WQLK

WQLK

Richmond, Indiana
Broadcast area	Richmond, Indiana
Frequency	96.1MHz(HD Radio)
Branding	Kicks 96
Programming
Format	Country
Subchannels	HD1: WQLK analog HD2:Classic hits"101.7 The Point" HD3:Classic country"95.3 The Legend"
Ownership
Owner	Brewer Broadcasting Corp.
History
First air date	1960s (as WGLM)
Former call signs	WGLM (1960s-1973)
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	6749
Class	B
ERP	50,000watts
HAAT	150 meters (490 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	39°53′33″N84°56′09″W
Translator(s)	95.3 W237AT (Richmond, relays HD3) 101.7 W269BP (Richmond, relays HD2)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live HD2:Listen live
Website	kicks96.com 1017thepoint.com(HD2)

WQLK(96.1FM) is aradio stationlicensed toRichmond, Indiana,located at 96.1 MHz on the FM dial. WQLK broadcasts at an effective radiated power of 50,000Wattswith its studios, offices, and tower located east of US 35 on Tingler Road just north of Richmond.

Programming

WQLK playscountry music,mainly from the 1990s and today. It is also broadcastsIndiana Universitymen's basketball

Current On Air Staff:

The Kicks Morning Crew Sean & Dave Sean Lamb/Dave Patrick M-F 5am-10am

Middays Dave Paxton M-F 10am-2pm

Afternoon Drive Jim Callahan M-F 2pm-7pm

The station previously broadcastRichmond High Schoolfootball and boys basketball broadcasts until 2000. Those broadcasts are now on sister station, 1017 The Point. WHON AM-FM

History

WQLK is Richmond's oldest FM radio signal. The station signed on as WGLM, featuring aJazzformat. This format continued until 1970 when the station adopted a country music format. Jazz remained a fixture on the station, however. WQLK continued to broadcast a Sunday morning jazz program until 1992 when the station became "Kicks 96". By 1974, the station changed its call sign to WQLK and adopted anEasy listeningformat, and briefly returned to country before flip-flopping formats with its AM sister station,WHONin 1979 to becomeTop 40as K-96.

Since its start in 1979, WQLK saw quite a bit of success as a Top 40. The station was mainstream from songs and surveys throughout the 1980s which had at the time become acontemporary hit radiostation for the area, but what made K-96 stand out from stations in nearbyDayton,Indianapolis,andCincinnatiwas that it wobbled a bit toward the Rock side of the genre for a very short period of time during the spring of 1983, despite the station mostly playing mainstream titles by surveys. The tweak gave artists such asThe Police,Duran Duran,andDef Leppardmore exposure than a conventional Top 40 station. However, K-96 played some Rhythmic music, but mainly those from bands or artists that were considered to benew wave musicsometimes (as by today's standards, "Rock 40" would be termed as aModern Rockformat). The Rock tweak shortly died out a couple of months later, as it brought back into its CHR formula in mid-1983.

When 1989 rolled along, K-96 dropped CHR and became aclassic hitsstation featuring mainly 1970s rock. The format quickly morphed intoclassic rockby 1990 and then album oriented rock by the early 1990s. The station retained the "K-96" moniker and thekoalamascot throughout these format tweaks. In the spring of 1992, and with rumors of a format change in the air, their playlist began to shift slightly incorporating songs byMary Chapin Carpenter(Passionate Kisses),Restless Heart(When She Cries) and even country croonerVince Gill(I Still Believe In You) into their playlists right alongside format regularsLed Zeppelin,BostonandJohn Mellencamp.Popular air personalities from this time period include The Captain, Jim Rhodes, The Buddha, and Mike Fox.

Finally, in July 1992, the "K-96" era of the station ended. At 5 p.m. on the Friday before the format change, the radio station beganstuntingwith a loop of the song "Kicks"byPaul Revere & the Raiderscontinuously all weekend. The following Monday at 5am, morning show hosts J.R. & The Buddha premiered the radio station's new contemporaryCountryformat asKicks 96.

J.R. & The Buddha remained as the radio station's morning show until J.R. was replaced by Buzz Cannon in 1995. At this time Buzz Aldrin also took over as the station's Program Director. TheBuzz & Buddhamorning show remained an integral part of the station's success until Buzz's departure in 1999. Upon Buzz's departure from the station, Buddha took over as Program Director and evening air personality Angie Fox was promoted to mornings. Buddha was replaced as Program Director in 2001 by afternoon air-personality Steve Baker who remained the station's P.D. until October 31, 2008. Baker was replaced by Phil O'Reilly on November 1, 2008. The radio station's General Manager Dave Strycker has remained the station's G.M. since 1978. Angie & The Buddha have won numerous awards from The Indiana Broadcasters Association as have Steve Baker, News Director Jeff Lane and Production Director Joe Winters.

Though the station has tweaked itself slightly over the years to include older songs and has changed their positioning statement fromHot Country Kicks 96toThe Best Country & The Most Fun, Kicks 96,their country format remains relatively the same to this day. Key air-personalities since 1993 include: Mark Brim, Buzz Cannon, The Buddha, Angie Fox, Allen Rantz, Paul Partezana, Dave McKay, Steve Baker, and Randy Klemme/Big R.

HD Radio

On December 26, 2018, WQLK's HD3 subchannel changed their format from contemporary Christian to classic country, branded as "95.3 The Legend".

External links

• Kicks 96 WQLK official website
• Facility details for Facility ID 6749 (WQLK)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
• WQLKinNielsen Audio's FM station database