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KFVD Los Angeles Changes
Happy 80th KTNQ LA
After VD for 30 years, 1020-AM Turns 80 Speaking Spanish?
by Jim Hilliker
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Promotional booklet of matches from KFVD in late 1940's.
© Jim Hilliker Collection.
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(June 15, 2005) The license for KTNQ, 1020-AM in Los Angeles, is 80
years old this week. KTNQ is the 9th oldest continuously operating
radio station in the Los Angeles market. It has survived numerous
ownership and personnel changes over the decades and has been known
by 4 sets of call letters.
For more than half of this AM station's years on the air, it was
limited to daytime-only operation with a few nighttime hours, until
1976. On this occasion, I thought it would be interesting to look
back at some of the history of this heritage station.
EARLY YEARS OF BROADCASTING IN SAN PEDRO
This story starts in the community of San Pedro at the McWhinnie
Electric Company at 1825 South Pacific Avenue. The San Pedro Daily
Pilot reported on March 30, 1925 that brothers William J. and Charles
I. McWhinnie (referred to as Bill and Charlie in some newspaper
stories) have received authority from the Department of Commerce to
erect a radio broadcasting station in San Pedro. The story says the
station will be known as KFVD, San Pedro, California. The owners
planned to complete work on the station within two months. KFVD was
assigned to broadcast on a 205-meter wavelength or 1460 kilocycles
using a 100-watt transmitter.
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KFVD 1925 letter to local listener.
© Jim Hilliker Collection
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Stories appeared often in the local paper, following the progress of
installing KFVD. The estimated cost of getting the station on the air
was $31,000. When the first over-the-air tests were made on June 12,
telephone calls came in from Catalina Island and many other points in
Southern California. Callers reported that messages heard over KFVD
were clear and distinct.
Meanwhile, the McWhinnies held tryouts for three hours that day, as
they looked for suitable talent from San Pedro and nearby areas to be
broadcast over KFVD. The KFVD studios were also open to the public
for inspection from 1 to 10 p.m. on Friday, as preparations were
underway for KFVD's first official broadcast Saturday night.
The next day, the Daily Pilot reported that close to 2,000 people
visited the radio station at the McWhinnie Electric Company and more
than 1,500 of them signed the station's register. They were able to
see KFVD's 9 by 16 foot reception room and 16 by 26 foot studio,
decorated in accordion-pleated blue velour, typical of 1920s radio
studios. The unique big glass window, sound-proof walls, and control
and transmitter room held the public's interest. Col. J.F. Dillon,
head inspector in California for the U.S. Department of Commerce
Radio Division said KFVD was one of the finest equipped stations in
the country.
FIRST OFFICIAL BROADCAST
Finally, it was time to go on the air. The inaugural and dedicatory
program of KFVD took place Saturday night June 13, 1925 and lasted
from 8 p.m. until 3 a.m. Sunday morning. The announcer and MC for
KFVD's first broadcast was Los Angeles announcer Freeman Lang,
described in the newspaper stories as "right hand man and understudy
of the famous Uncle John Daggett of KHJ." Lang had one career as a
radio station engineer for various stations and in 1927, he would
found the station which evolved into 710/KMPC. Lang also had become a
glib radio announcer and would often be heard over the next few years
hosting broadcasts of movie premieres and other big events on L.A.
radio. In the early 1930s, Freeman Lang ran a busy recording studio
in Hollywood, which produced many early syndicated radio shows of the
Depression years and early radio commericals.
The opening night broadcast for KFVD was an invitational affair, with
40 heads of civic organizations, public officials and the press on
hand. The program included speeches and congratulatory messages,
welcoming San Pedro's new radio station to the airwaves. Music and
entertainment was provided by local talent and well known radio
artists from all over the Southland. Two days later, on Monday, the
McWhinnie Electric Company was still busy with the many letters,
telegrams and phone calls received from points throughout the
Southwest, reporting on the quality of KFVD's signal and the program
itself.
