WCPY (92.7 FM) is a radio station licensed to Arlington Heights, Illinois, and serving the Chicago metropolitan area. WCPY airs a Polish language format during the daytime, as "Polski FM", while airing a dance hits format at night known as "Dance Factory FM".
The station is owned by Rhythm Enterprises LLC. WCPY transmits on a tower with WPPN and WPNA-FM in nearby Buffalo Grove at 1,800 watts.
History WNWC The station began broadcasting on March 10, 1960, holding the call sign WNWC ("North West Communities").Ghrist, John R. (1996). Valley Voices: A Radio History. Crossroads Communications. p. 327-330."County Approves FM Tower". Arlington Heights Herald. July 30, 1959. In July 1961, the station was purchased by Bob Atcher and Thomas Hogan."Schaumburg Residents Purchase FM Station", Arlington Heights Herald. July 27, 1961. WNWC would air a wide variety of non-rock music. It aired four hours of country music a day before increasing it to 12 hours a day in November 1963.Sachs, Bill. "With the Country Jockeys", Billboard. November 30, 1963. p. 20. Retrieved December 3, 2018. In 1965, Lester Vihon purchased the station for $110,000. By 1966, it was airing hard rock evenings."From the Music Capitals of the World", Billboard. June 25, 1966. p. 36. Retrieved December 3, 2018. The station was off the air temporarily in June 1966, after a tornado toppled its tower. In early 1968, the station was sold to auto dealer Walter Mack for $150,000."Mack Buys Radio Station WNWC-FM". Mount Prospect Herald. January 26, 1968. p. 1.
WEXI In April 1968, the station's call sign was changed to WEXI, and was branded "Stereo Excitement"."WEXI Stereo Excitement 92.7", The Herald. March 27, 1969. Retrieved December 3, 2018. WEXI aired easy listening music during the day and a progressive rock format overnight."WEXI-FM in New Format", Billboard. May 4, 1968. p. 22. Retrieved December 3, 2018."Stations Playing Progressive Rock", Billboard. July 27, 1968. p. 44. Retrieved December 3, 2018. Shortly thereafter, it adopted a top 40 format."WEXI-FM Swings to MOR Format", Billboard. November 14, 1970. p. 26. Retrieved December 3, 2018. In November 1970, the station adopted a beautiful music format, with the slogan "Spreading Clean Air over Chicagoland"."Good Moods", The Herald. February 15, 1971. Section 1, p. 3.
WWMM In autumn 1972, the station was sold to Community Broadcasters for $230,000, and its call sign was changed to WWMM."Ownership Changes", Broadcasting. October 30, 1972. p. 58. Retrieved December 3, 2018. WWMM aired contemporary middle of the road music, along with some talk programs.1974 Broadcasting Yearbook, Broadcasting, 1974. p. B-60-61. Retrieved December 4, 2018.Mahsman, David. "'New-Old' FM Station Brings 'Sexy Radio' to Town", The Herald. November 3, 1972. Among the shows on WWMM in this period was "Love in the Afternoon", a sex talk program hosted by Jonathan Kingsley. By 1976, the station had adopted a jazz format.Broadcasting Yearbook 1976, Broadcasting, 1976. p. C-56. Retrieved December 4, 2018. In 1976, the station was sold to Northwest Community Broadcasting for $500,000."Changing Hands", Broadcasting. August 23, 1976. p. 70. Retrieved December 4, 2018. By 1977, WWMM was airing a MOR-adult contemporary format, with the slogan "Radio for the Great Northwest".Broadcasting Yearbook 1977, Broadcasting, 1977. p. C-59. Retrieved December 4, 2018."Great Music Survey For Week Ending: 6/3/78", WM WWMM FM 92.7. June 3, 1978. Retrieved December 4, 2018."Stations, everywhere: a listeners' guide to the AM and FM bands", Chicago Tribune Magazine, March 4, 1979. p. 35. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
WTCO In spring of 1981, the station was sold to Radio Communications Group and its call sign was changed to WTCO. WTCO aired a country music format.Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1982, Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1982. p. C-67. Retrieved December 4, 2018. In 1982, the station was sold to Darrell Peters Productions for $550,000.Public Notice Comment - BALH-19820528EZ, fcc.gov. Retrieved December 4, 2018."Changing Hands", Broadcasting. September 13, 1982. p. 88. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
