KJR FM is KJR FM again

[Bongwater]

96.5 over the last 30 years has been KYYX (AC), KYYX (Alternative), KKMI (Gold AC), KQKT (AC), KXRX (AOR), KYCW (Country), KYPT ('80s), KRQI (Alternative), KJAQ (Variety Hits)

...and KYAC-FM before that

Yes. I remember when they flipped from a soul music format as KYAC to automated Top 40 as KYYX.

So far as I'm aware, KYYX was never AC, though...it was some variant of Top 40 from 1976 until at least the middle of 1981. At that point, "The New 93" was fully launched as a Top 40 station and pretty much blew KYYX out of the water, which triggered their shift over to new wave/alternative.

Why I call KYYX "AC" is because disco was never as huge on KYYX as it was on KJR and KVI-FM/early KPLZ. When disco blew up, so did KJR and KPLZ, which both switched to full blown AC. KYYX seemed to get out relatively unscathed because disco never seemed to be the core of it's format.

KYYX also played more Christopher Cross, Karla Bonoff ("Personally"), Hall & Oates than I can recall hearing on KUBE in the early '80s. Not quite as much as KPLZ at that same time, but they were pretty AC leaning for a CHR (of course, this might have also been the fallout from the disco bust - Christopher Cross was actually played on CHR radio at that time.)

The night playlist tended to be more rockin' (they also simulcasted nightly on KXA 770 for about a year prior to their switch to New Wave. Once the New Wave format took hold, the KXA simulcasts ended.)

KUBE had the advantage of BIG and VERY EFFECTIVE promotion. And a pretty solid mainstream CHR format. This was what people were looking for. And KUBE delivered.

 

[searadiofreak]

96.5 over the last 30 years has been KYYX (AC), KYYX (Alternative), KKMI (Gold AC), KQKT (AC), KXRX (AOR), KYCW (Country), KYPT ('80s), KRQI (Alternative), KJAQ (Variety Hits)

...and KYAC-FM before that

Yes. I remember when they flipped from a soul music format as KYAC to automated Top 40 as KYYX.

So far as I'm aware, KYYX was never AC, though...it was some variant of Top 40 from 1976 until at least the middle of 1981. At that point, "The New 93" was fully launched as a Top 40 station and pretty much blew KYYX out of the water, which triggered their shift over to new wave/alternative.

Why I call KYYX "AC" is because disco was never as huge on KYYX as it was on KJR and KVI-FM/early KPLZ. When disco blew up, so did KJR and KPLZ, which both switched to full blown AC. KYYX seemed to get out relatively unscathed because disco never seemed to be the core of it's format.

KYYX also played more Christopher Cross, Karla Bonoff ("Personally"), Hall & Oates than I can recall hearing on KUBE in the early '80s. Not quite as much as KPLZ at that same time, but they were pretty AC leaning for a CHR (of course, this might have also been the fallout from the disco bust - Christopher Cross was actually played on CHR radio at that time.)

The night playlist tended to be more rockin' (they also simulcasted nightly on KXA 770 for about a year prior to their switch to New Wave. Once the New Wave format took hold, the KXA simulcasts ended.)

KUBE had the advantage of BIG and VERY EFFECTIVE promotion. And a pretty solid mainstream CHR format. This was what people were looking for. And KUBE delivered.

Yes, KUBE was the first Seattle FM to get it right. They came on with guns blazing with a pure Top40 format. There is no question that KUBE was the first REAL FM top40 success. KPLZ beat them later in the 80's, but KUBE should be remembered as the first real Top40 FM in Seattle.

 

[TexasTom]

Yes, KUBE was the first Seattle FM to get it right. They came on with guns blazing with a pure Top40 format. There is no question that KUBE was the first REAL FM top40 success. KPLZ beat them later in the 80's, but KUBE should be remembered as the first real Top40 FM in Seattle.

Agreed...that seems to be true, for Seattle radio. I liked the "FM KVI" well when they first signed on as the only real FM Top 40 station in the Puget Sound area in 1976. But they jumped way to hard on the disco bandwagon, which drove me away (I liked some disco, but didn't want to hear nothing but). I was far from alone, apparently, as the station didn't really recover and shifted to AC by 1980.

KYYX was voice tracked before the technology was really ready, and tended to have a fair number of technical glitches. I remember listening to them one evening when the voice tracks got out of sync with the music and the DJ would back announce the set of songs that had played fifteen minutes ago. I also remember that their whispered "Playing favorites, KYYX" liners had a tendency to step on the openings of songs that lacked an instrumental opening.

Down in Tacoma, we had KNBQ, which went through a variety of automated Top 40 formats before going live and local in 1979 and running head to head against KTAC. While I personally enjoyed some of the automated iterations of KNBQ, the live/local version was certainly far more successful and was able to dethrone KTAC in Pierce County. So I'd say that they had FM Top 40 done right on KNBQ before KUBE ("The New 93") appeared up in Seattle. But you couldn't receive KNBQ north of Pierce County, so I don't supposed that they really counted.