By now, the McWhinnies had chosen R.M.C. Dobson, commander of Knights
Templar in San Pedro as station manager. It was also announced that
KFVD would be on the air only 3 nights a week on Monday, Wednesday
and Saturday from 8 to 11 p.m. A Sunday remote broadcast from the
First Presbyterian Church was also aired on KFVD. By September of
1925, KFVD's station manager was R. Lyle Griffith who had come from
KFWB. A nightly broadcast from 6 to 6:30 p.m. only for the daily
news, sports and weather was soon added, but the longer 3-hour
broadcasts of music and other entertainment continued only on Monday,
Wednesday and Saturday nights.
In those pre-commercial days of radio, owners worried about how to
pay for the station's operating costs. One of the big costs KFVD had
in 1925 was for the remote phone line to broadcast the Sunday morning
and evening services from the First Presbyterian Church. The
McWhinnie Brothers made a suggestion that KFVD listeners and business
people in San Pedro and vicinity make financial contributions to help
pay for this service. The Citizen's Sunday Broadcasting Fund was set
up for this purpose. They mailed out 500 circular letters to
prominent citizens asking for contributions to help maintain the
Sunday program services broadcast from the church. Support in the
community for KFVD was also promised by the San Pedro Chamber of
Commerce. The Chamber decided to sponsor monthly programs on KFVD to
publicize San Pedro on the airwaves.
A FEW EARLY KFVD MEMORIES
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KFVD listener QSL card to NZ listener in 1945.
© Keith Robinson Collection, Radio Heritage Foundation
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Mr. Steve Stombeck told the San Pedro Bay Historical Society in 1993
that he remembered KFVD in 1925-'26 being inside a two-story
building, with the four-wire transmitting antenna on the roof, strung
between two 80-foot towers. The McWhinnies were selling early radio
equipment for people who wanted to build their own sets to listen to
KFVD and other stations. Like other similar companies that got into
radio in the early and mid-1920s, the station was seen as a way to
promote their business.
Mrs. Betty McWhinnie Patez was the daughter of one of the original
KFVD owners. She told the historical society in 1993 that she was
6-years-old when the station started. She recalled that her mother
was a musician who often played the piano over KFVD to fill time when
there was nothing else to broadcast. (Indeed, in KFVD newspaper
listings in 1925, Mrs. Fay McWhinnie was often listed as one of the
KFVD accompanists).
Telling the listening audience about current events quickly became a
part of KFVD's programming. The station soon became associated with
the San Pedro Daily Pilot newspaper. The paper allowed the station to
broadcast news and sports items from its wire services. The paper
also promoted the radio station by listing KFVD programs each day.
Other programming consisted mainly of San Pedro area musical talent.
One of the earliest featured KFVD personalities was Miss Rowena
Commons, who was given the title "Our Radio Girl." She was signed to
be on KFVD for 10 weeks to perform jazz songs with ukulele
accompaniment and play piano. A one-act play presented by San Pedro
High School students was also heard one evening. In September of
1925, KFVD and the Daily Pilot not only were broadcasting local and
world news, baseball scores and weather. The station also gave radio
fans a "blow-by-blow" description of a boxing match from Yankee
Stadium in New York, via wire service reports.
A NEW RADIO HOME IN VENICE
During its first 14 months on the air, there wasn't much variation in
the KFVD schedule. Then, on August 9, 1926, it was suddenly
announced in the paper that the McWhinnie Electric Company was moving
KFVD from San Pedro to the Venice Ballroom at the oceanfront
amusement park in Venice. The electrical and radio supply store would
remain in San Pedro. One unconfirmed story was that the station
moved because it was causing interference to Navy ship radios nearby.
But the newspaper story gave no reason for the move, other than a
chance for KFVD to grow and expand its listening audience. The
station was off the air from August 9th until at least August 21st,
until the new broadcast set-up in Venice was completed. W.H. White
was to be retained as KFVD station manager.
After the move to Venice, KFVD's station slogan became "The Voice by
the Sea". Also, the last two letters in its call sign were said to
stand for "Venice Dance", since people came to the Venice Ballroom to
dance to the latest jazz bands, which were heard live over KFVD.
