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WKQI (95.5  FM) 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 ...
serving
Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
. Owned by
iHeartMedia 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 ...
, it broadcasts a Top 40/CHR format branded as ''Channel 955'' (pronounced "nine-five-five"). WKQI transmits its signal with an
effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would h ...
of 100,000
watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...
s from an antenna 430 feet in height located at the intersection of Greenfield Road and 10 Mile Road in suburban Oak Park in
Oakland County Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the metropolitan Detroit area, located northwest of the city. As of the 2020 Census, its population was 1,274,395, making it the second-most populous county in Michigan ...
, and has studios in
Farmington Hills Farmington Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Part of the affluent suburbs northwest of Detroit, Farmington Hills is the second most-populated city in Oakland County, after Troy, with a population of 83,986 at the 20 ...
.


History


Beginnings: WLDM

WKQI began in February 1949 as an unaffiliated classical outlet, WLDM. Although a few Andre Kostelanetz, Morton Gould, and Percy Faith light music recordings were played, it was not until the station took up storecasting in 1951 that those and other popular orchestras were heard regularly, along with light classical and some classical music, as "albums in high-fidelity". Evenings were devoted to concert works. An audience of non-client listeners developed slowly, but when owner Lincoln Broadcasting Company moved the storecast to its subcarrier in late 1957 and rededicated the main channel solely to classical recordings, enough of an outcry arose that a substantial amount of daytime popular music was eventually restored. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the station enjoyed prestige as the area's premier purveyor of 'good music', adding Broadway showtunes selections from original cast albums,
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...
, and other 'hi-fi' recordings, and later spoken-word and dramatic presentations. In 1961, WLDM increased its power and started broadcasting in stereo. Three years later, most of the classical shows were dropped in favor of
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 mu ...
, a move that led to high ratings and greatly increased revenue for the remainder of the 1960s, but declined throughout the 1970s. WLDM was also an industry leader with technical improvements such as vertical signal polarization to improve reception on portable and car radios, and referred to itself as "America's Foremost FM Station".


From WLDM to WCZY

By the mid-1970s, Detroit had a large number of music stations, with WWJ-FM, WJR-FM, WNIC, and WOMC all competing with WLDM for the easy listening audience. After being sold to Combined Communications (which later sold to Gannett Broadcasting in 1981), WLDM changed its call letters to WCZY-FM ("Cozy FM") on May 5, 1978. WCZY-FM's format, under Robert Gaskins, was a steady performer in Detroit's Arbitron ratings during the late 1970s, with popular personalities including Paul Bryon (mornings), Al Gaige (middays) and Bob Martin (afternoons). The station's ratings peak came in the spring of 1980, with WCZY registering a fourth-place showing in the overall 12+ ratings and consistently ranking the highest of Detroit's three beautiful music stations (its competitors at the time were WJR-FM and WWJ-FM, as WNIC and WOMC had evolved into
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 ...
formats by then). During this time WCZY used the services of syndicators Churchill and Schulke (the latter's Schulke II package) for its beautiful music format, but unlike its competitors WJR-FM and WWJ-FM, the station was not fully automated and made use of live announcers. In 1978, former country station WDEE-AM (1500) was acquired and its call letters changed to WCZY-AM with a similar format. Even though several top rated
disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobil ...
s like Bob Martin were moved to the AM, the poor signal of the station hindered the station from producing the successful ratings the FM station enjoyed. Bob Martin was then moved back to the FM, and WCZY-AM changed to WLQV-AM (Love Radio) with a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
religious format put in place. In 1981, the Combined Communications chain was purchased by the
Gannett Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.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 ...
format that year in hopes of attracting younger listeners and thus increasing ad revenue; the entire on-air staff was let go, and Dick Purtan was brought in from CKLW to host the station's morning show at the start of 1983. During 1983, the station's music became more and more contemporary; by the end of the year, the format was CHR for all intents and purposes, despite continuing to use the "Cozy FM" moniker. The station's final transformation into "Z95.5" was complete by the fall of 1984. Purtan's morning show kept WCZY high in the overall ratings during this transition period, but advertising revenues did not meet expectations.


All Hits Z95.5

"Z95.5" enjoyed a fair amount of ratings success with its CHR format, usually rated in Detroit's top ten Arbitron ratings 12+, though arguably much of the station's high ratings came from Purtan's show. In an attempt to be more palatable to adult listeners, WCZY was more of an Adult CHR, avoiding most rap,
dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...
and hard rock songs unless they were successful pop crossovers. Although WCZY's overall 12+ ratings were often better than WHYT's, WHYT was much more popular with teenage and young adult listeners. For a time, WCZY also simulcast its programming again on AM 1500 (WLQV-AM, which once again changed its calls to WCZY-AM, with the station I.D.-ing as "Z95.5 and AM 1500") as part of a ploy to "return Dick Purtan to the AM dial." It lasted only a few years before AM 1500 returned to its previous religious format as WLQV. In April 1987, Sky Broadcasting bought WCZY (the AM would be sold to Satellite Radio Network); in turn, Broadcasting Partners bought the station two years later.


