KFRC-AM

[MarioMania]

Does CBS hold the right to the old KFRC 610 Archives??

Like if CBS puts new calls on 106.9 and someone else get the KFRC calls

 

[1069_KIFR]

Dunno know about the archives.

They may park the call letters somewhere else or keep them somewhere in a vault.

 

[MarioMania]

So by keeping KFRC on 106.9 CBS won't give up the Calls?

 

[michael hagerty]

CBS owns the "intellectual property" of KFRC. That would include promotional material, production pieces, artwork, recordings made by the station, etc.

To keep the call letters from being used by someone else, CBS has to use them. But it wouldn't have to be in San Francisco. They could change the call letters of any one of their stations west of the Mississippi (on in Pittsburgh) to KFRC.

Really, though, there is so little attention paid to call letters anymore that it would make sense to just leave the KFRC calls where they are regardless of what station name they end up using.

You could also make the argument that it's been so long that KFRC was a true powerhouse that the majority of people for whom those four letters have any power have aged out of the money demographic. If a competitor obtained and used the KFRC calls tomorrow, it wouldn't be a huge threat.

 

[HCochet]

Does CBS hold the right to the old KFRC 610 Archives??

Like if CBS puts new calls on 106.9 and someone else get the KFRC calls

since you have an interest in old KFRC, I was wondering:
I remember in the very late 1970s (whatever year the song was hot) KFRC would play their own special version of "Fire" by The Pointer Sisters. Do you know the song? "I'm riding in your car, you turn on the radio.............."
EXCEPT when KFRC played it, the song went "I'm riding in your car, you turn on KFRC......."
Remember that? I wonder how many different stations they did that for and was that a common sort of thing. Did they get paid for it, or did they get more airplay for it (of course), but did they also get other songs played more often? A google search tells me they are from Oakland. Maybe being local (as far as coverage goes), they did KFRC only and enjoyed being on their (sort of) home station.

 

[Bryan Simmons]

since you have an interest in old KFRC, I was wondering:
I remember in the very late 1970s (whatever year the song was hot) KFRC would play their own special version of "Fire" by The Pointer Sisters. Do you know the song? "I'm riding in your car, you turn on the radio.............."
EXCEPT when KFRC played it, the song went "I'm riding in your car, you turn on KFRC......."
Remember that? I wonder how many different stations they did that for and was that a common sort of thing. Did they get paid for it, or did they get more airplay for it (of course), but did they also get other songs played more often? A google search tells me they are from Oakland. Maybe being local (as far as coverage goes), they did KFRC only and enjoyed being on their (sort of) home station.

It was customized for stations allover the country, but as far as I know, only in the major markets. I remember KFI having their own version as well. It wasn't an uncommon thing and had zero to do with the Pointer Sisters coming from the East Bay. Stations aired customized songs more than you'd think. It was actually done by the artist too, unlike what jingle companies like Reel World do with their fake intros to customize the song.

 

[michael hagerty]

since you have an interest in old KFRC, I was wondering:
I remember in the very late 1970s (whatever year the song was hot) KFRC would play their own special version of "Fire" by The Pointer Sisters. Do you know the song? "I'm riding in your car, you turn on the radio.............."
EXCEPT when KFRC played it, the song went "I'm riding in your car, you turn on KFRC......."
Remember that? I wonder how many different stations they did that for and was that a common sort of thing. Did they get paid for it, or did they get more airplay for it (of course), but did they also get other songs played more often? A google search tells me they are from Oakland. Maybe being local (as far as coverage goes), they did KFRC only and enjoyed being on their (sort of) home station.

It was customized for stations allover the country, but as far as I know, only in the major markets. I remember KFI having their own version as well. It wasn't an uncommon thing and had zero to do with the Pointer Sisters coming from the East Bay. Stations aired customized songs more than you'd think. It was actually done by the artist too, unlike what jingle companies like Reel World do with their fake intros to customize the song.

All true. But the Pointers did have a special relationship with KFRC. "Fire" was the second song they'd customized for 610. The first was their 1975 single "How Long (Betcha Got A Chick On The Side)"...and for that one, they did 6 custom versions...each replacing "chick" with a KFRC jock's first name ("Betcha got a Don/Rick/John/Chuck/Mark/Shana on the side, sure you got a Don/Rick/John/Chuck/Mark/Shana on the side, I know you got a Don/Rick/John/Chuck/Mark/Shana on the side...").

Each jock (Rose, Shaw, Flanagan, Buell, McKay, Shana and Sainte-Johnn) would play the version that mentioned their name.

And if I'm not mistaken, KFRC had its custom version of "Fire" two or three weeks ahead of KFI and the others.

 

[rickityone]

Interesting that KFI had a version of "Fire" with their call letters in it because at the same time so did KHJ - same market - guess the Pointers didn't play favorites.

rickity
www.gulchradio.com

 

[HCochet]

since you have an interest in old KFRC, I was wondering:
I remember in the very late 1970s (whatever year the song was hot) KFRC would play their own special version of "Fire" by The Pointer Sisters. Do you know the song? "I'm riding in your car, you turn on the radio.............."
EXCEPT when KFRC played it, the song went "I'm riding in your car, you turn on KFRC......."
Remember that? I wonder how many different stations they did that for and was that a common sort of thing. Did they get paid for it, or did they get more airplay for it (of course), but did they also get other songs played more often? A google search tells me they are from Oakland. Maybe being local (as far as coverage goes), they did KFRC only and enjoyed being on their (sort of) home station.

