WFUN-FM
| City | Bethalto, Illinois |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Greater St. Louis |
| Branding | 95.5 |
| Slogan | R&B and Old School for the Lou |
| Frequency | 95.5 MHz FM (also on HD Radio) |
| First air date | 1987 (as WXJO) |
| Format | Urban AC |
| ERP | 24,500 watts |
| HAAT | 102 meters |
| Class | C3 |
| Facility ID | 4948 |
| Callsign meaning | FUN (Station's previous format was children's programming) |
| Former callsigns | WXJO (1987-1992) |
| Owner |
Radio One (Radio One Licenses, LLC) |
| Sister stations | WHHL |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 955thelou.com |
WFUN-FM (95.5 FM) is a radio station with an urban AC format. The station is licensed to Bethalto, Illinois, and serves the St. Louis, Missouri, area. The station is owned by Radio One. Its transmitter is located in St. Louis, Missouri, just outside Forest Park, and operates from studios in Olivette (with a St. Louis address).
WFUN, which debuted in 1987 as WXJO, was originally an Adult Standards outlet broadcasting with 6,000 watts. In 1989, Bob Cox negotiated a package to take over operation of the station, changing the format to a children's station called the Imagination Station - Radio Just for Kids. Inadequate advertisement revenues combined with a pending lawsuit from the original trademark holder of the name The Imagination Station forced Cox into a position where he could not maintain the lease on the transmitter. In the summer of 1991, the station moniker was changed to Kids Radio. Thinking the transmitter could be sold, the lease was terminated in late 1991. The station went dark for a couple of months, during which time the potential sale fell through. The owner, looking for revenues that would allow him to keep the transmitter out of foreclosure, worked with a former employee of the Imagination Station.
In 1992 it was bought back on the air by a non-profit group who would later refund the contributors after a decision was made to make the station a commercial outlet by signing up with Radio Aahs, a children's radio network (and the predecessor to Radio Disney, who would later run Radio Ahhs out of business). After a several year run, the owner (who was mostly joked by many in the St. Louis radio market as being unseen and a mystery) decided to sell the station to Radio One in 1999. The station went dark again for several months.
On June 2, 2000, WFUN completed their upgrade to 24,500 watts and officially flipped to R&B/Hip-Hop as Q95-5, despite the fact they never changed the call letters to match the Q handle. At first, Q95-5 was a close competitor, but over time fell further and further behind to KATZ-FM in the ratings. They also had other problems in attracting African-Americans listeners, mostly due to its signal coverage.
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