Page move-protected

KROQ-FM

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
"kroq" redirects here. It is not to be confused with krok, KROC, or Krock.
For other uses, see KROQ (disambiguation).

KROQ-FM
106.7 KROQ 2016 logo.png
CityPasadena, California
Broadcast areaGreater Los Angeles Area
Branding106.7 KROQ
SloganThe World Famous KROQ
Frequency106.7 MHz (also on HD Radio)
Repeater(s)103.7-3 KSON-HD3 San Diego
First air dateNovember 1962 (1962-11) (as KPPC-FM)
FormatAlternative Rock
HD2: New wave/classic alternative "KROQ of the 80's"
ERP5,500 watts
5,600 watts with beam tilt
HAAT423 meters (1,388 ft)
ClassB
Facility ID28622
Transmitter coordinates34°11′49.21″N 118°15′32.07″W / 34.1970028°N 118.2589083°W / 34.1970028; -118.2589083Coordinates: 34°11′49.21″N 118°15′32.07″W / 34.1970028°N 118.2589083°W / 34.1970028; -118.2589083
Callsign meaningSounds like "K-rock"
Former callsignsKPPC-FM (1962–1973)
OwnerEntercom
(Entercom License, LLC)
Sister stationsKAMP-FM, KCBS-FM, KNX, KRTH, KTWV
WebcastListen Live
Listen Live (HD2)
Websitekroq.radio.com
roqofthe80s.radio.com

KROQ-FM (106.7 FM, 106.7 KROQ) is a radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles Area. Owned by Entercom, it broadcasts an alternative rock format, branding itself as The World Famous KROQ.

The station has studios at the intersection of Venice Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in the Crestview neighborhood in West Los Angeles. The transmitter is based in the Verdugo Mountains. It is the flagship station of The Kevin and Bean Morning Show and former show Loveline, hosted by Dr. Drew Pinsky and "Psycho" Mike Catherwood. The station's competitor is cross-town rival KYSR in Los Angeles.

History[edit]

KPPC[edit]

KPPC logo used during the freeform period

On April 23, 1962,[1] KPPC-FM signed on the air. It was owned by the Pasadena Presbyterian Church as a companion to its KPPC, a limited-hours AM radio station that had broadcast since 1924. In 1967, the Pasadena Presbyterian Church sold KPPC-AM-FM to Crosby-Avery Broadcasting for $310,000. The church had been attempting to sell the radio stations for a year; station manager Edgar Pierce said the church found commercial radio incompatible with the noncommercial nature of its other efforts.[2] Crosby-Avery was owned by Leon Crosby, a general manager of San Francisco's KMPX, a station that had just gone to a full-time freeform progressive rock format, and Lewis Avery, former partner in a national ad sales firm. With KMPX soaring to success but KPPC, with its middle-of-the-road format, ailing, Crosby and Avery brought in the architects of KMPX, Tom and Raechel Donahue, to turn around their new station in Southern California.[3]

Hosts included B. Mitchel Reed, Steven Segal (a.k.a. "The Obscene Steven Clean;" not related to the similarly named actor), Susan Carter (a.k.a. "Outrageous Nevada"), Barbara Birdfeather,[4] Jeff Gonzer (a.k.a. "Bonzo" Gonzer), Tom Donahue, Program Director (2014 Rock Radio Hall of Fame inductee) and DJ Les Carter, novelty music historian Dr. Demento, Charles Laquidara, Ted Alvy (a.k.a. "Cosmos Topper"), Elliot Mintz (whose late-night Sunday show played everything from Baba Ram Dass lectures to listener-created recordings), blues archivist Johnny Otis, comedy troupes The Credibility Gap (featuring Harry Shearer, Richard Beebe, David L. Lander, Michael McKean), and The Firesign Theatre. Station promos were sung by the a cappella singing group The Persuasions. Other staff members included: Don Hall, Larry Woodside, DJ and production wizard Zachary Zenor, Joe Rogers (a.k.a. Mississippi Fats), Sam Kopper, Steve Fasching (a.k.a. "Stereo Steve"), the Pierce Family, and Ron Johnson (a.k.a. "Dr. Sound"). The following year, after a few bounced paychecks, dress code regulations, and other rules changes, The Donahues and the disc jockeys at both KMPX and KPPC walked out on the stations in what was called by some at the time as "The Great Hippie Strike." The former KMPX and KPPC staffers were later hired at Metromedia-owned KSAN in San Francisco and KMET in Los Angeles. KPPC hired new staffers and kept the freeform format, though the station floundered for several years following the strike.