Following KFVD's lead, another station, Kierulff and Ravenscroft
Company's KNRC (now KABC-790) soon moved from Los Angeles to the
municipal auditorium at Ocean Park, Santa Monica. By January of 1927,
along with W.H. White as KFVD manager, Leo T. Cleary was the main
announcer on the station and the Technician (fancy word for chief
engineer) was O.B. Mills, who left soon after to work at new station
KMIC in Inglewood. The Venice Ballroom Orchestra was heard every
night from 10 to midnight on KFVD; Melba Lyon, the KFVD girl and many
other singers, musicians and comedians were featured nightly. On
Friday's at midnight, Frolic at the Ship Café was broadcast featuring
Dave Snell and his Wonder Orchestra. The expected Children's Hour
program popular on local radio then was heard on KFVD from 4 to 5
p.m. most days.
THE FEDERAL RADIO COMMISSION STEPS IN
By late-1926, there was no government regulation of broadcasting, due
to several court decisions. Because of this, many stations chose to
raise their transmitter power or changed their frequency in order to
be heard more clearly over the increasing interference from other
stations. KFVD boosted its power from 100 to 500 watts by January
1927. This did not last too long, however. Congress finally passed a
law on February 23, 1927 giving the government strict control over
radio, such as who gets a license for a radio station, and what
frequencies and transmitter powers are assigned to broadcasting
stations.
The new Federal Radio Commission decided to move KFVD from 1460 to
1440-AM on June 15, 1927, and lowered its power from 500 to 250
watts. KFVD was also forced to share time on 1440 with KGFJ in Los
Angeles. This was part of the FRC's first attempt to reorganize the
broadcast band.
A WOMAN IS BRIEFLY IN CHARGE
For the week of June 20 to June 26, 1927, KFVD's station manager and
announcer was Mary Elizabeth Carter. Little is known about her, but
she was likely one of the earliest women in Los Angeles radio to be
heard on the air and be given the title of station manager at the
same time.
A short item in the December 1, 1927 issue of the Los Angeles Times
announced that Carter was leaving KFVD, but no reason for her
departure was given. Her real name was Mrs. C.C. Carter but she used
the name "Mary Elizabeth" Carter on the air. The story said Carter
had been the only woman radio station announcer and manager on the
Pacific Coast for the past year.
Regular features heard from the Venice Ballroom on KFVD in the early
summer of 1927 included Cush Branch and his Orchestra, the Melody
Makers Orchestra, the KFVD String Quartet, the KFVD Harmony Trio,
Tommy Jacobs and his Ship Café Orchestra. Even Harry Von Zell was
featured as a singer, with his partner, on KFVD one night. He
started earlier in 1927 on KMIC-Inglewood as an announcer/singer
earlier in the year, and would later venture to KGB-San Diego, back
to KMTR in Hollywood and on to become a national network radio
announcer for many years.
MORE DIAL CHANGES AND ANOTHER STUDIO MOVE
The FRC continued to look for ways to ease the overcrowding of
stations on the Broadcast Band (AM), which occurred just before its
formation. Having stations share or divide airtime on one frequency
was seen as one solution. In February of 1928, the FRC moved KFVD
from 1440 to 1390 kilocycles and have the station share time with
KGER-Long Beach.
After one year and nine months in Venice, the McWhinnie Electric Co.
decided to move KFVD's studio and transmitter again. This move from
Venice to Culver City took place in May of 1928. The new station
address in that city was 4163 Minerva Avenue. Six months later, on
November 11, 1928, KFVD was reassigned to broadcast on 700
kilocycles. This was part of the FRC's major nationwide adjustment
of the broadcast band that established clear, regional, and local
channels for the first time. About this time, a newspaper story
reported that KFVD had been sold. The November 25, 1928 edition of
the Los Angeles Times said KFVD had been purchased by Pathe Studios,
and they were planning to build new radio studios with frontage on
both Washington Blvd. and Ince Blvd. But, according to FCC records,
this sale never took place.
