102.7 KIIS-FM 1981

Would anyone happen to know the exact date KIIS-FM flipped from AC to Top 40 in 1981?

I was told that it was a gradual transition that began in late 1981-early 1982.

Robyn

Actually, as I recall, KIIS was a very Disco leaning hot A/C for a good 2-3 years before making the Top 40 transition.

They were competing with KUTE 102, KIQQ, KACE and even the old KDAY and KHJ on the AM side.

L.A. radio had as much or more Dance music on-the-air then NY.

Shortly after KIIS transitioned, the folks at KPWR saw a big hole and capitalized with a very Dance leaning POWER 106...Great jocks and a great sound...Did very well for a substantial amount of time!

It was a fun time in L.A. Radio history.

airpab said:

Actually, as I recall, KIIS was a very Disco leaning hot A/C for a good 2-3 years before making the Top 40 transition.

Click to expand...

Yeah, in 1978 (Per R&R's 25th Anniversary Issue) they signed with Burkhart-Abrams' Disco format based on the WKTU format.

At the time, "disco" was a format very separate from AC or even Hot AC.

So, really, the transition was from disco to Top 40.

DavidEduardo said:

airpab said:

Actually, as I recall, KIIS was a very Disco leaning hot A/C for a good 2-3 years before making the Top 40 transition.

Click to expand...

Yeah, in 1978 (Per R&R's 25th Anniversary Issue) they signed with Burkhart-Abrams' Disco format based on the WKTU format.

At the time, "disco" was a format very separate from AC or even Hot AC.

So, really, the transition was from disco to Top 40.

Click to expand...

David:


When disco fell apart, KIIS-FM went back to AC. Gradually, from Rick Dees' hiring in July of 1981, over a period of months, they morphed slowly into Top 40.

michael hagerty said:

DavidEduardo said:

airpab said:

Actually, as I recall, KIIS was a very Disco leaning hot A/C for a good 2-3 years before making the Top 40 transition.

Click to expand...

Yeah, in 1978 (Per R&R's 25th Anniversary Issue) they signed with Burkhart-Abrams' Disco format based on the WKTU format.

At the time, "disco" was a format very separate from AC or even Hot AC.

So, really, the transition was from disco to Top 40.

Click to expand...

David:


When disco fell apart, KIIS-FM went back to AC. Gradually, from Rick Dees' hiring in July of 1981, over a period of months, they morphed slowly into Top 40.

Click to expand...

Even though I was just a kid at the time (mid 70's - early 80's), I never remember any "hard" format flips made by KIIS. They all seemed to be gradual changes in the playlist consistent with the changing nature of the Top 40 charts themselves, particularly in 79-81, when Disco died its final death and Top 40 was really open to a true variety of musical styles. To me KIIS was always a TOP 40 station, even if they didn't always play all of the Top 40 in every incarnation.

michael hagerty said:

When disco fell apart, KIIS-FM went back to AC. Gradually, from Rick Dees' hiring in July of 1981, over a period of months, they morphed slowly into Top 40.

Click to expand...

Well, if you use "Funkytown," the song commonly benchmarked as "the last big disco hit," that means that disco fell apart in mid-1980. So the period between then and the CHR morph was really a short space... almost as if they did not know what to do.

KIIS-FM called their printed survey the Disco 20 in July of 1979 and all 20 songs listed are disco.

The January 1980 top 20 survey is no longer called the Disco 20 but says "Dance Music" on it. The top 10 is still pretty much disco but 10-20 includes the latest hits from Rupert Holmes, Kenny Loggins, Styx, and the Captain and Tennille. The hitbounds for that week are from the Spinners, Kool and the Gang, Queen, Linda Ronstadt and Terri DeSario with K.C.

The March 23, 1981 list is called the "Hit List" and no reference to Disco or Dance are made. The playlist still has a few R & B songs that didn't cross over that big to CHR like Lakeside, Yarbrough and Peoples and Con Funk Shun. But Dolly Parton's 9 To 5 is #5 and Terri Gibbs country crossover Somebody's Knockin is also on the chart along with straight ahead top 40 from John Lennon, REO Speedwagon, Neil Diamond, Pat Benatar etc.
They also advertise American Top 40 being heard Sundays at 9 am on the back of the survey.

Sometime around 1980 both KIIS-FM and KIQQ had both
mellowed quite a bit. I think it was in 81 when KIQQ
jumped back in top40 til July 1985. Meanwhile, yes in
July of 81 I had airchecked Deez first full show--and
once Paul Freeman came on at 10, he played Rick James,
Give it to me. So at times they were uptempo, but even
before their disco era began on October 15, 1978, they
just didn't have formatics representing a top40. In
April of 81 they had a new records show on
Sunday evening, which was the first time-and-place I
heard Rick Springfield Jessie's Girl. Certainly other
places especially in Florida-and-the orriginal HotHits
cities, top40 was alive-and-well. So on December 27,
1982 KIIS-FM got a new PD from ST Lewis, they began
running Jam Outstanding. Briefly they ditched
that dull top-of-the-hour. Sure 102.7 was
interesting-and-fun, but such a slow evolution, unlike
their San Diego sister on 102.9 KS103 sounded much more
lively. I am glad I grabbed a couple of New Years
countdowns.

I recall in the Summer of 1981 KIIS-FM playing Neil Young-Heart Of Gold. The song was a decade old at the time. Mellow, older songs like that gave KIIS an AC lean. They were like an adult Top 40.

I was listening to a KIIS aircheck from 1982 and something that impressed me was they were calling themselves 102.7 KIIS FM. They were ahead of their time giving a digital frequency back then. Most FM stations still rounded off to the closest whole number.

Jay F said:

I recall in the Summer of 1981 KIIS-FM playing Neil Young-Heart Of Gold. The song was a decade old at the time. Mellow, older songs like that gave KIIS an AC lean. They were like an adult Top 40.

I was listening to a KIIS aircheck from 1982 and something that impressed me was they were calling themselves 102.7 KIIS FM. They were ahead of their time giving a digital frequency back then. Most FM stations still rounded off to the closest whole number.

Click to expand...

Interestingly, I don't think 102.7 ever did 'round off.' KKDJ before that was also IDed as "102.7."
Another example was KMET - even in the late 60s, they were "94.7," never "95." Their sister staton, KSAN in San Francisco did round off 94.9 to "The Jive 95." KPPC was always "106.7" - never 107.

Another example is KLOS, which was always either 95.5 or "95 1/2." A lot of FM stations never rounded in those days.

KIIS-FM described itself to Billboard in '81/'82 as Adult Contemporary (thanks, Google Books!)...by '83, they were claiming CHR. But by then, they had a GM (Wally Clark) who believed in the power of hit radio, and was willing to commit 30% of his total budget to promotion.

Llew: You're right about the rounding. Really, unless you're a something-point-nine or a something-point-one, it's better not to round. KNX-FM (93.1) didn't round, but when it became KKHR, KODJ and CBS-FM, it did. KMET/KTWV never did. KABC-FM/KLOS never did. KIQQ did (as K-100), KRTH rounded and still does.