The station signed on the air on April 25, 1956, as WPVL (Where People Value Listening), a daytime only station. Somerset Broadcasting, Inc. was the owner under President/General Manager & Chief Engineer, Carl R. Lee. The station was originally located 102 S. Park Place in downtown Painesville, just a few steps from Carlisle-Allen Department Store and the Parmly Hotel. The original staff featured Elwood Thompson, who moved from WVSC, Somerset, Pennsylvania to be WPVL's first Program Director, James Ahlstrom was News and Sports Director and Tom Christen acted as the station's Farm Director. A couple of years later, the Sales Manager was Don Atkin, on-air personalities were, Jim Stephenson, Promotion Manager and on-air talent, Dick Gascoigne, and Bill Starkey, Sports Director.
In 1959, WPVL, Inc. built new studios in a new building at 713 Fobes Street which later was rechristened One Radio Place. The station is still located at this address. Carl R. Lee also was involved in the ownership and building of another AM daytime station, WDLR (1550 AM) in Delaware, Ohio.
It became WQLS on January 15, 1984. WQLS was acquired by Dale Broadcasting, then the owner of WBKC (1560 AM) in Chardon. It was purchased in late November 1985 for $750,000.[2] WQLS's call letters were changed to WBKC on March 3, 1986. WBKC later had a full service, adult contemporary format, mixing music, news and sports.
In 2001, WBKC became a simulcast of classical station WCLV 104.9 FM in Cleveland. WBKC's simulcast was meant to help overcome some of WCLV's signal problems in the eastern portion of the Cleveland radio market, after that station's move to a weaker signal licensed to Lorain, west of Cleveland. WBKC was the Lake County affiliate for the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Browns and Ohio State Buckeyes.
The station was sold to Dale Edwards, owner and operator of WABQ in Cleveland, in 2004. With the sale, Edwards operated WBKC under the "Radio Advantage One, LLC" banner, but maintained the simulcast of WCLV programming. In October 2006, Edwards sold WABQ's 1540 AM facility to Good Karma Broadcasting. Good Karma used 1540 to launch a sports radio station, WWGK.
With the sale of 1540 AM, WBKC 1460 dropped the classical WCLV simulcast. It switched to an urban gospel format that was previously on 1540. The station also discontinued coverage of Cleveland sports teams, choosing to focus all of its schedule (save mornings) on urban gospel music and Christian talk and teaching programs. They were aimed at the east side of Cleveland where many of the city's African-American population resided. WBKC swapped call signs with WABQ on October 24, 2006, and the WBKC call letters were then retired on November 7. The WABQ call sign was previously on 1540 AM when it was co-owned with 1460 AM.
On July 26, 2011, Cleveland Scene reported that WABQ would flip to a progressive talk format on August 1, 2011. The change came about due to a lease management agreement with veteran radio station executive Gary Richards, who at the time operated like-formatted station WVKO (1580 AM) in Columbus. The actual flip occurred on August 4, 2011.[3]
Later, the lease agreement of WABQ by Gary Richards ended, and the station reverted to urban gospel music programming. WABQ remains an affiliate of the Cleveland Cavaliers Radio Network.[4]
