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KPOL-1540, August 1964

R

radiocph

Frequent Participant
From the Gordon Skene Sound Collection: http://pastdaily.com/2016/10/02/august-1964-mouth-full-cavities/

I used to listen to KPOL from around 1977 up until the time it became KZLA (1980?). During those years they were moving away from the "Beautiful Music" sound and toward more current pop vocals. (I have a 1979 aircheck of KPOL full of softer Top-40 songs).

Back in the 60s, though, KPOL played much older music...most of the songs on the aircheck above seem to be from the mid-30's, if not a bit earlier. The KPOL of the mid-70s typically played instrumentals no older than about 10-15 years old, IIRC.

Also the aircheck had the AM and FM simulcast, which was no longer done in the 70s.
 
Mr Drysdale probably listened to KPOL in his Imperial while driving up to the Clampett's home in Beverly Hills. One nice thing about 1964 is Columbia Savings was paying 4.93% on a CD. You're lucky to get a 1/4 of that today!
 
DrAkbar said:
Mr Drysdale probably listened to KPOL in his Imperial while driving up to the Clampett's home in Beverly Hills. One nice thing about 1964 is Columbia Savings was paying 4.93% on a CD. You're lucky to get a 1/4 of that today!
Click to expand...

I remember that in 1979, we were getting over 11% interest on a savings account at a local Savings and Loan. Of course, inflation was 13% that year. It's all relative, and Mr. Drysdale was probably retired by then.
 
LKellerIII said:
I remember that in 1979, we were getting over 11% interest on a savings account at a local Savings and Loan. Of course, inflation was 13% that year. It's all relative, and Mr. Drysdale was probably retired by then.
Click to expand...

The real reason Mr Drysdale visited the Clampett mansion so frequently was to catch a glimpse of Ellie Mae in the cement pond!

But back to topic: The production value of KPOL was pretty amazing for 1964, and notice the split shift of the 9a-Noon host. Absent was any mention of dial position, either AM or FM. Wonder if they were the dominant station in the format, or just assumed listeners knew where they were on the dial?
 
DrAkbar said:
The real reason Mr Drysdale visited the Clampett mansion so frequently was to catch a glimpse of Ellie Mae in the cement pond!


Little known fact was Granny couldn't hear country music in Beverly Hills so the Clampetts bought the station and boom...we have KZLA.
Click to expand...
 
Very much enjoyed this aircheck and hearing once again how those major market MOR guys sounded. Pretty amazing. By the way, what was KPOL's FM dial position?
 
Nick Seneca said:
Very much enjoyed this aircheck and hearing once again how those major market MOR guys sounded. Pretty amazing. By the way, what was KPOL's FM dial position?
Click to expand...

KPOL was 1540 AM and 93.9 FM. The earliest L.A. ratings I have access to is the Fall 1966 Pulse, and KPOL-AM was tied for 4th (with KRLA and KFI) with a 7.0. In Fall 1967, they tied KMPC for third with an 8.0, and stayed in the top 10 through 1971. The FM didn't get a number until 1972, but neither AM nor FM were anything to write home about for the rest of the decade, until the change to KZLA.
 
KPOL generally did mention its 1540 frequency in those days. Looking forward to hearing the aircheck. The station sounded great around '78 or '79, but as I recall, went country on Sept. 19, 1980 as KZLA. It wouldn't be long after that that 1540 was sold and went Spanish as a quite lively-sounding KSKQ.
Incidentally, Michael, in 1972 and beyond, did XETRA's Beautiful Music format show in the L.A. ratings?
 
multiplex said:
The station sounded great around '78 or '79, but as I recall, went country on Sept. 19, 1980 as KZLA.
Click to expand...

And caught KHJ completely off guard as the new new Urban Cowboy station in el Lay & Orange County. KHJ donned their chaps in November 1980.

It wouldn't be long after that that 1540 was sold and went Spanish as a quite lively-sounding KSKQ.
Click to expand...

Cap Cities loved owning the format and purchased rival KLAC. That meant 15~Forty had to go away. Today I ♥ Debt owns 5~Seventy, and 93~Nine is owned by Grupo Radio Centro. So to rephrase KHJ's slogan as a Country Music station, "...We all grew up to be sold".
 
