KKSF
Encyclopedia
KKSF, known as "Oldies 103.7", is a classic hits
radio station in San Francisco, California
. The station is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications
.
, occasionally airing a stereo version of the Lawrence Welk
show. By the late 1960s, as FM stations were required to offer separate programming from that of their AM sisters, KGO-FM, like other ABC
-owned FM stations, was an outlet for ABC Love, an automated progressive rock
format.
KGO-FM became KSFX in early 1971, and continued in a progressive rock format until May 1973. Then, KSFX ran a top 40 "Musicradio" approach, similar to WABC
in New York
. By late 1974 the station veered towards a Dance/Soul-flavored format. During the late 1970s, KSFX had a brief run with a disco music format.
In late 1980, KSFX veered towards an album-oriented rock
format modeled after sister station KLOS
in Los Angeles
. This lasted until May 1982, when stiff competition from KMEL
(now an urban-formatted station) and CBS-owned KRQR
forced KSFX to drop AOR for talk, featuring the ABC-syndicated 'Talkradio
' network, again as KGO-FM; this complemented the primarily-local talk programming of its AM sister station.
ABC sold the station January 1, 1984 to Weaver, Davis, Fowler (WDF), which owned KLOK in San Jose; accordingly, the station was renamed KLOK-FM. KLOK-FM had an interactive adult contemporary format called "Yes/No Radio" in which listeners would phone in their votes on whether songs should remain on the playlist.
In 1987, the station was sold to Brown Broadcasting Corporation, the call sign was changed to KKSF and the format was switched to new adult contemporary (NAC), a precursor to the smooth jazz
genre. KKSF debuted July 31, 1987 at midnight; the first song played was by Steve Winwood
. The General Manager from 1987 to 1997 was David A. Kendrick. Liner notes of the first KKSF Sampler for AIDS Relief list the members of the group responsible for the development of the KKSF concept as Willet Brown, Mike Brown, Steve Feinstein, Dave Kendrick, and Phil Melrose.
Steve Feinstein, who had previously been a format editor at trade magazine Radio and Records, was KKSF's first Program Director. Until his death in 1996, Feinstein guided KKSF to be one of the leading stations in the NAC format. He was known for being open and responsive to listener comments and suggestions, and constantly searched for new and interesting music that fit the KKSF sound, often gravitating to lesser-known imports and hard-to-find, out-of-print selections.
In 1988 the station teamed with the San Francisco AIDS Foundation to produce their first KKSF Sampler for AIDS Relief. Songs were donated by their artists so that KKSF could give all the net proceeds from the sale of the Sampler albums to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Often the Sampler CDs were the only way to find certain KKSF listener favorites that had otherwise gone out of print. There were seven KKSF Samplers produced by Dave Kendrick and Steve Feinstein, with Sampler 7 being dedicated to Feinstein's memory, as he died in September 1996, during the album's creation.
KKSF was also the first commercial radio station to have a Web presence, putting up a Web site in October 1993 as kksf.tbo.com and eventually www.kksf.com.
In 1993, Brown Broadcasting purchased classical station KDFC
(then at 102.1 FM). The two stations were co-located at 455 Market Street until 1997, when both were sold to Evergreen Media. Evergreen sold KDFC to Bonneville that same year, but kept KKSF, which eventually passed to Chancellor Broadcasting, AMFM Broadcasting, and finally Clear Channel Communications
during a short period of rapid ownership changes in the late 1990s. Studios were moved to their present location at 340 Townsend Street in 1998.
The sound of KKSF changed with the new ownership. The Smooth Jazz consultancy Broadcast Architecture became more involved with the station at this time. Gradually the station became more like other stations in the U.S. using the "Smooth Jazz" handle, dropping some of its more eclectic music along the way in favor of mass appeal R&B songs.
The 2000s brought many changes to KKSF. During 2001 many announcers left, a number of them going to former sister station KDFC. Through the next eight years the number of live announcers on staff gradually decreased, as KKSF began airing syndicated shows in morning drive, like the national "Wake Up with Whoopi" show hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, and later The Ramsey Lewis Morning Show, featuring pianist Ramsey Lewis
. In 2008 KKSF added the syndicated Dave Koz show to afternoons. By the end of the Smooth Jazz era at KKSF, only midday personality Miranda Wilson was truly live in her time slot.
On May 18, 2009, at 3 p.m., KKSF began a classic rock
format. Owner Clear Channel cited economic considerations and the results of "exhaustive market research" as they announced the change to "103.7 The Band." The first song played under the Classic Rock format was "Everybody's Everything" by Santana
.
The demise of Smooth Jazz on KKSF also ended one of the Bay Area's most spirited radio rivalries, as KKSF battled it out with Urban AC KBLX
, which often included Smooth Jazz in its Quiet Storm
Smooth R&B playlist. Smooth Jazz in San Francisco can now be heard on the HD2 channel of KKSF's sister station KISQ
98.1, KKSF.com, SFsmoothjazz.com, and a few outlets on JAZZRADIO.com.
In its first few months as 103.7 The Band, KKSF gained listeners aged 25–54, considered a more desirable group by advertisers than KKSF's previous audience which skewed considerably older. The station features mostly out-of-market personalities who voice track their shows, and has a very small local staff.
KKSF began shifting to more of a classic hits format in February 2011
, after Entercom added classic rock on KUZX
, using one-time sister station KDFC's former frequency. The classic hits format had previously been heard on CBS Radio
's KFRC-FM
, which became a simulcast of all-news
KCBS
in October 2008. The shift to classic hits was completed on April 8, 2011, when the station rebranded to "Oldies 103.7".
at an effective radiated power
of 7,200 watts. A low-powered booster in Pleasanton
, CA fills in East Bay coverage gaps caused by topography issues.
