First air date October 2003 Frequency 1450 kHz Format Regional Mexican Area Chicago Call sign meaning W ReaL OLdies | Class B City of license Cicero Owner Midway Broadcasting Branding Radio Formula | |
Broadcast area Chicago metropolitan area Power 10,000 watts (day)
1,000 watts (night) | ||
WRLL (1690 AM) was an oldies station licensed to Berwyn, Illinois, and serving the greater Chicago area. It was owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications. The station first began broadcasting in early October 2003, and was displaced on the frequency by WVON September 18, 2006.
Contents
The station's transmitter was located in Chicago's Ashburn neighborhood, near the Evergreen Park, Illinois border, and operated as a diplexed operaration from one of the towers of its sister station, WGCI (now WGRB). The station ran 10,000 watts during the day, and 1,000 watts at night, using a non-directional antenna.
Format
"Real Oldies 1690", as it called itself on the air, played music from the 1950s and early 1960s, featuring pop artists such as Frank Sinatra and Perry Como as well as the rock and roll hits of the period. "Real Oldies" originated at sister station WSAI (now sports/talk "ESPN 1530" WCKY) in Cincinnati and was also carried on WCOL (now talk station WYTS) in Columbus, Ohio; WHNE in Ann Arbor, Michigan, also a Clear Channel station at that time (now Cumulus business-talk station WLBY), also aired a variation of the format identified as "Honey Radio". "Dangerous Dan" Allen created the format initially for WSAI, where he was program director and a weekday afternoon DJ.
Personalities
The station featured radio legends Larry Lujack and Tommy Edwards in the morning drive, along with news reporter Kathy Worthington. Other legendary Chicago area radio personalities from WLS and WCFL followed Tommy Edwards and Larry Lujack on the air, including Scotty Brink middays and "World Famous" Tom Murphy in the evening drive. Chicago radio and television personality Jerry G. Bishop, well known as the original Svengoolie, was the Sunday afternoon DJ on the station.
Oldies radio veteran and music historian Ron Smith was heard weekday evenings & Saturday mornings, and suburban radio mainstay Len O'Kelly was heard overnight weekdays and Saturday afternoon. Ron Smith's shows included his weekly "Foreign Friday" feature and Saturday morning/Sunday afternoon "Real Oldies Chicago Top 20 Countdown" program, which spotlighted the local hits on a certain week in history.
WVON moves to 1690
On August 15, 2006, the station's on-air talent left the station as a pending format change was announced. On August 15, it was announced that African-American talk-formatted WVON, would move its format, talk show hosts and call letters from their longtime spot on the dial at 1450 AM to 1690 AM, effective September 18, 2006. WVON signed an agreement with Clear Channel which would allow them to lease the station with an option to buy, and obtain marketing, promotional and production assistance from them as well. The oldies format ended at Midnight CDT on September 16, 2006. On September 18, 2006, the callsign WRLL was moved to 1450 AM, WVON's old frequency.