WRQQ
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| City of license | Belle Meade, Tennessee |
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| Broadcast area | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Branding | 97.1 RQQ |
| Slogan | Nashville's Classic Hits |
| Frequency | 97.1 (MHz) |
| First air date | November 24, 1999 |
| Format | Classic Hits |
| ERP | 44,370 watts |
| HAAT | 157.6 meters |
| Class | C2 |
| Facility ID | 26689 |
| Callsign meaning | No meaning, though R Q Q fits phonetically with a rock format |
| Owner | Cumulus Media |
| Sister stations | WKDF, WGFX, WWTN, WSM-FM |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 971rqq.com |
WRQQ is a radio station broadcasting on the FM band at 97.1 MHz licensed to the city of Belle Meade, Tennessee, but serving the Nashville market as a whole. It is currently branded as Classic Hits 97.1 RQQ, broadcasting a classic hits format. It is owned by Cumulus Media and operates out of studios on Nashville's world-famous "Music Row". Its transmitter is located just north of downtown Nashville. It is Nashville's most recent full-power FM station to take the air.
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[edit] Ownership
The license was originally granted to the privately owned Dickey Brothers Broadcasting and WRQQ became a sister station to WNPL (106.7 FM) and WQQK (92.1 FM).
In 2002, Dickey Brothers Broadcasting sold the three-station Nashville cluster to Cumulus, a publicly traded company in which the Dickey family is also heavily involved. In 2003, the station moved to a new state-of-the-art studio and welcomed WSM-FM and WWTN as sister stations after Cumulus purchased them from Gaylord Entertainment Company.
On September 16, 2011, WRQQ and sister station WNFN were placed into an independent trust (Volt Radio, LLC) while Cumulus seeks a buyer. The move was forced by FCC ownership limits following Cumulus' acquisition of Citadel Broadcasting, which resulted locally in WKDF and WGFX joining the Cumulus cluster. The FCC, as of 2011, allows a single company to own a maximum of five FM stations and two AM stations in any given market. To meet these guidelines in Nashville, Cumulus was forced to spin off two of its seven FM stations, and the company chose WRQQ and WNFN, traditionally its two lowest-performing stations.
On November 14, 2011, Cumulus announced it was removing WRQQ from the Volt Radio trust, replacing it with WQQK.[1]
[edit] History
[edit] Stunting
Once the station's transmitter was up and running, WRQQ, preparing for its official launch, began stunting with jukebox sound effects and clips from songs from all genres of music with the promise that "an all-new radio station is coming to 97.1 FM". This stunt was broadcast for a few days in early 2000.
[edit] Star 97
WRQQ officially signed on the air in early 2000 (its license was granted on November 24, 1999) as Star 97, a station broadcasting Hot Adult Contemporary music. In 2002, the station shifted to an all-1980s music format but kept its "Star 97" name. The station would eventually migrate back to Hot AC in 2003, again keeping the "Star 97" brand. Notable air talent on Star 97 included Hollywood Hendrix, Billy Brown, Steve Wall, Scott Chase (now afternoons/PD at WCVQ/Clarksville), Jack Shell (now middays/MD at WYCD/Detroit), Mark Allen, and Scotty O'Brien.
Though the name stayed the same through the various changes, the station used four different taglines/slogans:
- A Better Variety of Music!
- The Best of the 80s, 90s, and Today!
- The Best 80s and More!
- Real Music Variety!
[edit] Oldies 97.1
5/13/05 - 8/31/06
On May 13, 2005, the station made a drastic change by flipping its format to oldies. The day before, 96.3 WMAK (now WCJK), which had broadcast the oldies format in Nashville for over a decade, suddenly changed formats to "Jack FM". Sensing a void, Cumulus management reacted by changing the underperforming Star 97 to the newly abandoned oldies format.
The new format, put together literally overnight, mimicked the template that WMAK had set forth. The logo and jingle package were nearly identical to the ones WMAK used, the same slogan ("Good Times & Great Oldies") was incorporated, and the major components of WMAK's airstaff, including Nashville radio legends Coyote McCloud and Cathy Martindale, were hired.
[edit] 97.1 WRQQ
On September 1, 2006, WRQQ transitioned its format from oldies to classic hits and abandoned the "Oldies" moniker as well. The station was reimaged, and for the first time (aside from legal identifications) used the call letters in its on-air imaging. The station became known as "97.1 WRQQ, Rock N' Roll Hits of the 60's and 70's". While the staff initially remained intact, Coyote and Cathy were released in November, and the station replaced them with The Bob & Tom Show during morning drive in December. In doing so, Cumulus secured the rights to Bob & Tom from WBUZ ("102.9 The Buzz"), which had been the duo's Nashville affiliate since 1997. Midday air personality Bobby Knight was also released as part of the shift. As the station matured, its music selection became more and more male-oriented, and the station began to compete more directly with WNRQ ("105.9 The Rock"), after being initially positioned to compete with WCJK ("96.3 Jack-FM").
[edit] Classic Hits 97.1/97.1 The Tower
As its music selection was further focused, the station shifted its branding in February 2007 to "Classic Hits 97.1", all but abandoning the call letters in its on-air imaging. Its logo style was left the same, but the wordmarks were altered to reflect the change. The station was later rebranded itself as "97.1 The Tower" in September 2007, and featured a different logo. The classic hits format remained the same.
[edit] 97-1 RQQ
On March 21, 2008 at 10 AM CDT, WRQQ underwent another format change. The station began running liners the day before that pointed to a "major announcement" that would be made on the 21st following The Bob & Tom Show. At 10 AM, the station played a couple of instrumental versions of popular classic rock songs. A montage featuring sound bites from prominent rock artists was then played, after which the station launched its new format and branding. The new format is rock, and the branding is "97-1 RQQ." The first song played on "97-1 RQQ" was "Rock Rock Til' You Drop" by Def Leppard. The format overall found "RQQ" positioning itself as "Nashville's Rock Station," playing Classic Rock artist such as Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith to more current artist like Nickelback and Green Day. Additionally, the station would play new songs from established artists not getting much airplay, such as Mudcrutch's (Tom Petty's First Band) "Scare Easy" and "Saints Of Los Angeles" by Mötley Crüe. This new version of WRQQ featured new talents Karen Keeley doing middays and Mac in the afternoon. Bob and Tom Producer and air talent J. Patrick remained in place. On May 18, 2009, WRQQ became the latest Cumulus station across the country to flip to an Adult Album Alternative format. They join WNNX, KDBN, and KHJK as recent converts to the format. (KDBN dropped the format in September 2009.) The local airstaff remains in place.
[edit] Classic Hits 97.1 RQQ
On July 16, 2010 WRQQ changed their format to classic hits once again, branded as "Classic Hits 97.1 RQQ". Along with this change, WRQQ became the flagship station for Vanderbilt University football and men's basketball.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WRQQ
- Radio-Locator information on WRQQ
- Query Arbitron's FM station database for WRQQ
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