WROQ (101.1
FM) is a
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 licensed to
Anderson, South Carolina
Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 28,106 at the 2020 census, and the city was the center of an urbanized area of 75,702. It is one of the principal cities in the Green ...
, and serving the
Upstate South Carolina
The Upstate is the region in the westernmost part of South Carolina, United States, also known as the Upcountry, which is the historical term. Although loosely defined among locals, the general definition includes the 10 counties of the commerc ...
region, including
Greenville and
Spartanburg
Spartanburg is a city in and the seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest city in the state. For a time, the Offi ...
. The station has had a Classic Rock and Roll format since December 1, 1987. This makes it one of the oldest Classic Rock stations in the country as far as years with the same format. The Rock 101 Moniker was first used on the station from 1978-1982 and returned in 1987. The
Audacy, Inc.
Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corporation, it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media ...
outlet is licensed by the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
(FCC) to broadcast with an ERP of 100 kW. The station goes by the name Classic Rock 101.1 and its current slogan is "The Upstate's Only Classic Rock Station." Former slogans include "Rock 101.1- The Home of Classic Rock and Roll" and "The Upstate's Classic Rock and Roll Station". Its studios are in Greenville, and its tower is shared with WMYA-TV, located west of
Fountain Inn, South Carolina
Fountain Inn is a city in Greenville and Laurens counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 7,799 at the 2010 census, up from 6,017 in 2000. It is part of the Greenville– Mauldin– Easley Metropolitan Statistica ...
.
Station history
101.1 signed on as WCAC-FM in 1947 as the sister station to WAIM/1230. It was owned by
Wilton E. Hall, the publisher of the ''Anderson Independent and Daily Mail'' and one-time US Senator from South Carolina. The station is noted for being one of the earliest FM stations in the state. WCAC-FM had 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 ...
"/
Standards format for many years. In 1978, after the death of owner/founder Wilton E. Hall, WCAC-FM,
WAIM
WAIM (1230 AM) is a News/Talk radio station located in Anderson, South Carolina. The station is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on 1230 AM with a full-time power of 1,000 watts non-directional.
History
WAIM signed on the ...
1230 and
WAIM-TV 40 were all sold to Franklin Outlaw (the founder of the
BI-LO chain of grocery stores). Frank changed the format to freeform progressive rock. The moniker became "Rock 101 WCAC-FM" in early 1978. The logo was a large flaming fireball with the name Rock 101, WCAC-FM in large red letters. Rock 101 did many local live remotes. Many were held at ABC Jeans in the Belvedere Shopping Plaza in Anderson. It became WAIM-FM in September 1980, but kept the name as Rock 101. For many years the Rock 101 studios were located on the campus of Anderson College in Anderson, South Carolina. In 1986, the studios were moved about a mile down the road to a location that is going towards the Anderson Jockey Lot (a large flea market). The studios were moved from Anderson to Greenville in 1992. The Rock 101 name and format has been so long-lasting on the station that it has survived during four different sets of call letters beginning with the start of Rock 101 in 1978, those call letters being: WCAC-FM, WAIM-FM, WCKN and now WROQ since 1991. One of the early Rock 101 DJs in 1978 was Billy Love (the morning man on
WRTH 103.3). Some of the Rock 101 DJs over the years have also included: Michael Scott "Super Shan" Shannon, Gary Jackson, Lee Rogers, Michael "The Doctor Mike" Allen, Kenny Thomas, Craig Allen, Mike Benson, Perry "Scooter" Leslie, Max Mace, Scott Summers, Billy "The Big Nightstalker" Walker, Diana Daniels, Robert "The Mad Dog" Mackney, Marc Bailey, James "Jim Spanky" Miller, K.C. and T.J. Carson, Tony Magoo, Brian Blades, The Intern, Robert Wagner, J.J. Michaels, Steve Chris, Jim Wilson, Danny Stevens, Nathan Norris, Lisa Rollins, Daniel "Danger Dan" Elm, J.D. "The Stoneman" Stone. Anne Robards, Ditti, Mark Hendrix, with Chris Lee, and Bill Cain among so many other Rock 101 DJs.
In the Fall of 1982, WAIM-FM changed formats into a hybrid of
CHR and
AOR under the "Rock 40" format as WCKN, "The All New Rock 101 FM". From the word go the station set off to do battle with then dominant Top 40 outlet WANS-FM (now
WJMZ-FM
WJMZ-FM (107.3 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Anderson, South Carolina and serving the Upstate South Carolina region, including Greenville and Spartanburg. The station is owned by SummitMedia and airs an urban adult contemporary ...
). In 1984, the station licensed the "
Hot Hits Hot Hits was a radio format created by consultant Mike Joseph in the 1970s. That concept, which helped spur the birth of what is now known as CHR, also revitalized the Top 40 format and would play a role in bringing the format to the FM band throug ...
" format from consultant Mike Joseph and tightened up the music, playing only 20 current songs and no re-currents or oldies. This approach did not work and was later dropped. In 1986, the playlist was broadened and adopted the moniker as "Power 101 FM, WCKN".
Despite these attempts, ratings remained in second place to WANS-FM's dominance in the CHR market. In late November 1987, the station started running promos about "giving the audience what they wanted". Then on December 1, 1987, the Rock 40 format and the "Power" name was officially dropped for an album rock format (with a strong musical lean toward classic rock) and "Rock 101" was reborn. During this time, two very popular shows on Rock 101 were, "The Rock 101's Midnight Tracker" where a random full Rock and Roll album would be played at midnight all the way through the morning, with no commercial interruption whatsoever. On Friday nights at midnight, the same concept but with six albums played all the way back to back. The DJ's would state all of the tracks on each album and then play the album all the way through. The Friday night show was called "The Rock 101's Friday Night Six Pack". Both of these shows were very popular with listeners and continued on Rock 101 until the mid-1990s. The WCKN call letters were finally dropped for WROQ in February 1991 as the station shifted toward
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 ...
but keeping the Rock 101 moniker. This approach was successful as the station became a solid Top 5 performer in the ratings for much of the 1990s and early 2000s, eventually going to #1 on several occasions during that time.
The station was eventually acquired by Barnstable Broadcasting in 2002. Since Barnstable at the time had also owned WROQ's main competitor
WTPT
WTPT (93.3 FM) is an active rock station licensed to Forest City, North Carolina, and serving the Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina regions, including Greenville and Spartanburg, South Carolina, and Asheville, North Carolina. Th ...
, it was decided to shift the station towards into a full-fledged classic rock station. This move was meant to allow both stations some breathing room and ratings have strengthened since that time.
Clear Channel Communications
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 ...
signed on
WBZT-FM in April 2002 as "96.7 The Buzzard", playing a mix of rock music from the 1960s through the present day. The move was meant to play spoiler to WROQ however the idea did not succeed very well, and the rock format was dropped at WBZT in 2007.
Entercom Communications
Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corporation, it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media ...
acquired WROQ, along with WTPT and WGVC-FM (now
WYRD-FM
WYRD-FM (106.3 MHz), known on-air as ''106-3 WORD, The Upstate's Talk Station'', is a news/talk-formatted radio station in the Greenville-Spartanburg area of Upstate South Carolina. The Audacy, Inc. outlet is licensed by the FCC to Simpsonville, ...
), from Barnstable in 2005.
In February 2014, WROQ rebranded as "Classic Rock 101.1 WROQ".
Previous logo
(WROQ's logo under previous "Rock 101" branding)
References
External links
*
{{Entercom
ROQ
Classic rock radio stations in the United States
Audacy, Inc. radio stations