WRXL
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| WRXL | |
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| City of license | Richmond, Virginia |
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| Broadcast area | Central Virginia |
| Branding | "New Rock 102-1 the X" |
| Frequency | 102.1 MHz |
| First air date | 1949 |
| Format | Modern Rock |
| Power | 20,000 Watts |
| HAAT | 241 Meters |
| Class | B |
| Transmitter Coordinates | |
| Callsign meaning | W (Richmond's) Radio XL-excellence |
| Owner | Clear Channel |
| Sister stations | WBTJ, WRNL, WRVA, WRVQ, WTVR-FM |
| Webcast | WRXL Webstream |
| Website | WRXL Online |
WRXL is a Modern Rock formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Richmond, Virginia, serving Central Virginia. WRXL is owned and operated by Clear Channel.
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[edit] History
WRXL signed on in 1948 with the call letters, WRNL-FM. From 1948 until 1996, WRXL transmitted at an ERP of 140,000 watts. The FCC now limits FM radio stations to an ERP of 100,000 watts. This limit does not apply to radio stations who were previously allowed. WRNL-FM simulcasted its AM sister during the afternoon hours only, then signed off. By the end of the 1960s,WRNL-FM was an established Beautiful Music station, with a Big Band Show on Saturday night hosted by WRNL-AM personality Tony Sposa . The stations were owned for many years by the Richmond Times Dispatch, In the early seventies, to comply with new FCC cross-ownership regulations, the paper sold the stations to Rust Communications.
By 1972, the station had changed its call letters to WRXL, the calls standing for "Richmond's Radio Excellence" though the format was still Beautiful Music, relying on the Bonneville "Programme I" syndicated automation service. During this time, the station did a brief flirtation with the then-hot Quadrophonic format by not only broadcasting in "Quad" but promoting use of the new "Quad" receivers. This campaign was abandoned within months, concurrent with the the marketplace's almost complete disinterest in all things quad.
[edit] Automated Top 40
By the spring of 1974,the station switched to an automated Top 40 format as "XL102". This all music and no DJs sound proved to be effective competition for then Top 40s WRVQ-FM and WLEE-AM. Market gossips whispered the rumor that, at times, WRVQ would record songs off the air from WRXL. The source of WRXL's music was syndicated reel-to-reel tapes, which was clean and balanced and certainly preferable to the often indistinct, static-riddled music which WRVQ received from a frequenly defective vinyl records. By 1975 most medium and large radio markets featured at least one Album Rockstation broadcasting on the FM frequency. The only station playing rock in Richmond was daytime-only AM, WGOE. Recognizing this programming opportunity, WRXL added rock album cuts to its menu of automated taped Top 40 songs.
WRXL's transformation into a full-time Album Rock station was gradual, eventually adding a live Album Rock show on Saturday with Rod Holt. Eventually other live, local voices were added as hosts, in what was called the "Live Assist" Mode.
[edit] XL102 rebirth as a Rock & Roll Station
In 1978, under new General Manager John Lund, the automation and remaining taped Top 40 music was jettisoned, and WRXL flipped formats to full time Album Rock on February 18, 1978 as "XL-102". The station was extremely popular through the 1980s and 90's.
[edit] The Capital Broadcasting Years
In 1982,Rust sold the station to Raleigh, North Carolina-based Capital Broadcasting. Program Director Elise Jennings, Music Director Paul Shugrue and Production Director Steve Forrest survived the transition but the rest of the airstaff was let go. Capital brought in Dick Hungate from WYSP, Philadelphia for middays, Rik Maybee from WKWF, Key West for over-nights and Dixie Alexander from Hawaii for news. Hungate had turned YSP into the nation's first "classic rock" station just one year before. Shortly thereafter, he was paired with Alexander for the "Dick and Dixie" morning show which ran until May of 1986 when Hungate moved back to middays, where he remained until September 1992. Maybee hosted "The Days of Futures Passed" -a free-form classic rock showcase in the style of early FM radio- Sunday mornings from 1982 until 2000.
In 1983 Capital built a new, larger broadcast facility to accommodate WRXL-FM, WRNL-AM and the fledgling Virginia News Network on Basie Road, just around the corner from the old building on Bethlehem Road. The Basie Road building was expanded in 2000 and now houses six stations and is headquarters for all Clear Channel Radio operations in Richmond.
