WXCL (104.9 FM) 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 ...

Pekin, Illinois Pekin () is a city in and the county seat of Tazewell County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located on the Illinois River, Pekin is the largest city of Tazewell County and the second most populous municipality of the Peoria metropolitan area, a ...

and serving the

Peoria metropolitan area The Peoria Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of six counties in Central Illinois, Central Illinois, anchored by the city of Peoria, Illinois, Peoria. As of the United States Census ...

. It broadcasts a

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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 broadcasting, ...

and is owned by Midwest Communications, Inc. WXCL is one of two outlets in Peoria playing Country music, along with 97.3

WFYR WFYR (97.3 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a country music format and licensed for Elmwood, Illinois, United States, in the Peoria area. The station is owned by Cumulus Media, which purchased the station from Townsquare Media. History ...

History

104.9

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...

the air in 1973 as WZRO with 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. This format was not successful and the station later adopted an

automated Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...

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, ...

format from

Drake-Chenault Drake-Chenault Enterprises (originally American Independent Radio Inc.) was a radio syndication company that specialized in automation on FM radio stations. The company was founded in the late-1960s by radio programmer and deejay Bill Drake (1937� ...

called "Great American Country." During the summer of 1980, for several days WZRO went off the air for repairs and a format switch. When it returned it became WKQA with a format of

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 ...

. At this time it was owned by a company called Manship Corp. out of

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

, Louisiana, co-owned with sister station WFMF. Then, during March 1982 it changed its moniker to Q-104 WKQA, and competed directly against AM station WIRL with an adult contemporary format. It used the monikers "Q-104" and WKQA interchangeably until early 1987. Then it became known as "Q-105" programming a hot adult contemporary format. Meanwhile, WXCL was formerly on AM 1350. In October 1989 WKQA changed its format and this station on 104.9 FM became known as WXCL-FM. WXCL simulcast on AM and FM for several years in the 1990s as WXCL (AM) and WXCL-FM. WXCL was later replaced on AM by

WOAM WOAM (1350 AM broadcasting, AM) is a Peoria, Illinois radio station that broadcasts an adult standards/MOR format. History The station signed on as WEEK April 27, 1947. Peoria's TV channel 25 was started by the owners of 1350, and to this day ch ...

, leaving WXCL only on FM. WXCL was sold by Kelly Communications the AAA Entertainment in 2002, and sold again by AAA Entertainment to

Triad Broadcasting Triad Broadcasting Company, LLC was an owner of radio stations in small and medium markets in the United States. It is based in Monterey, California. At the end of November 2012, Triad announced the sale of its 32 radio stations in 5 markets to L ...

in 2006. Since being bought by Triad, WXCL has used the on-air nickname 104.9 The Wolf. Effective May 1, 2013, L&L Broadcasting purchased WXCL and 29 other stations from Triad Broadcasting (JMP Media) at a purchase price of $21 million. On February 4, 2019, Alpha Media announced that it would sell its Peoria cluster to

Midwest Communications Midwest Communications is a Wausau, Wisconsin-based radio broadcasting company. It owns 82 radio stations located primarily within the Midwest United States, in Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Illinois and ...

for $21.6 million. The sale closed on April 30, 2019.

Personalities

Notable former air talent on WXCL: Dan Dermody, Bob Grayson, Dale Van Horn, Kimber Bennett, Sue Parker, Joe Calgaro, Dave Murphy, Joe Bob Cameron, Buck Stevens, Jack Shell, BJ Stone, Jerry Barr, Nancy Shelton, Doc Watson, Jamie Markley, Brad Bensman, Jeanie Plackett, Steve Young, Paul Jackson, Tweed Scott, Bob Look, Rick McKay, Michael Cruise, Mario Impemba, Joe Jackson, Robb Rose, Carolyn Mungo, Jim Crowley, Don Elliot, Marc Truelove, Denise Henley, PJ McKay, Maria Gilmore, Jay Curtis, Mort Cantor, Lee Malcolm, Chuck Collins (currently with WMBD-TV), Mike Pesto, "Danger" Dan Belk, Bob "The Bullet" Davis, Brett Erickson, Cody West, Loren Wassell, Chuck Urban, Lee Ranson, Cindy Austin, Andy Corbin, and Bill Bro. WXCL News personnel included Bill Marlowe (News Director), Ernie Slottag, Alan Friedman. Leon Thomas, Crystal Bostian, Steve Fiorina, Ron Howard, and Clark Smith (former WHOI-TV).

References

External links

* * {{Midwest Communications Country radio stations in the United States XCL Tazewell County, Illinois Radio stations established in 1970 1970 establishments in Illinois Midwest Communications radio stations