WZSR (105.5 FM, "Star 105.5") 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

hot 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 ...

format. Licensed to

Woodstock, Illinois Woodstock is a city in (and the county seat of) McHenry County, Illinois, McHenry County, Illinois, United States. It is located 45 miles northwest of Chicago, making it one of the city's outer-most suburbs. Per the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

, United States, it serves

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

's northwest suburbs. The station is currently owned by Alpha Media. The station's studios are located behind

McHenry County College McHenry County College (MCC) is a public community college in McHenry County, Illinois. The college serves residents residing in Community College District 528, which covers most of McHenry County and portions of surrounding counties. The colle ...

Crystal Lake Crystal Lake or Crystal Lakes may refer to: Lakes Canada * Crystal Lake (Saskatchewan) * Crystal Lake (Ontario), drain into the Lynn River, which drains into Lake Erie United States * Crystal Lake, California, a mountain lake in Nevad ...

History

WSTK

The station began broadcasting on April 1, 1968, and held the call sign WSTK. It was owned by Angelo Joseph Salvi.Ghrist, John R. (1996). ''Valley Voices: A Radio History''. Crossroads Communications. p. 142-147. WSTK initially aired middle of the road (MOR) and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

music. By 1971, the station was airing a country music format full time. The station was taken silent in late 1973.

WXRD

In March 1974, the station was sold to Mal Bellairs for $95,000 and returned to the air, with its call sign changed to WXRD. WXRD simulcast AM 850 WIVS in the morning and aired a

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 ...

format branded "The Crossroads" the remainder of the day.
Broadcasting Yearbook 1975
',

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 ...

, 1975. p. C-61. Retrieved March 20, 2019. By 1980, the station had switched to a MOR format.
Broadcasting Yearbook 1980
',

, 1980. p. C-73. Retrieved March 20, 2019. In 1981, Bellairs sold the station, along with AM 850 WIVS, to Katy Communications of Elgin for $838,000. WXRD was refer as "X-105" ("The Star Station") in the early 1980s. On October 18, 1982, WXRD became an affiliate of the

Satellite Music Network Satellite Music Network was the first satellite delivered network to provide complete live 24-hour-a-day music programming to local stations, under several different formats. History Affiliate stations, mostly in small and medium markets, co ...

. The station then during the same time flipped to

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 ...

, despite its Satellite Music Network

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 ...

programming being used in its programming lineup, retaining its X-105 name.
Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1983
', Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1983. p. B-79. Retrieved March 20, 2019. WXRD was also an affiliate of ''

American Top 40 ''American Top 40'' (previously abbreviated to ''AT40'') is an internationally syndicated, independent song countdown radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds, and Ron Jacobs. The program is currently hosted by Ryan Seacr ...

'' with

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably '' American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice Nor ...

during its short Top 40 run. In early 1984, the station immediately switched to an adult contemporary format.
Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1984
', Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1984. p. B-85. Retrieved March 20, 2019.

WXET

On April 7, 1984, the station's call sign was changed to WXET. WXET aired an adult contemporary format and was branded "Lite Hits 105.5".
Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1985
', Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1985. p. B-88. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
Chicago Radio Guide
'. Vol. 1, No. 1. May 1985. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
Chicagoland Radio Waves
', MediaTies. Summer 1988. Retrieved March 20, 2019. As both WXRD and WXET from 1982 until 1988, the station also carried selected

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

baseball games. On March 3, 1988, the station was sold to Crystal Lake Radio, along with AM 850 WAIT, for $1.6 million.

WAIT-FM

On November 14, 1988, the station's call sign was changed to WAIT-FM. WAIT-FM simulcast AM 850 WAIT mornings, while

adult rock Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, 2 ...

from the 1970s and 1980s aired the rest of the day. In June 1990, the station adopted a CHR format, airing programming from Satellite Music Network's "The Heat" network. In March 1991, it adopted 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 ...

format, which also aired programming from the Satellite Music Network for only 6 months. Feder, Robert. "WFMT chief resigns for 'personal reasons'", ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

''. May 6, 1991. p. 31. Later that year, the station was sold to Pride Communications, along with AM 850 WAIT, for $2.2 million.

Star 105.5

On August 29, 1991, the station dropped its short lived classic rock format and returned to its adult contemporary format, and it was branded "Star 105.5". On October 4, 1991, the station's call sign was changed to WZSR. In October 2000,

NextMedia Group NextMedia Group was an out-of-home media company headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado. NextMedia owns and operates 33 AM and FM stations, 5,700 outdoor advertising display across several regions and markets, as well as an interactive divi ...

purchased Pride Communications' nine radio stations, including WZSR, for approximately $57 million. In 2014, the station was sold to Matrix Broadcasting LLC. In April 2019, WZSR was sold to

Alpha Media Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , which ...

due to Matrix Broadcasting's bankruptcy back in March 2018.Deal To Transfer WYSO/Dayton From Antioch College To Independent Ownership Filed With FCC
, ''All Access Music Group''. April 9, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2019.

References

External links

* {{Alpha Media ZSR Hot adult contemporary radio stations in the United States Alpha Media radio stations McHenry County, Illinois Woodstock, Illinois Radio stations established in 1968 1968 establishments in Illinois