Time warp straight ahead: Midwest FM DXers on 97.5 would hear basically the same format and presentation style on KNXR, the big 100 kW sound of the Mayo Clinic waiting room in Rochester MN until 12/31/15 (if I can trust Wikipedia:rolleyes:) It now broadcasts classic hits for a new generation (us) of patients in the Mayo Clinic waiting room.

(L.A., the climate-capital magnet of the free world...use Coppertone for that leathery-tanned 55 year old bod of yours, now 107 and likely formaldehyde preserved... Instead of cranking out the same hit versions of songs thirty years after their first release, listeners in the middle-aged demo got variations of real standards like "Stardust" sponsored by Carmichael's Hoagies Alameda, Pasadena, and Glendale)
 
multiplex said:
It wouldn't be long after that that 1540 was sold and went Spanish as a quite lively-sounding KSKQ.
Click to expand...

And the Spanish format had horrible ratings, beaten even by 1090 and 950 from Tijuana as well as by KWKW, KALI and KLVE. They "imported" the format from NY, and it bombed in a mostly-Mexican heritage market.
 
multiplex said:
KPOL generally did mention its 1540 frequency in those days. Looking forward to hearing the aircheck. The station sounded great around '78 or '79, but as I recall, went country on Sept. 19, 1980 as KZLA. It wouldn't be long after that that 1540 was sold and went Spanish as a quite lively-sounding KSKQ.
Incidentally, Michael, in 1972 and beyond, did XETRA's Beautiful Music format show in the L.A. ratings?
Click to expand...

Multiplex: Here's the history I have for XETRA.

Fall 1970 Pulse: Tied for 12th (with KIIS-AM and KNX) at a 2.5
Fall 1971 Pulse: 27th with a 1.0
Fall 1972 Pulse: 20th with a 2.0
Fall 1973 Pulse: Did not get a 1.0, which is as low as the numbers I have go.
Fall 1974 Pulse: 28th with a 1.2
Fall 1975 Arbitron: Tied for 25th (with KUTE and KWST) with a 1.2

XETRA wouldn't rise above a 1.0 again until the Spring '81 Arbitron, after the format change.
 
I think the soft ac format should come to LA on 93.9. It would be the #1 station in all dentists offices. The Montovani, Living Strings, and Frank Checksfield music heard on this aircheck would of course be replaced by Mariah Carey, Phil Collins and The Backstreet Boys.
 
radio128 said:
I think the soft ac format should come to LA on 93.9. It would be the #1 station in all dentists offices. The Montovani, Living Strings, and Frank Checksfield music heard on this aircheck would of course be replaced by Mariah Carey, Phil Collins and The Backstreet Boys.
Click to expand...

Radio128: I don't know about your dentist, but mine's playing Katy Perry and Lady Gaga.
 
michael hagerty said:
Radio128: I don't know about your dentist, but mine's playing Katy Perry and Lady Gaga.
Click to expand...

Most of the doctor and dentist offices I have been in lately... even the vet... have been playing a Sirius/XM channel.
 
radio128 said:
I think the soft ac format should come to LA on 93.9.
Click to expand...

Why would a company that only runs Spanish language stations... over 100 of them... want to do a Soft AC format?

A format change would only happen if the station were sold.
 
michael hagerty said:
KPOL was 1540 AM and 93.9 FM. The earliest L.A. ratings I have access to is the Fall 1966 Pulse, and KPOL-AM was tied for 4th (with KRLA and KFI) with a 7.0. In Fall 1967, they tied KMPC for third with an 8.0, and stayed in the top 10 through 1971. The FM didn't get a number until 1972, but neither AM nor FM were anything to write home about for the rest of the decade, until the change to KZLA.
Click to expand...

In the ARBs, 1540 had a 6.6 in May 1965 (ARB's first survey of LA), and 93.9 had an additional 2.6. The combined 9.2 would have placed KPOL-A/F third behind KFI and KMPC.

1540 peaked with a 7.5 in April/May 1967. The FM never managed better than that 2.6 throughout its life as KPOL.
 
LKellerIII said:
My dentist in San Francisco plays KFOG. Aside from dentistry, he represents bands. His nickname is "Dr. Rock."
Click to expand...

I used to listen to the 10 @ 10 with Dave Morey (show hasn't been the same since he left). He used to play Tim Curry's "I Do the Rock" alot when 1979 came up on the wheel or pretty much whenever else he could slide it in. "Dr. Rock" listening to KFOG in the dentist office just reminds me of that - "Dr. Rock" listening to "I Do the Rock".
 
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