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KAAY-"the Mighty 10-90"

N

Noiseboxxx

anybody heard of it?

work there?

listened to it before it got religion?

do tell.


go!
 
Where is KAAY located?

For the western United States, anybody growing up in the 1960s and 70s will remember XERB - the Mighty 1090 "Over Los Angeles." It was Wolfman Jack's 50,000 watt blowtorch and the signal originated in Rosarita Beach, about 20 miles south of the Mexican border. Later, Wolfman sold the station, and it became XEPRS - "1090 - the Soul Express." Tom Reed "the Master Blaster" was one of the XPRS jocks.

At night, the station could be heard in Vancouver, Canada. If KAAY is anywhere near the west coast, I would imagine it was either daytime only, or XERB obliterated its signal after sunset.
 
Lkeller said:
Where is KAAY located?
Click to expand...

Little Rock, Arkansas.

And it's far from a daytimer - KAAY is a 1-B clear-channel, north-south 'figure 8' pattern at night. XERB might've had the west coast, and Baltimore's WBAL 1090 the eastern seaboard, but the Mighty 1090, a/k/a "The Friendly Giant", "Big K", blanketed the big center.

Was originally KTHS and started in Hot Springs. Became KAAY and top-40 in, I believe, 1962. Sold and changed to religion in April 1985.

KAAY's biggest claim to fame back in the day was the overnight prog-rock show Beaker Street.

I'll leave it at that. I'm sure people from the Arkansas board will discover this thread and will fill you in on anything else you need to know. And there's a lot to be told about KAAY -- it was a very distinctive AM rocker in its time.

--Russell W.
Savannah, Ga. (Arkansas resident 1982-90)
 
Interesting...Yes, XERB was also a clear-channel blowtorch, but like KAAY apparently, was directional north-south. So there's no way their signals would have interfered with each other. In the 60s, a number of the Mexican Clear Channel stations cheated and upped their power above 50,000 watts - often obliterating other AMs on the same, or even nearby frequencies. Since they were out of the FCC's reach, it often took higher government intervention to make it stop. But I don't believe XERB and the Wolfman were ever accused of that.
 
Russell W. said:
Lkeller said:
Where is KAAY located?
Click to expand...

Little Rock, Arkansas.

And it's far from a daytimer - KAAY is a 1-B clear-channel, north-south 'figure 8' pattern at night. XERB might've had the west coast, and Baltimore's WBAL 1090 the eastern seaboard, but the Mighty 1090, a/k/a "The Friendly Giant", "Big K", blanketed the big center.

Was originally KTHS and started in Hot Springs. Became KAAY and top-40 in, I believe, 1962. Sold and changed to religion in April 1985.

KAAY's biggest claim to fame back in the day was the overnight prog-rock show Beaker Street.

I'll leave it at that. I'm sure people from the Arkansas board will discover this thread and will fill you in on anything else you need to know. And there's a lot to be told about KAAY -- it was a very distinctive AM rocker in its time.

--Russell W.
Savannah, Ga. (Arkansas resident 1982-90)
Click to expand...

Ahhhhh..........Beaker Street with Clyde Clifford.......those were the days my friend :)
 
clyde & beaker street live on on the 'net somewhere.

i remember KAAY as being THE top-40 station in the south for a long time. an interesting thing is how many people who worked there went on to more successes in radio, whether as on-air or going from on-air to other great heights.

it was the all-inclusive vibe that the station gave off, the bigger-than-life promotions, the CRAZY promotions that would not have worked anywhere else in the world and the personalities that made the station, as well as the music that covered every genre. even the early morning farm report was a classic.

there is a history of this station on the net as well, as soon as i can find/remember the link, i'll post it (if someone else doesn't beat me to it.)
 
I spent a couple of weeks in Tulsa, Ok, in 1971 and 1972 and DXed KAAY numerous times at night, while I was there. It was definitely a great sounding Top 40 station. It was "right on" with the times...no doubt about that....
 
