WIRL (AM)

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WIRL is an AM broadcast radio station licensed at 1290 kHz in Peoria, Illinois. The current format of the station is country oldies and the station uses the slogan "Classic Country 1290". WIRL broadcasts in AM stereo with a power of 5,000 watts. Mornings are hosted by Dan Dermody.

[edit] History

WIRL was most famous as a Top 40 radio station from 1960 until approximately 1980. WIRL was successful immediately as a Top 40 station, as the only competition was daytime-only WPEO 1020 AM. Popular disc jockeys were Robyn Weaver, Lee Ranson, Bill McCluggage, Lee Malcom, and Howard Taylor, Pete Stewart, and Mark Wainwright. For many years WIRL broadcast Bradley University basketball games with Mort Cantor as the play by play man.

In the late 1970's, FM station WKZW 93.3 (now WPBG) began programming a Top 40 format and siphoned away many listeners from WIRL. WIRL then evolved into a full service personality and adult contemporary station. Personalities included Marc Truelove, Denise Henley, and Darryl Parks. The adult contemporary format lasted until the early 1990's; the station also programmed oldies, standards, and sports talk. In the late 1990s^{[citation needed]}, the station changed to all-sports "Fox Sports 1290" with the callsign WWFS. The station returned to the WIRL call sign when it adopted the classic country format in March 2005.