page_title: WLS-FM
section_title: Oldies years
hierarchical_section_title: WLS-FM / History / Oldies years
caption_attribution_description: English: Former logo of the radio station 94.7 WLS-FM from 2008 to 2012 under the (2005&#8211;2012) "Chicago's True Oldies" branding.
context_page_description: WLS-FM – branded 94-7 WLS-FM – is a commercial FM classic hits radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois. Owned by Cumulus Media, the station serves the Chicago metropolitan area, and is the radio home of Dave Fogel. The WLS-FM studios are located at the NBC Tower in the city's Streeterville neighborhood, while the transmitter resides atop the Willis Tower. Besides a standard analog transmission, WLS broadcasts over two HD Radio channels, and is available online.
context_section_description: After long-time oldies station WJMK dropped its 1960s'/'70s' oldies format in June 2005 for a variety hits format branded as "Jack FM", at Noon on September 26, 2005, WZZN dropped its active rock format (and finally ditched the "Zone" branding) and flipped to oldies as "94.7 True Oldies", with programming from Scott Shannon's The True Oldies Channel except for morning and afternoon drive times, when the station aired local programming. The final song on "The Zone" was "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Metallica, while the first song on "True Oldies" was "Rock 'n' Roll Music" by The Beatles. This change made WZZN the only oldies station on the FM dial in Chicago. The air talent "The Zone" let go in this transition included WRCX alums Freak and Sludge, and WLUP-FM alums James Van Osdol, Mark Zander, and Jimmy Novak.
  In 2006, the station added some local air personalities who were previously at WJMK when it was an oldies station. Eventually, the station was live and local (which included hosts such as John Landecker, Dick Biondi, and Greg Brown) except for overnights, when they would continue to run True Oldies Channel programming. In 2007, Walt Disney Company sold its ABC Radio radio division, including WLS (AM) and WZZN, to Citadel Broadcasting. From 2007 to 2008, the oldies format was modified to include a small amount of 1980s' hits and a focus on oldies from 1964 to 1979. The station continued to play a couple pre-1964 oldies per hour.
  On June 19, 2008, Citadel announced that WZZN would become once again WLS-FM. The WZZN call sign was dropped at Midnight on June 25, 2008, and as of 12:01 AM on June 26, 2008, the station has officially been known as WLS-FM. The idea was to bring back the heritage of WLS and its old Top 40 format and jingles. The station was then branded as "94.7 WLS-FM" with the slogan "Chicago's Greatest Hits Of All Time." Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.
caption: Former logo used between June 26, 2008 and October 1, 2012
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