WYCM (95.7 FM "Y95") is a radio station in Lafayette, Indiana , owned by William Fielder, III's Coastal Television, through licensee CTI License LLC, as part of a cluster with Fox / NBC affiliate WPBI-LD , ABC affiliate WPBY-LD , and sister radio stations WBPE , WSHY and WAZY-FM . The studios are located at 3824 South 18th Street in Lafayette with the tower facility located in rural eastern Warren County, IN near Greenhill, Indiana .
45-495: WYCM signed on in late 1988 as WBQR. At the time, the station broadcast from Attica featuring an eclectic mix of folk, progressive rock, and Celtic sounds. In 1994, the station was sold to Artistic Media Partners , which moved the station to the Lafayette market. Upon acquisition, WBQR flipped format to New Country as “Big Dog 95-7.” Calls were also changed to WGBD, reflecting the station name. The station went head-to-head against
90-491: A major label after 1964." Classic rock has also been associated with the album era (1960s–2000s), by writers Bob Lefsetz and Matthew Restall , who says the term is a relabeling of the "virtuoso pop/rock" from the era's early decades. The format's origins are traced by music scholar Jon Stratton to the emergence of a classic-rock canon. This canon arose in part from music journalism and superlative lists ranking certain albums and songs that are consequently reinforced to
135-577: A post-baby boomer economy. The music selected for the format has been identified as predominantly commercially successful songs by white male acts from the Anglosphere , expressing values of Romanticism , self-aggrandizement, and politically undemanding ideologies. It has been associated with the album era (1960s–2000s), particularly the period's early pop/rock music. The classic rock format evolved from AOR radio stations that were attempting to appeal to an older audience by including familiar songs of
180-555: A splashface logo with a section thanking the listeners and having a section asking what the listeners should name the station, possibly meaning the "Your Country" branding is only temporary. However, another website linked to it possibly reveals the new branding as 95.7 The Bull , joining other nationwide country stations with the branding. On February 28, 2014, WSHP changed callsigns to WYCM. Artistic Media Partners sold its Lafayette stations to Star City Broadcasting, owner of WPBI-LD (channel 16), in 2016. The transfer to Lafayette TV, LLC
225-432: A timeless music lent it a distinction from the "inherently nihilistic" pop he had first listened to on the radio as a teenager in the early 1990s. "[I]t seemed to have been around forever," he writes of the classic rock format. "It was there long before I was born, and I was sure it was still going to be around after I was gone." Politically, the mindset underlying classic rock is regarded by Christgau as regressive. He says
270-466: Is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid-1990s, primarily focusing on commercially successful blues rock and hard rock popularized in the 1970s AOR format. The radio format became increasingly popular with the baby boomer demographic by
315-456: Is generally cited as the year of its birth". By 1986, the success of the format resulted in oldies accounting for 60–80% of the music played on album rock stations. Although it began as a niche format spun off from AOR, by 2001, classic rock had surpassed album rock in market share nationally. During the mid-1980s, the classic rock format was mainly tailored to the adult male demographic ages 25–34, which remained its largest demographic through
360-525: The '70s," he writes in 1991 for Details magazine. "It was invented by prepunk/predisco radio programmers who knew that before they could totally commodify '60s culture they'd have to rework it—that is, selectively distort it till it threatened no one ... In the official rock pantheon the Doors and Led Zeppelin are Great Artists while Chuck Berry and Little Richard are Primitive Forefathers and James Brown and Sly Stone are Something Else." Regarding
405-617: The Doors , Kiss , Yes , Styx , Queen , Led Zeppelin , and Jimi Hendrix . The songs of the Rolling Stones , particularly from the 1970s, have become staples of classic rock radio. " (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction " (1965), " Under My Thumb " (1966), " Paint It Black " (1966), and " Miss You " (1978) are among their most popular selections, with Complex calling the latter "an eternal mainstay on classic-rock radio". A 2006 Rolling Stone article noted that teens were surprisingly interested in classic rock and speculated that
450-493: The Fish” and “Loveline.” The station also aired the entire radio broadcast of “Woodstock ’99.” In 2000, while the station was broadcasting an Alternative rock format, The Rocket was credited by Arbitron and Radio and Records magazine as the highest-rated alternative rock station in the country. In March and April 2001, The Rocket's parent company, Artistic Media Partners , made the decision to realign some of their stations in
495-535: The Greater Lafayette area. Sister-station WAZY returned to its Top 40 roots on March 16 after seven years away from the format. As a result of WAZY's flip, management cited The Rocket as a direct competitor with their newly launched Top 40 format, and The Rocket's format needed to be changed. Many radio professionals at the time did not quite understand this logic and argued that the stations could have coexisted with one another and given AMP ownership over