 

[Bongwater]

Yes, KUBE was the first Seattle FM to get it right. They came on with guns blazing with a pure Top40 format. There is no question that KUBE was the first REAL FM top40 success. KPLZ beat them later in the 80's, but KUBE should be remembered as the first real Top40 FM in Seattle.

Agreed...that seems to be true, for Seattle radio. I liked the "FM KVI" well when they first signed on as the only real FM Top 40 station in the Puget Sound area in 1976. But they jumped way to hard on the disco bandwagon, which drove me away (I liked some disco, but didn't want to hear nothing but). I was far from alone, apparently, as the station didn't really recover and shifted to AC by 1980.

KYYX was voice tracked before the technology was really ready, and tended to have a fair number of technical glitches. I remember listening to them one evening when the voice tracks got out of sync with the music and the DJ would back announce the set of songs that had played fifteen minutes ago. I also remember that their whispered "Playing favorites, KYYX" liners had a tendency to step on the openings of songs that lacked an instrumental opening.

Down in Tacoma, we had KNBQ, which went through a variety of automated Top 40 formats before going live and local in 1979 and running head to head against KTAC. While I personally enjoyed some of the automated iterations of KNBQ, the live/local version was certainly far more successful and was able to dethrone KTAC in Pierce County. So I'd say that they had FM Top 40 done right on KNBQ before KUBE ("The New 93") appeared up in Seattle. But you couldn't receive KNBQ north of Pierce County, so I don't supposed that they really counted.

KNBQ was heard in most of Snohomish County, where they were very popular in the early '80s.

 

[searadiofreak]

I remember getting KNBQ in most areas of Seattle, though it could be spotty. Gary Bryan was involved with the early live version and he had that station sounding really good in the 80's.

I've mentioned this before, but at one time (circa 1987), there were four FM top40's in Seattle/Tacoma. KUBE, KPLZ, KHIT, and KNBQ.

 

[LITTLEBOYBLUE]

I liked the "FM KVI" well when they first signed on as the only real FM Top 40 station in the Puget Sound area in 1976. But they jumped way to hard on the disco bandwagon, which drove me away (I liked some disco, but didn't want to hear nothing but). I was far from alone, apparently, as the station didn't really recover and shifted to AC by 1980.

KYYX was voice tracked before the technology was really ready, and tended to have a fair number of technical glitches. I remember listening to them one evening when the voice tracks got out of sync with the music and the DJ would back announce the set of songs that had played fifteen minutes ago. I also remember that their whispered "Playing favorites, KYYX" liners had a tendency to step on the openings of songs that lacked an instrumental opening.

Down in Tacoma, we had KNBQ, which went through a variety of automated Top 40 formats before going live and local in 1979 and running head to head against KTAC. While I personally enjoyed some of the automated iterations of KNBQ, the live/local version was certainly far more successful and was able to dethrone KTAC in Pierce County. So I'd say that they had FM Top 40 done right on KNBQ before KUBE ("The New 93") appeared up in Seattle. But you couldn't receive KNBQ north of Pierce County, so I don't supposed that they really counted.

I wound up at all three of those at various points. KYYX when they were still doing personality with tracks from Lan @ KORL (replaced by Bob Simon locally), Emp Smith, Robin Mitchell, Burl Barer ... Jim Bach was doing imaging, Eric McKaig the production & other elements. What an amazing crew.

Then to KNBQ where there were in tail end of one of those automated formats...but building the studios to go live from Tacoma. I was in 20's and couldn't keep my yap shut so got canned -- had I known they would flush the idiot PD and replace him with a REAL leader I would have kept my yap shut and gone for the ride.

KVI wound up becoming KPLZ as a result of the disco infusion ... they wanted a new identity so went with 101-PLUS, and KPLS already in California so KPLZ was closest call assign they could get. At the time I felt that was mistake because the whole "KVI, KOMO" thing still owned the market at the time and an adult-leaning AC with many of the elements popular on AM-KVI (and keeping the same calls) would have been MUCH smarter. By then KYYX already on the air trying the Top 40 approach anyway.

But as srf already pointed out...it wasn't until O'Shea and Charlie Brown took KUBE into the "let's just do this RIGHT" gear and rode the "people are migrating to FM" trend right up to the top of the heap. They grabbed Ty Flint from KVI-AM and coupled with the other former KJR-staffers .... well .... "did it RIGHT".

Those were good days. Lots of pioneering and learning as we went, but I still think ALL those stations produced some great radio. KHIT was one of the absolute tightest cleanest stations I ever heard but never got the traction because it was, by that point, the fourth horse in the race ... and the only pay for WIN PLACE & SHOW.

 

[searadiofreak]

Yes, LBB, this was indeed the "glory era" of top40 in Seattle. Followed closely by the KJR-KOL war in the late 60's. Dick Curtis, where are you? Please chime in.