WKPE-FM

WKPE-FM

City of license	South Yarmouth, Massachusetts
Broadcast area	Cape Cod
Branding	"Cape Country 104"
Slogan	"Today's Best Country And The Legends"
Frequency	103.9 MHz
First air date	July 25, 1974 (as WVLC-FM 104.7)
Format	Country
ERP	5,500 watts
HAAT	104 meters
Class	A
Facility ID	8586
Callsign meaning	W KaPE (intentional mis-spelling, based on old calls WKZE)
Owner	Sandab Communications
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	www.capecountry104.com

WKPE-FM (103.9 FM), known as "Cape Country 104", is a Country radio station licensed to South Yarmouth, Massachusetts, with its main studio in Hyannis, Massachusetts, shared with WFCC-FM, WQRC, and WOCN-FM. WKPE-FM is owned by local Cape Cod Business "Cape Cod Broadcasting" (aka Sandab Communications).

History

The station went on the air on July 25, 1974, as WVLC-FM, broadcasting at 104.7 MHz. Initially, the station was just a full time simulcast of WVLC-AM 1170 (now WFPB).

In 1980, the FM band was still new territory for Top-40 radio. Boston's Kiss 108 had only started one year prior and was very popular, routinely beating Top-40 AM station WRKO in the ratings. Cape Cod needed its own similar station to compete in its own market, and in May 1980, 104.7 changed its call letters to WKZE and began its own programming, branding itself "KZ 104"

After just over 3 successful years in the Top-40 format, the station gained its current call letters on August 1, 1983, re-branding itself WKPE "Cape 104". Under the management of Roth Media and legendary Program Director Jack Alix "Cape 104" would become one of the Cape's most iconic stations. WKPE enjoyed ratings success throughout the 1980s. Legendary voices on the station included - John St. John, Al Mathews, Tom Casey, Captain Cape, Dave Sharp, Clarence Barnes, Pilot Gene, "Jammin" Jamie West, Steve Binder, Danny Walsh, Christine Fox, Paul Attea, Keith Lemire, Joe Rossetti, J.R. Randall, Marty Moran, Carolyn Johnson, Danny Walsh, Donna Wilde, Kristie Wiemer, Rick Ryder, Tony Vincent, Rick Pendelton, R.J. McKay, Steve McVie, JD (Jamie Bearse), Liza Z, Krissy Krantz, John Stevens and David Wolf to name a few. After the Top-40 format fragmented, "Cape 104" switched formats in the fall of 1992, rebranding itself "Oldies 104" to compete with Boston's "Oldies 103" and Nantucket's "Oldies 96" (which went Top-40 in January 1993).

After a 2.5-year experiment in the Oldies format, during the spring of 1995 WKPE switched formats to a modern rock format and became "Rock 104.7, The Cape." It was in direct competition with the other local area rock station WPXC.In 1999, the station was sold by Grancam Communications to Charles River Broadcasting. In September 1999 the channel switched formats to classic rock.

With the 2006-07 dismantling of Charles River Broadcasting, Cape Cod Broadcasting, owner of WQRC and WOCN-FM, signed a contract to operate WFCC-FM and WKPE under a local marketing agreement, with the two stations still licensed to Charles River.

2007 format change

Beginning on September 25, 2007, the radio station began to buzz. Initially, the stunting involved playing one song in a loop. Each day the station added another song to the line up. On the tenth day of the stunt program (October 4, 2007), the songs began disappearing from the rotation. An announcement between songs also began to play, noting how many more days were left (counting down from 8 days) before the new format would be announced on October 12, 2007.

The list of songs played during the stunt were:

"American Pie" by Don McLean, "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" by Ella Fitzgerald, "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse, "You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch" by Thurl Ravenscroft (the voice of Tony the Tiger), "Thriller" by Michael Jackson, "Wide Open Spaces" by The Dixie Chicks, "Dirty Water" by The Standells, "Gone Country" by Alan Jackson, and "Sexyback" by Justin Timberlake.

On October 12, 2007, the stunting ended. After being absent from Cape Cod radio for more than 15 years, "Cape 104, The Cape's Hit Music Station" was relaunched. This marked the return of Steve Binder (mornings 6 am to 12 noon) from the original Cape 104 along with Shai Jackson (12 noon to 6 pm), another Cape Cod radio local. The format initially changed from Classic Rock to Hot AC, however by the end of 2007 it had evolved into CHR as more mainstream tracks were added.

2008 Format Change

On November 10, 2008, Cape 104 flipped their format to 24/7 Christmas Music for the holiday season, renaming themselves "Cape Cod's Christmas Station, Cape 104."

On December 26, 2008, Cape 104 flipped their format from 24/7 Christmas Music, to Country, renaming themselves "Cape Country 104, Today's Best Country And The Legends." The current line up is Shai in the mornings 5 - 9 AM and Steve Marcus afternoons from 3 - 7 PM. Cape Country 104 is a radio station dedicated to the local Cape Cod community and offers a variety of country music, local information and community updates.

External links

• "Cape Country 104's" Official website
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WKPE
• Radio-Locator information on WKPE
• Query Arbitron's FM station database for WKPE