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#1732794569045540-660: The Steve Miller Band , Simon & Garfunkel , Nirvana , Dire Straits , Electric Light Orchestra , Genesis , Aerosmith , AC/DC , Alice Cooper , Deep Purple , Quiet Riot , Bruce Springsteen , John Mellencamp , Def Leppard , Boston , the Cars , Pearl Jam , the Grateful Dead , Fleetwood Mac , Billy Joel , Elton John , Bryan Adams , Eric Clapton , The Who , Van Halen , Rush , Black Sabbath , U2 , Guns N' Roses , Lynyrd Skynyrd , Eagles , ZZ Top ,
585-528: The area's younger listeners. Top 40 appeals primarily to young females while alternative rock appeals primarily to males 18-34. On March 30, The Rocket began stunting with R.E.M. 's “ It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) .” On April 2 at 10a.m., the station relaunched with Classic rock . The Rocket name stayed intact, but the station earned the better-suited calls of WSHP. The first songs played on
630-498: The benefit in the FM station appealing to younger rock fans and the AM station appealing a bit older. The ratings of both stations could be added together to appeal to advertisers. Classic rock soon became the widely used descriptor for the format and became the commonly used term among the general public for early album rock music. In the mid-1980s, the format's widespread proliferation came on
675-469: The collective and public memory. Robert Christgau says the classic-rock concept transmogrified rock music into a "myth of rock as art-that-stands-the-test-of-time". He also believes it was inevitable that certain rock artists would be canonized by critics, major media, and music establishment entities such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . In 2018, Steven Hyden recalls how the appearance of classic rock as
720-426: The company during this time. When radio station sales became hot again in 2007, Artistic Media Partners sold WBTU-FM along with WSHY-FM to Oasis Radio who still owns both Fort Wayne stations to this day. In October 2016, Artistic Media Partners sells WBPE along with WYCM, WAZY and WSHY to Bill Christian and Mike Reed as part of planned to launch TV station WPBI-LD in Lafayette. Classic rock Classic rock
765-927: The company name in Lafayette and its new market of Bloomington Indiana where they purchased WGCT-FM and WBWB-FM from Oasis Radio while the rest of the company was renamed under the Artistic Media Partners banner. In 1995, the entire company became Artistic Media and the sale of Columbus, Indiana and New Castle, Indiana stations took place. In 1996 Artistic Media Partners purchased a radio station in Attica Indiana moving it to nearby Lafayette and in 1998 purchased WNDU-AM-FM from Notre Dame and WEZV from Bomar Broadcasting to give them additional properties in South Bend and Lafayette Indiana, respectively. In 2002 Artistic Media Partners purchased radio stations in South Bend and Fort Wayne and continued to grow
810-548: The country. As an alternative rock station, The Rocket embraced the fact that they were broadcasting to a college town by escaping from the norm of many other alternative rock stations throughout the country. WGBD played all of the alternative rock core artists heard everywhere else such as The Foo Fighters , Metallica , Nirvana , Green Day , 311 , The Dave Matthews Band , etc., but also played artists heard largely on Indie rock stations such as Liz Phair , The Rentals , The Dandy Warhols , Ween , and King Missile . This made
855-505: The creative unit, with the charismatic lead singer playing a key role, and the guitar as the primary instrument. This was a version of classic Romanticism , an ideology with its origins in art and aesthetics. — Roy Shuker (2016) Classic-rock radio programmers largely play "tried and proven" hit songs from the past based on their "high listener recognition and identification", says media academic Roy Shuker, who also identifies white male rock acts from Sgt. Pepper -era Beatles through
900-696: The end of the 1990s. Although classic rock has mostly appealed to adult listeners, music associated with this format received more exposure with younger listeners with the presence of the Internet and digital downloading. Some classic rock stations also play a limited number of current releases which are stylistically consistent with the station's sound, or by heritage acts which are still active and producing new music. Among academics and historians, classic rock has been discussed as an effort by critics, media, and music establishments to canonize rock music and commodify 1960s Western culture for audiences living in
945-812: The format to Contemporary Country and is now competing poorly against WKOA/105.3 (Lafayette, WCDQ/106.3 (Crawfordsville) and WWKI/100.5 (Kokomo) for listeners. Local Classic Rock fans were left with no radio station in the DMA. Former listeners have turned to local Hard Rock/Metal station WKHY (Lafayette), WFBQ (Indianapolis) or WIM (Crawfordsville). WYCM is the flagship station for Purdue Men's Basketball . [REDACTED] 40°23′02″N 87°07′55″W / 40.384°N 87.132°W / 40.384; -87.132 Artistic Media Partners Artistic Media Partners (formerly University Broadcasting Company ) owns three radio stations in three markets in Indiana . It
