WJZZ-FM
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| WJZZ-FM | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Roswell, Georgia / Atlanta | |
| Channels | 107.5 analog, no digital |
| Affiliations | |
| Owner | Radio One of Atlanta (ROA Licenses, LLC) |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Call letters meaning | jazz |
| Former callsigns | WTHA (never aired), WAMJ |
| Transmitter Power | 21.5kW |
| Height | 110m (361 ft.) |
| Class | C3 |
| Website | http://www.1075wjzz.com |
WJZZ-FM "Smooth Jazz 107.5" is an Atlanta radio station that plays jazz. It has Roswell, Georgia as its city of license.
The original callsign was WTHA when the construction permit was issued at the beginning of October 1996. This was in anticipation of "Hot 97.5" (WHTA FM, now WPZE FM) simulcasting north of Atlanta as "Hot 107.5". (Banners had in fact already been printed with both numbers.) In early February 1998, around the time it went on the air, it instead became WAMJ FM, R&B "Majic 107.5". In late June 2001, that format and the WAMJ callsign were sent to also-new 102.5, and 107.5 then became WJZZ-FM "Smooth Jazz 107.5". WHTA instead then moved entirely to "Hot 107.9" a couple of years later.
This new station is the result of FCC docket 80-90, as is 102.5. Originally won and built as a class A by Dogwood Licenses, it is now a class C3 owned outright by Radio One, via subsidiary ROA Licenses, LLC (Radio One Atlanta). The transmitter site is in the Perimeter Center area near Perimeter Mall, between Sandy Springs and Dunwoody.
W298AA, a broadcast translator for WMBW in Chattanooga, also had the same frequency, city of license, and general transmitter location as this station from 1980 (permit) or 1981 (license), until being forced off the air by this new station.
The Smooth Jazz format has enjoyed a surprisingly long run of success in the Atlanta market, which is better known for its R&B/hip-hop, pop/rock, and country heritage. In the mid-1990s, the format was used on WJZF (now the Urban AC-formatted "Kiss 104.1").
[edit] Earlier use of call sign
The call letters WJZZ originally belonged to an FM station in Bridgeport, Connecticut (this station is now WEZN "Star 99.9"). The Connecticut WJZZ began as an all-jazz station in 1960 with John Metts of Weston, CT. as GM. WJZZ was one of the pioneers of the "All-Jazz" format. From 1956 - 1965 Mr. Metts was the Vice President of an existing news station in Bridgeport, CT, call letters:WICC WICC "Wicc600". He achieved his vision of an all jazz format radio station with the purchase of WJZZ and by hiring his neighbor, jazz composer Dave Brubeck as program director. In 1964 it switched to broadcasting the "Top 100" — the 100 most popular classical performances according to a list compiled by, among others, composer Leonard Bernstein.
The WJZZ call letters were then transferred to Detroit station WCHB-FM, sister station to legendary R&B outlet WCHB-AM and also one of the pioneers of the"all-jazz" format.[1] One of the first U.S. stations ever to use the Smooth Jazz format, Detroit's WJZZ was flipped to an Urban Contemporary format in 1996, and it is now WDMK. The current Smooth Jazz station in Detroit is WVMV (better known as "Smooth Jazz V98.7").
[edit] External links
| Atlanta metro area FM radio stations (Arbitron #9) WJSP 88.1 | WRAS 88.5 | WBCX 89.1 | WRFG 89.3 | WABE 90.1 | WUWG 90.7 | WREK 91.1 | WWEV 91.5 | WCLK 91.9 | WZGC 92.9 | WVFJ 93.3 | WSTR 94.1 | WLTM 94.9 | WBTS 95.5 | WKLS 96.1 | WVWA 96.7 | WSRV 97.1 | WPZE 97.5 | WGPB 97.7 | WSB 98.5 | WNNX 99.7 | WNSY 100.1 | WWWQ 100.5 | WKHX 101.5 | WAZX 101.9 | WLKQ 102.3 | WAMJ 102.5 | WCKS 102.7 | WMJE 102.9 | WVEE 103.3 | WPUP 103.7 | WALR 104.1 | WFSH 104.7 | WBZY 105.3 | WWVA 105.7 | WNGC 106.1 | WHLE 106.3 | WYAY 106.7 | WTSH 107.1 | WJZZ 107.5 | WHTA 107.9 | WPCG 107.9 |
