WLIT-FM (93.9

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 ...

, "93.9 Lite 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 radi ...

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

. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts a

soft 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 sto ...

format. Its studios are located at the

Illinois Center Illinois Center is a mixed-use urban development in downtown Chicago, Illinois, USA, lying east of Michigan Avenue. It is notable in that the streets running through it have three levels. Elsewhere in Chicago, some streets have two levels, wit ...

complex in the

Chicago Loop The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercial business district in Nort ...

, while the station transmitter is on top of the

Willis Tower The Willis Tower (originally the Sears Tower) is a 108- story, skyscraper in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, United States. Designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM ...

History

WEBH

This station signed on the air as WEBH-FM on April 7, 1958;History Cards for WLIT-FM
fcc.gov. Retrieved September 8, 2018. the call letters stood for the

Edgewater Beach Hotel The Edgewater Beach Hotel was a resort hotel complex on Lake Michigan in the far-north neighborhood community of Edgewater in Chicago, Illinois, designed by Benjamin H. Marshall and Charles E. Fox. The first section was built in 1916 for its o ...

, the location of its original studios and transmitter site.Holland, Marsha.
Radio Broadcasting at the Edgewater Beach Hotel after 1928 - Part 2
, ''Edgewater Scrapbook''. Vol. 28, No. 1. Winter 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2018. The station was owned by the Buddy Black Broadcasting Co. WEBH-FM aired

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

music, along with popular

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

on weekday evenings, a classical music block on Sundays afternoons, and Sunday morning religious programming. In 1968, the station's transmitter was moved to

Riverside Plaza Riverside Plaza is a modernist and brutalist apartment complex designed by Ralph Rapson that opened in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1973. Situated on the edge of downtown Minneapolis in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, and next to both the Univers ...

, and its studios were moved to the

Congress Plaza Hotel The Congress Plaza Hotel is located on South Michigan Avenue across from Grant Park in Chicago at 520 South Michigan Avenue. Its eleven story edifice was originally designed by architect Clinton J. Warren as an annex to the Auditorium Theater ...

. In 1969 the station was sold to Rich Communications Corp. for $325,000.

WWEL

In January 1970, the station's call sign was changed to WWEL. WWEL broadcast a

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 ...

format.
1971 Broadcasting Yearbook
',

Broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting beg ...

. 1971. p. B-62. Retrieved September 8, 2018. The EL in WWEL's call sign was chosen to describe its Easy Listening format. In 1971, the station's transmitter was moved to the

John Hancock Center The John Hancock Center is a 100- story, 1,128-foot supertall skyscraper located in Chicago, Illinois. Located in the Magnificent Mile district, the building was officially renamed 875 North Michigan Avenue in 2018. The skyscraper was designed ...

, and it was sold to Sudbrink Broadcasting. The station's studios were moved to the John Hancock Center the following year.

WLAK

In February 1972, the station's call sign was changed to WLAK. This time the call letters referred to Lake Michigan where Chicago is the largest port. WLAK adopted the

format produced and distributed by Stereo Radio Productions, as did the other Sudbrink FM stations. WLAK did well in the ratings throughout the 1970s, and was the top rated FM station in 1975.Duncan, James H.
Chicago: 12+ Metro Share
, ''An American Radio Trilogy 1975 to 2004''. Volume 1: The Markets. Duncan's American Radio. Retrieved December 17, 2019. In 1974, the station's transmitter and studios were moved to the

Sears Tower The Willis Tower (originally the Sears Tower) is a 108- story, skyscraper in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, United States. Designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM ...

. In 1978, WLAK was sold to

Storer Broadcasting Storer Broadcasting, Inc. was an American company which owned several television and radio stations in the Northeastern United States. It was incorporated in Ohio 1927, and was broken up in 1986. History 1920s–1940s In 1927, George B. Storer ...

for $4.25 million. That December, Storer announced that it would exit radio to focus on its television stations and cable systems. While the company's other radio stations were sold in 1979,

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...

(FCC) regulations of the time required Storer to retain WLAK for three years. Storer sold WLAK to

Viacom International Paramount Global Distribution Group or Paramount Global Content Distribution is the international television distribution arm of American media conglomerate, Paramount Global, originally established in 1962 as the international distribution divis ...

for $8 million in 1981. In March 1982, WLAK's format began to shift towards

. Zorn, Eric. "Love is in the air — and it's on WLAK", ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

''. May 21, 1984. pp F1, F2. More soft vocals were added to the playlist, while the share of instrumentals was reduced.It's Beautiful: Bonneville's Verdery Trying New Approach to Vocal Music
, '' Billboard''. February 19, 1983. pp. 15, 62. Retrieved September 10, 2018. Core artists included Neil Diamond,

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

, Lionel Richie, and softer selections by

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

. On August 8, 1983, it completed its transition to soft AC. Zorn, Eric. "Love is in the air at 'new' WLAK", ''

''. August 6, 1983. p. 11. The instrumentals were cut entirely, and the station was branded as "Love Songs."
Chicago Radio Guide
'. Vol. 1, No. 1. May 1985. p. 3. Retrieved September 10, 2018. It featured

love songs A love song is a song about romantic love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. A comprehensive list of even the best known performers and composers of love songs would be a large order ...

from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, from artists such as Dionne Warwick, Frank Sinatra, and

Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960 ...

. Later, its slogan was "Songs to Sing Along With," as it continued to air a soft AC format.
Chicagoland Radio Waves
', MediaTies. Summer 1988. Retrieved September 10, 2018.