In 1969, Crosby sold KPPC-AM-FM and KMPX to the National Science Network for $1.2 million.[5][6][7] Crosby used the funds to buy a then-silent San Francisco television station, KEMO-TV.[8] National Science Network's management of the KPPC stations was turbulent, capped by an October 1971 mass firing of the air staff,[9] but the period also included technical upgrades followed. NSN moved the studios out of the church basement and to 99 Chester Street in Pasadena and to the transmitter to Flint Peak, with a slight power increase to 25,700 watts.[10]

KPPC-FM was the first station in Los Angeles to broadcast a stereo simulcast with a television station (a one-hour program with 'Leon Russell and Friends' in collaboration with PBS station KCET), and the first to broadcast with Sansui quadraphonic sound. It was also the first FM station in Los Angeles to use two transmitters simultaneously to produce sufficient power.[citation needed]

In 1971, Ludwig Wolfgang Frohlich, founder of the National Science Network and previous owner of an ad agency, died.[11][12][13][14][15][16] On his death, control of the estate was transferred to Ingrid and Thomas Burns.[17][18]

KROQ AM and KROQ-FM[edit]

Country music station KBBQ (1500 AM) in Burbank became KROQ in September 1972, changing its format to Top-40 and hiring established disc jockeys from other stations.[19] The new KROQ called itself the "ROQ of Los Angeles". In 1973, with National Science Network's estate selling off its assets, KROQ's owners bought KPPC-AM-FM (immediately divesting the AM station to meet then-current ownership limits), changed the calls to KROQ-FM and hired Shadoe Stevens to create a new rock format described as high-energy "all-cutting-edge-rock-all-the-time" and began simulcasting as "The ROQs of L.A.: Mother Rock!" Meanwhile, KPPC on 1240 AM was sold to Universal Broadcasting, a religious broadcaster, and remained on the air with its limited-schedule of Wednesday evening and Sunday operation until subsequent owners took the station off the air permanently in 1996.

The two stations were wildly successful initially with the new format, but poor money management plagued the enterprise. When concert promoter Ken Roberts (1941–2014) booked Sly and the Family Stone for one KROQ-sponsored show at the Los Angeles Coliseum and the station found itself unable to cover expenses, Roberts agreed to pay for the band to play the show in exchange for a small ownership stake in the station.[20] Roberts joined a sprawling ownership group which included a doctor, two dairymen, a political lobbyist, a secretary, and several other minor investors.[20] Roberts with his background in the music industry made him a logical choice for president of the struggling company in the minds of the other shareholders, and he was elected such at the first meeting he attended in 1974.[20]

Unfortunately, by 1974 the station's finances were already untenable following a year of commercial-free programming — a stunt implemented in an effort to gain market share.[20] The stations' debt load reached $7 million;[20] paychecks began to bounce and Shadoe Stevens and the bulk of the staff walked out, shutting the stations down. The closure would last for nearly two years.

Relaunch[edit]

In late 1975, the FCC ordered KROQ to return to the airwaves or surrender the stations' licenses.[21] With barebones equipment, KROQ returned to the airwaves, broadcasting initially from the transmitter location, followed by a penthouse suite in the Pasadena Hilton Hotel, then across the street from the Hilton (117 S. Los Robles).

Ken Roberts returned to the reborn station in a more forceful ownership role, buying out his partners one by one until he remained the sole owner of the station.[20] Shadoe Stevens was re-hired as a programming consultant and air personality with others like Los Angeles radio legends "The Obscene" Steven Clean and Frazer Smith.

KROQ's 1976 rebirth was perfectly timed with the emergence of punk rock and new wave and KROQ quickly became the voice of the burgeoning Los Angeles scene, with disc jockey Rodney Bingenheimer joining the station and introducing many new and local bands, including The Ramones, The Runaways, Stray Cats and The Go-Gos, on his massively influential shows.[22] As punk expanded its hold on the music scene of the mid to late 1970s, KROQ steadily adding more of it to their freeform format, cementing their place in the Los Angeles market.[23] The station's proximity to Hollywood and the Los Angeles punk rock scene gave it a unique place in the development of this newer music and much later with the alternative rock genre. In the late 1970s and early 1980s KROQ was quickly becoming one of the most influential radio stations in broadcast history.

