WSMJ

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**WSMJ**

Broadcast area	Baltimore, MD
Branding	"Smooth Jazz 104.3"
Slogan	"The Smoothest Place on Your Radio"
First air date	1970s
Frequency	104.3 (MHz)
Format	Smooth Jazz
ERP	32,000 watts
Callsign meaning	W SMooth Jazz
Owner	Clear Channel Communications
Website	www.smoothjazz1043.com

WSMJ (104.3 FM) is a radio station located in Baltimore, Maryland. It is currently owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications.

[edit] History

During the 1970s and 1980s, WBSB, better known as "B104", owned by Scripps Howard Broadcasting, was one of Baltimore's top-rated FM stations, playing Top-40 music. It was home to "Brian and O'Brien" one of Baltimore's most notable morning drive time shows. However, in the 1990s, the station underwent a series of changes, including format and call letters. During this time, the station had two separate stints as a classic rock station and one as a Soft AC station. "Variety 104.3", created as a competitor to the well-established WLIF, failed miserably.The station was later sold to Capitol Broadcasting and the station would go back to the classic rock format it had dropped before. The first classic rock station was called "104.3 The Colt", so named to honor the legacy of the Baltimore Colts, and the second incarnation was "Baltimore 104.3", often shortened to "B104.3".

In 2003, Clear Channel owned the station, which adopted a new format, smooth jazz, and became WSMJ, although many of the artists it features-such as Michael McDonald, Hall & Oates, Kool & the Gang and Taylor Dane- give it more of a "lite FM" feel than one of smooth jazz. This is believed to be the fifth incarnation of a Baltimore radio station broadcasting at 104.3 FM.

One of the main reasons for 104.3's flip to smooth jazz is because of the success of ABC Radio's WJZW ("Smooth Jazz 105.9") in nearby Washington, D.C.; another reason is because of the format's longtime popularity in Baltimore as a part-time weekend offering on WWIN ("Magic 95.9") and WLIF ("Lite 102", later "101.9 Lite FM").

Recently, WSMJ introduced a separate HD2 station, nicknamed "Jazzville." This station broadcasts under the call letters WSMJ-HD2, and it plays the classic jazz recordings from artists like Duke Ellington, Miles Davis and Nat King Cole. Jazzville can be accessed via the WSMJ website smoothjazz1043.com.

[edit] Current Lineup

5-9 AM: Randy Dennis
9 AM-2 PM: Bill Simpson
2-7 PM: Lori Lewis
7 PM-12 midnight: Loni Taylor

Weekend Programming

Sundays, 8-10 AM: Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis (repeat episode airs on Sundays from 10 PM-12 midnight)
Sundays, 10 AM-2 PM: Smooth Jazz Brunch with Randy Dennis

Program Director: Lori Lewis