WLEY-FM

WLEY-FM (107.9 FM) is a radio station licensed to Aurora, Illinois, serving the Chicago Metropolitan Area and Rockford, Illinois. Owned by Spanish Broadcasting System, it broadcasts a regional Mexican format branded as La Ley 107.9. WLEY's studios are located in the Crain Communications Building in the Loop, while its transmitter is located in Glendale Heights, with its antenna located atop WSCR's tower.

For the AM radio station in Cayey, Puerto Rico, see WLEY (AM).
WLEY-FM
CityAurora, Illinois
Broadcast areaChicago, Illinois
Rockford, Illinois
Frequency107.9 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingLa Ley 107.9
Programming
FormatRegional Mexican
Ownership
OwnerSpanish Broadcasting System
History
First air date
1965 (as WMRO-FM)[1]
Former call signs
WMRO-FM (1965-1969)[1]
WAUR (1969[1]-1988)[2]
WYSY-FM (1988-1997)[2]
Call sign meaning
la LEY (Spanish word for "the law")
Technical information
Facility ID71282
ClassB
ERP21,000 watts
HAAT232 meters (761 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
41°56′1″N 88°4′23″W
Repeater(s)107.9 WLEY-FM2 (Cicero)
107.9 WLEY-FM3 (Chicago)
107.9 WLEY-FM4 (Chicago)
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitelaley1079.lamusica.com

History

WMRO-FM

The station was first licensed in 1965, and held the call sign WMRO-FM.[1] It was the FM sister station to AM 1280 WMRO. Its transmitter was located atop Aurora's Leland Tower, and it had an ERP of 3,600 watts.[1] The station broadcast a beautiful music format.[3] WMRO-FM was owned by Vincent Cofey and Benjamin Oswalt.[1][4] In 1967, Vincent Cofey purchased controlling interest in the station for $35,000.[4]

WAUR

In 1969, the station's call sign was changed to WAUR and its ERP was increased to 31,200 watts.[1] In 1973, it was sold to Stevens Communications for $343,000.[5] In 1975, WAUR's transmitter was moved to the eastern fringes of Aurora, and its ERP was increased to 50,000 watts at a HAAT of 488 feet.[1] In the late 1970s, the station aired an adult contemporary format, playing music from the 1960s and 1970s.[6] In the 1980s, WAUR was branded "Gold Rock", playing oldies of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, along with some currents.[7][8][9][10] In 1986, the station was sold to Midwest Broadcasting for $4 million.[11][12] The following year, WAUR and AM 1280 WMRO were sold to Beasley Broadcast Group for $8.7 million.[13] Beasley Broadcast Group had been a minority owner of Midwest Broadcasting.[11]

WYSY-FM

In 1988, the station's call letters were changed to WYSY-FM.[2] WYSY-FM aired an adult contemporary format and was branded "Y-108" with the slogan "Doin' It In The 'Burbs!".[14] In December 1989, its AM sister station WMRO 1280, became WYSY, simulcasting Y-108.[15] In September 1992, the station's transmitter was moved to Bloomingdale, Illinois.[16] For a while in 1993, the station played hot AC days and hard rock/metal at night.[17]

In late 1993, WYSY was sold to Cox Communications for $9 million.[18] In January 1994, the station switched to a classic hits format featuring rock, pop, R&B, and disco hits of the 1970s, with the slogan "The Greatest Hits of the '70s".[19][20] The station was briefly branded "Star 107.9", but changed its branding to "Y107.9" because WZSR had registered the "Star" moniker with the state.[20][21][22]

In 1996, WYSY-FM and 105.9 WCKG were acquired by Infinity Broadcasting as part of a station swap.[23] At the end of the year, Infinity Broadcasting was purchased by the parent company of CBS.[24] This caused CBS/Infinity to exceed the FCC's ownership limits, requiring the sale of two stations.[25] CBS/Infinity decided to sell WYSY-FM and WSCR AM 820.[26] In 1997, WYSY was sold to Spanish Broadcasting System for $33 million.[26][27] On April 14, 1997, at 6PM, after playing "Last Dance" by Donna Summer and "Last Song" by Edward Bear, WYSY-FM dropped its 1970s format and began stunting with a 4-to-5 hour loop of songs primarily from the adult contemporary format (the first song on the loop being "Everyday Is A Winding Road" by Sheryl Crow.) The format was helmed in a way that served as essentially a predecessor to the future adult hits format, as it was "deejayed" by a voice deemed only as "Bill", who claimed he borrowed a number of CDs and records and was playing "some of [his] favorite songs."[28][29][30]

WLEY-FM

On July 4, 1997, after almost 3 months of stunting, WYSY adopted a Regional Mexican format branded "La Ley".[31][32][33] Its call sign was changed to WLEY-FM later that month.[2] By coincidence, WLEY's calls originated on WCFS-FM (105.9) in the 1950s, standing for Leyden Township.