Shadoe Stevens once again left the station and Rick Carroll took over as program director in 1979 and took all of the new music and combined it in a Top 40 formatic structure.[23] For a time the station mixed punk and new music of The Ramones, Talking Heads, The Police, The Cars, Devo, The Weirdos, Sparks, Fear, X, Berlin, Duran Duran, Pet Shop Boys, and Blondie with huge mainstream artists such as The Beach Boys or even The Rolling Stones. By 1980 the station had fully committed to a post-new wave modern rock orientation. KROQ became an even greater success as the "Rock of the Eighties" was born.

Carroll, as a consultant, took the "Rock of the 80s" format to other stations, including 91X in San Diego, KOEU in Palm Springs, California, KMGN FM in Bakersfield, California, The Quake in San Francisco and KYYX in Seattle, among a few in the US west coast in the 1980s.

By the late 1980s, the station started dipping in the ratings. New wave declined in popularity and electronic dance bands, such as Depeche Mode and New Order, started getting more airplay on the station. Listeners, confused about the lack of rock music on the station, started turning away, many to competitor AOR station KLOS.

In 1986, KROQ was purchased at a then-record $45 million by Infinity Broadcasting,[24] which merged with CBS in 1997, and later changed its name to CBS Radio. Trip Reeb, a veteran radio program director, was brought on board. He made major changes, including terminating many long time DJs, streamlining the playlist, and bringing back more "guitar-based" rock music, including staples of the Long Beach heavy metal radio station KNAC: Guns N' Roses, Metallica, The Cult, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden. Gradually, the format switched from AOR freeform to Alternative Rock, which the station still follows today.

The station experienced similar popularity to their early 1980s heyday throughout the 1990s. The rise of alternative rock, grunge, punk pop, and Britpop acts such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Weezer, Green Day, The Offspring, Blink-182, Foo Fighters, Oasis, Blur, Gin Blossoms, Beck, Blind Melon, Everclear, 311 and others—combined with new shows such as Kevin & Bean and Loveline, as well as concert events such as Weenie Roast and Almost Acoustic Christmas—helped the station surge back to number one in the ratings, which it remained until the mid 2000s, when it slipped to the middle of the pack ratings wise for Los Angeles area radio stations.

KROQ helped launch the careers of previously low-key Southern California bands, such as Suicidal Tendencies,[25][26] The Offspring, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Oingo Boingo, Sublime, No Doubt, Rage Against the Machine, Tool, Blink-182, System of a Down, Bad Religion and Social Distortion. They pride themselves on being "world famous" for their discovery of up-and-coming artists and are often the first US station to promote new rock bands before their large-scale success.

KROQ today[edit]

Originally located at 117 S. Los Robles Avenue in Pasadena, the station moved to 3500 W. Olive Avenue in Burbank in 1987 as part of the purchase agreement and to be closer to the music industry. In 2002, the station was moved to a facility at 5901 Venice Boulevard in the Crestview neighborhood in West Los Angeles.

Unlike most other (Class B, but with grandfathered greater than B facilities) FM stations in Los Angeles whose transmitters are atop Mount Wilson, KROQ's (Class B) transmitter is located on Tongva Peak in Glendale at an altitude of 2650 ft., which results in somewhat weaker signal coverage.

In 2004, KROQ began broadcasting in HD Radio. On February 20, 2006, KROQ added streaming music from the radio station to its website. On June 9, 2006, KROQ launched an HD sub-carrier, KROQ HD-2, which airs new wave and alternative tracks from the 1980s which were popular during KROQ's heyday (and is also branded "KROQ 2: Roq of the 80s"). This somewhat justified the dropping of the long-running Flashback Lunch, until then nearly the sole remnant of the new wave and 1990s modern rock days.

In February 2010, CBS Radio, which controls the live stream, blocked access for listeners outside of the United States.

Steve Jones came to KROQ from Indie 103.1 with a Sunday night show called "Jonesy's Jukebox", which ran from 7 to 9PM during 2010–2013 before moving to KLOS.[27]

In February 2015, KROQ severed ties with both Boyd R. Britton aka "Doc on the Roq" and Lisa May after deciding to drop news and traffic. The news came as a shock for longtime listeners as Doc on the Roq had been reporting news for the station for 27 years while Lisa May had been reporting traffic for the past 24 years. Fans took to Facebook to boycott the station for not renewing their contracts.[28]

Although considered one of the legendary radio stations in the country and still a strong revenue generator for parent company CBS, ratings for KROQ have been rather depressed over the last couple of years. In fact, competitor ALT-98.7 moved ahead of KROQ in 2015 including a 3.4 to 2.3 lead in the most recent August 2016 Nielsen ratings.[29]

On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom.[30] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on the 17th.[31][32]

Awards[edit]

The station was awarded Radio Station of the Year in 1992 and 1993 by Rolling Stone magazine readers poll issues.