WLIT-FM

WLAK changed call letters on January 16, 1989, to WLIT-FM, and rebranded as "Lite FM", using the slogan "Lite Favorites."Call Sign History
fcc.gov. Retrieved September 8, 2018.

Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...

sold its radio stations to Chancellor Broadcasting in 1997. In 1999 Chancellor restructured as AMFM Inc. In 2000, WLIT's ownership changed to Clear Channel Communications after Clear Channel's merger with AMFM. Over time, the station evolved to a 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 ...

format. WLIT became Chicago's only adult contemporary station on August 1, 2011, when former rival 105.9

WCFS-FM WCFS-FM (105.9 MHz) – branded ''Newsradio 105.9 WBBM'' – is a commercial all-news radio station licensed to the Chicago suburb of Elmwood Park, Illinois. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station services the Chicago metropolitan area, operati ...

flipped to a

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simulta ...

of all-news radio 780 WBBM. This marked the first time in years Chicago only had one AC radio station.

On June 17, 2013, at 9 AM, WLIT rebranded as "93.9 My FM." The first song on "My FM" was " Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry. The station's playlist was adjusted to be more current/recurrent-based. On December 1, 2017, during its annual Christmas music programming, WLIT returned to the Lite FM branding. The station also dropped its carriage of the syndicated '' On with Mario Lopez'' evening show, replacing it with the syndicated call-in and dedications show ''

Delilah Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ar, دليلة, Dalīlah; grc, label= Greek, Δαλιδά, Dalidá) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved ...

''. In December 2018,

Robert Feder Robert Feder (born May 17, 1956) is an American media blogger who was the television and radio columnist for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1980 until 2008, a blogger for Vocalo.org from 2009 until 2010, and a blogger for ''Time Out Chicago'' fro ...

reported that WLIT planned to flip to a

format. It would begin using the slogan "Relaxing Favorites" after the conclusion of its Christmas programming.

HD programming

In February 2006, WLIT began broadcasting in HD Radio. WLIT's HD2 subchannel was originally a simulcast of the now-defunct "Real Oldies" AM 1690

WRLL WRLL (1450 AM) is a Spanish variety radio station licensed to Cicero, Illinois, and serving the Chicago market. The station is owned by Midway Broadcasting. History In 2006, WVON, which had long operated on 1450 AM, moved to 1690 AM. The WRLL ...

(now

WVON WVON (1690 AM "The Voice of the Nation", originally "Voice of the Negro") is a radio station serving the Chicago market, which airs an African-American-oriented talk format. WVON is owned by Midway Broadcasting Corporation, and broadcasts at 1 ...

). It later changed to a mix of

disco music Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric piano ...

and 1970s/1980s

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 ...

called "Flashback." In August 2009, the format changed again, this time to a gold-based AC format known as "Chicago's Classic Lite," and later branded as "Delilah." On February 1, 2016, WLIT's HD2 adopted a Regional Mexican format branded "Poder 97.5" (Power 97.5), which was rebroadcast at 97.5 MHz through

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 tra ...

W248BB. On May 6, 2019, WLIT-HD2 dropped the "Poder 97.5" Regional Mexican format and switched to iHeart's "The Breeze" soft adult contemporary format. The 97.5 translator flipped to Christian contemporary music, as an affiliate of K-Love. as of 2019 of December K-Love broke away from the WCKL-FM simulcast and Started simulcasting Air1 from WCKL-HD2.

Christmas Music

From early November through

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

each year, WLIT changes its branding to ''The Holiday Lite''. The format switches to all Christmas music, resuming its regular branding and Soft AC sound on December 26. During the period between December 26 and January 2, the Christmas music moves to the HD2 channel while the main terrestrial station resumes the regular format. After the mid-2013 rebranding, the all-Christmas tradition was continued without reference to "lite".

Personalities

In December 2000, the station began airing the nationally syndicated

program on weekday evenings. It is produced by

Premiere Networks Premiere Networks (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a wholly owned subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. ...

, which is co-owned with WLIT. WLIT cancelled Delilah's program in November 2007, but it returned in October 2008.Delilah Loses Son; Then Loses WLIT-FM
, ''Chicagoland Radio and Media''. March 13, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2018. Delilah's program was taken off WLIT again in March 2012 but was brought back in December 2017, after the station returned to its "Lite FM" branding. Delilah is currently heard Sunday through Friday evenings. WLIT also carries the Ellen K Weekend Show from co-owned

KOST KOST (103.5 FM) is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts an AC radio format, switching to Christmas music for much of November and December. Its studios are co-located with its sister stati ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

on Saturday mornings. As with Delilah, Ellen K is syndicated by Premiere Networks. Melissa Forman joined WLIT as morning host in 2001, remaining until 2006, but returning 14 months later. Rosenthal, Phil.
Melissa Forman out at WLIT-FM -- again
, ''

''. August 13, 2009. Retrieved September 10, 2018. Feder, Robert.
Melissa Forman going ‘home again’ to Lite FM morning show
, Robert Feder. May 21, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2018. Forman was again let go in 2009, and began co-hosting "You & Me This Morning" on

WCIU-TV WCIU-TV (channel 26) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is the flagship television property of locally based Weigel Broadcasting, which has owned the station since its inception, and is siste ...

, but was again hired as morning host on WLIT in May 2018.Melissa Forman Returns To WLIT (93.9 Lite FM)/Chicago
, ''All Access Music Group''. May 21, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2018. WLIT's midday DJ is Robin Rock, Mick Lee is heard in afternoon

drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this cl ...

and Theresa Lucas overnight.

References

External links

* * {{iHeartMedia LIT-FM Soft adult contemporary radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1958 1958 establishments in Illinois IHeartMedia radio stations