Early years On August 13, 1940, Walker & Downing Radio Corporation applied to the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a
construction permit to build a new FM station. It broadcast on 43.5 MHz in the original FM broadcast band, which was located between 42 and 50 MHz. The FCC granted the permit on December 12, 1940, while reallocating the station to 44.7 MHz and assigning the station the
call sign W47P. The station was granted its first license by the FCC on May 20, 1942. On September 23, 1942, the FCC modified the station's license when Walker & Downing Radio Corporation changed its name to WWSW, Inc., named after co-owned
WWSW (970 AM). On November 1, 1943, the station was assigned the WTNT call sign, followed by another call sign change to WMOT effective October 3, 1945. The commission granted WWSW, Inc. the authority to cease operations effective December 12, 1945, so the station could be converted to a new frequency on the new band. On November 18, 1973, the station's call sign was changed to WPEZ, carving out its own identity apart from WWSW. WPEZ was a successful Top 40 station for the next seven years. On
Labor Day, 1980, the station gave up Top 40 hits for an
adult contemporary format. The station's call sign was changed back to WWSW-FM on September 28, 1980. For most of the 1980s, WWSW-FM began to add more
oldies titles into its playlist to distinguish it from other Pittsburgh AC stations.
Oldies The AM and FM stations both flipped to all-oldies in February 1988, simulcasting for part of the time. When not simulcasting, the FM played a core blend of oldies hits from the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s, while the AM leaned more towards 1950s and early 1960s titles. In 1991, the AM's independent programming was abandoned and began simulcasting the FM full-time. The AM split from the FM in August 2000 and adopted a
sports radio format as
WBGG. In 2006,
Pitt Panthers football and basketball games would be aired on WWSW-FM. This lasted until 2012, when the team's games switched to
KDKA-FM.
Classic hits Like many FM oldies stations in the early 2000s, WWSW-FM had been de-emphasizing music of the 1950s and 1960s in favor of more songs from the 1970s and a few early 1980s titles. It also stopped using the word "oldies" on the air. In 2006, the music was adjusted forward with some 1970s hits and a larger selection of 1980s titles. The station started to play artists it had ignored before, including
Styx,
Huey Lewis & the News,
Prince and
Bruce Springsteen, while dropping long-time staples of an earlier vintage like
the Dave Clark Five,
Little Richard,
Gary Lewis and the Playboys and
Herman's Hermits. However,
The Beatles and
Motown continued to be a staple of the station's playlist. By the 2010s, the only 1960s tracks that remain on the station's playlist were those that had a high level of popularity over the years, including songs by The Beatles,
Simon and Garfunkel,
The Supremes, and
The Rolling Stones. In addition, the station began to incorporate some tracks from the early 1990s into the playlist, including hits from
Bryan Adams,
R.E.M., Prince and
Sheryl Crow. The station's playlist began focusing on the mid-1970s all the way up through 1989, with a few late 1960s, early 1970s, and early 1990s tracks also getting airtime. Channels on a SPARC Radio with
PSD.
Concerts and awards The station had oldies concerts that filled
Three Rivers Stadium many times with oldies acts, and even legendary oldies DJ
Wolfman Jack made an appearance on February 23, 1991. The station received three
Marconi Awards for best oldies station in the United States, while the morning show received five AIR awards (Achievement in Radio) for best morning show in Pittsburgh. == Christmas Music ==