WERV-FM
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| City | Aurora, Illinois |
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| Broadcast area | West Suburban Chicago |
| Branding | 95.9 The River |
| Slogan | Rock 'n Roll Favorites |
| Frequency | 95.9 MHz (also on HD Radio) 95.9-2 FM (WERV-2 - The Rapids!) |
| First air date | February 12, 1961 |
| Format | Classic hits |
| ERP | 2,850 watts |
| HAAT | 103 meters |
| Class | A |
| Facility ID | 73171 |
| Callsign meaning | W E RiVer |
| Former callsigns | WKKD-FM |
| Owner |
Alpha Media (Alpha Media Licensee LLC) |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 959theriver.fm |
WERV-FM, also known as 95.9 The River, is a classic hits radio station, playing familiar rock and pop songs that span from the early 1970s through the mid 1990s. Its digital HD 2 channel "The Rapids!" plays hard rock/heavy metal from the 1970s through the late 1990s. The Aurora/Naperville, Illinois station serves the suburban Chicago market and is owned by Alpha Media, through licensee Alpha Media Licensee LLC.
WERV broadcasts two channels in the HD Radio format.
This station was the radio dream of WLS Radio engineer Russ Salter, who put this station (then WKKD-FM); along with WKKD-AM on the air. WKKD-AM debuted in September 1960 and WKKD-FM in March 1961. Both stations broadcast out of a very small block building, on the east side on Plain Avenue. At the time, this was a remote part of the Aurora area, bordering the small town of Eola. Studios, transmitters and the towers were all at this location.
In the 1960s the stations served the Will, Kane, Kendall and DuPage County areas (hence the call letters W-K-K-D) airing a full service format that focused heavily on Country music, with the FM extending the AM's programming into the evening hours. In 1966, veteran Chicago weathercaster Tom Skilling began his career at WKKD, while he attended High School in Aurora. By the early 1970s the stations had separated and the AM station changed its calls to WFVR (Fox Valley Radio) continuing to air a country music format.
WKKD-FM aired a Beautiful music format in the 1970s, but this format would evolve soft AC in the 1980s. The station would keep this format into the early 1990s, going by the handle "K-Lite 96 FM." In the early 1990s, WKKD-FM again began simulcasting WKKD AM 1580. Its format switched to oldies at this time and it became known as "Pure Gold 96". In 1998 the station changed its branding to "Kool 95.9."
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Wikipedia