Don't forget another giant on that frequency. 1090 KING Seattle! A great sounding station, and 24 hours with 50KW! KING has a very tight night pattern mainly to the North, and blasts well into the Arctic! They are Talk now. Lots of talent came out of KING. They sounded great with the TM "YOU" package in the mid 70s!
 
In Englewood FL (about halfway between Sarasota and Ft. Myers on the Golf Coast) I consistently get a faint 1090 that broadcasts religious stuff (can think of a shorter 4 letter word beginning with "s".)
Can never, absolutely never ID it; I thopught it was coming from New Orleans but there is no 1090 in New Orleans.
It is possible that I got KAAY because I've gotten the 10kw Ft. Smith on 1650 several times, albeit much clearer. But I'm not sure and I can't stand to listen to it very long.
I hear it all hours of the day.
 
KAAY had a MONSTER nighttime signal in Iowa where I went to college. Easily the strongest top 40 signal on the am dial. At home in Chicago, it still had a decent nighttime signal, but nothing extraordinary. Never any traces of WBAL, however.
 
Z-100 said:
Don't forget another giant on that frequency. 1090 KING Seattle! A great sounding station, and 24 hours with 50KW! KING has a very tight night pattern mainly to the North, and blasts well into the Arctic! They are Talk now. Lots of talent came out of KING. They sounded great with the TM "YOU" package in the mid 70s!
Click to expand...

Well....I guess you could not have asked for a better demo than THE ARCTIC! ;)
 
cyberdad said:
KAAY had a MONSTER nighttime signal in Iowa where I went to college. Easily the strongest top 40 signal on the am dial. At home in Chicago, it still had a decent nighttime signal, but nothing extraordinary. Never any traces of WBAL, however.
Click to expand...

KAAY and WBAL were very nicely and tightly engineered to steer clear of one another.
Living in Pittsburgh I could pick up WBAL after dark, but when I was living in
Columbus, Ohio it was all Little Rock at 1090 with no trace of BAL....just a couple
hours down the highway.
 
"Well....I guess you could not have asked for a better demo than THE ARCTIC"


LOL...Yeah..I thought you would like that!!! Eskimos loved the tight rotation! As you say ;)
 
The last time I talked with Clyde was at the Indiana Broadcasters Association annual meeting about three years back.. He was with ABC Satellite Country (affilates director)... And XERB was 150kw.. The Mexican clear channel agreement from the WRC was to allow directional 150kw's near the boarders at night.. XEROX in Juarez (El Paso) was at that level in its regional Top-40 days....Though not even running a 50kw as of this date (due to the poor situation of AM owners in Mexico).... The ENG's of all the US 1090's and Tiajuana's 1090 were profressionals who guarded their Directional Patterns with care in those days... Thus the figure "8" major lobes of KAAY were hyper-correct with two small post sunset lobes going east west of the 'transmitter swampshack' on the southeast side of LR...In the murky bottoms of the Arkansas River (wonder if Bill C. had any friends floating around that 50kw site, when he was Gov. or Attorney General?? Only joking!)...
 
which clyde?

would that be the "real" clyde clifford or the "beaker st." clyde clifford?

"beaker st." clyde clifford has been working @ UAMS in little rock for...ever i think, in the AV dept. and doing his show on Magic 105.

never met the other one.
 
Just like "Johnny Rabbit" of KXOK (the two in three different times), Mine might be the No.#2 guy... He talked as if he was not the first, when we met... Let's find out! This is fun...
 
KAAY actually had a short run as a CCM format between dropping Top 40 and changing to Dollar a Holler. In the 70's and 80's I could get them in West TN at night. Now they come in OK in the daytime, but not at all at night. I guess it's because of the mostly North-South directional signal. Not that I particularly want to get them now anyway. Although I listen to Christian radio, KAAY is now in the same category with WWCR shortwave and its sister AM stations like WMQM in Memphis in allowing anyone on who flashes enough money in the station management's faces. They're an embarrassment to Christian radio. :-\
 
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