WEZB
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| City | New Orleans, Louisiana |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Southeast Louisiana & Southern Mississippi |
| Branding | B97 |
| Slogan | All The Hits |
| Frequency | 97.1 MHz (also on HD Radio) |
| First air date | September 1, 1945 (as WRCM) |
| Format | Analog/HD1:Top 40 (CHR) HD2: WWWL simulcast |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 300 meters |
| Class | C0 |
| Facility ID | 20346 |
| Callsign meaning | W (East side of the Mississippi River), EZ (EZ Communications; former owner), B (for their former format, Beautiful music) |
| Former callsigns | WRCM (1945-1967) WNNR-FM (1967-1972) |
| Owner |
Entercom (Entercom New Orleans License, LLC) |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | B97 |
WEZB (97.1 FM, branded B97) is a mainstream Top-40 contemporary hit radio (CHR) radio station in New Orleans, Louisiana. The station is owned by Entercom and they broadcast their format at 97.1 MHz with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts. The station's studios are located at the 400 Poydras Tower in New Orleans' downtown area, and the transmitter site is in the city's Algiers district.
According to the broadcasting yearbooks, on September 1, 1945, 97.1 signed on the air. This was WRCM, the FM simulcast of WJMR-AM 990 and sister to WJMR-TV 12 (now WVUE channel 8), all owned by George J. Mayoral. Then, around 1966–67 after the TV station had already been sold, Supreme Broadcasting Company bought the two radio stations and changed the call letters to WNNR AM and FM. At the time, the station was located in the Jung Hotel at 1500 Canal Street in downtown New Orleans. It broadcast a forward power of only 20,500 watts from an antenna 310 feet atop the building.
On January 2, 1972, EZ Communications acquired the FM station and this is when it became WEZB, part of a chain of Beautiful Music stations (WEZC Charlotte, WEZR Washington, et al.) owned by EZ. It was never very successful against formidable competition in that format. Briefly in the 1970s when disco became a popular genre, it became "Disco 97 FM" on Thursday, February 8, 1979, but failed shortly after. "We had a big party in the Atrium at the Hyatt [Regency Hotel]" says Jim Roberts, B-97's first Bee Jock (disc jockey). On January 1, 1980, "Baby New Year was dropped from the ceiling and we switched over from 'FM97, The Rhythm Of The City' to the new 'B-97 FM'." According to Jackson "Jack Da Wack" Tally, who was also one of B-97's first Bee Jocks, in early November 1979, the station slowly started to work more and more Top 40 music into rotation. By the end of that year, the staff was ready for the format change to B-97FM. This station would be a popular Top 40 outlet for years to come, much like "The Mighty 690, WTIX-AM" was in the 1960s and 1970s.
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