Historical question

[Sammi Brie]

I follow Brad Hall who puts out lots of great Phoenix history stuff. He kind of has a radio question and doesn't know the answer.

http://www.historyadventuring.com/2016/07/the-day-music-died-for-me-in-1982-tempe.html

In short: What station flipped formats in 1982 from rock?? to an easy listening format?

 

[Prescott Joe]

It was NOT KMEO at 96.9 nor KQYT at 95.5.

 

[davideduardo]

It was NOT KMEO at 96.9 nor KQYT at 95.5.

About the only format tracking of the time would be the listings in Duncan's American Radio at

http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Duncan-American-Radio-Issue-Guide.htm

Or in the pages of R&R (which are incomplete in some years around then):

http://www.americanradiohistory.com/RandR_Magazine_Page_Range_Guide.htm

Or, hopefully, someone with actually remember.

It's a long way back that a station named "Quiet" was #1 12+ in Phoenix.

(And one that spelled, in Spanish, "K-Piss" would be in the top 5)

 

[Sammi Brie]

I'm giving the Duncan books a look for 1981, 1982 and 1983 and not seeing any format flips that jump out at me.

Maybe 98.7 when it changed from KBBC to KKLT, but that's all I could think of.

 

[johndavis]

I'm giving the Duncan books a look for 1981, 1982 and 1983 and not seeing any format flips that jump out at me.

Maybe 98.7 when it changed from KBBC to KKLT, but that's all I could think of.

KBBC-FM became KKLT March 3, 1982. That has to be what he's thinking of.

I kind of remember KBBC being a mellow AOR similar to the Sirius XM channel "The Bridge." I'm not sure if it would really qualify as being "progressive" but by 1982, AOR had moved into its Superstars phase at both KUPD and KDKB; by 1983 KDKB was playing Cyndi Lauper records and hiring jocks away from KZZP. So Joni Mitchell on KBBC would feel progressive by comparison.

 

[mike847]

Interesting. I just ran across that website today that you mentioned.

As for the rock station that flipped to MOR, the only one I can remember was KRUX becoming KLFF (Music of You Life). It seems they were that way for several years.

What do I win? ;-)

 

[base12]

Wrong top 40

Interesting. I just ran across that website today that you mentioned.

As for the rock station that flipped to MOR, the only one I can remember was KRUX becoming KLFF (Music of You Life). It seems they were that way for several years.

What do I win? ;-)

You got the wrong top 40. It was KRIZ that became KLFF. KRUX became all news.

 

[KeithE4]

You got the wrong top 40. It was KRIZ that became KLFF. KRUX became all news.

KRIZ became KFLR (the religious station now on 90.3) in 1978. KRUX switched to NBC's News and Information Service in 1975 or '76, returned to Top 40 after NBC NIS shut down in '77, then became KLFF around 1982.

 

[mike847]

That's right, Keith. When KRUX returned to rock after dropping NNIS they proclaimed that "the Valley's oldest rock station was now the Valley's NEWEST rock station."