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Sacramento Radio History
KROY
by Alex Cosper
Take a virtual tour of Sacramento at SacTV.com
see also American Radio History
see also KZAP,
KROY,
KSFM,
KWOD,
KRXQ,
KNDE,
K108,
index
Early Sacramento History
KFBK was Sacramento's only licensee on the local airwaves until KROY arrived in 1937 at 1210 AM and
then moved to 1240 AM four years later. Named after its first owner, Royal Miller, the station
delivered popular syndicated shows of the day such as Your Hit Parade. Until the end of World
War II, Sacramento's only two radio stations were KFBK and KROY. One of KROY's early salesmen was
Elton Rule, who later went on to become a broadcast icon as President of ABC. A deeper look at the
history of KROY can be found at www.1240kroy.com.
Roy Sells KROY
In 1946 the history of radio changed when the FCC, for the first time, had to oversee a bidding war for
a radio property. That station was none other than KROY and it changed hands from the Royal Miller Estate
to Harmco Inc. for $150K. Eight years later Robert Walker Dunn bought the station and ran it until 1959,
when Lincoln Dellar Stations moved in. Under this new ownership KROY became a top 40 station in 1960 - when 8 year old Dave Williams started to listen and decided that he wanted to pursue a radio career - one that would constantly find him at number one in Sacramento. In KROY's early stage of its long run delivering the national hits to Sacramento, the station billed itself as "Color Radio," consulted by Ted Randall.
The Rest of the KROY Story
Battle for the hits: KROY vs KXOA
Mike Larsen talks about KROY in the early 60s
Musical chairs between KROY and KXOA
KROY spends six years at the top
Inside the KROY machine
KROY veterans advance nationally
The 70s mark the end of the AM top 40 giants
Tony Cox tells how FM took over
Whatever happened to KANDIE and KROY?
The return of KROY
The Eagle takes off
© Alex Cosper. All Rights Reserved.