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#1732794569045990-452: The games. 95.3's signal was more dominant through the stadium section of the Purdue campus. Women's games formerly heard on 95.3 moved with The Wolf to 95.7. The move turned out to be very successful for The Rocket. According to the fall 2004 Arbitron ratings, WSHP became the number 2 radio station 12+ in the market. However, this move was short-lived. In August 2005, just 17 months after
1035-532: The heels of Jacobs Media's (Fred Jacobs) success at WCXR , in Washington, D.C. , and Edinborough Rand's (Gary Guthrie) success at WZLX in Boston . Between Guthrie and Jacobs, they converted more than 40 major market radio stations to their individual brand of classic rock over the next several years. Billboard magazine's Kim Freeman posits that "while classic rock's origins can be traced back earlier, 1986
1080-553: The home of Purdue Women's Basketball, WAZY is the home of Purdue Football, and WSHP is the home of Purdue Men's Basketball. In 2007, Steve Clark stepped down from his role to become the programming consultant. Rob Creighton took over Steve's responsibilities as program director. Rob Creighton was fired by Artistic Media as yet another move to cut operational costs at the end of December 2010. On October 5, 2013, WSHP changed formats to country, branded as "Your Country 95.7"., and abandoned fans of classic rock. The station's website features
1125-404: The interest in the older bands might be related to the absence of any new, dominant sounds in rock music since the advent of grunge . Ideologically, 'classic rock' serves to confirm the dominant status of a particular period of music history – the emergence of rock in the mid-1960s – with its associated values and set of practices: live performance, self-expression, and authenticity; the group as
1170-426: The last time on October 20, 2010 (and still airs in the Lafayette area from its home studios at WFBQ, 94.7, Indianapolis ). General manager Ernie Caldemone, as quoted in an October 28, 2010 Lafayette Journal and Courier article, said, "Every three to five years a contract (renewal) comes up and we just decided this was not a time to be broadcasting Bob and Tom. There are people who are upset. But after we share with them
1215-557: The late 1970s as the focus of their playlists. As Catherine Strong observes, classic rock songs are generally performed by white male acts from either the United States or the United Kingdom, "have a four-four time , very rarely exceed the time limit of four minutes, were composed by the musicians themselves, are sung in English, played by a 'classical' rock formation (drums, bass, guitar, keyboard instruments) and were released on
1260-411: The market's long-established country leader, K105 . K105's loyal listeners, however, did not embrace the new country station. After two years, the format was dropped. In 1996, Big Dog 95 began stunting with Led Zeppelin 's " Stairway to Heaven " and Elton John ’s “ Rocket Man .” A few days later, the station was relaunched as “Modern Rock 95-7, The Rocket,” featuring an Alternative rock format with
1305-414: The mid-1990s. As the format's audience aged, its demographics skewed toward older age groups. By 2006, the 35–44 age group was the format's largest audience; by 2014, the 45–54 year-old demographic was the largest. Typically, classic rock stations play rock songs from the mid-1960s through the 1980s and began adding 1990s music in the early 2010s. Most recently, there has been a "newer classic rock" under
1350-469: The music in this format abandoned ironic sensibilities in favor of unintellectual, conventional aesthetics rooted in Victorian era Romanticism , while downplaying the more radical aspects of 1960s counterculture , such as politics, race, African-American music , and pop in the art sense . "Though classic rock draws its inspiration and most of its heroes from the '60s, it is, of course, a construction of
1395-595: The new classic rock version of The Rocket were Queen's “ We Will Rock You ” and “ We are the Champions .” Longtime program director Steve Clark also stayed through the change and former part-timer Dan Somers returned after stints in Indianapolis and Anderson/Muncie to host the afternoon show known as "The Dan Somers Experience", a take off on Poison guitarist C.C. Deville's solo band, "The C.C. Deville Experience", not an ode to Jimi Hendrix, as some thought. Dan Somers
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1440-502: The newly syndicated, and locally popular, Bob & Tom Show anchoring mornings. Until The Rocket began broadcasting the show, Lafayette area listeners had to tune to Indianapolis’ Q95, WFBQ , to listen to the show, which accounted for the station's unusually high ratings in the Lafayette market. The Rocket quickly became a very widely listened-to radio station throughout the Greater Lafayette area winning in many younger demographics throughout its run, according to Arbitron. The success of
1485-561: The past with current hits. In 1980, AOR radio station M105 in Cleveland began billing itself as "Cleveland's Classic Rock", playing a mix of rock music from the mid-1960s to the present. Similarly, WMET called itself "Chicago's Classic Rock" in 1981. In 1982, radio consultant Lee Abrams developed the "Timeless Rock" format, which combined contemporary AOR with rock hits from the 1960s and 1970s. KRBE , an AM station in Houston ,