Q95/Q95-5

Despite Z95.5's high ratings, the station still wanted to attract more older listeners in the hope of attracting more advertising dollars, and so on July 20, 1989, WCZY changed its calls and moniker to WKQI, "Q95," dropped hard rock and rap from its playlist, and added more gold from the 1970s and 1980s. Detroit based AC radio consultant Gary Berkowitz was the original Q95 program director, which also included (in addition to Dick Purtan) air personalities Kevin O'Neill and Michael Waite (formerly of rival WHYT). Q95 started as an Adult CHR, but by late 1990, had shifted to mainstream
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 ...
to challenge incumbent AC outlets WNIC and WLTI (who would later flip 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 "cont ...
and become WKQI's CHR arch-rival as WDRQ). The station's ratings continued to be respectable throughout the 1990s. Dick Purtan was an investor in the new station and stayed on as WKQI's morning host until March 1996, when he left for WOMC. Following Purtan's departure, WKQI became "Q95-5, Detroit's Continuous Hit Music Station," hired former Partridge Family star Danny Bonaduce as the morning show host, and shifted back to an Adult CHR presentation, adding alternative-pop artists such as
Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with two ...
, Sarah McLachlan, Joan Osborne,
Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music * Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of album ...
, and The BoDeans, which the station had not played previously. For most of the late 1990s, WKQI was a heavily dayparted station, being a fairly conservative Hot AC during the day but taking more of a CHR approach at night, while still shying away from most urban music and rap except for artists with mainstream pop appeal such as
Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...
, Toni Braxton, and Ghost Town DJs. Ownership would also change a few times during the 1990s; Evergreen Media would buy out Broadcasting Partners in May 1995, with Chancellor buying out Evergreen in 1997. Chancellor, in turn, would merge with Capstar to form AMFM, Inc. in 1999.


Top 40 wars: WKQI vs. WDRQ

Danny Bonaduce kept WKQI's morning ratings high, but after he departed in January 1998, the station began to falter. ABC/Disney-owned rhythmic-based rival WDRQ took advantage of WKQI's weak spots by moving to a more mainstream Top 40 format with a hotter, more energetic presentation than WKQI. WDRQ also gained an advantage on WKQI, which remained a fairly conservative station musically, by emphasizing the then-hot teen-pop movement and stars like Backstreet Boys,
Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage producti ...
,
Spice Girls The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and ...
, and *NSYNC. By the summer of 2000, WKQI had sunk to fourteenth place in the ratings, while WDRQ had charged into the top ten (though WKQI still outbilled WDRQ by a fair margin). Clear Channel took control of the station in 2000 when it merged with AMFM. In February of that year, Clear Channel formed a new morning show called ''Mojo In The Morning'' and began to target a younger audience demographic. WDRQ continued to win the CHR battle against WKQI for a few more years.


Channel 955

On February 4, 2002, at 10 a.m., Clear Channel re-launched WKQI as "Channel 9-5-5" (later stylized as "Channel 955") and began to move the station in a more rhythmic direction to compete more directly with WDRQ. WKQI would soon take the ratings lead over WDRQ, whose falling ratings culminated in its format switch to " Variety Hits" as "Doug-FM" on April 1, 2005, leaving WKQI to have the CHR market to itself in Detroit. Subsequently, WKQI reclaimed its top 10 showing in Detroit's
Arbitron ratings Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging ...
. The station currently competes for the CHR audience with Cumulus Media's Hot AC-formatted WDVD, and CIDR-FM across the
river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...
in Windsor. In February 2020, WKQI and its parent company
iHeartMedia 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 ...
celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Mojo In The Morning show with a weeklong on-air celebration featuring celebrity guests and visits from cast members of the show's past. It was noted that the show earned the distinction of being the longest-running FM morning program in
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...
history. WKQI currently ranks at #6 (5.0) in the Detroit market according to the May 2022 PPM ratings release.


HD Radio

In 2008, WKQI's HD2 subchannel began carrying the Dance Top 40
Club Phusion {{Infobox broadcasting network , logo = , network_name = Club Phusion, country = United States, network_type = Radio network, available = National, through online and HD Radio affiliates (see stations), owner = Clear C ...
format, which is part of Clear Channel's Format Lab. It previously had aired a "New CHR" format. WKQI billed Club Phusion as "Bomb Squad Radio" (named after its own stable of club DJs). The station later switched to an alternate dance mix-show format from Clear Channel's
iHeartRadio iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast and radio streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. It was founded in August 2008. , iHeartRadio was functioning as the national umbrella brand for iHe ...
on its HD-2 signal, known as "Spin Cycle Radio", which features continuous mix-show programming from a nationwide stable of club DJs. WKQI also formerly offered Clear Channel's Pride Radio format, featuring a mix of mostly dance music oriented toward the
LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...
audience, on an HD3 subchannel.https://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?latitude=42.322261810303&longitude=-83.176307678223 HD Radio Guide for Detroit As of October 2015, WKQI-HD2 now carries another iHeartRadio format called "Feel tha Funk" (which was later renamed "Classic Funk"), featuring 1970's and 80's
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...
and
soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...
. WKQI-HD2 and HD3 have since begun simulcasting WKQI-HD1.


See also

*
Media in Detroit As the world's traditional automotive center, Detroit, Michigan, is an important source for business news. The Detroit media are active in the community through such efforts as the '' Detroit Free Press'' high school journalism program and the O ...


References


External links


Official Channel 95.5 website
*

{{IHeartMedia KQI Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1949 1949 establishments in Michigan IHeartMedia radio stations