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by Alex Cosper see also American Radio History STATION HISTORY: KABC KBBQ KBIG KBLA KDAY KEZY KFAC KFOX KFWB KGBS KGFJ KGIL KHJ KIEV KIIS KIQQ KKBT KKDJ KLAC KLOS KLSX KMET KMPC KNAC KNX KOST KPOL KPPC KPWR KQLZ KRLA KROQ KRTH KSRF KTNQ KTWV KUTE KWST KZLA XPRS KNX-FM, which was launched by CBS in 1948, at one time delivered a middle of the road (MOR) sound of mellow pop music. Comedian Steve Allen and Hogan's Heroes actor Bob Crane both worked at the station at one time. 1970s program director Steve Marshall moved on in 1979 to become a writer and co-producer of the CBS-TV series WKRP In Cincinnati. In 1966 the FCC ordered FMs that were simply simulcasts of AM sister stations to devote at least half of scheduling to original programming. CBS owned both KNX 1070 AM and 93.1 KNX FM. As a result, in 1966 KNX AM went all-news while KNX FM remained MOR, playing artists like Frank Sinatra. Starting in 1967 CBS tried out various ideas in the next few years, including its "Young Sound" format that included the softer hits of the pop world in stereo. Steve Marshall arrived at KNX in 1970 as program director, envisioning a "soft AOR" format that highlighted singer-songwriters considered too soft for rock competitors KMET and KLOS. The format also mixed in pop/rock by artists like Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell and James Taylor. Marshall introduced his new programming concept as "Mellow Rock" on April 1, 1971. Although KNX had respectable ratings, CBS tried to go top 40 as KKHR "Hit Radio 93" in the summer of 1983, but the station did not generate enough interest and switched to adult contemporary in 1986 as KNX again. In March 1989 the call letters changed again, this time to KODJ as an oldies station. On September 10, 1993 the call letters became KCBS-FM and the station billed itself as "Arrow 93," playing rock-flavored classic hits. This format lasted until March 17, 2005 when it shifted to a mix of classic and alternative rock as "93-1 Jack-FM." |
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