WMKS (100.3
FM, "Hits 100.3"), is a
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 ...
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
High Point, North Carolina
High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph County, North Carolina, Randolph, ...
, that serves the
Piedmont Triad
The Piedmont Triad (or simply the Triad) is a metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of North Carolina anchored by three cities: Greensboro, North Carolina, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Winston-Salem, and H ...
region, including
Greensboro
Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...
and
Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...
. The
iHeartMedia, Inc.
iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
outlet broadcasts with an ERP of 100 kW. It has studio facilities and offices located on Pai Park in Greensboro, and a transmitter site is located south of Greensboro in unincorporated
Guilford County
Guilford County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population is 541,299, making it the third-most populous county in North Carolina. The county seat, and largest municipality, is Greensboro. Si ...
.
History
Early years
This station signed on the air in June 1953 as WNOS-FM.
[ In October 1975, Bernie Mann bought WNOS and WNOS-FM. He changed the FM station's letters to WGLD and the format to ]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 ...
, also increasing the power to 100,000 watts and building a new 400-foot tower.
In 1985, the WGLD letters and format moved to 1320 AM
The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1320 kHz: The U.S. Federal Communications Commission and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commis ...
and the station became WOJY "Joy 100", a satellite MOR
Mor or MOR may refer to:
Names and titles
* Mór (given name), a list of people named Mór or Mor
* Mor (surname), a list of people named Mor or Mór
* Mor (honorific), or Mar, in Syriac
Radio and television
* Middle of the road (music) genre
* ...
station. In 1989, WOJY changed to soft 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 sto ...
with the new name WWWB "B-100". For a year starting in 1994, the station was WFXF "100.3 the Fox", a hit-oriented 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 ...
station. Then the station became WHSL "Whistle 100", playing 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 1999, WHSL became one of the first 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, ...
stations to air John Boy and Billy
John Isley (born August 15, 1956) and Billy James (born August 31, 1957), known as John Boy & Billy, are American radio personality, radio hosts based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their comedic morning program ''The John Boy & Billy Big Show'' br ...
, which had previously been designed for 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 ...
stations. Around New Year's Day
New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...
2001, the station took over the rock format previously heard on WXRA, calling itself WVBZ "100.3 the Buzzard", keeping John Boy and Billy
John Isley (born August 15, 1956) and Billy James (born August 31, 1957), known as John Boy & Billy, are American radio personality, radio hosts based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their comedic morning program ''The John Boy & Billy Big Show'' br ...
. This arrangement lasted until early 2009, when it changed its moniker to "The Buzz" and shifted its music 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 ...
.
100.3 KISS-FM
The Buzz moved to 105.7 FM on January 1, 2014 at 5p.m., taking the spot of sister station WMKS. WVBZ
WVBZ (105.7 FM, "Real Rock 105.7") is a mainstream rock radio station serving the Piedmont Triad region. The station is a part of iHeartMedia, Inc.'s cluster in the Greensboro/Winston-Salem market and is licensed to Clemmons, North Carolina. It ...
adopted the Top 40 format of its predecessor, and later rebranded as "100.3 KISS-FM
KISS-FM (99.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station in San Antonio, Texas. It airs an mainstream rock format and is owned by Cox Media Group. The studios and offices are located on Datapoint Drive in Northwest San Antonio near the South Texas Me ...
." On January 3, 2014, the call letters switched to WMKS.[
Prior to 2018, WMKS aired Fred & Angi from ]WKSC-FM
WKSC-FM (103.5 MHz) – branded "103.5 Kiss FM" – is a commercial Top 40 (CHR) radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts a Top 40 (CHR) format. Its studios are located at the Illinois Center complex on ...
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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in the morning. The station had no morning DJs until adding Ace and TJ May 28, 2019.
Hits 100.3
On October 29, 2020, WMKS dropped the "Kiss-FM" branding and began promoting "The New Sound of 100.3" coming on November 2, at Noon. At said time, after playing "This Is What You Came For
"This Is What You Came For" is a song by Scottish DJ Calvin Harris and Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on 29 April 2016, through Columbia Records and Westbury Road. American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, initially credited with the p ...
" by Calvin Harris
Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter who has released six studio albums.
His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'', was released in June ...
, WMKS rebranded as "Hits 100.3", promising to be commercial free on weekends. The first song on "Hits" was "What's Poppin
"Whats Poppin" (stylized in all caps) is a song by American rapper Jack Harlow, released as the lead single from his EP ''Sweet Action'', by Generation Now and Atlantic Records on January 21, 2020. It was also included on his debut studio album, ' ...
" by Jack Harlow
Jackman Thomas Harlow (born March 13, 1998) is an American rapper from Louisville, Kentucky. He started his career in 2015 and released several EPs and mixtapes before he was signed to Don Cannon and DJ Drama's record label Generation Now in 201 ...
. The new format leans rhythmic Rhythmic may refer to:
* Related to rhythm
* Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format
* Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format
* Rhythmic gymnastics, a form of gymnastics
* Rhythmic (chart)
The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and ...
, and the new station claimed that listeners of hip hop-formatted 102 Jamz like only one in four songs played on that station, and that Mainstream CHR-formatted WKZL
WKZL ("1075 KZL") is a Top 40 Mainstream station licensed to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and serves the Piedmont Triad area, which also includes Greensboro and High Point. The outlet, which is owned by Dick Broadcasting, operates at 107.5&nb ...
has too many commercials.
References
External links
WMKS official website
*
{{IHeartMedia
MKS
Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1953
1953 establishments in North Carolina
IHeartMedia radio stations