WQKL
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| City | Ann Arbor, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | [1] |
| Branding | ann arbor's 107one |
| Slogan | Quality Music From Then & Now |
| Frequency | 107.1 (MHz) |
| First air date | February 14, 1967 |
| Format | Adult Album Alternative |
| Power | 3,000 watts |
| HAAT | 88 meters |
| Class | A |
| Facility ID | 47117 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 42°16′41″N 83°44′32″W / 42.27806°N 83.74222°W |
| Callsign meaning | KooL 107 (previous branding) |
| Former callsigns | WAMX (4/3/89-12/24/92) WPAG-FM (2/14/67-4/3/89) |
| Owner |
Cumulus Broadcasting (Cumulus Licensing LLC) |
| Sister stations | WLBY, WTKA, WWWW-FM |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | annarbors107one.com |
WQKL, known on the air as ann arbor's 107one, is a radio station broadcasting from Ann Arbor, Michigan. WQKL is a Cumulus radio station, co-owned with country WWWW-FM 102.9, Sports Talk WTKA 1050, and WLBY 1290. Although the station broadcasts with only 3,000 watts of power, it can be heard quite easily in many of the western Detroit suburbs. WSAQ in Port Huron and WTLZ in Saginaw both occupy this frequency to the east and north and interference often occurs as you move north-east.
What is now WQKL can be traced back to WPAG-FM, the FM arm of AM 1050, which is now sports-talk WTKA. WPAG-FM originally operated at 98.7 FM from 1947-53. WPAG was granted a license to resurrect its FM station at the current 107.1 frequency in 1967, but it was not until 1969 that the station finally went on the air. Through the end of the 1970s, WPAG-FM 107.1 simulcast the middle of the road format of WPAG during the day but separated programming during the evening hours. Originally WPAG-FM aired folk and rock music from 7 p.m. to midnight; this was changed in 1972 to an eclectic country format including bluegrass, folk, and old Western music. By the mid-1970s, WPAG-FM was also playing beautiful music on weekends.
By 1980, the population of Ann Arbor had topped 100,000, and due to FCC rules, 107.1 FM would have to come up with a new format to truly distinguish itself from its AM sister. The first decision was to convert the eclectic country shows on WPAG-FM into a full-time format, but after a few months the country format was ditched in favor of automated Top 40. This format was also a failure, and by the summer of 1982, WPAG-FM had reverted to a full-time easy listening/beautiful music format. Through all these changes, the station remained a virtually invisible presence on the Ann Arbor dial.
In 1989, WPAG-FM was acquired by Domino's Pizza mogul Tom Monaghan. The station changed its calls to WAMX and became Mix 107 FM, Ann Arbor's Best Mix, playing a locally programmed mixture of smooth jazz, new age music, and soft pop and soul vocals. WPAG's calls were changed to "WPZA" (meaning "pizza," as in "Domino's"). Three years later, the station was acquired by MW Blue Partnership, and the calls and format changed once again, to WQKL as Kool 107, Ann Arbor's Official Oldies Station. One of Kool 107's most memorable on-air liners declared, "Kool 107 plays great oldies because today's music... sucks!" Local radio icon Lucy Ann Lance hosted Kool 107's morning show. Former KOOL 107 PD Dave Anthony and MD Greg Stucki resurfaced in York, PA at 96.1 WSOX in 1998. Anthony has since left the station in 2007 to go to Pittsburgh as Program Director of Froggy network.
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