- "W4 Country" - is a
Country Music Radio Station based in
Ann Arbor, Michigan , broadcasting on 102.9
MHz .
The 102.9 frequency began operations in March
1962 as and was (and still is) co-owned with
WOIB-AM 1290 in
Saline, Michigan . Originally, WOIA and WOIB simulcast a
Middle Of The Road music format with some
Top 40 music played on weekends. The format changed to full-time Top 40 in 1967. In
1970 , the stations became '''WNRZ AM/FM''' "Ann Arbor's Winners." The "Winners" airstaff included a young
Arthur Penhallow , now in his third decade of working at
WRIF -FM in Detroit, under the name "Cicero Grimes." The WNRS/WNRZ format remained Top 40 at first, but as the "Winners" were in competition with Detroit-area stations like
CKLW as well as powerful out-of-state signals like
WLS ,
WCFL and
WOWO for the ears of local Top 40 music listeners, it didn't last long. AM 1290 soon changed to
Country ; FM 102.9 simulcast the country format during the day and played a
Progressive Rock Format at night.
WNRZ-FM changed its format from country to album rock in March
1975 and became known as , with a call sign which designated the number "103" (AM 1290 has since been through a multitude of format changes and is now
WLBY , an affiliate of
Air America ). Like the original WWWW-FM, WIQB broadcasted in quadraphonic sound for a time in the 1970s as "QuadRock 103."
WIQB's rock format went through several metamorphoses during the
1990s , including
Adult Alternative during the late 1990s and then
Active Rock by the end of the decade. As an active rock station, "Rock 103 IQB," then owned by
Cumulus Broadcasting , was low-rated, continuously losing to Detroit's
WRIF in the Ann Arbor
Arbitron reports.
The WWWW calls were originally used for 106.7
FM (and later 1130
AM ) in
Detroit, Michigan , first with
Easy Listening and later an
Oldies format. Throughout most of the
1970s , it was an
Album-oriented Rock station. During the heyday of the short-lived
Quadraphonic sound fad, it featured quad broadcasts and was known locally by fans as "W4 Quad." In
1980 , WWWW changed its format to country, and was then known as "W4 Country" for almost two decades until switching to adult rock as "Alice 106.7" in
1999 (at the time still keeping the "WWWW-FM" call letters).
Shock Jock Howard Stern was the morning DJ at the original WWWW (
106.7 Detroit ) in the late 1970s and early 1980s and left upon their switch from
Rock Music to a
Country Music format. The new management reportedly planned to brand him as "Hopalong Howie," a factor that no doubt led to his departure.
In
October 2000 "Alice 106.7" finally changed their call letters to "WLLC-FM" and the "" call letters were moved to 102.9 FM in Ann Arbor to relaunch "W4 Country". After a switch to
Classic Rock as WDTW-FM "106.7 The Drive" in
2002 , country music made a return to 106.7 FM on
May 19 ,
2006 as "106.7 The Fox".
The new "W4 Country" soon became a ratings success in Ann Arbor. Arbitron often rates WWWW-FM as the top-rated music station in the market 12+; it is usually second place overall, behind only Detroit's
WJR . Among local stations in Ann Arbor/Washtenaw County, W4 is the highest-rated commercial station, although it has been reported that if non-commercial stations were counted,
NPR station
WUOM would come out on top.
W4's signal into metropolitan Detroit is impeded by
WHTD (102.7 MHz) in
Mount Clemens in Macomb County, but it still frequently shows up toward the bottom of the Detroit ratings. W4's signal is much stronger toward the west and north of Ann Arbor, and the station gets a listenable signal as far away as
Flint and
Lansing .
On
July 24 ,
2006 , the call letters for 102.9 FM in
Ann Arbor were temporarily changed to (there is a
CBS -owned TV station in
Miami, Florida with the
WFOR call letters), as
Clear Channel moved the "WWWW" call letters to the
1310 AM facility in Detroit. One week later, on
July 31 , 102.9 switched to "'''WWWW-FM'''" - different in only the "-FM" suffix. On
September 15 ,
2006 , the WDTW call letters returned to
1310 AM .
This sequences of moves of the WWWW call letters were likely due to an expected swap of the 's call letters have remained WDTW-FM.
The current lineup is as follows
- Breakfest With Bubba - Bubba, Katie, Brittney & Joe
- Heather McGregor
- Adam Rey
- Drew Mann
- After Midnite with Blair Garner