In April of 1929, KFVD was again shifted from 700 to 710 on the dial.
Finally, on November 15, 1929, there was one more FRC order, which
put KFVD at 1000 on the radio dial as a 250-watt limited time
station. This meant the station was on the air mainly during daytime
hours, but was able to go on the air for a few hours at night, when
the dominant station on 1000-AM, WHO-Des Moines, Iowa was off the
air. KFVD stayed at this dial position for the next 11 years.
ORIGINAL OWNERS SELL KFVD; STATION GOES "HOLLYWOOD"
Earlier that year, in February of 1929, the McWhinnies got out of
broadcasting ownership and sold KFVD to the Auburn-Fuller Company.
This company was owned by E.L. Cord, who was famous for making and
selling Cord and Auburn automobiles. The radio station was still in
Culver City, but now was located inside the Hal Roach Motion Picture
lot on Washington Blvd. In March, Cord changed the station license to
read that KFVD was owned by the Los Angeles Broadcasting Company, a
subsidiary of the Auburn-Fuller Company. This was the location of the
Hal Roach Motion Picture Company, famous for the Little Rascals
comedy films and the movies of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. There
were at least two publicity photos of Laurel and Hardy taken in
connection with the radio station. Both are in a 1987 book "Laurel
and Hardy-The Magic Behind the Movies" by Randy Skretvedt. One photo
shows Laurel and Hardy inside the broadcast studio next to an old
carbon microphone, with the call letters posted in the background,
with a turntable nearby. The other picture shows Stan and Ollie
posing with "The Happy-Go-Lucky Trio", with the KFVD calls on the
band's bass drum. This small musical group played during a
breakfast-time show every morning on KFVD. Laurel and Hardy were
listening to their program one morning, when one particular tune
caught their attention. The instrumental was played at the top of the
hour, and Stan Laurel said it sounded like a musical coo coo clock.
The comedy team liked this piece of music very much, so they went to
the KFVD studio and got the band to record it. The same tune was then
used as the theme music for every Laurel and Hardy film, beginning in
March 1930! The bandleader, T. Marvin Hatley, also became musical
director for the Hal Roach Studios when they went to "talkies" that
year.
This change from silent to sound movies also brought a new
problem to KFVD. The audio from the station transmitter was causing
the programs going out over the air to be picked up and recorded on
the movie soundtrack, as the movies were being filmed. The same thing
happened to KFWB at the Warner Bros. lot. KFWB solved the problem by
moving their station away from the movie studio. KFVD brought in
two-dozen engineers from RCA just out of college, but they were
baffled at first by this new problem for radio. However, after some
intense investigation as to why the station sound got onto the movie
soundtrack, they must've found a solution.
When E.L. Cord's Auburn Fuller Company moved KFVD to the Hal Roach
movie studio in February of 1928, the station manager was John W.
Swallow. Jerry Purcell and Paul Myers were the announcers and M.S.
Adams was Chief Technician. The station was listed as on the air only
during daytime hours, until 4:30 or 5 p.m. The daily 7 a.m. program
at that time featured Len Nash and His Country Boys. At 1:30 p.m.,
listeners heard Hal Roach Comedy Gossip and at 3 p.m., there was the
Auburn Hour with George Redman and his orchestra. By October of
1929, the morning show on KFVD featured Hal Roach's "Happy-Go-Lucky
Trio" daily at 7 a.m. They apparently started on KFVD sometime
between February and October of 1929. The KFVD schedule was a bit
longer at this time, with some night hours. The station signed off at
5 or 6 p.m., and was back on the air from 8:30 to 11 p.m. or later.
The Happy-Go-Lucky Trio was also heard on KFVD every evening at 8:30.
The Hal Roach Comedy Gossip and Auburn Concert Orchestra programs
were still on the station schedule. Announcer Al Weinert replaced
Jerry Purcell.
