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KSD 550 Format history 1971 to 1980

T

thebeach33445

Hey Guys:

I was doing research from the Broadcasting Yearbooks and it has listed KSD 550's format as:

1. Contemp/MOR from 1971 to 1975 and 1978 to 1980.

2. Oldies/MOR from 1976 to 1978.

On Wikepida it says that KSD 550 was Top 40 from early 1971 to 1980.

Could anybody tell me which format is right?

Thanks for your help.

T.J.
 
When I first heard KSD, it was a full service AC in the early 1970's.

Sometime around 1974, they added more oldies to their format. Their ad campaign featured average people lip-synching to oldies (I specifically remember one featuring a woman lip-synching to Fats Domino's "Walking To New Orleans").

The AC format continued until 1978. They started to add talk shows in the evening. One was a controversial host named (I believe) Doug Carrick. Eventually the talk format took over, and in 1980, KSD went to an unsuccessful all-news format. In early 1981, KSD went country, and in 1983 changed its calls to KUSA. KUSA was the first St. Louis station to adopt AM Stereo

Here's one question I have. KSD was an NBC Radio affiliate. One of my earliest memories of the station was that they carried "NBC Monitor" on the weekend. How long did that last?
 
I recall them playing a lot of oldies when I heard them in the mid 1970s. They were running some contemporary hits but
played about 3 oldies per current. I couldn't hear them at home at WIND 560 was only 10 miles away, but I could hear them at my cousin's house when we visited. ( Yes I brought my own radio.)
 
I loved 55KSD. Around 1971 or so, it was MORish sounding. Some of the names I recall were Grant Horton, Charles Hefty & Emil Wilde. It did seem to evolve into AC/Oldies shortly thereafter with Scott Burton, Scott St. James and many other notables. They had a blowtorch signal back in those days. It boomed into southwestern Indiana.
 
When I arrived in St. Louis in Nov. '73, Ron Morgan was doing morning drive, with Bob Hamilton on news. Ron & I had worked together at KULF in Houston. Their studios were on Olive Street near 12th. It was the old Post-Dispatch press building. WIL's studio's were in the Missouri State Bank building, next to the press building. Ch. 5 also had their studio's at that location.

At that time, they were playing more oldies, but with currents blended in. Scott Burton was the PD. One of their liners was "55KSD - Where All The Good Songs Have Gone."

Jim Shannon
 
What a great station in the mid 70's. Ron Morgan in the morning, Grant Horton middays, Paul Warner afternoons, and Tom Straw at night. I remember Dick Ullett, Davy O'Donald, and Lee Coffee as weekends and fill-ins. They would play about 2 oldies to every A/C current. I remember they had an RCA BTA-1R behind the engineer as an emergency back-up that shunt fed the old TV tower on the roof.
 
Here's one question I have. KSD was an NBC Radio affiliate. One of my earliest memories of the station was that they carried "NBC Monitor" on the weekend. How long did that last?
[/quote]

NBC began Monitor in 1955, KSD pretty much carried everything from NBC until the format change in 1971 (Monitor continued on the network until 1975). Prior to that they had a full service format with adult standards. I remember Gil Newsome (who came over from KWK) was on there in mornings and afternoons. Jim Burke held down the 9 am to Noon shift, Russ David's Pevely Playhouse Party (one of the last live music shows on St. Louis radio) aired from 12:15 to 2. Following Newsome's death in 1965, Grant Horton took over mornings and Bill Holt noved into afternoons (both came over from KMOX).
The great thing about KSD and KSD-TV was that you would hear somebody on AM 55 one day and eventually you'd see them on Channel 5 (doing the weather, sports, etc.). I guess those days are gone forever.
 
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