...........Stations aired customized songs more than you'd think...................

More than some might think. I had no idea. I thought maybe it's very common or maybe it was a one time thing. I was never in the business and didn't travel back then to hear other areas. I wonder how many stations the lead singer did that for. Is it harder (per station)* to sing four call letters so that they fit/sound exactly right than it is for a syndicated talk host to say "You're listening to (insert name) on (letters and city).
Thanks for your answer. I'm glad others remember that.
*I guess top talk show hosts do a lot more stations than any singer ever did

 

[michael hagerty]

Interesting that KFI had a version of "Fire" with their call letters in it because at the same time so did KHJ - same market - guess the Pointers didn't play favorites.

rickity
www.gulchradio.com

Usually, once the label got involved, they were offered to all the majors. After all, you want them all playing your record.

 

[michael hagerty]

since you have an interest in old KFRC, I was wondering:
I remember in the very late 1970s (whatever year the song was hot) KFRC would play their own special version of "Fire" by The Pointer Sisters. Do you know the song? "I'm riding in your car, you turn on the radio.............."
EXCEPT when KFRC played it, the song went "I'm riding in your car, you turn on KFRC......."
Remember that? I wonder how many different stations they did that for and was that a common sort of thing. Did they get paid for it, or did they get more airplay for it (of course), but did they also get other songs played more often? A google search tells me they are from Oakland. Maybe being local (as far as coverage goes), they did KFRC only and enjoyed being on their (sort of) home station.

...........Stations aired customized songs more than you'd think...................

More than some might think. I had no idea. I thought maybe it's very common or maybe it was a one time thing. I was never in the business and didn't travel back then to hear other areas. I wonder how many stations the lead singer did that for. Is it harder (per station)* to sing four call letters so that they fit/sound exactly right than it is for a syndicated talk host to say "You're listening to (insert name) on (letters and city).
Thanks for your answer. I'm glad others remember that.
*I guess top talk show hosts do a lot more stations than any singer ever did

The talk show hosts probably read the whole sentence. 100-200 affiliates. You do it once and then update the ones that need it. Less than an hour if there aren't too many flubbed takes.

In the case of "Fire" the re-sing was one line: "you turn on (call letters)"...the "you turn on" had to be sung slightly differently to accomodate three syllables or four in the call letters or station name.

Generally, this kind of thing was limited to top 20 markets, so if you figure an average of 2 Top 40s a market, that's 40 re-sings of a single line. Again, maybe an hour in the studio if all goes well.

Thing is, not all stations that could have them wanted them. I remember some stations saying their audience resented their competitor turning a favorite song into a station promo, so they played the "pure" version.

 

[LKellerIII]

Does CBS hold the right to the old KFRC 610 Archives??

Like if CBS puts new calls on 106.9 and someone else get the KFRC calls

since you have an interest in old KFRC, I was wondering:
I remember in the very late 1970s (whatever year the song was hot) KFRC would play their own special version of "Fire" by The Pointer Sisters. Do you know the song? "I'm riding in your car, you turn on the radio.............."
EXCEPT when KFRC played it, the song went "I'm riding in your car, you turn on KFRC......."
Remember that? I wonder how many different stations they did that for and was that a common sort of thing. Did they get paid for it, or did they get more airplay for it (of course), but did they also get other songs played more often? A google search tells me they are from Oakland. Maybe being local (as far as coverage goes), they did KFRC only and enjoyed being on their (sort of) home station.

Along those same lines, let's not forget Journey's Lights ("When the Lights Go Down in the City, and the sun shines on the Bay...)" in which the the call letters appear in place of the "oh, whoa, oh" stuff. I don't recall if they ran the song on the air that way, but they made a very nice TV commercial out of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbovY8rQKRQ

CBS owns the "intellectual property" of KFRC. That would include promotional material, production pieces, artwork, recordings made by the station, etc.

To keep the call letters from being used by someone else, CBS has to use them. But it wouldn't have to be in San Francisco. They could change the call letters of any one of their stations west of the Mississippi (on in Pittsburgh) to KFRC.

Really, though, there is so little attention paid to call letters anymore that it would make sense to just leave the KFRC calls where they are regardless of what station name they end up using.

You could also make the argument that it's been so long that KFRC was a true powerhouse that the majority of people for whom those four letters have any power have aged out of the money demographic. If a competitor obtained and used the KFRC calls tomorrow, it wouldn't be a huge threat.

Probably true, but remember that 99.7/KFRC was the Bay Area's primary Oldies station for about 15 years, ending about 2006, IIRC (skipping that 106.9 debacle). So many probably associate the call letters more with that format.

