WALR-FM
| Company type | Commercial radio station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Founded | September 1, 1947 |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia , United States |
Area served | Atlanta metropolitan area |
| Products | Urban adult contemporary music radio programming |
| Owner | Cox Media Group |
WALR-FM (104.1 MHz, branded as Kiss 104.1) is a commercial broadcaster licensed to Palmetto, Georgia, serving listeners throughout the Atlanta metropolitan area. Owned by Cox Media Group, the station delivers an urban adult contemporary music format. Its studios are co-located with other Cox-owned stations and WSB-TV in Midtown Atlanta on West Peachtree Street.
Operating as a Class C1 facility, WALR-FM transmits with an effective radiated power of 100,000 watts. The transmitter site is situated along Duncan Memorial Highway (Route 166) in Winston, Georgia. WALR-FM utilizes the HD Radio hybrid technology; its HD2 subchannel, which previously featured a dance music format named "The Surge," has since been discontinued.
Programming
The morning drive time is hosted by seasoned Atlanta radio personality Frank Rodriguez (Frank Ski). Dyron Ducati takes over during midday hours, followed by British rapper Monie Love in the afternoon slot. Evening programming includes a "Slow Jamz" segment running until midnight. On Sundays, an urban gospel show is presented by ordained minister Twanda Black. Since 2018, Terri Avery has held the position of Program Director.
Early years
The station originally launched on September 1, 1947, as WLAG-FM in LaGrange, Georgia, near the Alabama state line. It served as the FM partner to WLAG 1240 AM, both stations broadcasting a country music format. At inception, WLAG-FM operated at 29,500 watts with limited coverage beyond LaGrange. The call letters were changed to WWCG in 1977 while maintaining its country programming.
During the early 1980s, the station increased its power to 100,000 watts and erected a transmission tower taller than the Empire State Building, thereby extending its reach into the Atlanta radio market. It adopted Al Ham's syndicated "Music Of Your Life" adult standards format under the call signs WJYF and WJYA-FM, simulcasting alongside WJYA 1080 AM.
In 1985, Zapis Communications, led by Lee Zapis, acquired the station and shifted its format to urban contemporary as WEKS "Urban Kiss 104" in 1987. Two years later, Zapis sold it to NewCity Communications. NewCity sought to establish a combined operation covering Atlanta by pairing two FM outlets. WEKS went off-air on June 21 before returning on June 28 with stunting that featured appearances from local figures including then-Mayor Andrew Young. At 3 p.m. on June 30, WEKS transitioned back to country music as WYAI "Y104," simulcasting with WYAY FM (Y106.7) on Atlanta's opposite side in an effort to compete with leading country station WKHX.
On January 1, 1994, the simulcast arrangement ended; 104.1 MHz switched to smooth jazz under the branding "Jazz Flavors 104.1" and adopted the call letters WJZF. Cox Enterprises—owner of prominent Atlanta media outlets such as WSB AM/FM and WSB-TV—entered into a local marketing agreement (LMA) with WJZF and attempted to acquire it in 1995. However, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rejected this purchase following objections from Jacor Broadcasting despite Cox’s intentions to alter the signal to avoid cross-ownership issues.
WALR "Kiss 104"
The current station at 104.1 MHz originated in 1964 in Athens, Georgia as WDOL-FM at 104.7 MHz and initially simulcasted its AM counterpart at 1370 WDOL. It later began offering distinct programming first branded as "Love 104," then evolving into "Kiss 104.7", an urban contemporary outlet targeting Atlanta’s eastern suburbs from its Athens-based transmitter.
On August 30, 2000, Cox Media Group and Salem Communications executed a frequency swap: "Kiss 104.7" moved to 104.1 MHz—the frequency formerly occupied by a Christian Contemporary music station known as "The Fish." The previous WALR-FM at 104.7 was rebranded as "104.7 the Fish" WFSH-FM, while 104.1 adopted a Hot Urban AC format under the name "Kiss 104.1," retaining the WALR-FM call sign. The smooth jazz format migrated to WJZZ (now WAMJ) in the subsequent year. Shortly afterward, the AM simulcast on what is now WIFN ceased operations but kept using the WALR call letters for some time. Within Atlanta, Cox retained rights to the "Kiss FM" identity, thereby avoiding legal disputes from Clear Channel Communications (later iHeart), which holds national trademarks for Top 40 stations under that brand name.
Transition to Urban Oldies
On February 21, 2003, WALR-FM adopted an Urban Oldies format while retaining the "Kiss" brand to distinguish itself from its sister station WFOX (97.1 FM), which was experimenting with a blend of R&B, hip hop, and rap music spanning from the 1980s onward. Concurrently, WALR-FM modified its slogan from Atlanta's R&B Station to Atlanta's Old School R&B Station.
Towards the end of 2004, WALR enhanced its signal by relocating to a new tower nearer to Atlanta and began transmitting in IBOC digital radio using the HD Radio technology developed by iBiquity.
WALR-FM emerged as Cox Radio’s final Atlanta outlet aimed at the African-American audience. On August 16, 2010, co-owned WBTS transitioned from a rhythmic contemporary format to WSBB-FM, simulcasting news-talk content from WSB. Meanwhile, WFOX, also under Cox ownership, had shifted away from urban contemporary as "97.1 Jamz" in 2006, switching to classic hits and rock under the call sign WSRV "The River."
Reversion to Urban AC
In June 2011, WALR-FM reverted back to urban adult contemporary, incorporating more current R&B tracks while reducing older selections after eight years focused on classic and gold-based R&B and soul. This adjustment enabled WALR-FM to expand its listener base in competition with CBS-owned WVEE and rivals WAMJ/WUMJ. The station’s branding evolved from Atlanta's Old School R&B Station to simply Atlanta's R&B, shortening its identity to Kiss 104. Weekend mix shows were discontinued as nighttime slow jams were extended. By February 2012, the station was no longer featured on the Mediabase urban AC add board.
In 2017, WALR-FM changed its city of license from LaGrange to Palmetto, Georgia, a suburb approximately 15 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta. The station had served as Atlanta’s affiliate for "The Tom Joyner Morning Show" and broadcast the syndicated "Michael Baisden Show" during afternoon hours. On November 27, 2017, the morning drive program was replaced by Art Terrell alongside comedian Roy Wood Jr.; Wood subsequently departed to concentrate on television projects and was succeeded by Cory "Zooman" Miller. Baisden’s show was followed by Sasha the Diva in afternoons, who was later replaced by British rapper Monie Love.