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KBLA 1500 Burbank

A

alok

I am aware abit of KBLA 1500, this station as the years went on got to a point that it was off / on / off, etc., moved xmtr sites. etc., etc.
It went thru call changes, etc., etc.

When it played RnR, (in the 60's I guess), how well did it do in the ratings at that time, how many years did they play RnR, what did the antenna patterns look like (Day & Night). I noted at one point they applied for 10 kw-DAN up from 1 Kw-DAN, did that ever happen?

When did they finally get (year) to the off / on / off, etc, thing.

I recall every time I went down to Southern Cal, (around 1970 & on) I never listened to them, always had on 930 KHJ, 1110 KRLA or 1190 KEZY on.
 
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There was never a 1500 in Burbank. Southern California had stations on 1540 in Los Angeles and 1580 Santa Monica. But because there is a 1500 in San Jose at 10,000 watts, I don't think there was any 1500 near LA.

Today, 1540 is KMPC, a Korean language station, powered at 50,000 watts days and 37,000 watts nights. It began as KPOL. As its call letters indicate, it played Polka music in its early years in the 1950s. It switched to beautiful music along with KPOL-FM 93.9, for much of the 1960s and 70s.

Today, 1580 is KBLA, a progressive talk and black talk station. It has had numerous formats over the years. Maybe this is what alok was thinking about because there were times it played Top 40 and R&B music. It's 50,000 watts around the clock. But because it's so high on the AM dial and has a complicated directional antenna pattern, it had reception problems and financial struggles for most of its history.
 
Gregg. said:
There was never a 1500 in Burbank. Southern California had stations on 1540 in Los Angeles and 1580 Santa Monica. But because there is a 1500 in San Jose at 10,000 watts, I don't think there was any 1500 near LA.

Today, 1540 is KMPC, a Korean language station, powered at 50,000 watts days and 37,000 watts nights. It began as KPOL. As its call letters indicate, it played Polka music in its early years in the 1950s. It switched to beautiful music along with KPOL-FM 93.9, for much of the 1960s and 70s.

Today, 1580 is KBLA, a progressive talk and black talk station. It has had numerous formats over the years. Maybe this is what alok was thinking about because there were times it played Top 40 and R&B music. It's 50,000 watts around the clock. But because it's so high on the AM dial and has a complicated directional antenna pattern, it had reception problems and financial struggles for most of its history.
Click to expand...

Gregg:

Sorry to put it bluntly, but you're wrong:

KBLA_1966-03-28_2.jpg.jpeg

During that 1965-1967 period, a lot of talent went through KBLA---in addition to the guys on that survey (Vic Gee grew up to be Jim Carson and Harvey Miller was better known as Humble Harve), they had Emperor Bob Hudson.

And then came KBBQ, KROQ, etc. See below.

Meantime, here's a chunk of Humble Harve from '66:

 
The station was a non-factor, and rarely showed up in the LA ratings. The best the signal ever did was a 1.0 share in 1970 (when it was Country KBBQ)
1748535260083.png
 
alok said:
I am aware abit of KBLA 1500, this station as the years went on got to a point that it was off / on / off, etc., moved xmtr sites. etc., etc.
It went thru call changes, etc., etc.

When it played RnR, (in the 60's I guess), how well did it do in the ratings at that time, how many years did they play RnR, what did the antenna patterns look like (Day & Night). I noted at one point they applied for 10 kw-DAN up from 1 Kw-DAN, did that ever happen?

When did they finally get (year) to the off / on / off, etc, thing.

I recall every time I went down to Southern Cal, (around 1970 & on) I never listened to them, always had on 930 KHJ, 1110 KRLA or 1190 KEZY on.
Click to expand...

So---until early 1965, KBLA was at 1490 on the dial.

The move to 1500 in February gave them more power, but still not nearly enough to cover metro L.A., even then.

The short history:

KBLA 1500 (Top 40): February 1965-June 1967

KBBQ 1500 (Country): June 1967-September 1972

KROQ 1500 (Top 40): September 1972-November 1973

KROQ 1500 (Album Rock-simulcast with KROQ 106.7 FM): November 1973-July 1974

DARK: July 1974-June 1976

KROQ 1500 (Album Rock-simulcast with KROQ 106.7 FM): June 1976-1980

KROQ 1500 (Spanish language) 1980-1982

DARK: Since 1982.
 