WSEX Darrell Peters Productions applied to change the station's call sign to WSEX on September 26, 1982, but the application was rejected."Sex Appeal: Illinois Asks FCC to Sanction WSEX Change", Billboard. November 20, 1982. p. 12. Retrieved December 4, 2018. An application to reconsider was submitted, and the call sign change was approved on January 24, 1983.Holland, Bill. "FCC Keeps Hands Off WSEX Change Operation", Billboard. February 5, 1983. p. 10. Retrieved December 4, 2018."FCC Approves WSEX Calls", Radio & Records. January 28, 1983. p. 4. Retrieved December 4, 2018. WSEX aired an adult contemporary format called "Love Songs & More".Chicago Radio Guide, Vol. 1, Issue 1. May 1985. Retrieved December 4, 2018. In January 1986, the station adopted a "Top 10" format, playing songs that had reached the top 10 within the past five years."Change is the constant in suburban radio game", The Sunday Herald. October 26, 1986. Section 1, p. 9. Retrieved December 4, 2018.Chicagoland Radio Waves, MediaTies. Summer 1988. Retrieved December 4, 2018.Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1987, Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1987. p. B-84. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
WCBR-FM The station became "Chicago's Bear", and its call sign was changed to WCBR-FM on January 9, 1989.Chicagoland Radio Waves, MediaTies. Spring-Summer 1989. Retrieved December 8, 2018. WCBR-FM aired an adult album alternative format.Kening, Dan. "New Neighbor", Chicago Tribune. August 6, 1991. Retrieved December 5, 2018.Kening, Dan. "Talk O' the Towns", Chicago Tribune. November 03, 1991. Retrieved December 5, 2018. Among the air talent heard on 'The Bear' in the 90's...Ken Sumka, Tommy Lee Johnston, Greg Easterling, Mark Zander, Dave Loeshke. As the 90's progressed, it began to air brokered programming nights and weekends.Kening, Dan. "Riding a New Sound Wave", Chicago Tribune. January 15, 1995. Retrieved December 5, 2018. WCBR-FM also aired Chicago Wolves hockey.Galo, Maria T. "Suburban Voice Moving", Chicago Tribune. June 25, 1999. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
In 1998, the station was sold to Big City Radio for $17 million.Kirk, Jim. Channel 7 May Snag NBC Seattle News Chief", Chicago Tribune. July 2, 1998. Retrieved December 5, 2018. Many of the brokered programs that were on WCBR-FM moved to 94.3 WJKL in Elgin. Purchased by Big City Radio at the same time was 92.7 WLRT in Kankakee."Big City Buys Four More In Chicago", Radio & Records. April 24, 1998. p. 4. Retrieved December 5, 2018. When Big City Radio took control of the two stations, they stunted with a simulcast of their Los Angeles sister station 107.1 KLYY, which aired a modern rock format."Format Changes & Updates", The M Street Journal. Vol. 15, No. 31. August 5, 1998. p. 1-2. Retrieved December 8, 2018. WLRT's call sign was changed to WBRO shortly thereafter.Call Sign History (WVLI), fcc.gov. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
92 Kiss FM (WKIE-FM)
On November 14, 1998, at Noon, WCBR and WBRO launched their new official format, CHR as "92.7 Kiss FM", with the first song being "Kiss" by Prince."WCBR Becomes 92.7 Kiss FM", Format Change Archive. November 14, 1998. Retrieved December 5, 2018."Format Changes & Updates", The M Street Journal. Vol. 15, No. 46. November 18, 1998. p. 1. Retrieved December 5, 2018. This would be Chicago's first true CHR station in many years and proved to be quite successful, even with the two stations' weak signals. In late December 1998, the station's call sign was changed to WKIE, while WBRO's call sign was changed to WKIF. Big City Radio also purchased WDEK 92.5 in DeKalb, Illinois, which was airing a locally programmed CHR format at the time, and switched it to a simulcast of WKIE and WKIF in early 1999."Format Changes & Updates", The M Street Journal. Vol. 16, No. 9. March 3, 1999. p. 2. Retrieved December 5, 2018. Not long after, the moniker was adjusted to "92 Kiss FM". Melissa Forman hosted mornings on 92 Kiss FM, before moving to 93.9 WLIT-FM in 2001.Rosenthal, Phil. "Melissa Forman out at WLIT-FM -- again", Chicago Tribune. August 13, 2009. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