In 2007, the station was nominated for the top 25 markets Alternative station of the year award by Radio & Records magazine. Other nominees included WBCN in Boston, Massachusetts; KTBZ-FM in Houston, Texas; KITS in San Francisco, California; KNDD in Seattle, Washington; and WWDC in Washington, DC.[33]

KROQ was the recipient of an Alternate Contraband Award for Major Market Radio Alternative Radio Station of the Year 2012.

KROQ was inducted into the Rock Radio Hall of Fame in 2014.

HD Radio[edit]

KROQ broadcasts an HD Radio subchannel, The ROQ of the 80's, which features classic rock from the 1980s. In August 2018, Entercom announced it would re-launch the subchannel, adding former KROQ personalities Freddy Snakeskin and Tami Heide as DJs.[34]

Staff[edit]

Current staff[edit]

Notable former staff[edit]

Concerts[edit]

  • KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas, first held in December 1989. The festival was initially called KROQ Xmas Bash.
  • KROQ Weenie Roast, first held in June 1993; from 2005 to 2009 and again since 2012, this festival had been presented in May. Prior to 2005 and during 2010–2011, the festival had been held in June.
  • KROQ LA Invasion, first held in August 2001; this festival has not been presented since 2007.
  • Epicenter, first aired in August 2009; this festival was presented every year, except 2014 and 2016.

KROQ-related albums[edit]

  • KROQ Calendar & New Music, a compilation of new singles that premiered in the subsequent year (1995–present)
  • Rodney on the ROQ, Vol. 1 a classic punk compilation from KROQ's Rodney Bingenheimer
  • Rodney on the ROQ, Vol. 2 more good punk from KROQ's Rodney Bingenheimer
  • Rodney on the ROQ, Vol. 3 even more punk from KROQ's Rodney Bingenheimer
  • At KROQ, a CD-single by Morrissey
  • On KROQ's Loveline, CD by Hagfish
  • The Best of KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas (1999), a compilation of concerts recorded at the Acoustic Christmas
  • Kevin & Bean's Super Christmas (2006)
  • Kevin & Bean's Christmastime In The 909 (2004)
  • Kevin and Bean: The Year They Recalled Santa Claus (2003)
  • Kevin and Bean: Fo' Shizzle St. Nizzle (2002)
  • Kevin and Bean: Swallow My Eggnog (2001)
  • Kevin and Bean: The Real Slim Santa (2000)
  • Kevin and Bean: Last Christmas (1999)
  • Kevin and Bean: Santa's Swingin' Sack (1998)
  • Kevin and Bean: A Family Christmas in Your Ass (1997)
  • Kevin and Bean: Christmastime in the LBC (1996) – cassette tape
  • Kevin and Bean: How the Juice Stole Christmas (1995) – cassette tape
  • Kevin and Bean: No Toys for OJ (1994) – cassette tape
  • Kevin and Bean: Santa Claus, Schamanta Claus (1993) – cassette tape
  • Kevin and Bean: We've Got Your Yule Logs Hangin' (1992) – cassette tape
  • Kevin and Bean: Bogus Christmas (1991) – cassette tape
  • Kevin and Bean: Feel the Warmth of Kevin and Bean's Wonderful World of Christmas (The White Album) (1990) – LP
  • Kroqing in Pasadena, a single from XTC (198?)
  • Richard Blade's Flashback Favorites, Volumes 1–6 (1993)

References[edit]

