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Early FM Top 40 in Seattle

M

multiplex

Probably a topic for our more senior contributors.
Being fascinated by radio history, and not being from this area, what were the earliest Seattle area top 40 stations on FM, either live or automated?
I gather that KOL's FM was an early album rock leader, but what about top 40, maybe even in the late 50s or early 60s?
Did any of the top 40 stations simulcast with an FM?
Were their any FMs, even small suburban ones, that tried their hand at the format, despite the power and influence of KJR and KOL?
 
Bill Wolfenbarger can clarify ... as I recall there was quite a bit of KOL-AM/FM overlap in mid-70's (KOL became KMPS in Sept, 1975). That was probably first stab at Top 40 in the market. KNBQ (now KIRO-FM) was doing an automated version of Top 40 with Drake-Chenault supplied reel tapes around the same time frame. In 1976, "the fm kvi" went on air @ 101.5 (now KPLZ), leaning slightly more Adult than pure Top 40. KYYX did full-on Top 40, but with automated toys and jocks tracked their dropins. KNBQ went "live" around 1978/early 1979, about the same time fm/KVI became K-PLUS (with calls change to KPLZ). Then, KYYX went to "rock of 80's"/"wave" format, abandoning the Top 40 ... and by then AM was dying as go-to-destination for music. KUBE launched, taking over old KBLE-FM frequency ... became the real powerhouse in town (mostly with support from veteran morning man Charlie Brown)....KHIT launched @ 106.9 using a Bremerton station relocated to Seattle .... but didn't last too long (became "new age"). KUBE-KPLZ-KNBQ battled for a bit, with KNBQ dropping out to take on oldies as KBSG. KUBE-KPLZ continued into the 1990s, when the music product basically killed the dominance (HipHop, fragmented pop, etc.). KUBE eventually chose the Rhythmic path, KPLZ tried to stay mainstream; but by 1994 decided to refocus as adult CHR, then gold-based AC (launching the "Star 101.5" moniker), then back to currents-based Adult format that it does now.

The ironic thing behind all this, is that KOL was probably a little too early to try to be FM leader and was focused on holding the "album" brand on their FM as long as they could. KJR bought KISW, and launched it right away as active rock station. They wound up competing head-to-head for years with KZOK. KING's FM was locked in to classical because of the woman who owned the company adored the format. All this took place years ahead of station limits .... otherwise, highly likely KJR and KING would have launched an FM counterpart and shifted their product to FM as the audience was shifting; but their format choices on their FM's were already locked in to other choices. So all the AM Top-40 heritage stations died when AM music died (including KTAC in Tacoma, whose FM was dedicated to "Beautiful Music"). When KOL was sold, their FM was dedicated to Beautiful music as well (which was the #1 billing format in the market in the mid-70's ... what is now the WOLF @ 100.7 was KIRO's FM entry into Beautiful Music as KSEA and owned the ratings). Eventually, KMPS (former KOL) decided there was huge opportunity to launch their country product on FM, so 94.1 because KMPS (FM)...and it wound up completely killing the legendary KAYO (1150).
 
Before KOL became KMPS, while Buckley still owned the AM FM pair, both were operating live 24/7. KOL AM top forty, and KOL FM progressive rock. In a cost-cutting move, Buckley decided to eliminate most of the on-air staff. Several, maybe as many as 10, were given their walking papers in one week. KOL-FM went to an automated contemporary format using a Schafer system, and a mix of currents, recurrents, and oldies. KOL-AM had 3 jocks daytime, and went to a nighttime simulcast with the FM. This format continued until Manning Slater's Hercules Broadcasting bought the stations, and KOL-AM became KMPS. KOL-FM moved to a Schulke "beautiful music" format as KEUT.

My job as Chief Engineer was to keep my mouth shut as we made plans to bring in several racks of automation gear, moving walls to make it happen. Station Manager Bob Reilly had traded out several Kawasaki motor bikes. His assistant Bev would call a jock in for a "meeting", Bob would give the bad news, and the jock got a Kawasaki as a parting gift. Some were devastated, some took it in stride.

Then there was Burl Barer. Bev made the call - "Bob wants to meet with you". And Burl replied - "But Bev, I don't even know how to ride a Kawasaki."
 
