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WHHL (104.1 FM "HOT 104-1") is a commercial radio station licensed to Hazelwood, Missouri, and serving the Greater St. Louis area. It broadcasts an urban contemporary radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. The studios and offices are on Olive Street at Tucker Boulevard in downtown St. Louis.

WHHL is a Class C2 station. It has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 50,000 watts, using a directional antenna. The transmitter is on DeBaliviere Avenue, just north of Forest Park.

History

1978-1994: Country

The station signed on in 1978 as WJBM-FM, airing a full service country format targeting the more Northern areas of the St. Louis metropolitan area, as well as the Metro East area, with its city of license being Jerseyville. The station's transmitter at the time was located north of the city (near Jerseyville), which was a partial hindrance to any chance for success in the market for the next 21⁄2 decades, despite later moving to a tower on Douglas Road in Florissant, Missouri. They began targeting St. Louis in September 1985 as country music station WKKX ("Kix 104 FM"), and owned by Shelly Davis' Gateway Radio Partners. Zimmer Broadcasting bought the station out of bankruptcy in July 1991.

1994-1997: Top 40

On January 20, 1994, WKKX would swap frequencies with Top 40/CHR-formatted WKBQ-FM, with WKKX moving to 106.5 FM, and WKBQ-FM moving to 104.1 FM, and rebranding as "Q104". (WKBQ's simulcast on 1380 AM would continue with the swap.)

WKBQ-FM became the FM home for St. Louis morning team “Steve & DC” after one of the most significant stories/controversies in St. Louis radio history in the summer of 1993. The popular duo announced on January 6, 1994, that they would return on January 20 to “Q104” at a downtown press conference carried live on television stations KTVI, KMOV, KSDK and KDNL. Reporters from all major newspapers and magazines presented as well. Emmis Communications bought the station in November 1996, for $42.5 million.

1997-1998: Modern AC

On January 24, 1997, the Top 40/CHR format was dropped for Modern AC as WALC, "Alice 104.1".

1998-2000: Active Rock

On June 25, 1998, at 3 p.m., WALC flipped to active rock as "Extreme Radio 104.1" and the WXTM-FM call letters (which were both adopted July 15, 1998). WXTM was the original St. Louis affiliate of The Howard Stern Show.

2000-2004: 80s Hits

On September 24, 2000, at 2 p.m., after playing "Fade to Black" by Metallica, and after Emmis purchased KPNT (and moved Stern to that station), WXTM flipped to All-80s Hits as WMLL ("104.1 The Mall"). The format would later evolve into a 80s/90s hits format, and would be the home of popular morning DJs Steve & DC. On November 20, 2003, at midnight, WMLL began stunting with Christmas music; on December 25, the stunting changed to a "wheel of formats" by playing music from any given genre, as well as old airchecks from past formats on the frequency.

2004-2005: Adult Standards

At noon on January 8, 2004, the stunting stopped and the station flipped to an Adult Standards format as WRDA, "Red @ 104.1". The first songs on "Red" were "My Kind of Town" and "The Lady is a Tramp", both by Frank Sinatra. The station specialized in "Music with Class" as they called it, playing classic standards singers such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Bobby Darin, along with more modern 'crooners' such as Rod Stewart and Michael Bublé.

2005-present: Urban Contemporary

In September 2005, after 18 months of subpar ratings and low advertising revenues, Emmis announced they would sell WRDA to Radio One, for $20 million. The station flipped to its current urban contemporary format as "Hot 104.1" on October 1, 2005, at Midnight. The first song on "Hot" was "Play" by rapper David Banner. The call letters would change to WHHL on November 24, 2005. Radio One would take full possession of the station in 2006 after running it under a local marketing agreement from Emmis. The station's signal problems were finally solved in 2008, when it changed its city of license to Hazelwood and relocated its transmitter to a site in the city of St. Louis, giving the station full market coverage.

On November 5, 2020, Urban One announced that it would swap WHHL, the intellectual property of WFUN-FM, and two other stations in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. to Entercom, in exchange for its Charlotte, North Carolina stations. Entercom took over the station under a local marketing agreement on November 23. The swap was consummated on April 20, 2021.

References

1. "Facility Technical Data for WHHL". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
2. Radio-Locator.com/WHHL
3. Eric Mink, "New Station To Make Big Splash", The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 23, 1985.
4. "RR-1991-07-12" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com.
5. ^ Stark, Phyllis (January 15, 1994). "Vox Jox". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 3. p. 64.
6. ^ "RR-1994-01-07" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com.
7. Linda Eardley and Jerry Berger, "Fired DJs To Go Back On Air Here", The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 4, 1994.
8. Judith VandeWater, "KSHE's Parent Buys WKKX", The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 2, 1996.
9. Diane Toroian, "St. Louis loses Top 40 station," The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 25, 1997.
10. "RR-1997-01-31" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com.
11. Alice 104.1 Commercial, August 16, 2010, retrieved January 31, 2024
12. ALICE @ 104.1 St Louis Fall 1997 Composite, retrieved January 31, 2024
13. "RR-1998-07-03" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com.
14. Diane Toroian, "Stern makes debut on the St. Louis radio lineup today", The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 24, 1998.
15. Diane Toroian, "FM changes are in the air", The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 24, 2000.
16. Diane Toroian, "Ownership changes lead to a reworking of the radio dial here", The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 5, 2000.
17. "RR-2000-09-29" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com.
18. Roberts, Randall. "Death of a Format". Riverfront Times. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
19. WMLL "104.1 The Mall" Jerseyville IL/St. Louis - Tony Columbo - May 11 2001, retrieved January 31, 2024
20. Elizabethe Holland, "Racy radio duo runs afoul of station management, gets the ax", The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 27, 2003.
21. "St. Louis' 104.1 FM Flips to all Christmas Music, all the Time... -- re> ST. LOUIS, Nov. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --". Archived from the original on December 11, 2012.
22. "Too Soon - St. Louis Journalism Review | HighBeam Research". September 10, 2016. Archived from the original on September 10, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
23. Diane Toroian Keaggy, "FM radio switches format to "martini music"", The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 11, 2004.
24. Lance (January 8, 2004). ""104.1 The Mall" WMLL flips from 80's to Standards "Red 104.1" WRDA". Format Change Archive. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
25. "St. Louis Stories". www.bizjournals.com. May 1, 2004. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
26. "RR-2004-01-16" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com.
27. Research, Edison (January 21, 2004). "First Look: "Modern Standards" Red 104/St.Louis". Edison Research. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
28. Red 104.1 Radio Station Commercial [2004, St. Louis, Missouri], retrieved January 31, 2024
29. Martin Van Der Werf, "Get the Red out", The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 27, 2005.
30. "Emmis Announces Sale of St. Louis' "Red" to Radio One". Emmis Corporation. January 1, 1970. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
31. Lance (October 1, 2005). "WRDA Becomes Hot 104.1". Format Change Archive. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
32. "Entercom To Swap Charlotte Stations To Radio One For WPHI, WTEM and St. Louis Duo". RadioInsight. November 5, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020.

• "1". Retrieved February 27, 2008.

External links

• Official website
• Facility details for Facility ID 74578 (WHHL) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• WHHL in Nielsen Audio's FM station database

• HD Radio stations
• Audacy, Inc. radio stations
• Radio stations in St. Louis
• Urban contemporary radio stations in the United States
• Radio stations established in 1983