Well-remembered as the pop station WNEW, the history of this frequency can be traced back to two pioneering New Jersey stations - WAAM, which broadcast from Newark beginning in 1922, and Paterson-based WODA, which went on the air in 1925.

  The two stations merged in 1933, broadcasting on 1250kc, and became WNEW in 1934.  WNEW, which found success in the then-uncommon practice of playing phonograph records of hit songs, moved to 1130kc in 1941. With hosts such as Martin Block, William B. Williams, and Gene Klavan & Dee Finch, WNEW`s pop hits format survived the rock `n roll era, lasting until January 4, 1993, when the present owner and business news format started. The WBBR call letters had been adopted on December 15, 1992.