Bill Wolfenbarger said:
My job as Chief Engineer was to keep my mouth shut as we made plans to bring in several racks of automation gear, moving walls to make it happen.
Click to expand...

When KVI/KPLZ was in Tower bldg. and planning to move from 8th floor to 2nd, they had posted blueprints in the conference room of the proposed layout. It would have a room next to KVI Control Room that was going to be a small office, but I had written on the plans for that room "AUTOMATION EQ." just to screw with the other jocks!
 
Does the former KIRO-FM play into this? Somewhere in the late '60s, they dropped their beautiful music and went to Drake-Chenault's "Hit Parade" format. I think it may have been back in the "KU-16" days.

I remember getting a tour of the Queen Anne transmitter site back then. The fm automation was on the hill with the TV gear. I don't recall what kind of automation it was, but it used some kind of punched paper roll for its program. With a mostly-sequential format like beautiful music, the system was said to work fairly well.

That changed when the automation was required to overlap several sources at once. It would frequently rebel and start most everything at the same time. The TV engineers were preoccupied with the visual stuff and usually didn't notice the chaos on FM. Eventually, they moved the automation down to Broadcast House.
 
Some of the automation systems used the paper tape for programming; at least Schafer did. The traffic person would run the spot schedule into the perforator, and the operator would run it through the one hooked up to the automation, and the memory would retain the spot schedule for the Carousels. Talk about technology!
 
Automated CHR survived in Bellingham during the '80s (via KISM and KNWR) I think KNWR used TM Stereo Rock
 
From a 1977 Broadcasting Yearbook, here are the FM stations between 92 and 108...

107.7 KRAB...Education/NPR...Seattle
106.1 KLAY...Progressive Rock...Tacoma
105.3 KBIQ...Beautiful...Edmonds (co-owned with Religion 630 KGDN)
103.9 KBRD...Beautiful...Tacoma (co-owned with Top 40 850 KTAC)
102.5 KZOK...Album Rock...Seattle (co-owned with 1590 KUUU Top 40)
101.5 KVI-FM...Top 40...Seattle (co-owned with MOR 570 KVI)
100.7 KSEA...Beautiful...Seattle (co-owned with MOR/News 710 KIRO)
99.9 KISW...Progressive Rock...Seattle (co-owned with Top 40 950 KJR)
98.9 KEZX...Beautiful...Seattle
98.1 KING-FM...Classical...Seattle (co-owned with Top 40 1090 KING)
97.3 KNBQ...No format listed...Tacoma (co-owned with Top 40 1400 KTNT)
96.5 KYAK-FM...Black...Seattle (simulcast on 1250)
95.7 KIXI-FM...Beautiful...Seattle (simulcast on 910)
94.9 KUOW...Classical/NPR...Seattle
94.1 KEUT...Beautiful...Seattle (co-owned with Country 1300 KMPS)
93.3 KBLE-FM...Religion...Seattle (co-owned with Religion 1050 KBLE)
92.5 KZAM-FM...Progressive Rock...Bellevue (simulcast on 1540)

Wow, how many Beautiful Music stations can one market have? I know they were easy to run. Most were just automated from a music service. But did Seattle-Tacoma need six on FM and one on AM?

There were three Progressive Rock stations plus KZOK which called itself Album Rock. I suppose the Progressive stations didn't have a playlist, allowing the DJs to pick their own music, while KZOK had moved to a programmed rock format.

Interesting to see KYAK-AM-FM with a Black format, which today would be called Urban. There's no Seattle station aimed at the African-American community today. And only one FM Top 40 station, KVI-FM, even though I count five Top 40 stations on AM.
 
Gregg said:
From a 1977 Broadcasting Yearbook, here are the FM stations between 92 and 108...

