History of seattle am's questions KXA, KING, KAYO 1150

Hey Guys:

I enjoyed reading the past post. Amazing history of the Seattle market. I was hoping you guys can help me on some questions that I have.

1. Would anybody know when KAYO 1150 started there country format? They had it for a very long time. Till 1980. I do know it was one time a Top 40 station. True?

2. Would anybody know what year KING started there Top 40 format?

3. I am very confused about 770 KXA's history. Can anybody help me with KXA's history up till 1980. I noticed that in the broadcasting yearbooks from 1970 to 1978 KXA's format was listed as "classl". Yes that's how it was spelled. Strange. And in 1979 and 1980 it was listed as Classics/talk.

Thanks for your help on these questions.

T.J.

I can partially answer #1...KAYO was top40 before it went country, but it was a short time, and the format had not developed much at the time.

#2...KING-AM was an MOR (middle of the road music station) throughout much of the 60's, but also had some talk programming, perhaps making it the first Seattle talk station. (atleast in limited dayparts). 1971 was the year they went Top40, as "More Music, K-I-N-G".

As for #3, don't know, but I do remember KXA as an oldies station, as "Old Gold 77, KXA", circa late 70's. If I'm remembering correctly, Seattle legend Pat O'Day ran the operation.

1. KAYO went country in early 1960's (prior to 1966, anyway). Stayed with the format and same facility until, as you mentioned, they changed calls to KSPL (Special) and went with a mini full-service format with several KVI alumni.

2. KING, as freak mentioned, went Top 40 in Spring 1971 under PD Buzz Barr.

3. KXA was classical, broadcasting from near where Art Museum is now, in a strip mall on 2nd ave. It had a tiny audience as KING-FM really took the mantle with stereo and clarity; and KUOW was also doing classical at the time. O'Day Broadcasting (KYYX) bought KXA, moved it one block up the hill...and eventually they moved down to Madison Park. Some of the talent from KYYX migrated to KXA when it launched, and KYYX shortly afterward went from Top-40 FM to a "new wave" station with NONE of their original talent.

LITTLEBOYBLUE said:

1. KAYO went country in early 1960's (prior to 1966, anyway). Stayed with the format and same facility until, as you mentioned, they changed calls to KSPL (Special) and went with a mini full-service format with several KVI alumni.

2. KING, as freak mentioned, went Top 40 in Spring 1971 under PD Buzz Barr.

3. KXA was classical, broadcasting from near where Art Museum is now, in a strip mall on 2nd ave. It had a tiny audience as KING-FM really took the mantle with stereo and clarity; and KUOW was also doing classical at the time. O'Day Broadcasting (KYYX) bought KXA, moved it one block up the hill...and eventually they moved down to Madison Park. Some of the talent from KYYX migrated to KXA when it launched, and KYYX shortly afterward went from Top-40 FM to a "new wave" station with NONE of their original talent.

Click to expand...

KAYO was country until about 1979, when they attempted a news talk format, which didn't fly and they went back to country until 1982 when they flipped to KSPL. KSPL started out as a competitor to KIXI, but moved towards AC by a year later and Hot AC by 1984 (as Musicradio 1150 KSPL, "Musicradio" became a moniker KUBE would use during the rest of the '80s.) But the station didn't do very well and in 1985, it was sold to Salem, where they put the first KGNW on the air. KGNW moved to KQIN's 820 frequency in December 1986, where it's been since......

KXA, as mentioned was classical for most of the '70s (though since the '50s, KXA had been everything from country to Top 40.) It's biggest weakness was it's signal (transmitted off a 1920s vintage T-wire rooftop antenna. And T-wires were obsolete by the '30s! However, there IS STILL a station that uses a rooftop T-wire - or "hammock" antenna, KYPA in Los Angeles.) Not sure of the power they had, but they had one of the weakest AM signals in Seattle (which barely made it into Lynnwood.)

KXA was oldies from 1978 to 1982 (simulcasting at night with Top 40 KYYX in the summer of 1982 until October when KYYX went new wave) KXA was also a daytimer (to protect WABC) until the late '70s. in 1983, KXA went religious (ironic move, considering these TV commercials for KXA in '79-'80.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlINLFUErIo

In 1985, the station flipped to "Love Songs" a sort of standards/AC hybrid and the old T-wire antenna was retired and broadcasted off a REAL tower on Pigeon Point. In 1986, the historic KXA calls were changed to KRPM (AM) in spite of an outcry from the Seattle radio community then.

KING was Top 40 for most of the '70s, but KJR proved too big of a force (at 5,000 watts vs. KING's 50,000 watts!) and in 1978, KING became a full service AC "Soft Rock And More....". KING became all-news in 1982 and a talk station by 1985.

Bongwater said:

KING was Top 40 for most of the '70s, but KJR proved too big of a force (at 5,000 watts vs. KING's 50,000 watts!) and in 1978, KING became a full service AC "Soft Rock And More....". KING became all-news in 1982 and a talk station by 1985.

