WCFJ (1470 AM) was a radio station licensed to Chicago Heights, Illinois, United States. Its transmitter was located south of Crete, Illinois, and served Chicago's south suburbs and South Side, as well as Northwest Indiana. The station's original call sign was WMPP.

History WMPP WMPP began broadcasting on August 15, 1963, and originally aired a R&B format.Pruter, Robert (1992). Chicago Soul. University of Illinois Press. p. 17. Retrieved September 16, 2019."Stations By Format", Billboard. October 16, 1965. p. 62. Retrieved January 5, 2019."Stations By Format", Billboard. November 19, 1966. p. 38. Retrieved January 5, 2019. The call letters stood for "Working More for People's Progress"."WMPP Radio 1470 Working More for People's Progress", WMPP. March 15, 1965. Retrieved January 5, 2019. The station originally ran 1,000 watts during daytime hours only.

Originally owned by Seaway Broadcasting Company, it was the first African-American owned and operated radio station in the Midwest."History Cards for WCFJ, fcc.gov. Retrieved January 5, 2019.Biro, Nick. "R&B Roundup", Billboard. May 11, 1963. p. 22. Retrieved January 5, 2019."Services Set for W. Martin, Head of WMPP", Chicago Tribune. October 5, 1963. Section 1C, p. 6. The station was founded by William S. Martin and Charles Pinckard.Klatt, Mary Beth. "Pullman Brotherhood remembered", Chicago Tribune. May 18, 2003. Retrieved January 5, 2019. Martin died in October 1963, and Charles Pinckard acquired controlling interest in the company in 1964. In 1979, the estate of Charles Pinckard sold Seaway Broadcasting to James M. Benages for $150,000."Ownership Changes", Broadcasting. November 12, 1979. p. 84. Retrieved January 6, 2019.

Religious era The station continued to air an R&B format until 1980, when the station adopted a gospel music format."Stations, everywhere: a listeners' guide to the AM and FM bands", Chicago Tribune Magazine. March 4, 1979. p. 37. Retrieved January 5, 2019.Williams, Jean. "Counter-point", Billboard. November 22, 1980. p. 41. Retrieved December 5, 2019. Gospel singer Albertina Walker hosted a program on the station in the 1980s."Albertina Walker: An Audience With The Queen", GoseplFlava.com. Retrieved January 5, 2019.Richardson, Cheryl Jenkins. "Albertina Walker spreads the word through her songs", Chicago Sun-Times. December 12, 1986. p. 98.

The license was assigned to JANA Broadcasting in 1981.Public Notice Comment - BAL-19800911ES, fcc.gov. Retrieved January 5, 2019. In 1983, the station added nighttime operations, running 1,000 watts."Facility Changes", Broadcasting. November 23, 1981. p. 73. Retrieved January 6, 2019.Public Notice Comment - BP-19810529AC, fcc.gov. Retrieved January 6, 2019.Public Notice Comment - BL-19830513AC, fcc.gov. Retrieved January 6, 2019. JANA Broadcasting went bankrupt in the mid-1980s.Kupcinet, Irv. "Kup on Sunday", Chicago Sun-Times. July 27, 1986. p. 14. A partnership planned to purchase the station and change its format to urban contemporary, but they were unable to obtain financing before the deadline and the station was taken off the air on January 14, 1988.Feder, Robert. "Morning, noon and night, Channel 7 sweeps Chicago", Chicago Sun-Times. March 5, 1987. p. 72.Feder, Robert. "WXRT invites fans to read all about it", Chicago Sun-Times. January 19, 1988. p. 41. In 1989, the station was sold to Liberty Temple Full Gospel Church for $400,000."Changing Hands", Broadcasting & Cable. November 21, 1988. p. 65. Retrieved January 5, 2019.Public Notice Comment - BAL-19881028EC, fcc.gov. Retrieved January 5, 2019.Application Search Details - BAL-19881028EC, fcc.gov. Retrieved January 5, 2019.Feder, Robert. "'War' places fourth in TV ratings battle", Chicago Sun-Times. November 16, 1988. p. 37.

In 1989, the station's call sign was changed to WCFJ, which stood for "Winning Chicagoland For Jesus".Call Sign History, fcc.gov. Retrieved January 5, 2019.Chicagoland Radio Waves, MediaTies. Spring-Summer 1989. Retrieved January 5, 2019.Hirsley, Michael. "Broadcasters Change the Tone", Chicago Tribune. February 3, 1989. Retrieved January 5, 2019. The station aired a religious format."Chicagoland Radio Stations", Dialog Magazine. October 1989. p. 3. Retrieved January 5, 2019."Station Formats", Chicago Airwaves. p. 13. October 1993. Retrieved January 5, 2019.Unmacht, Robert; McCrummen, Pat; Heller, Jill; Apel, Steven (1994). The M Street Radio Directory. 1995 Edition. p. 192. Retrieved January 5, 2019. In 1997, the station was taken silent, with the station remaining off the air until the following year."Washington This Week", The M Street Journal. Vol. 15, No. 8. February 25, 1998. p. 8. Retrieved January 5, 2019."Application Search Details - BLSTA-19971030AAA, fcc.gov. Retrieved January 5, 2019.

Newsweb ownership In 1998, the station was sold to Newsweb Corporation for $425,000, and the station began airing brokered ethnic programming.Application Search Details - BAL-19971117EG, fcc.gov. Retrieved January 5, 2019."Local favorite Doug Banks returns to morning shift", Chicago Sun-Times. December 2, 1997. p. 41."Format Changes & Updates", The M Street Journal. Vol. 15, No. 33. August 19, 1998. p. 2. Retrieved January 5, 2019. Some of the station's programs were simulcast on 1240 WSBC. After Newsweb's purchase, WCFJ began airing LesBiGay Radio weekday evenings."In the Air", Daily Herald. January 26, 1999. p. 6. The program was heard on WCFJ until April 2001, and was simulcast on WSBC.Feder, Robert. "Mancow might leave Windy City for Frisco", Chicago Sun-Times. July 17, 2001. p. 49.

From July 2001 to June 3, 2005, Neil Tesser hosted a jazz program titled Miles Ahead, which aired weekday afternoons/evenings on WCFJ."Neil Tesser Rides Again", South Street Journal. November 8–21, 2001. p 11. Retrieved January 6, 2019. The last two hours of Miles Ahead were simulcast on 1240 WSBC.

On November 7, 2015, Newsweb took WCFJ off the air, citing that the station was no longer profitable. The license was surrendered to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on November 9, 2015; the FCC cancelled the license and deleted the WCFJ call sign the same day.

References

External links Facility details for Facility ID 37246 (WCFJ) in the FCC Licensing and Management System FCC History Cards for WCFJ (covering 1958-1981 as WMPP)