WBMX

'WBMX', known on-air as "'Mix 98.5'," is a radio station with a hot adult contemporary format in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 98.5 FM, the station adopted its current format in 1991
The call letters 'WBMX' (standing for 'B'lack 'M'usic E'X'perience), were originally assigned to 102.7 on the FM dial in Oak Park/Chicago Illinois from 1973 to 1988. (That station frequency is now home to R&B station WVAZ). In 1991, they were assigned to 98.5 on the FM dial in the Boston area.

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History

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History

WBMX began its life in 1947 as the FM sister station to WNAC radio. Throughout its early life, WNAC-FM was merely a simulcast of its sister AM station. When John Shepard sold the WNAC and WNAC FM to RKO General in the early 1950's, they also owned Channel 7 WNAC TV.
WNAC-FM became WRKO-FM in the early 60's though no call change on the AM happened just yet. Thus, even though WRKO-FM continued to simulcast WNAC until 1963. In 1963, WRKO-FM did embark on some separate programming.
On October 12 1966, a new, all-automated top-40 format was introduced on WRKO-FM. Playing the top hits of the day (including the number-one song in Boston every hour on the hour) and using recorded announcing altered to sound like a robot (since the station was positioned as "R-KO [pronounced "arko"], The Shy But Friendly Robot") between 9 a.m. and 12 midnight (WRKO-FM still simulcast WNAC during the early morning hours), WRKO-FM quickly became the most popular FM radio station in the Boston area.
On the AM side, WNAC became top-40 formatted WRKO in March of 1967. When that happened, the live programming of WRKO-AM was simulcast on WRKO-FM between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. every day, with the automated "R-KO" format on the FM broadcast from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m..
On January 1 1969, the stations broke away permanently, and WRKO-FM became “Stereo 98.5, WROR” with Bill Drake's all-automated “Hit Parade '69” format (what today we would call a “gold-based” contemporary format, with lots of rock&roll oldies mixed in with the currents).
By 1973, WROR evolved to more of an oldies format