By May and June of 1930, KFVD added a third announcer, Berton
Bennett. A Spanish program began their broadcast day at 6 a.m. each
morning, while the Hal Roach Happy-Go-Lucky Trio continued their
wake-up show at 7 a.m. 6 days a week, but they did not broadcast an
evening show. Organ recitals, popular music recordings and various
talks filled out the KFVD schedule at this time.
KFVD's studios remained at the Hal Roach lot in Culver City for about
2 more years. During the last few months there, a young girl singer
named Frances Gumm performed with her two older sisters on KFVD from
the Hal Roach Studio on January 31, 1931 during an afternoon program.
The Gumm Sisters had been making the rounds of other Los Angeles
radio stations and vaudeville theaters in search of fame. Frances
later hit the big time after changing her name to Judy Garland.
CORD MOVES KFVD IN WITH KFAC
In April of 1931, E.L. Cord bought station KTBI and changed the call
letters to KFAC. On April 12, 1932 the KFVD studios moved from the
Roach movie lot in Culver City to Los Angeles. The combined KFAC and
KFVD facilities moved into the Penthouse of Cord's car dealership at
645 South Mariposa at Wilshire Blvd. One of the KFAC/KFVD staff
announcers in 1932 was the late Frank Nelson, who later became a
featured character actor on Jack Benny and many other radio and TV
programs. He usually played a sales clerk in a store or a restaurant
waiter, whose trademark was giving sarcastic answers to questions,
and greeting a customer with a long, punctuated "Yeeeeessssss!" On
the I Love Lucy tv show, Nelson was cast a few times as the host of
TV quiz programs. Nelson was also instrumental in forming the
AFRA/AFTRA unions.
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KFVD listener QSL card to NZ listener in 1933.
© Eric Shackle Collection, Radio Heritage Foundation
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It may be hard to believe now, but KFVD's 250-watt signal was heard
by the DX hobbyists in various parts of the nation overnight in the
1930s. A letter to the RADEX [Radio Index] magazine from Montreal,
Quebec Canada stated that KFVD from Culver City was one if his best
"catches" heard on his 11-tube Westinghouse radio. The signal was
also reported as skipping out to distant radio listeners in places
like Chicago, Philadelphia and New Jersey during it late-night hours
of broadcasting. In the December 1, 1934 RADEX magazine, a DXer from
Hastings, New Zealand said he received a verification card for a
reception report to KFVD from October of 1933! Another letter to
RADEX reporting reception of KFVD-Culver City came from a radio
hobbyist in Atlanta, Georgia.
CORD GETS RID OF KFVD
In 1935, KFVD was on from 6:30 a.m. until sunset, then back on
the air from 10 p.m. until midnight after WHO signed-off. KFVD
raised its power from 250 to 1,000 watts on October 7, 1936. About
this time, E.L. Cord decided to sell the daytimer to Frank Burke, who
became KFVD's president and station manager. The licensee was listed
as Standard Broadcast Co., with owners J. Frank Burke, Sr., Mabel S.
Burke, J. Frank Burke, Jr. and Betty Jane Burke, joint tenants. Burke
moved the station to 338 S. Western Ave. in Los Angeles, where the
studio and offices remained for many years. The transmitter was
remained in Culver City. KFVD's on-air slogan at this time was
"Center of the Dial", for its 1000 kilocycle position on people's
radios. A 1938 KFVD schedule shows it was on at 6 a.m. every day
until sunset, then on again from 10 p.m. until 4 a.m., while WHO was
off.
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A talented group of performers at KFVD, 1940.
© Jim Hilliker Collection
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As an independent station without a radio network, KFVD had to come
up with its own program ideas to give itself an identity to attract
listeners. By the late-30s and into the early '40s, KFVD had several
programs focusing on political events in Southern California. The
station also gave free airtime often to liberal causes. Also at this
time between 1935 and 1940, country/folk singer Woody Guthrie was a
featured performer on KFVD with various shows. This lasted until he
and owner Burke had a falling out over politics. Several Web sites on
the internet give more details about Woody Guthrie's years at KFVD.
