WXRL (1300 AM) 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 ...

Lancaster, New York Lancaster is a town in Erie County, New York, United States, centered 14 miles east of downtown Buffalo. Lancaster is an outer ring suburb of Buffalo. As of the 2020 Census, the town population was 45,106. Located within the town is the villa ...

, serving the

Buffalo metropolitan area Buffalo most commonly refers to: * Bubalina, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York Buffalo or buffaloes may also refer to: Animals * Bubalina, a subtribe of the tr ...

. It broadcasts a

classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...

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, ...

. WXRL is owned and operated by the family of

Ramblin' Lou Schriver Louis Albert "Ramblin' Lou" Schriver (July 19, 1929 – January 17, 2016) was an American country musician and radio broadcaster who lived in western New York State. Schriver began his radio career in 1947, performing live music at WJJL in Niagara ...

, a well known local

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, ...

performer, under the name Dome Broadcasting Inc. The

radio studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

s and

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...

are on William Street in Lancaster. By day, WXRL transmits with 5,000

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 Wa ...

s, but to protect other stations on

1300 AM Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ...

from interference, it reduces power at night to 2,500 watts. It uses

directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates or receives greater power in specific directions allowing increased performance and reduced interference from unwanted sources. Directional antennas provide increased performance ...

with a four-

tower array A tower array is an arrangement of multiple radio towers which are mast radiators in a phased array. They were originally developed as ground-based tracking radars. Tower arrays can consist of free-standing or guyed towers or a mix of them. Tower a ...

. Programming is also heard on 250-watt

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...

W238DD at 95.5

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

History

In , the station

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 ...

as WMMJ. The station had been founded by Stan Jasinski, a local media personality known mostly for his

polka Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ...

broadcasts. Polka has been a fixture of the station's format since its inception. When Jasinski shifted his focus to television and started up Channel 29

WUTV WUTV (channel 29) is a television station in Buffalo, New York, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate WNYO-TV (channel 49). Both stations share studios on Hertel ...

in 1970, he sold the radio station to

, who owned the station for the rest of his life and installed what was then the first

station in Western New York. When more modern FM country stations such as

WYRK WYRK (106.5 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station in Buffalo, New York, and serving Western New York. It is owned by Townsquare Media and it broadcasts a country music radio format. The studios and offices are on Lafayette Square in Buffalo in ...

and WNUC started reaching the airwaves in the early 1990s, Schriver, like numerous other AM country stations, maintained a

format. Schriver died January 17, 2016, from heart failure at age 86.Kunz-Goldman, Mary (January 18, 2016)
Ramblin' Lou Schriver, soul of country music in WNY, has died
''The Buffalo News''. Retrieved January 18, 2016. His family and heirs continue to own and operate the station. As of October 23, 2018, after a long application process with the FCC, WXRL added an

at 95.5 MHz. The station's format did not change with the addition of the new translator. In 2020, WXRL became the last commercial radio station in the Buffalo area to begin streaming its programming on the Internet.

Programs

Local hosts include Ron Dombrowski, Matty K and Lynn Carol Schriver. Scott Cleveland was a longtime on-air personality with the station until his death in 2015. Ramblin' Lou Schriver's reruns of "The Old Country Church" continue to be posthumously broadcast on the station. The station has a "Drive Time Polkas" show from 5 till 7 pm Monday thru Saturday and also devotes a large portion of its weekend programming to polka music. Syndicated programs include the ''

Renfro Valley Gatherin' ''Renfro Valley Gatherin' '' (also formerly known as ''Renfro Valley Sunday Morning Gathering '') is a United States radio program based in Renfro Valley, Kentucky. The Gatherin' is the third oldest continually broadcast radio program in America, ...

'', ''Classic Country Today'' with Keith Bilbrey and " Country Music Greats" with

Jim Ed Brown James Edward Brown (April 1, 1934 – June 11, 2015) was an American country singer-songwriter who achieved fame in the 1950s with his two sisters as a member of the Browns. He later had a successful solo career from 1965 to 1974, followed by a ...

. WXRL is an affiliate of

CBS Radio News CBS News Radio, formerly known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, is a radio network that provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by Paramount Global. It ...

. The station also airs some local sports programming, predominantly from Lancaster High School. WXRL carries only a small amount of external advertising, with most of its commercial spots advertising appearances by the Ramblin' Lou Family Band and "Ramblin' Lou Tours" (bus trips sold and promoted by the Schriver family to locations mostly in the eastern United States).

References

External links

Official WXRL Web site

WXRL official Facebook page
XRL Country radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1965 1965 establishments in New York (state) {{NewYork-radio-station-stub