KFRC (610 AM)
KFRC (610
In addition, KFRC had a co-owned
Early history
The beginning of KFRC was largely due to the efforts of its first manager,
Beginning in 1920, Holliway attended Stanford University. During the summer of 1924, Holliway was working at a radio shop called the Radio Art Corporation in San Francisco. A Western Electric salesman called on the owners, Jim Threlkeld and Thomas Catton, and sold them on the idea of starting a new radio station (and of course, buying a Western Electric transmitter). So, KFRC was born and Holliway became the manager.
KFRC went on the air on September 24, 1924, with speeches by local dignitaries, followed by a program with concert, symphony and dance orchestras including the Stanislas Bem Little Orchestra, led by Eugenia Argiewicz. Although the signal was only 50 watts, reception proved exceptionally good. It was heard on the U.S. Atlantic Coast, and across the Pacific Ocean as far away as New Zealand.
In the following years, Holliway interviewed such personalities as baseball great
Don Lee networks
In 1926, KFRC was purchased by Don Lee, who was the wealthy California distributor for Cadillac automobiles. He is said to have had "a personal habit of doing everything in grand style."[citation needed] His family owned the station for 25 years. In 1927, he purchased KHJ in Los Angeles, and in 1929, both stations became affiliated with William S. Paley's Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS).
Don Lee died in 1934 and his son took over management. KFRC (and sister station KHJ in Los Angeles) switched to the new Mutual Broadcasting System on December 29, 1936.
1950s and 1960s: Bill Drake era
In 1949,
In February 1966, KFRC flipped to a
During the Drake era, KFRC was responsible for two memorable concerts. The station presented several prominent acts at "The Beach Boys Summer Spectacular" at the
For several years, KFRC had extended local newscasts on its AM station, under the leadership of news director Bob Safford; however, management decided to curtail news coverage, so Safford and other news staff moved to other news broadcast departments in San Francisco, including KCBS Radio and KGO-TV.
In the late 1960s, KFRC-FM utilized one of the first computer-operated automation systems in the country.[7]
Annual top 100
On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, KFRC would count down their top 100 songs of the past year. Their number one songs, by year, were:[8][9]
Year | Song | Artist |
---|---|---|
1965 | (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction | the Rolling Stones |
1966 | Cherish | the Association[citation needed] |
1967 | Light my Fire |
the Doors |
1968 | Hey Jude | the Beatles |
1969 | Sugar, Sugar | the Archies |
1970 | (They Long to Be) Close to You | the Carpenters |
1971 | It's Too Late | Carole King |
1972 | Alone Again (Naturally) | Gilbert O'Sullivan |
1973 | Superstition | Stevie Wonder |
1974 | Seasons in the Sun | Terry Jacks |
1975 | Love Will Keep Us Together | Captain and Tennille
|
1976 | Silly Love Songs | Paul McCartney and Wings |
1977 | Dreams | Fleetwood Mac |
1978 | Night Fever | Bee Gees |
1979 | The Logical Song | Supertramp |
1980 | Call Me | Blondie |
1981 | Bette Davis Eyes | Kim Carnes |
1982 | I Love Rock and Roll |
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
|
1983 | Every Breath You Take | the Police |
1984 | Jump | Van Halen |
1985 | The Power of Love | Huey Lewis and the News |
1970s and 1980s: Dr. Don Rose, Magic 61
From 1973 until 1986,
With Dr. Don as anchor, and a supporting cast that included Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame inductee Jack Friday, Bobby Ocean, Rick Shaw, Dave Sholin, Harry Nelson, Terry Nelson, Bay Area Hall of Fame inductee Don Sainte-Johnn, "Marvelous" Mark McKay and John Mack Flanagan, KFRC would be voted "Station of the Year" four times by
1970s and 1980s: News Department
KFRC was known for its award-winning news department. It covered Bay Area news stories with tight writing, use of natural sound, short sound bites, live reports. Some of the best news anchors and reporters worked at KFRC in the '70s and '80s including Jo Interrante, Dave Cooke, Paul Fredricks, John Winters, Conni Gordon, Jeri Stewart, Vikki Liviakis, Robert McCormick, Mike Colgan, Laurie Kaye, Dave MacQueen, Stephen Capen, Mike Sugerman, Ken Bastida, John Evans, Jan Black, Abby Goldman, Joanne Greene, Jane Dornacker, Ron Naso, B.R. Bradbury and reporter, anchor and later News Director William Abbott. Known for his unique and confident style, Abbott would close each report with the station's signature, "This is William Abbott, KFRC 20/20 News".
The station began broadcasting in
With the decline of the Top 40 format by mid-decade, KFRC's programming was flipped at 6 AM on August 11, 1986, to an adult standards format, and was known as "Magic 61", while still broadcasting in stereo. The last song to be played before the change was "Lights" by Journey, which had also been used in KFRC's TV advertising.[11]
1990s: adding FM
In the 1990s, KFRC changed to a nostalgia format by playing the rock hits of the 1960s and '70s, recreating the successful Bill Drake years.