On August 21, 2018, WLEY-FM HD2 began broadcasting 95.1 Clubsteppin', an Urban oldies format focused on Chicago stepping.[34] The format is programmed by Tracey V. Bell.[35] Clubsteppin was simulcast on 95.1 FM by the translators W236CF in Chicago and W236CG in Bolingbrook, which formerly aired a rock format as "The Hound".[34]

References
  1. History Cards for WLEY-FM, fcc.gov. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  2. Call Sign History, fcc.gov. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  3. Ghrist, John R. (1996). Valley Voices: A Radio History. Crossroads Communications. p. 77-80.
  4. "Ownership changes", Broadcasting. October 9, 1967. p. 90. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  5. "Ownership changes", Broadcasting. January 8, 1973. p. 50. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  6. "Stations, everywhere: a listeners' guide to the AM and FM bands", Chicago Tribune Magazine. March 4, 1979. p. 37. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  7. Chicago Radio Guide. Vol. 1, No. 1. May 1985. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  8. Bornstein, Rollye. "Vox Jox", Billboard. March 10, 1984. p. 17. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  9. Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1983, Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1983. p. B-69. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  10. Ross, Sean. "After The Summer Of Gold", Radio & Records. November 21, 1986. p. 36. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  11. Unger, Rudolph. "Aurora FM Outlet to Widen Coverage to Chicago", Chicago Tribune. December 30, 1986. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  12. "Changing Hands", Broadcasting. June 9, 1986. p. 132. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  13. "Beasley Buys WMRO & WAUR For $ 8.7 Million In Chicago Move", Radio & Records. March 13, 1987. p. 12. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  14. Chicagoland Radio Waves, MediaTies. Summer 1988/Spring-Summer 1989. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  15. Young, Linda. "Aurora Mourns Loss of WMRO", Chicago Tribune. December 24, 1989. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  16. Kening, Dan. "New Gun in Town", Chicago Tribune. January 19, 1993. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  17. Stark, Phyllis; Boehlert, Eric; Borzillo, Cary. "Vox Jox", Billboard. February 13, 1993. p. 73. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  18. "Transactions", Radio & Records. October 8, 1993. p. 6. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  19. Kening, Dan. "WYSY-FM Fills a Void With Top 40 Hits From the '70s", Chicago Tribune. February 8, 1994. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  20. "Newsline" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 106 no. 3. January 15, 1994. p. 64.
  21. Stark, Phyllis; Boehlert, Eric; Borzillo, Cary. "Vox Jox", Billboard. February 5, 1994. p. 91. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  22. Borzillo, Cary. "What's In A Name? Plenty, If You Own It", Billboard. April 16, 1994. pp. 85, 87. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  23. "Transactions", Radio & Records. May 24, 1996. p. 6. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  24. "Westinghouse to Change Name to CBS After Spinoff", Bloomberg News. Los Angeles Times. February 06, 1997. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  25. "Infinity's WYSY Goes Spanish", Radio & Records. August 30, 1996. p. 6. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  26. "CBS Closes Windy City Deals", Radio & Records. April 11, 1997. p. 9. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  27. "Station & Cable Trading", Broadcasting & Cable. February 3, 1997. p. 42. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  28. Carlozo, Lou. "Radio: The '70s Sign Off", Chicago Tribune. April 20, 1997. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  29. Sound bites and last 7 minutes of WYSY-FM, Chicago's '70s station- YouTube
  30. WYSY (107.9) – Aurora/Chicago, IL – 5/30/97 (Stunting with “Bill”)
  31. "Format Changes & Updates", The M Street Journal. Vol. 14, No. 27. July 9, 1997. p. 1. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  32. "Call Letter Changes", The M Street Journal. Vol. 14, No. 27. July 9, 1997. p. 5. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  33. "Radio Rides Hispanic Population Boom", Broadcasting & Cable. October 6, 1997. p. 46. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  34. Venta, Lance (August 21, 2018). "95.1 Chicago Goes Clubsteppin". RadioInsight. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  35. "New Owner For Chicago's Clubsteppin 95.1", RadioInsight. August 28, 2019. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
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