Unlike the AM stations, the FM stations were near each other and on equal footing at 20 kilowatts of power. Rock DC 101 In the late 1960s and early 1970s, it simulcasted the programming of its middle of the road (MOR) AM sister station on weekdays, and played oldies at night and on weekends. In the mid-1970s, it played progressive rock at night for a few months, and then switched full-time to an album rock music format. Its AM counterpart, WWDC, was the first American radio station to play a Beatles song when it aired "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in December 1963. WWDC-FM enjoyed success with the rock format in the 1980s. The station was #1 in men (Arbitron) and was quite profitable. One of the premier album rock stations in the country, the disc jockey staff featured Greaseman in the morning, Dusty Scott in midday, Steveski in afternoons and Kirk McEwen in the evening. With this lineup and format, WWDC-FM consistently ran in the 6s, dominating men in the nation's 7th largest market. The format was a combination of current rock releases along with rock tracks from the 1960s and 1970s. Other DJs ("Boss Jocks") during the 1980s included Adam "Smash" Smasher, Ernie D'Kaye, Cerphe, Sandy Edwards, Buddy Rizer, Rich Levinson, Tim Shamble, YDB (Young Dave Brown), Sean Donohue (Rusty Brainpan), and Vinnie Brewster. Alternative rock Currently, WWDC's rock playlist typically swings toward the hard rock end of the rock spectrum, playing acts like Foo Fighters and Metallica. Early on, though, pop-oriented acts including Elton John, Billy Joel, Fleetwood Mac, Hall & Oates and Rod Stewart were core artists. During the 1990s, the station began adding more modern and alternative rock acts including Smashing Pumpkins and Stone Temple Pilots to compete with its chief rival, WHFS-FM. Originally a mainstream rock station, WWDC changed to its current alternative rock format by 2005 because of WHFS-FM flipping to tropical music as WLZL. In 2007, the station was nominated by Radio & Records for top alternative station in a top-25 market. Ownership changes WWDC was among the last independently owned radio stations in the Washington market. In February 1998, parent company Capitol Broadcasting sold WWDC-FM and its AM sister station, WWDC (now WQOF), for $72 million to Texas-based Chancellor Media, which later was renamed AMFM. AMFM was acquired by Clear Channel Communications, which now, as iHeartMedia, owns and operates six