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WGRD-FM (97.9 FM) is an active rock radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The station is owned by Townsquare Media. WGRD-FM is the flagship station of ''The Free Beer and Hot Wings Show'', a comedy/talk program, on weekday mornings. It consists of five members: Greg "Free Beer" Daniels, Chris "Hot Wings" Michels, Eric Zane, Joe "Producer Joe" Gasmann, Jr, and Steve McKiernan. The show is now syndicated in 16 markets throughout the eastern United States.〔(- Affiliate list )〕 WGRD is heard as far South as Kalamazoo/Portage/Battle Creek, as far North as Reed City, Michigan, and as far East as Grand Ledge, Michigan, and occasionally heard as far West as Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ==Top 40 Era== 97.9 FM began as WXTO, a station owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids and operated by Aquinas College; later, the owners of Top 40 music stations WGRD-AM 1410 in Grand Rapids and WTRU-AM 1600 Muskegon (Regional Broadcasters, Inc.) took full control of the station in 1971 and changed its call letters to WGRD-FM. The station's transmitter would remain on the Aquinas College campus until 1974. In 1971, WGRD-AM 1410, a daytime-only station (hence the call letters, which stood for "Grand Rapids Daytime") which had had a Top 40 music format in place since 1959, was struggling in the ratings against pop-rock competitors WLAV-AM 1340 and WZZM-FM 95.7 (then known as "Z96", now WLHT). WGRD thus moved its struggling Top 40 format onto its new FM station as ''"The All New 98 Rock, WGRD FM"'', making the stereo FM station the primary frequency while having the AM continue to simulcast. The newly revamped WGRD quickly became the dominant Top 40 station in the market and continued to be for over two decades. During the mid-1970s, WGRD was frequently the #1 station (12+) in the Grand Rapids market. In the 1979 Fall Arbitron ratings period, WGRD dominated the market with a 19 share. By 1985, the station was known as ''"98Rock, WGRD"''. WGRD earned a 12.2 share (12+) in the Summer 1986 Arbitron ratings with Morning Show host Johnny "Big John" Howell alongside Robert "Radar" Shroll & Jennifer Stephens. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「WGRD-FM」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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