Click to expand...

Actually KJR had nothing to do with KING changing format to "Soft Rock and More". The popularity of FM stations for music was eroding away the AM music audience for both stations. The KING General Manager at the time decided that since younger listeners were flocking to FM stations such as KZOK, going soft-rock/AC was considered a preemptive move in an attempt to keep adults who had grown up with KING, but preferred a softer side.

Ultimately the plan didn't work, and even adult music listening was going FM. Eventually it was decided by the new corporate management team at KING Broadcasting, that all news on the flagship radio station would be best. The problem is the poor nightime signal by comparision for KING, really hampered growth with no shot at taking down KIRO, who was already well established at news.

I think you would find that KAYO switched to country around June 1962 with Chris Lane as the PD and a DJ. He was also the PD and DJ when they were trying to compete against KJR with their "Giant 62" rock format. Rock DJ's included:

Hal "Coffeehead" Raymond (from KISN, Portland) 6-9AM
Ray Willis 9-noon
Bob Dean 12-3PM
Chris Lane (from KYA, San Francisco) 3-6PM
Jeff Mitchell 6-10PM
Mike Phillips (from KISN, Portland) 10PM-2PM
Mark Roberts 2-6AM

HowardMBurgers said:

Bongwater said:

KING was Top 40 for most of the '70s, but KJR proved too big of a force (at 5,000 watts vs. KING's 50,000 watts!) and in 1978, KING became a full service AC "Soft Rock And More....". KING became all-news in 1982 and a talk station by 1985.

Click to expand...

Actually KJR had nothing to do with KING changing format to "Soft Rock and More". The popularity of FM stations for music was eroding away the AM music audience for both stations. The KING General Manager at the time decided that since younger listeners were flocking to FM stations such as KZOK, going soft-rock/AC was considered a preemptive move in an attempt to keep adults who had grown up with KING, but preferred a softer side.

Ultimately the plan didn't work, and even adult music listening was going FM. Eventually it was decided by the new corporate management team at KING Broadcasting, that all news on the flagship radio station would be best. The problem is the poor nightime signal by comparision for KING, really hampered growth with no shot at taking down KIRO, who was already well established at news.

Click to expand...

Small correction here...KING-AM switched to the AC "Soft Rock & More" in early 1980. Bruce Murdock was morning drive, and the late Emporer Smith did evenings for a time.

Hope someone can answer a question about KXA in November 1963 because there is an hour long aircheck of KXA covering the period when the first bulletins about the JFK Assassination came in. KXA was airing a classical program "The Concert Hall" at the time but the announcer never identifies himself throughout the program or during the time when the bulletins come in. If anyone knows who the announcer/host of this program was it would be a big help for my inventory of JFK assassination radio coverage.

Bongwater said:

KING was Top 40 for most of the '70s, but KJR proved too big of a force (at 5,000 watts vs. KING's 50,000 watts!) and in 1978, KING became a full service AC "Soft Rock And More....". KING became all-news in 1982 and a talk station by 1985.

Click to expand...

Maybe just terminology, but I grew up considering KJR "top 40" through the early-mid '70s, and KING... "disco". There certainly seemed to be a lot of that music that KING embraced and KJR avoided. Harrison Kline (& Gregg Ogonowski?) did a lot of work with KING's processing back then. Given the percussive nature of the music, the station handled it very well.

And here is that classic KXA aircheck...Three hours of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5tTpZUIonM&list=PLDMZThJ2itgMja27G9Ami3GX_Chpf8bKB

I had a chance to listen to the longer version (I only had the hour leading into the JFK bulletin) and that cleared up the matter of the announcers/news readers who identify themselves as Russ Norman and Don Vincent.

There's about an hour missing of this overall as the 8 to 9 AM hour isn't represented in the YT uploads.

Grounded Grid said:

Maybe just terminology, but I grew up considering KJR "top 40" through the early-mid '70s, and KING... "disco". There certainly seemed to be a lot of that music that KING embraced and KJR avoided. Harrison Kline (& Gregg Ogonowski?) did a lot of work with KING's processing back then. Given the percussive nature of the music, the station handled it very well.

Click to expand...

KING-AM never really embraced disco, but perhaps played the hits of the era. And KJR always had more of a rock/pop lean. KING-AM was top40 until early 1980, but they were playing rock artists like Foreigner and Heart right up to when they went AC. KJR switched to a much more AC sound after KING did, I think in '82, but stayed with music through much of the 80's, at one point going "oldies". KING gave up on music in the fall of '82. first with all-news, then news/talk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxNhkrYkKlQ

KING of the late '70s was what we would call "Hot AC" today. While the kids listened to KJR, mom & dad were listening to KING. As seatownmedia pointed out, KING wasn't huge on disco. They did play a little more of it at the peak of disco, although nowhere near the levels of KJR or The FM KVI.

When disco imploded, a lot of stations (especially AMs) didn't know what to do because the backlash hit very suddenly and they went to a "safe" format of some kind - ANY kind.

