FM broadcasting in the USA began in the 1930s. Although many broadcast radio stations had already been established in the
AM frequency range, the use of
FM radio offered higher sound quality. However until the 1970s, FM broadcast frequencies were primarily seen as investments in the future, with most of the self-supporting commercial stations
simulcasting with AM stations. Few
automobiles in the U.S. were equipped to receive FM signals until the early 1970s.
Beautiful music was a mostly-instrumental
music format that was prominent in
American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s. "Mood music", "
easy listening", "
elevator music" and (inaccurately) "
Muzak" are other common terms for the format and the style of music that it featured. In the
Fairfax, Virginia,
Art Kellar was an owner of
WEEL an AM radio station, licensed to
Fairfax which was one of the Washington, DC area's major
top 40 stations in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Kellar acquired control of an FM station nearby, and went on the air with
WEZR, licensed to
Manassas, Virginia. He used the new beautiful music format featuring primarily instrumental versions of popular music, only interrupted by station breaks and commercial advertisements only every 12–15 minutes, The company's
Arbitron ratings indicated it has popular with the public. In 1970, the company took the successful easy listening format to the
Richmond market when it acquired
European classical music station
WFMV (FM), which had been Virginia's first station to broadcast in
multiplex stereo, and changed the call sign to
WEZS. The easy listening format was very successful in Richmond has it had been in the Washington DC metro market. Soon, EZ Communications expanded into larger broadcast markets. Stations which used the easy listening format to find profitability in emerging FM markets were
WEZC (FM) 104.7 MHz in
Charlotte, North Carolina, and
WEZB (FM) 97.1 MHz in
New Orleans, Louisiana. In the early 80's EZ made a successful transition from easy listening to creating Contemporary Hit Radio stations in New Orleans (WEZB became B-97) and Pittsburgh (B-94). By 1995, EZ Communications was # 12 in the Top 25 Radio Groups in the U.S. Listeners as of spring 1995, as measured by the Arbitron ratings service. ==Sale to American Radio Systems==