Energy 92.7&5 On January 12, 2001, Clear Channel's WUBT changed formats from rhythmic oldies to CHR as WKSC-FM "Kiss 103.5"."M Street Bazaar... People, Products, and Programming", The M Street Journal. Vol. 18, No. 03. January 17, 2001. p. 8. Retrieved December 6, 2018. At that time, Clear Channel filed suit against Big City Radio, alleging the "Kiss FM" branding used by WKIE and its simulcasts violated its national trademark.Ross, Sean "Shebel Energizes WKIE With Dance", Billboard. February 17, 2001. p. 63-64. Retrieved December 6, 2018. However, Big City Radio had already planned on changing the formats of these stations. On January 26, 2001, 92 Kiss-FM signed off, and the three stations adopted a dance hits format as "Energy 92.7&5"."Format Changes & Updates", The M Street Journal. Vol. 18, No. 05. January 31, 2001. p. 1-2. Retrieved December 6, 2018. The station's airstaff remained intact. The new format was designed by 92 Kiss FM's program director, Chris Shebel, who has stated that the dance hits format is something he had dreamed of doing for a long time.
Onda 92 In late 2002, Big City Radio, became insolvent and began the process of selling all of its radio stations."Big City Radio Announces Auction Of Stations", HispanicAd.com. October 05, 2002. Retrieved December 6, 2018. In early 2003, WKIE, WKIF and WDEK were sold to Spanish Broadcasting System for $22 million.Oppelaar, Justin. "Spanish B'casting picks up Chi trio", Variety. January 3, 2003. Retrieved December 6, 2018. On January 6, 2003, the three stations adopted a Spanish contemporary format as "Onda 92"."Analysts React To Big City Sell-Off", Radio & Records. pp. 4 & 6. January 10, 2003. Retrieved December 7, 2018.Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2003-2004, Broadcasting & Cable, 2003-2004. p. D-141. Retrieved December 7, 2018."Latin Music 6 Pack", Billboard. February 22, 2003. p. LM-2. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
Nine FM / Dance Factory In 2004, Spanish Broadcasting System sold WKIE, WKIF and WDEK to Newsweb Corporation for $28 million."SBS Closes $28 Million Sale of Chicago FMs to Newsweb", RadioWorld. November 30, 2004. Retrieved December 7, 2018.Lazaroff, Leon. "Democratic donor plans to purchase 3 stations", Chicago Tribune, July 27, 2004. Retrieved December 7, 2018. At 9 a.m. November 29, 2004, WKIE and WDEK began simulcasting with its new adult hits sister station 99.9 WRZA in Park Forest, Illinois, as "Nine FM", with the slogan "We Play Anything".Kampert, Patrick. "Nine FM rolls out 'anything' format on 3 frequencies", Chicago Tribune, December 02, 2004. Retrieved December 7, 2018.Devine, Cathy (2005-2006). The Radio Book. p. 187. Retrieved December, 2018. The first song on the Nine FM simulcast was "With or Without You" by U2. Sky Daniels was the original program director for Nine FM. When he left in 2005, he was replaced by Matt DuBiel.
In 2006, Chris Chudzik began leasing air time for a dance music show called Dance Factory.Feder, Robert. "'Nine FM' filling void with club-style music every night of the week", Chicago Sun-Times, May 10, 2007. Retrieved December 7, 2018. Initially airing overnight on Saturdays, the program was expanded to seven nights a week on May 14, 2007. Dance Factory has continued to air overnight on the station, even as its daytime format has changed.Rosenthal, Phil. "'Nine FM' consolidates -- who's left?", Chicago Tribune, October 18, 2008. Retrieved December 7, 2018.Venta, Lance. "Chicago Liberal Talker To Shift FM Signals To Brokered Polish", Radio Insight. May 5, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
Chicago's Progressive Talk (WCPT-FM)