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| Broadcast area | Jackson, Mississippi |
| Frequency | 99.7MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 99 Jams |
| Programming | |
| Languages | English |
| Format | Mainstream urban |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WJNT,WJQS,WKXI-FM,WOAD,WRKS | |
| History | |
First air date | July 31, 1967; 57 years ago (1967-07-31)[1] |
Call sign meaning | We'reJackson,MIssissippi! |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 50408 |
| Class | C0 |
| ERP | 100,000watts |
| HAAT | 323 meters |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | wjmi.com |
WJMI (99.7FM) is aradio stationlicensed toJackson, Mississippi, United States, with amainstream urbanmusical format. The station is owned byAlpha Media through licensee Alpha Media Licensee LLC. Along with five other sister stations, its studios are located inRidgeland, a suburb of Jackson, while the transmitter tower is south ofRaymond.
The station began in 1967 as an FM sister to station WRBC and was owned by the Rebel Broadcasting Company. Most of the disc jockeys who were on WRBC took shifts on the FM station, and hosting a shift on the FM station was used to test new talent for WRBC.
Among the more famous voices to be heard on WJMI wereBob Pittman (founder ofMTV), Walt Grayson (later a television weatherperson for two Jackson television stations), and Mary Lewis.
The station then broadcast from 7a.m. until midnight. It was affiliated with the ABC-FM news network and broadcast the news each hour at fifteen minutes past the hour with local news following.
The station began as aneasy listening station with some of the talent later recalling that every version of "Spanish Eyes" was played on the station. By the 1970s, the station had evolved into anadult contemporary station which played album-cuts from such singer-songwriters asCarole King,Carly Simon,Paul Simon, andHelen Reddy, bubblegum music (such asDavid Cassidy,Bobby Sherman, and thePartridge Family, and middle-of-the-road artists such asJohnny Mathis,Vikki Carr, andAndy Williams. Instrumental music and soft easy-listening music was played on the station, especially preceding the news.
WJMI was one of the first stations to employ female disc jockeys.[citation needed]
There were occasionally contests for concerts (such as the 1971 State Fair appearance of actor-singerBobby Sherman).
On April 1, 1973, WJMI was sold to new owners, who then flipped into aCHR/Urban Contemporary format (also known as "CHUrban", which was the forerunner to what could become therhythmic contemporary format) as "Jackson's JMI 100 FM". Over time, WJMI would evolve into its currentMainstream Urban format as "99 Jams".
32°12′29″N90°24′50″W / 32.208°N 90.414°W /32.208; -90.414