W. Cole's ...

(near Gainesville) which held the WCKL-FM call sign; that call sign was in turn transferred to the Chicago station on March 12, 2018, to stand for "Chicago's K-Love". Merlin retained the "Loop"

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

and transitioned that branding to WKQX-HD2 in a fully automated form. The sale of WLUP-FM also ended the annual "Loopfest", a sponsored event the most recent version of which was planned for August 3, 2018 at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, with

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Ju ...

to support their final tour with

.38 Special The .38 Special, also commonly known as .38 S&W Special (not to be confused with .38 S&W), .38 Smith & Wesson Special, .38 Spl, .38 Spc, (pronounced "thirty-eight special"), or 9x29mmR is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & ...

and the

Marshall Tucker Band The Marshall Tucker Band is an American rock band from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Noted for incorporating blues, country, and jazz into an eclectic sound, the Marshall Tucker Band helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s. Whi ...

. WLUP-FM informed listeners who bought tickets that the event was canceled immediately after the station announced it the previous February, despite leaving event details on its website while not indicating who may take over the sponsorship. Upon hearing the news of the sale, Steve Dahl pointed to WLUP-FM's legacy and heritage, saying: On March 9, 2018, Dahl gave listeners a chance to say goodbye to WLUP-FM via a simulcast of his afternoon program on WLS. Dahl also brought back alumni Sky Daniels and Kevin Matthews to help give WLUP-FM a proper send off, while WDRV paid homage to the station with a day long tribute led by Bob Stroud, another WLUP-FM veteran, with guests and surprises. WGN's 'Dave Plier Show' also aired a reunion of ex-WLUP-FM DJs, including Kevin Matthews, current WGN hosts Wendy Snyder and Bill Leff, and broadcast executive Larry Wert, paying tribute to its legacy. The LMA with EMF took effect March 10, 2018 at midnight, at which point the station switched to K-Love. In a last jab at the impending transition to Christian music, WLUP-FM, after spending a majority of their final hour playing songs themed around farewells and/or departures, closed by playing, for their final block of music, " Shout at the Devil" by

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...

, " The Number of the Beast" by

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

, and (as Dahl suggested) "Highway to Hell". The first song played on WLUP-FM as K-Love was " Whom Shall I Fear" by

Chris Tomlin Christopher Dwayne Tomlin (born May 4, 1972) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, and worship leader from Grand Saline, Texas, United States, who has sold over 7 million records. He is a member of Passion Conferences an ...

. EMF's purchase of WCKL-FM was consummated on May 31, 2018. On January 16, 2020, EMF changed the station's call sign to the current WCKL. Around that time, EMF returned the HD Radio subchannels to the air with its Christian worship-formatted

network on WCKL-HD2 and Christian

from

K-Love Classics K-Love Classics was a Christian classic hits radio network owned by Educational Media Foundation (EMF) and was carried over FM stations, translators, and HD subchannels in the United States. Such stations include WAIW 88.1 in Wheaton, Illinois ...

on WCKL-HD3. In late 2020, with the demise of the K-Love Classics format, that network became "K-Love Christmas" for the duration of the holiday season. Following that, WCKL-HD3 debuted "K-Love 2000s", a Christian classic hits variant. In March 2021, WCKL-HD3 adopted the "Boost Radio" Christian pop/hip hop format from

KXBS KXBS (95.5 FM) is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station licensed to Bethalto, Illinois, and serving Greater St. Louis. It is owned by Gateway Creative Broadcasting and broadcasts a Christian Rhythmic Contemporary radio format known ...

in St. Louis as part of an agreement between that station's owners and EMF, and began simulcasting on translator 97.5 W248BB.A Boost Coming to 97.5 Chicago
/ref>

References

External links

* * {{Authority control CKL (FM) Radio stations established in 1942 1942 establishments in Illinois Contemporary Christian radio stations in the United States K-Love radio stations Educational Media Foundation radio stations CKL (FM)