The 1938 Radio Annual listed C.E. Watts as KFVD's sales manager and
Jack Smithson as chief engineer. The listing said KFVD will not
accept any liquor or beer accounts. Some KFVD programs heard during
1937 that were hits with their listeners were featured in the 1938
Radio Annual. These included "Editor of the Air," "Starlight Revue,"
"Man on the Street," and "Poetry Club."
Many stations started having disc jockeys play records of pop music,
jazz or rhythm and blues during times they did not have a sponsored
program or transcription program to air. At KFVD, they went a step
further by having a dj named Hank the Nite Watchman play jazz records
late at night in the '40s; a trend which occurred at other small big
city stations about that time. Another dj/announcer in the late-1930s
and '40s on KFVD was known as "Jack the Bellboy."
ONE MORE MOVE UP THE DIAL AND MORE POWER
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Newspaper clipping promotes KFVD program.
© Jim Hilliker Collection.
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On March 29, 1941, KFVD shifted its dial position from 1000 to
1020-AM as part of the North American Regional Broadcast Agreement.
This expanded the Broadcast Band from 1500 to 1600 kilocycles and
allowed the band to begin at 540 instead of 550. On October 31, 1945
KFVD was granted permission to increase its power from 1,000 to 5,000
watts. Along with the power increase, the FCC also granted KFVD
permission to change its transmitting site from the longtime Culver
City location. The new transmitter and tower were built in Lynwood on
Cortland Street next to the Los Angeles River bank.
During World War II, program schedules for KFVD show that
longtime western singer/performer Stuart Hamblen was heard
Monday through Saturday at 8 a.m. in 1941 and 1943. Hamblen, who had
been heard on just about every Los Angeles station since 1929, did a
similar music program over KFWB at 5 p.m. during these years.
Otherwise, the 1941 and '43 KFVD listings show that besides news,
there was a lot of block programming. This included various recorded
music shows, such as Music Revue, Moods in Music, Hawaiian Music,
etc.
From the late-40s and into the '50s, KFVD became a station in L.A. to
hear rhythm and blues records. One dj on KFVD who specialized in
playing this music then was Hunter Hancock (Let's Go Huntin' With
Hunter). He later moved to KFOX, back to KFVD/KPOP and then to KGFJ
and was quite popular.
KFVD BECOMES KPOP AFTER 30 YEARS
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KPOP logo 1955
© Keith Robinson Collection, Radio Heritage Foundation
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Times were changing by the mid-50s and America was not so innocent.
On August 1, 1955, KFVD changed call letters to KPOP. One book on Top
40 radio history said the change was made because of too many jokes
about KFVD being "the only station in town where you can get the
time, temperature, and a social disease!" One disc jockey who'd been
in L.A. since 1950 and came to KPOP in 1955 was Art Laboe. He started
doing his record show live from Scrivner's drive-in restaurant in
Hollywood and later a new Scrivner's at Western and Imperial. As rock
and roll became more popular in the mid-to-late-1950s, Laboe's show
became the most popular in Los Angeles. At one point, his Hooper
rating showed a huge 33% of all radios on at that time tuned into
KPOP. Top singers of the day such as Ricky Nelson dropped by to be on
Laboe's show, which helped draw radio listeners and people to the
drive-in restaurant to watch the broadcast each day. Laboe later
helped KRTH (FM) become the city's first big oldies station in the
early-'70s and later was a featured personality on KRLA-1110. Another
popular dj/air personality playing the new music on KPOP-1020 during
this time was Earl McDaniel.
THE KGBS YEARS
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KGBS confirmation card sent to NZ listener one month
after increasing power in 1960.
© Keith Robinson Collection, Radio Heritage Foundation
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June 20, 1960, (Los Angeles, California): Stanton B. Kettler,
executive Vice President, Storer Broadcasting Company; Maurice
MacMurray, National Sales Manager; Wendall Campball, Vice President
and General Manager, KGBS; George B. Storer, Chariman of the Board;
Emmett Truitt, Custodian; Lionel F. Baxter, Vice President of Radio;
flipping switch to 50,000 watts at KGBS, the Storer station in Los
Angeles.
