WWKX (106.3 FM) is a

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

radio station in

Woonsocket, Rhode Island Woonsocket ( ), is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 43,240 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Being Rhode Island's northernmost city, Woonsoc ...

, serving the

Blackstone Valley The Blackstone Valley or Blackstone River Valley is a region of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It was a major factor in the American Industrial Revolution. It makes up part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor and Natio ...

and much of the

Providence metropolitan area The Providence metropolitan area (Providence MSA) is a region extending into eight counties in two states. Its urban area, core is in the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts; its largest city is Providence, Rhode Island. With an estimated po ...

. The

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is a broadcasting company of the United States and is the second largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States ahead of Audacy and behind iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdi ...

outlet operates with an ERP of 1.15 kW and is licensed to Woonsocket. The station's studios are located in East Providence and the transmitter site is in

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

History

The current WWKX signed on June 26, 1949, as WWON-FM on 105.5 FM as the sister station to WWON (now WOON). In 1950, WWON-FM operated with 390 watts. WWON-FM changed frequencies to the current 106.3 by summer 1958. In the 1970s, the station played

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

, and in 1986 became WNCK. In 1988, it flipped to

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary r ...

as WWKX "Kicks 106" (later "Kix 106"), before it shifted to

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...

as "The Rhythm of Southern New England" in November 1990; the format scored high ratings in the 18-34 demographic from 1995 to 1997. By February 1998, the station adopted the "Hot 106" moniker and tweaked its playlist towards a pure R&B/Hip-Hop flavor. WWKX was the only rhythmic top 40 in the United States to air

Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American broadcaster and media personality. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from 1 ...

from 1997 to January 5, 2005, when parent company

Citadel Broadcasting Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company founded and developed by Larry Wilson. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the count ...

ceased airing the show in a dispute regarding Stern's mentioning of his upcoming move to

Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio ( SDARS) service that operated in the United States and Canada. Sirius launched in 2002, and primarily competed with XM Satellite Radio, until the two services merged in 2008 to form Sirius XM. Li ...

. Citadel merged with

on September 16, 2011. WWKX logo

On October 30, 2024, WWKX's morning hosts, "Mike D" DaSilva and Alexus Lee, announced that they had exited the station. At midnight on October 31, WWKX dropped its longtime rhythmic contemporary format and began stunting with

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

-themed music; with the move, the rest of the "Hot 106" airstaff would also depart the station. On November 1, the station shifted its stunting to songs by

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

, in recognition of the

Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead () is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pa ...

. On November 2 at midnight, after playing "

Dire Wolf The dire wolf (''Aenocyon dirus'' ) is an Extinction, extinct species of Caninae, canine which was native to the Americas during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene epochs (125,000–10,000 years ago). The species was named in 1858, four y ...

", WWKX flipped to classic rock as "106.3 The Wolf". The callsign WWKX was assigned to 104.5 in Gallatin/

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, from 1978 to 1987. This station is now

WGFX WGFX (104.5 FM broadcasting, FM) is a Commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Gallatin, Tennessee, and serving the Nashville metropolitan area. It is branded as 104.5 The Zone, broadcasting a Sports radio, sports ...

, also a Cumulus station.

References

External links

WWKX official website
*

* ttp://jeff560.tripod.com/1958fm.html List of FM stations in the U.S. in the summer of 1958 as listed in the North American Radio TV Station Listings, by Vane A. Jones. WKX Cumulus Media radio stations Classic rock radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1949 Woonsocket, Rhode Island 1949 establishments in Rhode Island {{RhodeIsland-radio-station-stub