KJR was changing to AC by 1981. LOTS of Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand on 950 kHz as I recall. KISW made history that year by becoming the first FM station in Seattle to go to #1 in the ratings. And KUBE debuted, 1981 to me will be when AM radio's decline really began in the Seattle area. KJR would keep the AC direction for a few more years, becoming a Gold-based AC and later full-blown oldies, then Oldies/Sports, then 24/7 sports by 1991.

One lingering throwback to the halcyon Top 40 days on KJR was Casey Kasem's Top 40 show, which was still on KJR as late as 1986 on early Sunday mornings.

Hmmm... I didn't consider KING to be "top 40", but it has been a long time. I do remember KJR's format change, and I didn't care much for it. The jingles may have been becoming dated, but KJR really jumped the tracks when they went to those "softer" ones (KAYO did the same thing). They also backed way off on their processing. That, added to the "Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand" sound, lowered the excitement level for me and made the station sound more like KOMO. For me, those changes signaled the end of their music days was approaching... as much as anything.

When I started working at KING in 76, it was most definitely Top 40, with a quasi Drake-Chenault sound. Locally, KJR and KING battled it out.

In the late 70's when FM was rapidly taking away the music audience, KING tried a Hail Mary with "Soft Rock and More' (Lord how I hated those liners). That desperate move was pretty much timed with the end of the road for music on AM anyway.

KJR went AM stereo about the same time KOMO went stereo, forcing KJR to reduce their processing. That, and at night, the KJR antenna system changed every time a container ship was in port, causing crazy impedance shifts and inconsistent bandwidth. When I arrived at KJR in 89, the first thing I did was to rip out that damn AM stereo system and jacked the processing back up. That small move alone, was transformation to the sound and coverage to KJR.

Ahhh... that explains a lot. I had heard about the DA issues. The story, circulating around, was that the station had to keep someone on-site at night to adjust for ship and crane movement.... or something to that effect.

Glad to hear how it went from someone who was actually there.

Both KJR and KOMO were Harris AM Stereo as I remember. Of course, they never told you directly what system to use. You either had to guess that or get that info from Vic Stredicke's columns back then. At the time, it seemed to be the selected system locally until Motorola's C-QUAM took over and most stations by this time had gotten rid of the AM Stereo processors altogether and they weren't about to give it any further consideration.

There were other AM Stereo stations if I remember. Didn't KMPS-AM, KIRO, KTAC and KING experiment with it? I don't think KKFX or KJET ever had it. KRKO hinted at it.

Grounded Grid said:

Ahhh... that explains a lot. I had heard about the DA issues. The story, circulating around, was that the station had to keep someone on-site at night to adjust for ship and crane movement.... or something to that effect.

Click to expand...

Because of the whole ship-based adjustable directional system, KJR wasn't given night authority for remote control, running under an STA at night so yes, we had someone at the TX site on the overnights until I talked the Commission into giving KJR remote control authority on my birthday in August of 1992. Ironically, the night operator never actually made any adjustments, just logged meter readings every hour. I rigged up a computer that monitored the antenna monitor and adjusted the pattern accordingly as the ships went in and out of port. That way I was able to show the FCC that I could keep KJR within its parameters consistently. Fortunately the FCC didn't ask me how I was able to do that, but it worked.

Yes Larry, both KJR and KOMO were using the Harris "Quasi-Quam" AM stereo system. It was essentially the same system as Motorola, but the KJR Collins "Power Rock" transmitter really didn't like it.

Bongwater said:

There were other AM Stereo stations if I remember. Didn't KMPS-AM, KIRO, KTAC and KING experiment with it? I don't think KKFX or KJET ever had it. KRKO hinted at it.

Click to expand...

Yes, KMPS had a Motorola AM stereo system, as did KTAC. KING was the only station that was fooling around with the Kahn Hazeltine ISB system. For various reasons, that system just wasn't ready for prime time.

I remember a particular meeting on Vashon one night, when Harrison Kline (KING CE at the time) got into a verbal battle with Leonard Kahn, who was insisting he needed to start adjusting the night phasor and common point to optimize his stereo signal quality. KING had a pretty tight pattern, considering there were only three towers, so Harrison didn't want Leonard potentially throwing the array out of whack. Harrison couldn't figure out why Leonard would want something other than what was already at the common point: 50 ohms J-0, anyway. Mr. Personality, Leonard stormed off in a huff.

In 1987, I bought an AM stereo tuner from Radio Shack in Richmond, BC, which only received C-QUAM. I heard KIRO, KJR, KING, KMPS and KOMO on it in stereo. For some reason KVI tripped the stereo on it and was heard with proper left and right separation, even though the engineer at the time said they were never running stereo. KKFX and KJET were never in stereo, a huge disappointment to me. There must have been a chip that allowed it to receive the Harris stations. To be honest, KJR had very little separation on this receiver. I only heard KRKO in stereo after moving to Calgary in late 1988. I didn't hear it in Stereo when I lived in Vancouver.