© Library of American Broadcasting.
.
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Another change was made at 1020 on the AM dial when new owners
(Storer Broadcasting) changed the KPOP calls to KGBS (for George B.
Storer) on June 29, 1960. KGBS also boosted power significantly, from
5,000 to 50,000 watts, though the station was still licensed to
broadcast only from 6 a.m. to sunset. A second antenna tower was
built in Lynwood and the two-tower directional pattern kept the
signal away from KDKA in Pennsylvania. In the '60s and '70s, KGBS
also went on the air for one night a week. This was on Sunday night
from 9 p.m. till 2 a.m. Monday morning, when KDKA in Pittsburgh on
1020 went off the air for its weekly maintenance schedule. It was one
of those odd things in L.A. radio for this station that went off the
air at sunset, to come back on Sunday nights for 5 hours! In 1969,
KGBS was granted a pre-sunrise power level of 500 watts, but the
station never used it because they thought it was too much trouble
and not enough benefit for them to go on the air with such a low
power level before sunrise.
An easy listening/beautiful music format was heard over KGBS around
1963-'64.
KGBS-1020 programmed a country music format starting in 1965. The
station changed to Top 40 on October 7, 1968 and switched to talk
radio in March of 1974. KGBS went back to Country music October 14,
1974. (Bob Morgan says KGBS went country simulcast on AM and FM with
very little fanfare in August of '74 with an all-female DJ staff,
except for him 6-noon).
I'm getting out of order here, but I recall that KGBS gained some
popularity in the early 1970s with top personalities such as Hudson &
Landry doing the morning-drive show, Bill Ballance with his "Feminine
Forum" Show into the early afternoon, and Dave Hull, known as the
'Hullabalooer' with a wild and crazy afternoon-drive show. But, KGBS
still had a problem. Its signal disappeared at sunset every afternoon
or early evening. At sign-off time, the station advised listeners to
tune to KGBS/fm (97.1). Even with this handicap KGBS listeners were
still loyal. Hudson & Landry gained even greater fame through their
comedy records such as Ajax Liquor Store.
FINALLY 1020-AM GOES 24 HOURS
By the mid-70s, KGBS had seen its popularity rise and fall. New
owners applied to the FCC for the station to broadcast full-time 24
hours a day with 50,000 watts. This became a reality in 1976 when the
transmitter was taken down in Lynwood on Cortland Ave. A new,
complicated five-tower directional antenna array was constructed in
City of Industry just outside Los Angeles. On September 27, 1976, the
FCC approved a call change for KGBS to became KTNQ, or "The New
Ten-Q", with an intense Top 40 rock format for AM radio. (Apparently
the new call letters were not used on the air until December 26,
1976). Former KHJ Boss Jock The Real Don Steele was one of several
djs who were part of the Ten-Q sound which lasted from 1976 until
'79.
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KTNQ Radio Fiesta newspaper advert, Mi Casa,
December 19 1991.
© David Ricquish Collection, Radio Heritage Foundation
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The owners were about to change the format again to Country music and
applied to the FCC for a call change to KKAM. But, the new call was
never used. Instead, KTNQ was sold to the owners of KLVE-107.5/fm and
1020-AM changed to Spanish programming at noon on July 30, 1979. KTNQ
continues to broadcast in Spanish to this day, owned by Hispanic
Broadcasting. KTNQ-1020 is the Spanish-language home of Los Angeles
Angels American League baseball games in Southern California.
From its humble beginning in 1925 as a 100-watt station in San Pedro
to the 50,000-watt giant of today, this is the story of a station
that has served the Los Angeles area in many ways over the years.
Happy 80th anniversary, 1020-AM Los Angeles.
Jim Hilliker is a radio historian and former broadcaster. He has
written a number of articles on the history of broadcasting in Los
Angeles. He currently lives in Monterey, California.
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 "KFVD matches")
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 "KPOP logo 1955")
 "KGBS 1960 QSL")
 "KGBS 1960 50kw ceremony")
 "KTNQ 1991 ad")