  1. ^ "KPPC Begins FM Radio Broadcasts". Pasadena Independent. April 24, 1962. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  2. ^ "Church Sells Radio Station for $310,000". August 12, 1967. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  3. ^ Douglas, Susan Jeanne (1 April 1999). Listening in: radio and the American imagination, from Amos 'n' Andy and Edward R. Murrow to Wolfman Jack and Howard Stern. Times Books. p. 270. ISBN 978-0-8129-2546-3. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  4. ^ "DJ Barbara Birdfeather dies at 69". Variety. April 30, 2009.
  5. ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 12 August 1972. p. 27. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  6. ^ "Google Groups". groups.google.com. Archived from the original on 2011-01-22. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  7. ^ "Pasadena Stations Up for Sale". Pasadena Independent Topics. June 4, 1969. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  8. ^ Wilson, Jim (January 22, 1971). "Fremont radio station founder sole owner of defunct KEMO". The Argus. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  9. ^ McAlister, John (October 27, 1971). "Pasadena Radio Firings Revealed". Pasadena Independent Topics. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  10. ^ FCC History Cards for KROQ-FM
  11. ^ http://www.wncn.org/Ownership___Management.html
  12. ^ "MAHF Inductees". Medical Advertising Hall of Fame. 18 October 2013. Archived from the original on 2018-11-14. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  13. ^ "The Gay Jewish Immigrant Whose Company Sells Your Medical Secrets". The Forward. Archived from the original on 2017-07-16. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  14. ^ Adam Tanner (2017). Our Bodies, Our Data: How Companies Make Billions Selling Our Medical Records. Beacon Press. pp. 31–. ISBN 978-0-8070-3334-0.
  15. ^ Dougherty, Philip H. (3 March 1970). "Advertising: Frohlich in General Practice" – via NYTimes.com.
  16. ^ "Industry Chronology". Medical Advertising Hall of Fame. 18 October 2013. Archived from the original on 2018-11-14. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  17. ^ "~Los Angeles Radio People, Remembering KPPC". web.archive.org. 13 November 2018.
  18. ^ "L. W. Frohlich; Led Ad Agency". 29 September 1971. Archived from the original on 2018-11-14. Retrieved 2018-11-13 – via NYTimes.com.
  19. ^ "Historic Los Angeles Hilltops". gallery.bostonradio.org. Archived from the original on 2006-08-31. Retrieved 2006-08-29.
  20. ^ a b c d e f Elaine Woo, "Ken Roberts Dies at 73; Promoter Transformed KROQ-FM into a Powerhouse," Archived 2012-10-06 at the Library of Congress Web Archives Los Angeles Times, July 4, 2014.
  21. ^ Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications. January 1982. p. 102. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  22. ^ Commonly known as "Rodney on the ROQ," Bingenheimer also produced a regular Top 10 list for the monthly punk fanzine Flipside.
  23. ^ a b Los Angeles Magazine. Emmis Communications. November 2001. pp. 90–. ISSN 1522-9149. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  24. ^ Himmelsbach, Erik (December 3, 2006). "The alternative revolution". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2012-08-10. Retrieved April 8, 2011.
  25. ^ "KROQ Top 106.7 of 1983". www.rocklists.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  26. ^ "KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1983 Countdown List". www.radiohitlist.com. Archived from the original on 2016-05-21. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  27. ^ Roberts, Randall (October 6, 2010). "Steve Jones and "Jonesy's Jukebox" to return to the LA airwaves -- via KROQ". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2012-07-18. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  28. ^ "Media Confidential: L-A Radio: Report..Lisa May, Doc Forced Out By Kevin&Bean". Media Confidential. 2015-03-05. Archived from the original on 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  29. ^ "Nielsen Audio Ratings". ratings.radio-online.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-07. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
  30. ^ "CBS Radio To Merge With Entercom". 2 February 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-08-26. Retrieved 2017-11-04.
  31. ^ "Entercom Receives FCC Approval for Merger with CBS Radio". Archived from the original on 2017-11-17. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
  32. ^ "Entercom Completes CBS Radio Merger". 17 November 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-11-18. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
  33. ^ "2007 Industry Achievement Awards". Radio and Records. September 28, 2008. Archived from the original on May 11, 2008.
  34. ^ "Revolutionize Your Ears, The Roq Of The '80s is Set To Reboot On KROQ-HD2/Los Angeles". All Access. Archived from the original on 2018-09-02. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  35. ^ laradio.com. Where are they now?
  36. ^ Borzillo, Carrie (1994-12-24). KROQ Holiday Bauble Decorates Album Chart. Billboard Magazine. Nielsen Business Media. p. 16. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  37. ^ Puig, Claudia (February 18, 1994). "Live-Wire Jim Trenton Does Radio With Pictures : Television: In his new life as a feature reporter on KTTV-TV's 'Good Day L.A.,' the Poorman draws on the loopy style that was his signature on KROQ-FM". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2012-07-15. Retrieved 4 April 2011.

External links[edit]

KPPC[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=KROQ-FM&oldid=902948339"