During the "Capital Years", 1982-1993, XL-102's airstaff also included David Bernstein, Rob Charry, Amber Black, Lee Hogan, Dal Hunter, Lark Logan, Brian McFadden, Tara Hunter, Liz Wilde, Max Ryder, and Bob Kaufman among others.
[edit] Eric E. Stanley
The long running "Bee Bop Boogie & Blues " show, hosted by Eric E. Stanley, started on WRXL in the early eighties. The show later was heard on 106.5 WVGO, 88.9 WCVE, and finally on 105.7 WPLZ before Stanley's untimely death in 2003.
[edit] McKee & Beck
In 1989, Jeff Beck, a fixture in Long Island radio, and Jeff McKee, one of Orlando's top morning personalities, were teamed. In addition to the Jeffs, Lark Logan, became an integral member of the Jeff and Jeff show in the capacity of sidekick and news director.
The Jeff and Jeff show took less than two months to rise to the top of Richmond's morning ratings. Before the end of the year, the whole of WRXL followed their lead taking WRXL to its first number one book position. Over the course of the 90's, "Jeff and Jeff" became the most popular contemporary morning show in Richmond radio history.
Jeff and Jeff remained a Richmond institution until Jeff Beck was fired in January 2001. On the same day Beck was let go, longtime WRXL air personality & Music Director Rik Maybee and sister station WRVQ's PD Lisa McKay were also terminated because of what was described as budget cuts.
Jeff McKee continued to host mornings until, in October 2001, health problems forced him to step down. Beck is now Morning Drive Host on crosstown Adult Hits formatted WWLB/ 98.9 Liberty, while McKee teaches rock and roll at the University of Richmond and recently, an article in the Richmond Times Dispatch told of his role as the campaign manager for one of Richmond's more interesting citizens Joe Morrissey, in his successful run for a delegate seat in Virginia's General Assembly. Morrissey was a weekly guest on the Jeff and Jeff show for many years.
During their tenure at WRXL, The Virginia Association of Broadcasters (VAB) named the Jeff and Jeff show " Virginia's Best Morning Show, " 4 times. In May, 2006, The Jeffs were inducted into the Richmond Broadcasters Hall of Fame and were honored with the Frank Soden Lifetime Achievement award.
[edit] The New Tower
In 1992, the station constructed a new 800 ft tower to replace the 50 years old tower it had been using. That tower eventually also became the tower for separately owned WCDX-FM, and WWLB-FM.
[edit] Clear Channel
When Clear Channel bought the station in 1993, it tweaked the format, adding in more modern rock. Clear Channel got some unwanted publicity when full-time staffers Gretchen Hart & Rik Maybee were demoted to part-time and filed an EEOC compliant alleging that they were demoted so they would not qualify for health insurance (both had a family member with a long term medical problem). Maybee was returned to full-time status. Hart was fired shortly after she filed her complaint.
When McKee left, Clear Channel hired Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider to host their morning show.
[edit] The "X'
Less than a year later, on September 13, 2002, XL-102 flipped from 24 years of Album Rock to Modern Rock as "102.1 the X", replacing Snyder with the syndicated "Elliot in the Morning" program from WWDC in Washington, D.C..
Despite a rough start, 102.1 the X, is now the clear favorite in the contest to determine Richmond's most popular modern rock format. Adapting to the unique character of the market, the X is one of the nation's few Modern Rock stations that broadcasts NASCAR races every Sunday, which is a carryover from XL 102. XL 102 was Richmond's first FM to broadcast NASCAR.
Since 2004, some radio industry papers have classified WRXL as an Active Rock station, though it is still considered Modern Rock by Clear Channel. WRXL has also been the longtime home of Studio B, a local music show hosted by Jay Smack that started in 1995 on defunct Modern Rock station WBZU.
On October 27, 2006 the station launched an additional HD2 channel with a AAA format.
[edit] In Memoriam
In March of 2007, Liz Underwood, who retired in 1994 after spending over 50 years as music librarian for both WRNL-AM & WRXL-FM, passed away at age 94.
[edit] External links
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