WFBQ (94.7 FM, "Q95") 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 ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mar ...

, United States, 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 ...

. The studios are located at 6161 Fall Creek Road on the northeast side of Indianapolis. The transmitter and antenna are located on the northwest side of Indianapolis. It is the

flagship station In broadcasting, a flagship (also known as a flagship station or key station) is the broadcast station which originates a television network, or a particular radio or television program that plays a key role in the branding of and consumer loyalt ...

of the popular nationally syndicated program ''

The Bob & Tom Show ''The Bob & Tom Show'' is a syndicated US radio program established by Bob Kevoian and Tom Griswold at radio station WFBQ in Indianapolis, Indiana, March 7, 1983, and syndicated nationally since January 6, 1995. Originally syndicated by Pre ...

''.

History

WFBQ began operation as WFBM-FM in 1955 as the sister station to WFBM (now WNDE) and WFBM-TV (now WRTV). In 1957, all three WFBM stations were sold to Time-Life, Inc. In 1961, the two WFBM radio stations were sold to Fischer Communications, who also owned WAZY/WAZY-FM in Lafayette and WGBF/WGBF-FM in Evansville. In 1972, WFBM-TV became WRTV. In August 1973, WFBM became the Top 40 WNDE. WFBM-FM had become

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 w ...

-formatted WFBQ earlier that same year. One year later, WFBQ was rebranded as ''"Rockin' Stereo!"'' (the FM Top 40 counterpart to AM sister WNDE) using an automation package called "Stereo Rock" produced by TM Productions of Dallas. On Valentine's Day, 1978, ''"Rockin' Stereo!"'' was dropped in favor of an AOR format and live DJs. One popular afternoon jock who had significant ties to the Indianapolis area was Jimmy "Mad Dog" Matis.

Station broadcasting information

The station broadcasts with 58 kilowatts of both vertical and horizontal power. More information can be found at th
WFBQ
FM query page at the FCC website. 58 kW makes WFBQ the most powerful FM station in Indiana. WFBQ is licensed to broadcast in the

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...

format.

Programming

WFBQ changed to an

Album Rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-orient ...

format on February 14,

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

, at 7 AM. After several years of 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, prim ...

lean, WFBQ changed to classic rock by

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

, when competitor

WKLU WKLU (101.9 FM) is a radio station licensed to Brownsburg, Indiana, and serving the Indianapolis metropolitan area. The station is owned by the Educational Media Foundation and carries its K-LOVE network, playing Contemporary Christian music. ...

defected to

classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 198 ...

. It also has two sister stations, WNDE (originally WFBM) and WOLT (originally WXTZ-FM, later WRZX). WFBQ has been the home of ''

'' since 1983, remaining the flagship station even after distribution switched from iHeartMedia to rival

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 8 ...

in 2014. It was the flagship station for

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

game broadcasts from 1998 through the 2007 Super Bowl. The rights have since been acquired by

Emmis Communications Emmis Communications is an American media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Emmis, based on the Hebrew word for Truth (Emet) was founded by Jeff Smulyan in 1980. Emmis has owned many radio stations, including KPWR and WQHT, which h ...

WLHK WLHK (97.1 FM), 97-1 Hank FM, is a country music radio station owned by Urban One. While the station is licensed to Shelbyville, Indiana, its studios are located on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis. The transmitter, according to the F ...

. WFBQ is the State Primary Source for the Indiana Emergency Alert System.

Legacy

At a 1991

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff ...

concert in

Noblesville, Indiana Noblesville is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Indiana, United States, a part of the north Indianapolis suburbs along the White River. The population was 51,969 at the 2010 census making it the state's 14th largest city/town ...

, frontman

Axl Rose W. Axl Rose (born William Bruce Rose Jr.; born February 6, 1962) is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its incep ...

(a Lafayette native) spotted a fan wearing a Q95 T-shirt and proceeded to tell the crowd about how he listened to Q95 while growing up. Rose said to the fans, ''"You know what?! That station saved my freakin' life."''

References

External links

WFBQ Website
*

{{Coord, 39.894778, N, 86.200639, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title FBQ Classic rock radio stations in the United States 1955 establishments in Indiana IHeartMedia radio stations Mass media in Indianapolis