WZRR

WZRR (99.5 MHz, "Talk 99.5") is an FM radio station licensed to Birmingham, Alabama. It carries a talk radio format, simulcast with AM sister station 1070 WAPI. WZRR is one of several Birmingham-area radio stations owned by Cumulus Media, with radio studios and offices on Goodwin Crest Drive in Homewood. 
WZRR and WAPI carry local talk shows during the day, but at night they run nationally syndicated shows from the co-owned Westwood One Network including Mark Levin, Ben Shapiro, Dan Bongino, "Red Eye Radio" and "First Light." Most hours begin with world and national news from ABC Radio News. It is also Central Alabama's radio home of Auburn Tigers athletics.
WZRR's transmitter is west of Red Mountain, off Spaulding Ishkooda Road. It has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts, the highest power permitted for non-grandfathered FM stations, from a tower more than 1,000 feet (300 meters) in height above average terrain (HAAT). It broadcasts using HD Radio technology.
History.
Rock Station K-99.
In December 1976, the station first signed on the air. Its [[call sign]] was WVOK-FM, [[sister station]] to WVOK [[AM 690]] (now [[WJOX (AM)|WJOX]]). "K-99", as the station was called, was Birmingham's first full-time [[progressive rock]] station. Previously, WJLN-FM (now [[WZZK]]) and WERC-FM (now [[WBPT]]) dabbled in that format on a part-time basis. 
K-99 played an eclectic mix of rock songs from artists of the 1960s and 1970s, and was a ratings success. When WVOK-AM was sold to Mack Sanders in 1978, the call letters of the FM station were changed to WRKK, representing the word "Rock" but the K-99 handle was retained. In 1981, 94.5 WAPI-FM (now [[WJOX-FM]]) changed its format from [[easy listening]] to album rock, thus giving Birmingham two stations in the same format. This continued until the next year.
Country Music and Lite AC.
In 1982, the new owners of WRKK changed the station's format to [[country music]]. The on-air name of the station was modified to "K-99 Country". Competing against market leader 104.7 [[WZZK-FM]], the new WRKK was not successful. 
In an attempt to change K-99's fortunes, in 1984, the call letters were changed to WQUS, and the on-air name of the station was changed to "U.S. 99". Neither the new name nor the hiring of the popular Birmingham morning drive team of Tommy Charles and John Ed Willoughby improved the fortunes of the station.
In 1985, U.S. 99 dropped country music and changed its call letters to WLTB, "Lite 99", programming a [[soft adult contemporary]] format. The Lite format was in place for three years. 
Classic Rock.
At 6:00 p.m. on [[Christmas Day]], 1988, the 99.5 frequency became the new home of [[classic rock]] in Birmingham, with the new call letters of WZRR and the new on-air name "Rock 99". The first song was "[[All Right Now]]" by [[Free (band)|Free]]. The station remained with the classic rock format for just over 23 years. In 1995, the station began calling itself "Classic Rock 99.5". In 2002 and 2003, it was known as "99.5 the Buzzard".
In 2003, the name was changed again, this time to "Rock 99.5", using basically the same logo as it did in the late 1980s. In 2010, the name was once again shortened to "Rock 99" and the slogan heard most often on the station was "Alabama's Best Rock".
In April 2010, the station added the locally originated "Mojo Morning Show." The rest of the on-air line-up included Lori Ray, Blazeman and Jason Mack. WZRR had been owned by Citadel Broadcasting. Citadel merged with [[Cumulus Media]] on September 16, 2011.
Switch to Top 40.
On [[New Year's Day]] 2012, at Midnight, Cumulus fired the local on-air staff and flipped WZRR's long-running rock format to [[Top 40 (radio format)|Top 40/CHR]], branded as "99.5 The Vibe." The final song played on "Rock 99" was "[[Girls, Girls, Girls (Mötley Crüe song)|Girls, Girls, Girls]]" by [[Mötley Crüe]], while the first song played as "The Vibe" was "[[Party Rock Anthem]]" by [[LMFAO (group)|LMFAO]]. 
Cumulus already had two similarly-formatted and branded stations in addition to WZRR: in [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]] on [[KCHZ]] ("95.7 The Vibe"), and in [[Toledo, Ohio]] on [[W264AK]] ("100.7 The Vibe"), which has since changed format. The "i" letter in the station's branding is similar to those of Cumulus' "i"-branded stations such as [[KLIF-FM]] ("i93") in [[Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex|Dallas/Fort Worth, TX]].
Nash Icon.
On August 15, 2014, at Midnight, after playing "[[Bang Bang (Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj song)|Bang Bang]]" by [[Jessie J]], WZRR dropped its CHR - Top 40 format. It began [[Stunting (broadcasting)|stunting]] with the songs "[[Sweet Home Alabama]]" by [[Lynyrd Skynyrd]] and "[[All Summer Long (Kid Rock song)|All Summer Long]]" by [[Kid Rock]] on a loop, while running liners advising listeners to tune in at 3 PM that day. At that time, WZRR flipped to 1990s and 2000s country music, being one of the first stations to adopt Cumulus's new "[[Nash FM|Nash]] Icon" branding as "99.5 Nash Icon". The first song on "Nash Icon" was "[[Gone Country (song)|Gone Country]]" by [[Alan Jackson]].
On May 20, 2016, at 5 p.m., WZRR flipped to a hybrid [[Southern rock]]/[[Country music|Country]] format, branded as "99.5 The South". The first song on "The South" was "[[Brothers and Sisters (album)|Southbound]]" by the [[Allman Brothers]]. The playlist included strictly artists from the [[Southern United States]], with a focus on [[classic rock]]/[[adult album alternative|adult alternative]] artists.
Talk Radio Simulcast.
However, "The South" was revealed to be merely a stunt, as just four days later, WZRR began simulcasting the [[talk radio]] format on co-owned 1070 WAPI. WZRR is now branded as the main station, under the moniker "Talk 99.5." 
Along with the simulcast came a revamped lineup. On weekdays, Matt Murphy and Andrea Lindenberg host from 6 - 10am, Woode & Vining (Ericka Woode and Valerie Vining) from 10am - Noon, Richard Dixon from Noon - 3pm, and Leland Whaley from 3 - 7pm. Syndicated hosts [[Mark Levin]], [[Ben Shapiro]], [[Red Eye Radio]], and [[First Light (radio)|First Light]] round out the weekday lineup. WZRR and WAPI joined a crowded talk field in the Birmingham [[media market|radio market]] that already includeed [[WYDE (AM)|WYDE]]/[[WXJC-FM|WYDE-FM]] and [[WERC (AM)|WERC]]/[[WERC-FM]]. WYDE-AM-FM have since switched to a [[Southern Gospel]] and [[Christian talk and teaching]] format.
External links.
[[Category:Radio stations in Birmingham, Alabama|ZRR]]
[[Category:News and talk radio stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Cumulus Media radio stations]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1976]]
[[Category:1976 establishments in Alabama]]