107.7 KRAB...Education/NPR...Seattle
106.1 KLAY...Progressive Rock...Tacoma
105.3 KBIQ...Beautiful...Edmonds (co-owned with Religion 630 KGDN)
103.9 KBRD...Beautiful...Tacoma (co-owned with Top 40 850 KTAC)
102.5 KZOK...Album Rock...Seattle (co-owned with 1590 KUUU Top 40)
101.5 KVI-FM...Top 40...Seattle (co-owned with MOR 570 KVI)
100.7 KSEA...Beautiful...Seattle (co-owned with MOR/News 710 KIRO)
99.9 KISW...Progressive Rock...Seattle (co-owned with Top 40 950 KJR)
98.9 KEZX...Beautiful...Seattle
98.1 KING-FM...Classical...Seattle (co-owned with Top 40 1090 KING)
97.3 KNBQ...No format listed...Tacoma (co-owned with Top 40 1400 KTNT)
96.5 KYAK-FM...Black...Seattle (simulcast on 1250)
95.7 KIXI-FM...Beautiful...Seattle (simulcast on 910)
94.9 KUOW...Classical/NPR...Seattle
94.1 KEUT...Beautiful...Seattle (co-owned with Country 1300 KMPS)
93.3 KBLE-FM...Religion...Seattle (co-owned with Religion 1050 KBLE)
92.5 KZAM-FM...Progressive Rock...Bellevue (simulcast on 1540)

Wow, how many Beautiful Music stations can one market have? I know they were easy to run. Most were just automated from a music service. But did Seattle-Tacoma need six on FM and one on AM?

There were three Progressive Rock stations plus KZOK which called itself Album Rock. I suppose the Progressive stations didn't have a playlist, allowing the DJs to pick their own music, while KZOK had moved to a programmed rock format.

Interesting to see KYAK-AM-FM with a Black format, which today would be called Urban. There's no Seattle station aimed at the African-American community today. And only one FM Top 40 station, KVI-FM, even though I count five Top 40 stations on AM.
Click to expand...

Actually, the number of B/EZ stations in Seattle was pretty much AVERAGE at that time for any market. KBIQ however skewed towards the religious end of B/EZ. So I'm not sure if I'd count them amongst the mainstream B/EZ stations.

FM rock stations in 1977 weren't as free-form and libertine as they were 10 years earlier. Playlists of some kind were already in effect at most stations - including the "progressive rock" stations. If you wanted something closer to a KSAN/KMPX '60s style free-form station, KRAB was actually the closest, although they were not a "rock" station per se.

....and finally, it was KYAC, not KYAK in 1977. However before 1977 was over KYAC-FM would become automated Top 40 KYYX. KNBQ was also an automated Top 40. It wouldn't be until 1980 when FM started coming of age in Seattle....
 
I'm not from the area but it seems to me that besides the Top 40 battle in Tacoma, there was another one in Everett between the two AMs up there.
 
As late as 1972 Burl Barer was playing album rock hits on KOL 1300 at night: Led Zeppelin, T.Rex, Byrds album cuts, etc. So the layoffs must have been some time late '72?

I think KUOW also played underground album rock music in the late '60's, maybe only at night.
 
semoochie said:
I'm not from the area but it seems to me that besides the Top 40 battle in Tacoma, there was another one in Everett between the two AMs up there.
Click to expand...

In the late '50s, there was KQTY 1230 and KRKO 1380 going at it in the CHR wars. In the '70s, KQTY became Country KWYZ. KRKO would remain CHR (with a brief flip to country as KBAE during an insurance scam takeover in 1985) and back to CHR as KRFE in 1986, When the KRKO calls returned in 1987, they flipped to syndicated oldies....
 
Looking back at the FM station list from 1977, it's interesting to see that four stations have pretty much kept their call letters and formats over the last 35 years:

102.5 KZOK which today is Classic Rock
99.7 KISW which today is Active Rock
98.1 KING-FM, still Classical, although now non-commercial
94.9 KUOW, still an NPR affiliate, although now with all News and Talk programs, not mixed with Classical.

Honorable mention goes to
101.5 KPLZ (formerly KVI-FM), now Hot AC, not Top 40
105.3 KCMS (formerly KBIQ), now Christian Contemporary, not Religious Easy Listening
 
KRSC?
 
KOMO-FM. They decided, like many others, FM not worth the hassle so gave it to the UW.
KRSC was 98.1...housed in the old KAYO building on 4th ave s.!
 
I thought the original KOMO-FM was on 98.9 and 94.9 was the original KING-FM. When KRSC sold it's TV station to KING, they also threw in their FM station too and Dorothy Bullitt liked the 98.1 frequency better because it was smack in the middle of the FM dial. So she donated 94.9 to the UoW......
 
I remember KOL-FM doing the automation thing in 74-75. I didn't know anything about Schaefer at the time, so I was surprised to hear the same voice back announcing songs on a Bellingham or Vancouver station several years later.
 
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