WGRD-FM
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| City | Grand Rapids, Michigan |
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| Broadcast area | Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| Branding | 97.9 WGRD |
| Slogan | Rocks! |
| Frequency | 97.9 MHz |
| First air date | 1962 (as WXTO) |
| Format | Active Rock |
| ERP | 13,000 watts |
| HAAT | 180 meters |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 55650 |
| Callsign meaning | Grand Rapids Daytime (when WGRD was only on-air sunrise to sunset) |
| Former callsigns | WXTO (1962-1971) |
| Owner |
Townsquare Media (Townsquare Media of Grand Rapids, Inc.) |
| Sister stations | WFGR, WLHT-FM, WNWZ, WTRV |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | wgrd.com |
WGRD-FM (97.9 FM) is an active rock radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The station is owned by Townsquare Media.
WGRD-FM is the flagship station of The Free Beer and Hot Wings Show, a comedy/talk program, on weekday mornings. It consists of four members: Greg "Free Beer" Daniels, Chris "Hot Wings" Michels, "Producer Joe" Gasmann, Jr, and Steve McKiernan. The show is now syndicated in 16 markets throughout the eastern United States.
WGRD is heard as far south as Kalamazoo/Portage/Battle Creek, as far north as Reed City, Michigan, and as far east as Grand Ledge, Michigan, and occasionally heard as far west as Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
97.9 FM began in 1962 as WXTO, a station owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids and operated by Aquinas College; later, the owners of Top 40 music stations WGRD-AM 1410 in Grand Rapids and WTRU-AM 1600 Muskegon (Regional Broadcasters, Inc.) took full control of the station in 1971 and changed its call letters to WGRD-FM. The station's transmitter would remain on the Aquinas College campus until 1974.
In 1971, WGRD-AM 1410, a daytime-only station (hence the call letters, which stood for "Grand Rapids Daytime") which had had a Top 40 music format in place since 1959, was struggling in the ratings against pop-rock competitors WLAV-AM 1340 and WZZM-FM 95.7 (then known as "Z96", now WLHT). WGRD thus moved its struggling Top 40 format onto its new FM station as "The All New 98 Rock, WGRD FM", making the stereo FM station the primary frequency while having the AM continue to simulcast. The newly revamped WGRD quickly became the dominant Top 40 station in the market and continued to be for over two decades.
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Wikipedia