WIFI - 92.5 FM Philadelphia. According to the Radio-TV Almanac/Yearbook from 1950, the 92.5 frequency was originally assigned to KYW. Yes, it was supposed to be KYW-FM. However, about 1952, it signed off the air and the license was returned. Mel Golup put WIFI on the air in September 1958, featuring an MOR/talk format. In the 1960's, WIFI ran some local suburban programming, including Norristown High School football and basketball play-by-play on Friday nights. The station experimented with early progressive rock programs after the games. Johnny Devereaux and RJ Ron Joseph were two well known DJ'S who were on the station during the years of 1966, 1967, & 1968. Johnny Devereaux was on from 6pm to 10pm weekdays, and Craig Baker was his engineer. Ron Joseph was on the air from 10pm to 2am weekdays. "Giant Gene" Arnold who substituted for Ron Joseph and was also one of the popular jocks at this time. Rick McClain was RJ's engineer on WIFI. RJ Ron Joseph had his own remote live broadcast from the Groove Night club at Broad and Locust Sts., at that time. The Buzz Allen Big Band Show was also on WIFI. RJ brought in Genardi Supermarkets as his sponsor to his radio show on there. T. Morgan was also with the station. In the mid to late 1960's, Ron Diamond hosted a popular evening Doo-Wop show. In 1970, the station dropped local programs for a full-time syndicated, jockless MOR format, "Hit Parade '70" and "Hit Parade '71". In the early 1970's, the station started the area's first high-energy Top 40 format as "WIFI 92, Stereo Rock." Don Cannon (from WIBG, WFIL and WOGL) hosted mornings for a time. Some other popular DJ's at the time, as part of the "WIFI Crew" were "Machine Gun" Kelly and "Wild Child" Kane. By the early 1980's, with Top 40 competition from WCAU, WIFI evolved into an adult contemporary format. Geoff Fox (formerly of WPEN) hosted mornings. In 1982, consultant Rick Carroll from Los Angeles was hired, and he switched WIFI to a new Modern Rock format, "I-92 - The Rock Of The 80's", playing music popular on the then-new MTV channel. Jocks included "Bill E." (Mike Brophey), "Moe Hawk" (Andre Gardner), Mel "Toxic" Taylor, and Lee Paris. In 1983, the station was sold to Beasley Broadcasting, who brought in new program director, Doug Weldon, and changed the call letters to WXTU (a variation of New York's popular WKTU) and started up a short-lived urban format as "92X". Besides Weldon, the jocks were popular WDAS jock Dr. Perri Johnson, Steve Brown, Mike Brophey, Steve Ross and Glen Holtzer. The station failed to compete with WDAS and WUSL, and concluded the format with a "Sadie Hawkins Day" live dance party on February 29, 1984. On March 1, 1984 at 1pm, the station switched to country, after a 6 month absence of the format in Philadelphia (abandoned by WFIL the past September). The first song played was "Are You Ready For The Country" by Waylon Jennings. The format was initally 3-in-a-row "Continuous Country", but soon became personality-oriented "Country 92" under new morning host and program director Larry Coates. Local veteran country jock Leigh Richards (from WRCP, WFIL and WTTM) took over evenings. The station enrolled listeners in a "Country Club" to reward them with prizes and special offers. A succession of morning hosts included Bob Burshay, Judy Michaels, Gina Preston, Jeff Collins, Jack Wilensky, Ruth Weisberg, John Lodge, Steve Harmon, Scott Evans and Andie Sommers. Mike Brophey, a WIFI survivor, hosted afternoons for many years. The station experimented with Sunday morning shows: bluegrass, hosted by Gene Shay, and country classics, hosted by Bill Quinn. They started their own country music nightclub, "Club 92.5" in King Of Prussia. The station eventually changed their identity to "Today's Country 92.5 WXTU", then to the current "92.5XTU". In March 2002, Pam Merly (formerly of WYSP and WMMR, and a WXTU weekend jock in the 1990's) returned to host "CrossTrax", a weekday evening show mixing country, alt-country, and country-rock songs. The WIFI call letters are now on 1460 AM in Florence NJ. RJ Ron Joseph now has a disco radio show on WVLT 92.1 in Vineland, N.J. on Friday nights from 7pm to 9pm. (Thanks to Alan Constantine, Gene Arnold and John Hendricks for some of this information also Thanks to Pirate Jim for posting some info for me to "borrow" you can visit his great site at Pirate Jim.com. )

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