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WHFS (historic)

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WHFS was a FM radio station broadcasting in the Washington, DC / Baltimore, Maryland market on various frequencies for over 40 years, usually referred to as 'HFS. It currently is the call letters for the station transmitting on 105.7 MHz from suburban Catonsville, Maryland. That station and its predecessor are owned by Infinity Broadcasting, an division of the media company Viacom. Jake Einstein was the prominent partner during the station's heyday of progressive rock when it was located in Bethesda, Maryland. His sons David and Damian were members of the air staff.

From the mid-to-late 1960s until January 12, 2005, WHFS broadcast a progressive/modern rock format. The station's target demographic was listeners aged 13-25. For many local residents, it was the first place to hear such bands as R.E.M., Pixies, and The Smiths. On Sunday nights, the station broadcast indie and local music.

'HFS began broadcasting in the 1960s on a frequency of 102.3 FM in Bethesda, Maryland. Its studios, on the second floor of a luxury condo on Woodmont Avenue, were located directly across the street from the Psychedeli, a venue for live performances by bands playing the club circuit, and many musicians, famous and not yet famous, traipsed across the street to do interviews and live performances at the station. Many cut WHFS-specific i.d.s. One classic example of a legal i.d. done by a bass-vocal centered blues band went "Of all the stations we like the best, it's W - Hhhhh---F-Sssss; We'll be rockin', we'll be rollin', on W - Hhhhh---F-Sssss - - - 102.3 - Bethesda." The enthusiastic and knowledgeable interviews by such deejays as Jonathon "Weasel" Gilbert, who held down the drive-time afternoon weekday slot - about the time that bands setting up across the street were ready for a dinner break before a performance - provided both fascinating details about the artists' experience, as well as providing plugs for the upcoming appearance. Weasel's obvious friendship with many of his guests elicited striking candor from them.

The station moved to Annapolis, Maryland and broadcast on 99.1 FM in 1983 after a change in ownership. When the station switched formats, it was located at the Infinity Broadcasting Center in Lanham, Maryland.

Since 1991, WHFS has sponsored the HFStival, an annual (sometimes bi-annual) day-long (sometimes two-day-long) outdoor concert. The concert, often held at Washington's RFK Stadium, featured many local and national acts. For example, the 2004 lineup included The Cure, Jay-Z, Modest Mouse, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Cypress Hill.

The station's iconic DJs included the Jonathon "Weasel" Gilbert, Neci Crowder, Cerphe Colwell, Johnny Riggs, Damien Einstein and The Sports Junkies. Mark Avery held down the 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. slot for many years. And then there was "Meg in the Morning." (Or "Happily Married Meg" as Weasel regularly referred to her, after her nuptials.)

The death (and revival) of 'HFS

On January 12, 2005, 99.1 WHFS switched formats to a Latin/Salsa broadcast called WLZL El Zol 99.1, a switch that, though rumored over several months due to slipping ratings (22nd) in both the Washington and Baltimore markets, was not publicized beforehand and took many long-time fans by surprise. Such abrupt format changes are a common practice in the radio industry.

Competition quickly filled a gap in programming:

  • In the Washington market, Z104 adapted their pop format to more of "modern pop", while longtime rival DC-101 (WWDC) had long since gone to a hard rock/alt rock style.
  • In Annapolis, WRNR 103.1 FM by default assumed the modern/indie rock listenership of the area, with many pre-Infinity HFS staffers on board.
  • In suburban Towson, Maryland, WTMD 89.7 had similar playlists to WRNR, while WIYY 97.9 (98 Rock) continued to broadcast classic, hard, and modern rock out of Baltimore but covering the entire region.

After much protesting from WHFS fans, a partnership between Infinity and America Online was announced on January 21, 2005, that revived WHFS rock format online as part of AOL Radio.

The deal included carriage of WHFS programming on Baltimore station Live 105.7; WHFS programming airs on weekday evenings and all day on the weekends. The call letters for 105.7 were changed to WHFS. During the morning hours, the station simulcasts the Howard Stern program, so it's been speculated that once Stern departs in 2006 for Sirius Satellite Radio, that the entire programming at 105.7 will be 'HFS and alternative rock.

Out To Lunch

WHFS currently runs a lunch time radio show called "Out To Lunch" with hosts Big O and Dukes. This show began several weeks after the station's change to the WHFS format and the departure of the former "Out To Lunch" host to another market.

The show airs 11:00–15:00 on Live 105.7. Regular guests on the show include convicted felon and former Baltimore City Police Commissioner Ed Norris.

Trivia After passing ownership of WHFS to other hands, Jake Einstein formed a new company named Cardinal Broadcasting and considered buying the former Washington, D.C. Top Forty powerhouse WEAM-AM in Arlington, Virginia (the Cardinal is the Virginia state bird) for conversion to an 'HFS format. When this fell through, he was a partner purchasing WLOM-AM and FM in Annapolis in 1983, Maryland and changed the FM side over to a reborn WHFS. In 1989 when Duchussois Broadcasting purchased the station, Einstein departed and in 1993 he bought WNAV-AM and FM, transmitting from Grasonville, Maryland, across the Chesapeake Bay from Annapolis, Maryland,and recast the FM side as a reborn 'HFS, hiring some of the old Bethesda staff. However it has a limited throw of 6,000 Watts and only reaches the eastern edge of Washington, D.C.

David Einstein, former program director of WHFS-FM, Bethesda, probably has all of the old "102.3" jingle spots in his archive. On his last morning on the air at the station in the fall of 1989, he aired a number of retro i.d. spots, even though the station was now broadcasting from a frequency of 99.1 FM. He has moved on to other music industry-related jobs.

Damian Einstein suffered serious head injuries during a 1975 joyride when the Jeep his was in hit a low bridge while driving down Rock Creek, east of Bethesda. His two companions were killed. This accident left him with a pronounced condition of ephasia, noted by a slight delay in speech diction. Despite his thorough knowledge of music canon and intelligent interviews with visiting artists, new station management attempted to remove from the air in 1989. This led to a support rally held in Wheaton Plaza, Wheaton, Maryland, at which bluesman Catfish Hodge and musicians from Little Feat and Bonnie Raitt's band played live for the protest benefit. Damian was ultimately restored to the air.

When the original Bethesda WHFS ownership broke up in the 1980s, the station's extensive library of music was divvied up and thus only certain components accompanied the Einstein family onto their new enterprises. (This item of fact provided by an overnight deejay, circa 1989, in a phonecall as to why he could no longer pull out a copy of Keith Emerson's pre-Emerson, Lake & Palmer band, The Nice.)

After an a cappella "Join The Band," Cerphe Colwell can be heard leading the crowd in spelling out "F-E-A-T" on track one, side one, record one of Little Feat's live album "Waiting For Columbus" recorded at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium August 8-10, 1977 and released in 1978.


Sources - Twenty-plus years of listening to WHFS at various frequencies, Washington Post articles of various dates, and attendence at the Save Damian rally in Wheaton, Maryland in 1989.

Little Feat, "Waiting For Columbus" double album, Warner Bros. 2BS 3140, 1978.


Fan websites

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