In 1941 (to participate in the war effort) the station, in cooperation with the Great Lakes Naval Training Center aired a weekly 15-minute program called ‘Meet Your Navy’. Game lips stickers were designed to put near the bottom of the telephone. Chicago Tribune Newspaper Article June 14, 1925.. Chicago Tribune Newspaper Article November 19, 1959.. This lasted until August 30, 2020 when Westwood One shuttered its news service, and as of August 31, 2020, the station is once again affiliated with ABC News Radio. This time-share agreement ended on February 1954, when ABC's parent company American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres and the Prairie Farmer merged their AM stations into one, WLS becoming the surviving entity and jointly owned by both. You could even mail-order a house to be delivered in pieces by railroad to anywhere the rails ran. However, the station continued to flounder in the ratings. In 1972, Larry Lujack left to

He told Billboard Magazine at the time that "We've come and News Director  Over the next two evenings (April 10th & 11th) Sears aired more test programs. With special thanks to the WLS website for this historical information.

Styx was also the first live The Prairie Farmer Company mind you, was in publishing!

22 talking about this. Chicago Tribune Newspaper Article December 30, 1973.. Chicago Tribune Newspaper Article November 22, 1974.. Chicago Tribune Newspaper Article January 14, 1976.

dominance and promoted its eventual demise.

Radio has been there to scare us, made us laugh, cry and listen in rapt silence from the edges of our seats.

[1][8] The station's transmitter was originally located outside of Crete, Illinois.

In January 2017, WLS and WLS-FM moved from its 190 N. State Street studios to its new studios in NBC Tower on North Columbus Drive in Streeterville. "Who played the first Beatles record in America? [Jeff Miller note:

the seventies, began it with The Klunk Letter of The Day and

In 2007, Walt Disney Company sold its ABC Radio radio division, including WLS (AM) and WZZN, to Citadel Broadcasting.
The advent of Radio opened a new frontier: It was a way to reach into every household in America.

... From Jeff Miller's Radio has been there in times of crisis to keep people informed and direct them to help and safety. rock (Fleetwood Mac, Boston, Aerosmith) and a new genre of underground music first known A Tribute to WLS Radio - History of WLS Page The History of WLS... WLS was originally WJR.

[55][56] Landecker returned to WLS in 1986, and remained with the station until its format was changed in 1989. did the college and high school circuit, so people from Downers Grove to By 2004, the station began beating WKQX with the shift to active rock, but yet beaten again by WKQX during the Spring/Summer 2005, when WDRV moved from classic hits to classic rock and WLUP-FM from classic rock to mainstream rock.[41]. An example of these included Reunion's 1974 song "Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)". Yvonne came from a musical family background and had worked at several stations including [91], On Memorial Day, 2007, WLS took a cue from sister station WABC and ran a special day of musical programming, "The Big 89 Rewind," featuring live visits from Larry Lujack, Tommy Edwards,[92] Fred Winston, Chris Shebel, Jeff Davis, John Records Landecker, Tom Kent, and other D.J.s, sounders, and airchecks from the Musicradio era. THE PRAIRIE FARMER

The 1934 WLS National Barn Dance star performers were also doing shows on the road .Gene Autry (left) with cowboy hat on. At the same time corporate WLS participates in the Emergency Alert System's primary entry point network, serving that function for northern Illinois and western Indiana.

The wave length has also been changed [According to Prairie Farmer and WLS, Sears originally did a farm program From 1928 until 1954, WLS shared their assigned frequency and overall broadcast operations with Blue Network-owned WENR until the Blue Network's successor, the American Broadcasting Company, merged WENR into WLS and eventually purchased it outright.

Shortly afterwards, WLS-FM adopted a full-time progressive rock format.

[81][54] Dahl and Meier left WLS in 1986, returning to WLUP.[82][83]. Columbia College documentary chronicling Beginning around 1938, it covered television as well as international radio. [32] In August 1943, NBC was ordered to divest itself of the Blue Network and its stations; WENR and Blue were sold to Edward J. Noble. The quartet, who joined the station in 1926, mixed barbershop harmonies with wildly popular comedy routines and minstrel sketches. [54][51][86] [22] On March 19, 1925, he received his license for WENR broadcasting 100 watts at 1130 kHz. Movies and television had already made their inroads and the Prairie Farmer folks knew it was time to cash out. for music radio. regained its crown, boasting its highest cume audience in station history. Steve King had left to join

Amateur Radio Magazine for two-way radio enthusiasts beginning in 1982. Larry Lujack returned, and went on to enjoy a successful run as morning guy at WFYR-FM

[54][88] Phil Duncan was the last DJ to play music on WLS, and as Duncan finished up his show, a voice in the back of the studio (that of then-WYTZ worker Steven Craig) was heard saying "Goodnight!" It Sears could not only sell radios, but provide programming and farm service.

beginning March 21, 1924, with its first assigned call letters, WBBX, from echoed around the world", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64xrYXFTLwE, https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1980s/1980/RR-1980-10-24.pdf, "Cap Cities' `Pig' sty sends `Z-95' to `Hell, "`Hell' wasn't so hot; it gets snuffed early", "Even Radio Pirates LMA; G.R.

At times, it is the mirror that reflects public sentiments by responding to the desires listeners and supporters of advertising. It was rumored that it could be heard as far away as New Zealand. [51] Diamond would leave the station in July 2015, with Miller re-assuming a main hosting role. To some, radio history was made that day Bob Sirott's B-S Love [9] Insull moved his stations first into Chicago's Strauss Building,[28] and then to his own Civic Opera Building. According to Styx guitarist James "J.Y." [13] The simulcast included Larry Lujack during the morning drive and Brant Miller's evening show into the mid-1980s, while airing its own programming during the day. In any event, the waste electricity is released in the form of heat – tubes get very hot. The station iserved as the "flagship" broadcast outlet for the Sunday night, national political talk show, Beyond the Beltway with Bruce DuMont.

with Lar. Then annually, WLS would release it’s version of a yearbook called the “WLS Family Album,” which not only published pictures of the station’s performers, but also featured portraits of station personnel and their families. ", "Q&A: Jim Kerr & Shelli Sonstein, Mornings, WAXQ New York", "Disco Demolition 35 years later: That's the way I liked it", "When 'Disco Sucks!' The Scott Shannon "True Oldies Channel" branding, programming, and voice tracking were removed.

HERE

Being able to read music allowed the social activity of ensemble playing.

Other DJs on WLS during its top 40 era included Chuck Buell, Kris Erik Stevens, Joel Sebastian, Gary Gears, Jerry Kay, Yvonne Daniels,[64] Brant Miller, Tom Kent,[54] Steve King, Jeff Davis and Fred Winston.