The reason KBBQ worked (when it did) was that it focused on the San Fernando Valley, much as KGIL had. In fact, for a time, KBBQ and KFOX in Long Beach actually had a joint ad sales effort, understanding that neither of them really got in the other's way, but that between the two of them, they covered a decent chunk of L.A.

As soon as KLAC went country, though (fall, 1970), they were both living on borrowed time.
 
Huff said:
IIRC, KROQ became KRCK before being deleted in 1985. Then it was revived as KIEV before ultimately being deleted again in 2013. (Though the station wasn't necessarily on the air during much of that time.)
Click to expand...

I can confirm that 1500 did not actually operate under either of those calls; that was during the period when Ed Stolz held the CP, which -- as you correctly noted -- was eventually deleted.

Don Elliot, who had worked at 1500 back in the day (he seems to have been everywhere in the market at one time or another) beat out Stolz for a new CP, but due to a number of unresolvable issues the FCC eventually cancelled it as well for failure to prosecute. It was unfortunate because Don also had managed to get a translator CP during the "AM revitalization" initiative and we'd been formulating a long-term plan that would have eventually gotten coverage through a big chunk of Los Angeles County.

When Don lost his final appeal to keep both CPs, it was a huge disappointment to us both.
 
michael hagerty said:
Gregg:

Sorry to put it bluntly, but you're wrong:

View attachment 9257

During that 1965-1967 period, a lot of talent went through KBLA---in addition to the guys on that survey (Vic Gee grew up to be Jim Carson and Harvey Miller was better known as Humble Harve), they had Emperor Bob Hudson.
Click to expand...

Morning man Harry Newman stayed on when KBLA became KBBQ and when Bill Ward left to program KLAC in 1970 he took Newman with him; Harry had a 14-year run there. He's the guy to the left atop the ladder in this picture.

The gentleman on the same side of the ladder under Harry is Corky Mayberry, who also worked at KBBQ in Ventura in the early 1980s (KUDU picked up the calls when 1500 became KROQ).

harry+newman+t+l.jpg
 
michael hagerty said:
The reason KBBQ worked (when it did) was that it focused on the San Fernando Valley, much as KGIL had. In fact, for a time, KBBQ and KFOX in Long Beach actually had a joint ad sales effort, understanding that neither of them really got in the other's way, but that between the two of them, they covered a decent chunk of L.A.

As soon as KLAC went country, though (fall, 1970), they were both living on borrowed time.
Click to expand...
Not to mention at one point 100.3 became KFOX-FM before the KIQQ days...
 
TomásEstefan said:
Not to mention at one point 100.3 became KFOX-FM before the KIQQ days...
Click to expand...

Huff said:
But AM was still king in those days. KGBS-FM was country as well, but neither it nor KFOX-FM ever reach more than a 1 share.
Click to expand...

In both cases, the FMs were being used essentially to continue the format after the daytimer AM signed off at sunset, and simulcast during daytime hours.
 
michael hagerty said:
So---until early 1965, KBLA was at 1490 on the dial.

The move to 1500 in February gave them more power, but still not nearly enough to cover metro L.A., even then.

The short history:

KBLA 1500 (Top 40): February 1965-June 1967

KBBQ 1500 (Country): June 1967-September 1972

KROQ 1500 (Top 40): September 1972-November 1973

KROQ 1500 (Album Rock-simulcast with KROQ 106.7 FM): November 1973-July 1974

DARK: July 1974-June 1976

KROQ 1500 (Album Rock-simulcast with KROQ 106.7 FM): June 1976-1980

KROQ 1500 (Spanish language) 1980-1982

DARK: Since 1982.
Click to expand...
When it was Spanish (with studios in the same place with the same "fumes" as the FM), my wife did a shift there and one on XEPRS. The 1500 shift was live, the one on 1090 was taped and sent to Rosarito to be played. The amusing thing is that she lived in the Hancock Park area, and when she drove home, she lost the signal by the time she got south of Melrose.

So 1090 and 1500 were the first AM duopoly in LA! Same person, Teddy Fregoso, leased them both.
 


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