When, in 1977, KFRC sold off its money-losing FM station at 106.1, programmed by Don Sainte-Johnn (to become
Sale of KFRC AM
In 2005, the owners, Infinity Broadcasting announced the sale of the AM station, which was anticipated to receive new call letters. The sale price was reported to be $35 million. The oldies format of KFRC AM and FM was scheduled to continue on the FM frequency.[14]
The sale of the AM station came about as a result of the purchase of CBS'
Gerry Cagle, who programmed KFRC in the early eighties, and now writes for MusicBiz.com, commented in 2005:
KFRC wasn't a position on the dial. It was a place in the hearts of the many professionals who worked there to build and continue a legacy unmatched in radio. It was also a place in the hearts of the listeners who made it important in their lives. 610 means nothing. 'KFRC San Francisco with the Best Music!' will live forever in that magical place we all go when we think about the good things of the past.[15]
Infinity sold the AM station to Family Stations, the owners of KEAR 106.9 FM, a Christian radio station. Shortly thereafter, Family Stations sold their FM station to Infinity. On April 29, 2005, Family Stations began simulcasting the signal of their FM station on 610 AM. The Oakland Athletics baseball team, which was the only sports tenant the past few years on the AM side, negotiated with Family Stations to have their games broadcast until the end of the 2005 baseball season.
Blocks
During its 1950s/1960s hits format, KFRC had blocks on various days of the week.
- Help!
- Motown Monday- emphasis on artists like The Temptations and The Supremes
Classic Hits KFRC
On September 5, 2005, KFRC-FM, the only oldies outlet in San Francisco, moved their format ahead ten years switching to a '70s & '80s music format. The station billed itself as "the Bay Area's Classic Hits". However, more Oldies from the 1960s had been added in months around this time.
The legendary KFRC call letters left the AM band on October 17, 2005, when the KEAR call letters were transferred from 106.9 FM to 610 AM. Meanwhile, 106.9 FM had become KIFR, an outlet for CBS Radio's new Free FM talk format.
Rhythmic Movin 99.7 KFRC
At 10:03 a.m. on Friday, September 22, 2006, KFRC-FM changed their format to a
KFRC callsign moves to 106.9
On Thursday, May 17, 2007, the KFRC-FM callsign moved to 106.9 FM, when CBS Radio discontinued the Free FM format in San Francisco, and revived the "classic hits" format after the Oakland Athletics vs Kansas City Royals game. 106.9 continued hosting the Oakland Athletics, who were hosted on KFRC 610 AM for several years before it was bought and the A's left it for KYCY 1550 AM and then 106.9 FM. MOViN' 99.7 continues on under the call sign KMVQ-FM.
On October 27, 2008, at 7:40 AM, KCBS 740 AM began simulcasting on 106.9 FM,[16] which still has the call letters KFRC-FM. KFRC-HD2 (on 106.9-2 FM) continues a Classic Hits format: music hits of the 1960s through the 1980s.
Reincarnation at 1550 AM
It was announced on December 22, 2008, that starting on
References
- ^ Hotel Whitcomb, 1906 temporary City Hall - sfmuseum.org
- ^ "Music--As Written". Billboard. April 17, 1948. p. 34. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
- ^ "Meet Millie and Her Friends" (PDF). Radio-TV Mirror. 40 (1): 19. June 1953. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
- ^ "1966". Jefferson Airplane: The Official Website. Jefferson Airplane, Inc. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
- OCLC 84588.
- ^ Nicholson, John (May 2009). "A History of Rock Festivals". Rock Solid Music Magazine. Archived from the original on December 22, 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
- ^ Eyewitness account by Robert E. Nylund, KFRC news intern, summer 1968
- ^ "KFRC's annual top 100". Boards.radio-info.com. February 4, 2010. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved February 5, 2010. Alt URL
- ^ "The Making Of A Classic: KFRC, February 1986, part 2". TheBig610.com. 1986. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2010. To hear the list, scroll down to 1986 and click on "The Making Of A Classic: KFRC, February 1986 (60 minutes)".
- ^ "Jackson Armstrong on 610 KFRC San Francisco | December 30, 1982". Airchexx.com. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
- ^ "KFRC 610am commercial". Youtube.com. May 19, 2008. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
- ^ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1993/RR-1993-08-20.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ SF Chronicle Pink Section, Ben Fong Torres
- ^ Fong-Torres, Ben (April 3, 2005). "Radio Waves". San Francisco Chronicle. pp. PK–49.
- ^ "History of San Francisco Radio Stations". Tangentsunset.com. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
- ^ KCBS-AM Will Also Be Heard on FM, KCBS, October 20, 2008. Retrieved on October 27, 2008.
- ^ CBS Radio/San Francisco Brings KFRC Back, In Oldies Form Archived December 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine - Radio Ink (released December 22, 2008)
- ^ "CBS-owned 1550 AM in San Francisco switches to South Asian "Radio Zindagi"". Radio-Info.com. September 1, 2011. Archived from the original on October 30, 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
External links
- The History of KFRC San Francisco and the Don Lee Networks
- KFRC switches from oldies to music of 1970s and '80s, from the San Francisco Chronicle
- The History of KFRC Radio, from the Bay Area Radio Museum
- FCC History Cards for KFRC