WIHT

WIHT (99.5 FM) is a contemporary hit radio formatted radio station that serves the greater Washington metropolitan area. Located on the fourth floor of 1801 Rockville Pike in Rockville, Maryland, the station broadcasts 24 hours a day and is licensed to, and owned by, iHeartMedia. The transmitter is located on River Road in Bethesda, Maryland.

History

Early years (1960s–1999)

WGAY-FM signed on in 1960 as an FM simulcast partner to WGAY (1050 AM). An apocryphal story claims the station was named for its owner at the time, country music promoter Connie B. Gay, though in reality the WGAY callsign was first assigned in 1946 and long predated his ownership. The two stations were located in Silver Spring, Maryland, and ran a beautiful music format in the 1960s and 1970s, which evolved to an easy listening format by the 1980s (though it would initially air a country music format for a year when it signed on in 1960). During that era, WGAY-FM typically simulcast its AM sister station, by then known as WQMR "Washington's Quality Music Radio". Eventually, the FM came to be considered the primary signal, and WGAY would often finish at number one in the Persons 12+ Arbitron radio ratings for the Washington, D.C. area during the 1970s and 1980s.

Television ads for the station in the 1970s and 1980s featured station programmer Bob Chandler relaxing in a recliner, while listening to his station's light mix of music playing in the background. During the 1980s, WGAY was reported to be then President Ronald Reagan's favorite radio station.