I remember reading during the "Magic 61" era, when the call letters weren't being used except as the TOH ID, James Gabbert offerred to buy the KFRC call letters for his new stations (AM, FM, and TV), but RKO General wasn't interested. Gabbert defaulted to "KOFY."

It is odd listening to the top-of-the-hour ID on KCBS, and hearing "KFRC-FM" IDed on the news format.

RE: using call letters so others cannot: I recall that some years ago, CBS purchased KOME-FM, a somewhat legendary rock station in the South Bay. They changed the call letters to KUFX (K-Fox), then parked the KOME call letters on some small market AM station for later use. According to Wikipedia, the call letters now reside in Meridian, Texas.

 

[michael hagerty]

Does CBS hold the right to the old KFRC 610 Archives??

Like if CBS puts new calls on 106.9 and someone else get the KFRC calls

since you have an interest in old KFRC, I was wondering:
I remember in the very late 1970s (whatever year the song was hot) KFRC would play their own special version of "Fire" by The Pointer Sisters. Do you know the song? "I'm riding in your car, you turn on the radio.............."
EXCEPT when KFRC played it, the song went "I'm riding in your car, you turn on KFRC......."
Remember that? I wonder how many different stations they did that for and was that a common sort of thing. Did they get paid for it, or did they get more airplay for it (of course), but did they also get other songs played more often? A google search tells me they are from Oakland. Maybe being local (as far as coverage goes), they did KFRC only and enjoyed being on their (sort of) home station.

Along those same lines, let's not forget Journey's Lights ("When the Lights Go Down in the City, and the sun shines on the Bay...)" in which the the call letters appear in place of the "oh, whoa, oh" stuff. I don't recall if they ran the song on the air that way, but they made a very nice TV commercial out of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbovY8rQKRQ

CBS owns the "intellectual property" of KFRC. That would include promotional material, production pieces, artwork, recordings made by the station, etc.

To keep the call letters from being used by someone else, CBS has to use them. But it wouldn't have to be in San Francisco. They could change the call letters of any one of their stations west of the Mississippi (on in Pittsburgh) to KFRC.

Really, though, there is so little attention paid to call letters anymore that it would make sense to just leave the KFRC calls where they are regardless of what station name they end up using.

You could also make the argument that it's been so long that KFRC was a true powerhouse that the majority of people for whom those four letters have any power have aged out of the money demographic. If a competitor obtained and used the KFRC calls tomorrow, it wouldn't be a huge threat.

Probably true, but remember that 99.7/KFRC was the Bay Area's primary Oldies station for about 15 years, ending about 2006, IIRC (skipping that 106.9 debacle). So many probably associate the call letters more with that format.

I remember reading during the "Magic 61" era, when the call letters weren't being used except as the TOH ID, James Gabbert offerred to buy the KFRC call letters for his new stations (AM, FM, and TV), but RKO General wasn't interested. Gabbert defaulted to "KOFY."

It is odd listening to the top-of-the-hour ID on KCBS, and hearing "KFRC-FM" IDed on the news format.

RE: using call letters so others cannot: I recall that some years ago, CBS purchased KOME-FM, a somewhat legendary rock station in the South Bay. They changed the call letters to KUFX (K-Fox), then parked the KOME call letters on some small market AM station for later use. According to Wikipedia, the call letters now reside in Meridian, Texas.

Llew:

The Journey re-sing was for the commercial only.

The average age of the KFRC-FM Oldies listener was close to 50, and it's been gone for 7 years...out of the demo (and I don't think many listeners were as rabid about that era of KFRC as they were the 70s/early 80s. Listening levels were certainly much lower.

RKO had applied for new calls at the beginning of the Magic 61 era...KMGS, I think. Anyway, before the FCC approved, they chickened out.

 

[1069_KIFR]

I had read that for Magic 61, they were considering the call letters, KMMG.

 

[onairb]

Yes, but the Santa Rosa station then known as KMGG complained.

 

[1069_KIFR]

The BIG 610

 

[onairb]

There was a Santa Rosa FM station, located close to 99.7, which had nearly identical calls to the ones RKO wanted to use; one was KMMG, the other KMGG, but I forget which set was real and which was 'planned'.

 

[michael hagerty]

There was a Santa Rosa FM station, located close to 99.7, which had nearly identical calls to the ones RKO wanted to use; one was KMMG, the other KMGG, but I forget which set was real and which was 'planned'.

97.7 in Santa Rosa had become KMGG in January of '86, picking up the calls after 105.9 in Los Angeles dropped them to become KPWR.

Back issues of Billboard (thanks, Google Books!) confirm that RKO filed for KMMG. It doesn't appear there was a challenge. Most likely, RKO worried that someone else could do well in the market using the calls and they'd be a laughingstock for letting them go.

At the time, KFRC was a stand-alone AM at 610. Someone else owned 99.7. I believe it was still NBC, and the call letters were still KYUU.

 

[calguy]

I was told by a friend living there that word got out about the proposed call letter change and that a public outcry made them change their minds, but I'm only going on what my buddy told me, so his info could be wrong.

 

[RadioStarOne]

I remember Doctor Don Rose commenting that five other bay area stations applied for the calls and thats why RKO kept them.