The station first signed on the air on October 1, 1962. Owner CJAD, Ltd. initially intended to use the call sign CJAD-FM, to pair it with its sister AM station, but would settle on using the CJFM call letters. CJFM was one of four FM stations which came on the air in the 1960s using common transmitting facilities on the new Mount Royal tower, the other stations being CFCF-FM, CJMS-FM and CKGM-FM. CJFM 96 had several formats through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, including easy listening, album-oriented rock and adult contemporary music. By 1992, CJFM-FM changed monikers to Mix 96, and altered its format to a more Top 40-leaning hot AC format. In that era, the CRTC did not want FM stations airing a Top 40 format in order to protect the AM band, so FM stations like CJFM went as far as they could with Hot AC, featuring a broader playlist than AM Top 40 stations. From 1962 to 2007, CJFM was owned by Standard Broadcasting. Standard Broadcasting sold the station to Astral Media in 2007. In 2013, Astral was acquired by Bell Media.
Virgin Radio
On December 4, 2008, Astral announced that CJFM, as with sister stationsCKQB-FM in Ottawa and CKZZ-FM in Vancouver, would be rebranded as a Virgin Radio station, effective January 12, 2009. This is in addition to an existing Virgin Radio station, CKFM-FM in Toronto. On January 12, at 4 p.m., the station rebranded as Virgin Radio 96. The final song played on Mix 96 was "It's the End of the World as We Know It " by Great Big Sea, while the first song played on "Virgin" was Madonna's "Like a Virgin". CJFM kept the same hot AC format and most of its on-air staff from its Mix 96 days, albeit with several programming changes. By July 2016, CJFM made the transition to Top 40/CHR, putting it in line with the "Virgin Radio" branding that Bell Media has been expanding in Canada. Previously, when CIDC-FM in Toronto moved from dance hits to mainstream top 40, CJFM-FM was the only radio station in Canada playing dance top 40 music every day. From Sunday to Thursday, the all-dance hours were midnight to 3 a.m., and Fridays and Saturdays from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. On March 4, 2018, CJFM rebranded as 95.9 Virgin Radio, dropping the "96" from its branding for the first time in the station's history.
Annual Events
"Shave To Save" was a fundraiser conceived in 2001 by the station. Every October, Virgin Radio DJs visit offices and schools, where they shave heads for a minimum $2,000 donation. The proceeds go to the QuebecBreast Cancer Foundation. Virgin Festival is held every summer in Montreal. The Top 96 songs of the year are played every year, on New Year's Day.
