WHOO-FM 96.5 
 Orlando

Original Call Letters: WHOO

Originally Licensed: 1948

Original City of License: Orlando

Original Frequency: 96.5

Origin of Call Letters: 

Original Power: 59,000 Watts

Original Location:

Original Format: Beautiful Music


Network Affiliation(s):


Owner(s):


1948-Orlando Daily Newspaper
1958-Bluegrass Broadcasting
1987-TK Communications ($12 million)
1996-Infinity Broadcasting Corp
1997-Cox Broadcasting


History Of Call Letters and Formats:


WHOO-1952-Beautiful Music (First stereo station in Central Florida)
WHOO-1984-Country "96 Country"
WHTQ-1987-Rock  "Q96"
WHTQ-1993-AOR


History of WHOO FM
Thanks to Chuck Wilson for this history of WHOO-FM. "...WHOO-FM was either the first or second station in Florida to go stereo... and as Steve (Rutledge) said, one of the first in the country. For many years the main purpose of the station was to support the background music service (called) Musaire. I helped Clint Gorey install Musaire receivers in stores on the east coast. The music service was also fully automated ... way ahead of its time. The station was simulcasting for many years ... 60% on one side of the band (commercial format) and 40% on the other (background music subscribers). We had customers all over central Florida. Our competition was WDBO-FM 92.3 who was promoting MUZAK. John (Rutledge) struck a deal with WDBO and we sold them all our customers. This left us with a ready made stereo station!  We went stereo shortly after that. WHOO-FM supposedly broadcast with an effective radiated power of 59,000 watts.  But, the engineer, Charlie Chrisman, tweaked the antenna (the antenna was on top of a 1,000 ft cable supported tower) and we were far above that. I would get letters from listeners in ALABAMA!  How is that for an FM station in Orlando.  Believe it or not, more people listened to WHOO-FM than any station in Central Florida.


Names In WHOO-FM History
Thomas Seaver-1948-Orlando Daily Newspaper

990_WHOO_AM_calendar_1951.jpg (133479 bytes)
1951 Calendar
click for full sized view
courtesy of Steve Kennedy



Garvis Kincaid-1958-President-Bluegrass Broadcasting



Clint Goree-1958-Station Manager-Bluegrass Broadcasting

Terry Wood-1959-1960-moved to WHOO-AM 990 in 1961-Bluegrass Broadcasting



Marty Stebbins-1967-Bluegrass Broadcasting   Biography      In Memory



Bucks Braun-1979-1985-Program Director/Mornings-Bluegrass Broadcasting Biography      In Memory



June Myers-1983-1985-Bluegrass Broadcasting  Biography 
Max Rein-1983-1985-General Manager/Executive Vice President-Bluegrass Broadcasting


Sharon Frawley-1984-1986-Account Executive-Bluegrass Broadcasting

Mike Kinosian-1985-Program Director-Bluegrass Broadcasting



Dave Edwards-1987-7PM-Midnight   Biography 

Steve Kennedy  Biography

Bill Cody



Ruby Love (J.J. McKay)-Overnights   Biography

Anne Jeffries-7PM-Midnight



Rick Saylor-Morning co-host with Dick Sollom

Dick Sollom -Morning co-host with Rick Saylor   In Memory



Bill Michaels-Mid-days

Clayton Delaney-Afternoons                                                                  

Tony George-Afternoons                                                                                    

Jesse Lynne-Mid-days

Mike Goode-Afternoons

Charlie Chrismon-Engineer



Cecil West-Program Director

Dan Jones-Assistant Chief Engineer

Lee Brandel

Linda Harris-7PM-Midnight


WHOO 2nd annual reunion booklet 1984

Courtesy of Dave Edwards
Courtesy of Dave Edwards pictured above

 

      

                                                                 



Thanks to John S. Smith for this old clipping from the Orlando Sentinel dated 2/26/87 regarding the switch from WHOO "96 Country" to WHTQ "Q-96". 

WHOO-FM shifts from country music to rock
Country music station WHOO-FM (96.5) in Orlando played its final hoedown hit Monday and introduced new call letters, WHTQ-FM, at the stroke of midnight. Listeners awoke Tuesday to find the station playing non-stop Beatles tunes, a gimmick often used by radio stations to draw attention to a pending format change. Jim Jordan, general manager of WHTQ and sister station WMMA-AM (990), said the all-Beatles programming will give way to an "adult rock" format within the month. Jordan would not describe the station's new sound further. "This is radio war," he said.

Officials of Bluegrass Broadcasting Co., which owns WHTQ and WMMA, began planning this change in November, said Jordan. But even station employees were taken by surprise by the new sound and call letters Tuesday. WHTQ will feature a new air staff and none of WHOO's country music disc jockeys will be heard on the new format, said Jordan..












                       








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