1530-561: The reasoning for it, they understand. It's strictly a business decision." From Monday, November 1, 2010 through Saturday, December 25, 2010, WSHP switched from classic rock to an all Christmas music format, according to the Lafayette Journal and Courier. North Pole Radio programming aired around the clock until midnight on Sunday, December 26, 2010 when WSHP returned as 95-7 The Rocket, only this time with an Active Rock format. The new format would be short-lived. In mid-January 2011,
1575-580: The relationship of economics to the rise of classic rock, Christgau believes there was compromised socioeconomic security and diminishing collective consciousness of a new generation of listeners in the 1970s, who succeeded rock's early years during baby-boomer economic prosperity in the United States: "Not for nothing did classic rock crown the Doors' mystagogic middlebrow escapism and Led Zep's chest-thumping megalomaniac grandeur. Rhetorical self-aggrandizement that made no demands on everyday life
1620-782: The slogan of the next generation of classic rock. Stations such as WLLZ in Detroit, WBOS in Boston, and WKQQ in Lexington play music focusing more on harder edge classic rock from the 1980s to the 2000s. Many of the artists that are featured heavily on classic rock radio are the Beatles , Blue Öyster Cult , Bob Seger , Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young , Creedence Clearwater Revival , David Bowie , The Doobie Brothers , Foreigner , Heart , Judas Priest , Mötley Crüe , The Police , Pink Floyd , Player , Steely Dan , Supertramp ,
1665-410: The station can be credited to two things. One, modern rock nationwide reached its peak in popularity during the period when The Rocket was an alternative rock station. Two, the Lafayette market did not have a Top 40 station in the market at the time. The Rocket, in other words, became the market default for hit music. In 2000, Radio and Records reported WGBD as the highest-rated alternative rock station in
1710-529: The station quietly returned to the classic rock format that the station previously carried only without Bob and Tom. North Pole Radio returned to the frequency on November 18, 2011. According to an article in the Lafayette Journal & Courier newspaper, the Christmas format will run through December 31. The station returned to its previous classic rock format after the holidays. In 2014 Artistic Media Partners gave up trying to do something original and changed
1755-431: The station unique and very popular amongst the area's true alternative and mainstream alternative fans alike. During much of its existence, WSHP programming was largely automated. Steve Clark, program director, served as the afternoon disk jockey; evening, overnight, and weekend talent occasionally filled the remaining air shifts. Syndicated programming consisted of the weekend modern rock countdown show “Out of Order with Jed
1800-497: The stations traded dial positions, they moved back to their original homes. The Rocket moved back to 95.7 and lost its Purdue flagship station status. Starting in the 2007-2008 season, Purdue sports have been divided amongst the Artistic Media Partners Lafayette stations, a move that has made it difficult for Purdue sports fans to find their team's broadcasts. WBPE (formerly WLFF) & 1410 WSHY remains
1845-465: Was an early classic rock radio station. In 1983, program director Paul Christy designed a format which played only early album rock, from the 1960s and early 1970s, without current music or any titles from the pop or dance side of Top 40. Another AM station airing classic rock, beginning in 1983, was KRQX in Dallas - Fort Worth . KRQX was co-owned with an album rock station, 97.9 KZEW . Management saw
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1890-422: Was chosen to be the Purdue flagship station. As a result, Artistic Media Partners decided to swap WSHP's signal with co-owned country station WLFF in order to gain rights for being the flagship station for Purdue Men's Basketball and Football . WSHP moved to 95.3 while WLFF moved to 95.7. It was cited in the Lafayette Journal and Courier that the frequency switch to 95.3 was necessary in order for The Rocket to carry
1935-492: Was completed on January 3, 2017. On March 26, 2018, the station tweaked its branding, repositioning as "Y95" while retaining the country format. While broadcasting under the slogan "Lafayette's Classic Rock," WSHP's playlist was composed primarily of 70s and 80s songs, although select rock hits from the 60s and 90s were also included. With the exception of Rob Creighton's shift, most WSHP programming aired without disk jockeys. The syndicated Bob & Tom Show aired on WSHP for
1980-614: Was formed on June 23, 1987. Founded in 1986 as Broadcast Management Inc. the company owned radio station WXCX-AM-FM in Columbus, Indiana along with WMDH-AM-FM in New Castle, Indiana. For a very short time in the 1990s the company also owned WWKI-FM in Kokomo which sold the group to Wilks Broadcasting. The company changed names in 1987 as University Broadcasting Company when purchasing WAZY-AM-FM. In 1993 University Broadcasting retained
2025-478: Was let go due to budget cuts in February 2003 and now hosts the mid-days at crosstown rival WASK-FM. In 2004, Artistic Media Partners adopted a new initiative to move all their sports programming to better fitting formats within their Lafayette, Bloomington, and South Bend properties. This would take most sports off their female-targeted Top 40 stations and move them to their primarily male-targeted properties. WSHP
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