WMMR - A Breakthrough Station

A Breakthrough Station

Throughout its existence, WMMR has broadcast live rock music shows and interviewed leading rock music stars. In addition to the role it played in expanding the mainstream audience of Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Yes, the station has helped elevate many other leading rock bands. It was one of the first East Coast stations to play acts such as Grateful Dead, U2, and Van Halen. The station also has featured local, Philadelphia-area rock music acts, such as The Hooters and George Thorogood, helping promote them to national status within the music industry. The station also has heavily promoted the grunge rock band Pearl Jam; at 10pm every night during the week it played a set of Pearl Jam songs in what the station called "The Ten Club." While Pearl Jam is known as a Seattle band, WMMR was one of the stations that gave it broad, East Coast exposure and played a role in the band's breakthrough popularity. It was a very popular WMMR segment among listeners.

The station also is closely associated with the band The Grateful Dead. Routinely, before playing a Grateful Dead song, WMMR disc jockeys will say "God Bless the Grateful Dead," a station saying that has endured over two decades. Most major rock bands and musicians have recorded tag lines for the station, including Mick Jagger and others. Springsteen once recorded a version of his song "Growin' Up", intermixing the lyrics "Growin' up in Philadelphia," and referencing WMMR in the song.

As with most rock radio stations, over time, WMMR morphed into an album-oriented rock format, and in the early 1990s leaned towards classic rock. WMMR's current format is simply called Rock, which is a blend of energetic classic rock and up-tempo current rock. Though more oriented toward the heavier end of the music spectrum today than in its earlier days, WMMR remains true to its heritage, playing new and old music, exposing local music, broadcasting with live, local personalities 24 hours a day and staying heavily involved in the community. As of today, WMMR is an active rock station since January 2007 because of Mediabase and Nielsen BDS moving them to the active rock panel, and forcing existing active rock competitor WYSP to go all-talk. This is due to most of the classic rock disappearing from the station as its sister station is classic rocker WMGK. WYSP returned to active rock later that year, although WMMR was still an active rock station. WMMR became the only active rock station in Philadelphia again when WYSP went to classic rock in 2008.