WHFS was the call sign for three successive FM stations in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore markets that broadcast on various frequencies for nearly 50 years.
In 1983, The Washington Post reported: When Mr. Einstein became general manager of WHFS, the station had been on the air for six years and was lucky to draw 800 listeners a night with its format of pop, light classical and jazz.
"Then a guy named Frank Richards came in one day wearing cutoffs and a leather vest, played me a tape of rock music from Los Angeles.
Spiritus Cheese lasted just a year—someone complained about a four-letter word in a Firesign Theatre skit broadcast on the air—but by then the station had found its niche.
The station was also conveniently located directly across the street from the Psyche Delly, a venue for live performances by bands playing the club circuit.
Local radio legends (Don) Cerphe Colwell and Jonathan S. "Weasel" Gilbert began their careers when they joined WHFS in the early 1970s.
In early 1971, the overnight show on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays was inherited by "littlejohn" (John Hendricks), who stayed until August 1972.
His eclectic taste, brought from years of classical music training, mixed with his early upbringing on a farm exposed to country and bluegrass, and later the broad NYC music radio influence of the Pacifica Network, gave his audience blues, jazz, classical, bluegrass and slightly warped sense of humor that fit the late night slot and blended into a bizarre listening choice for late-night workers in the listening radius.
Murray the K hosted the afternoon show in 1972, armed with his own advertising contracts essentially renting a slot for a short while with female partner Judy.
During the 1970s, WHFS would broadcast music that other FM Rock stations normally overlooked, including cuts as long as 20 minutes.
Among the station's more endearing traditions was the broadcasting of the entire "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" suite that makes up the bulk of the first side of Frank Zappa's "Apostrophe" LP, when the Washington area would experience its first snowfall of the season.
In 2016, Cerphe, with co-author, Stephen Moore wrote a book "Cerphe's Up: A Musical Life With Bruce Springsteen, Little Feat, Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, CSNY, And Many More" (Carrel Books) which documents his years at the station, along with profiles of many of the DJs, staff and the rock musicians he interviewed and featured on his radio shows.
She and Weasel also hosted a live show featuring local band performances called "Take One," which broadcast from the Sounds Reasonable studio in Washington, DC, during the late 1970s.
Not only did 99.1 operate with higher power than the 102.3 facility, but its transmitter was located halfway between Washington and Baltimore, providing a strong signal to both markets.
It featured the sarcastic "Max Nobny" exchanging wit with straightman and nominal narrator, the Baltimore-accented "Frank Benlin", discussing current issues and using classic passion plays such as Star Trek parodies (during the Gulf shipping crisis of the mid-1990s when the U.S. reflagged Middle Eastern tankers) as a comedy vehicle.
WHFS on-air staff included: David Einstein, Damian Einstein, Bob "Here" Showacre, Weasel, Diane Divola, Dave Issing, Milo, Tom Terrell, Neci Crowder, Bob Waugh, Rob Timm, Kathryn Lauren, Pat Ferrise, Johnny Riggs, Gina Crash, and others.
It was the DC area's the first station in the city to play R.E.M., The Specials, Pixies, The Smiths, The Monochrome Set, The Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen, Stereolab, New Order, 311, and Sublime.
In 1999, there was an additional HFStival, headlined by Red Hot Chili Peppers, held at the then-new stadium of the Baltimore Ravens.
In the mid-1990s, Liberty Broadcasting published a quarterly magazine titled WHFS Press that was mailed to listeners and available in local music outlets.
In this period, WHFS featured a specialty show called "Now Hear This", hosted by Dave Marsh, that highlighted indie and local music.
In 1999, WHFS released a New Music New Video Compilation Volume 1 on VHS that was distributed free at Washington area Tower Records outlets.
It featured tracks by Cyclefly, Fuel, Fastball, Elliott Smith, Kid Rock, Eve 6, 3 Colours Red, Puya, and Joydrop.
At noon on January 12, 2005, 99.1 WHFS was switched to a Tropical Latin music format, rebranded as "El Zol 99.1 FM".
The corporate offices of Infinity Broadcasting in New York City were flooded with phone calls and e-mails from irate listeners.
Media attention was attracted by a public protest in downtown Washington, outside a skate shop where WHFS maintained a remote storefront studio in its last few months.
On November 3, 2008, WHFS flipped to a sports talk format, similar to that of sister station WFAN in New York City.
The format was changed to talk, with programs hosted by Michael Smerconish from sister station WPHT, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, Lou Dobbs, and Laura Schlessinger.
On June 10, 2009, the WHFS alternative format was relaunched as "HFS2" once again, located at WIAD 94.7-HD2 in Bethesda, Maryland and serving the Washington metropolitan area.
[8] On April 1, 2014, the 97.5 feed was moved to a new translator at 104.9 W285EJ in White Marsh, Maryland and rebranded as "HFS @104.9", as a result of an agreement with Hope Christian Church; the power is now 10W.