KKSF broadcasts digitally using the HD Radio system from iBiquity
. KKSF's HD broadcast also makes available a second channel that can only be received with an HD Radio capable receiver. The format of KKSF's HD-2 Channel is Classic Hits.
From the time that KKSF started its NAC format in 1987 to mid 1996, the station used very light audio processing in order to create a signature sound. It was based on the Schulke Beautiful Music approach of having a very light touch to the audio. KKSF's Chief Engineer, Tim Pozar, who was also one of the co-founders of San Francisco's first ISP, TLGNet, installed an Aphex Systems
audio chain of a Compellor and Dominator along with a Digicoder which was one of the first digital stereo generators.
Tim Pozar also put up the original 1993 web site through TLGNet.
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
radio station in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. The station is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
.
History
The former ABC Radio-owned station started as KGO-FM. In earlier days, it simulcast its AM sister station of the same nameKGO (AM)
KGO is a news/talk-format radio station radio with offices and studios in San Francisco, California. Unlike most other American news/talk stations, KGO originates nearly all of its own programming locally. Since 1978, KGO radio has received Arbitron's number-one ranking in the Bay Area...
, occasionally airing a stereo version of the Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk was an American musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982...
show. By the late 1960s, as FM stations were required to offer separate programming from that of their AM sisters, KGO-FM, like other ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
-owned FM stations, was an outlet for ABC Love, an automated progressive rock
Progressive rock (radio format)
Progressive rock is a radio station programming format that prospered in the late 1960s and 1970s, in which the disc jockeys are given wide latitude in what they may play, similar to the freeform format but with the proviso that some kind of rock music is almost always what is played...
format.
KGO-FM became KSFX in early 1971, and continued in a progressive rock format until May 1973. Then, KSFX ran a top 40 "Musicradio" approach, similar to WABC
WABC (AM)
WABC , known as "NewsTalkRadio 77 WABC" is a radio station in New York City. Owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of Cumulus Media Networks...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. By late 1974 the station veered towards a Dance/Soul-flavored format. During the late 1970s, KSFX had a brief run with a disco music format.
In late 1980, KSFX veered towards an album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
format modeled after sister station KLOS
KLOS
KLOS is an FM rock music radio station based in Los Angeles, California, that debuted in 1969. The station is owned by Cumulus Media. It is home to the nationally broadcast Mark & Brian radio show, and Off The Record host Uncle Joe Benson.-History:...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. This lasted until May 1982, when stiff competition from KMEL
KMEL
KMEL is an Urban Contemporary-formatted radio station located in San Francisco, California, and owned by Clear Channel Communications....
(now an urban-formatted station) and CBS-owned KRQR
KRQR
KRQR is a commercial radio station located in Orland, California, broadcasting to the entire Sacramento Valley on 106.7 FM. KRQR airs an active rock music format branded as "Z-Rock", adopting the branding and imaging formerly used by the satellite radio network of the same name.The call letters...
forced KSFX to drop AOR for talk, featuring the ABC-syndicated 'Talkradio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
' network, again as KGO-FM; this complemented the primarily-local talk programming of its AM sister station.
ABC sold the station January 1, 1984 to Weaver, Davis, Fowler (WDF), which owned KLOK in San Jose; accordingly, the station was renamed KLOK-FM. KLOK-FM had an interactive adult contemporary format called "Yes/No Radio" in which listeners would phone in their votes on whether songs should remain on the playlist.
In 1987, the station was sold to Brown Broadcasting Corporation, the call sign was changed to KKSF and the format was switched to new adult contemporary (NAC), a precursor to the smooth jazz
Smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....
genre. KKSF debuted July 31, 1987 at midnight; the first song played was by Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
. The General Manager from 1987 to 1997 was David A. Kendrick. Liner notes of the first KKSF Sampler for AIDS Relief list the members of the group responsible for the development of the KKSF concept as Willet Brown, Mike Brown, Steve Feinstein, Dave Kendrick, and Phil Melrose.
Steve Feinstein, who had previously been a format editor at trade magazine Radio and Records, was KKSF's first Program Director. Until his death in 1996, Feinstein guided KKSF to be one of the leading stations in the NAC format. He was known for being open and responsive to listener comments and suggestions, and constantly searched for new and interesting music that fit the KKSF sound, often gravitating to lesser-known imports and hard-to-find, out-of-print selections.
In 1988 the station teamed with the San Francisco AIDS Foundation to produce their first KKSF Sampler for AIDS Relief. Songs were donated by their artists so that KKSF could give all the net proceeds from the sale of the Sampler albums to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Often the Sampler CDs were the only way to find certain KKSF listener favorites that had otherwise gone out of print. There were seven KKSF Samplers produced by Dave Kendrick and Steve Feinstein, with Sampler 7 being dedicated to Feinstein's memory, as he died in September 1996, during the album's creation.
KKSF was also the first commercial radio station to have a Web presence, putting up a Web site in October 1993 as kksf.tbo.com and eventually www.kksf.com.
In 1993, Brown Broadcasting purchased classical station KDFC
KDFC
KDFC-FM is a non-commercial radio station in the San Francisco Bay Area that broadcasts a classical music format on 90.3 MHz FM. The station is the radio home of the San Francisco Symphony and the San Francisco Opera....
(then at 102.1 FM). The two stations were co-located at 455 Market Street until 1997, when both were sold to Evergreen Media. Evergreen sold KDFC to Bonneville that same year, but kept KKSF, which eventually passed to Chancellor Broadcasting, AMFM Broadcasting, and finally Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
during a short period of rapid ownership changes in the late 1990s. Studios were moved to their present location at 340 Townsend Street in 1998.
The sound of KKSF changed with the new ownership. The Smooth Jazz consultancy Broadcast Architecture became more involved with the station at this time. Gradually the station became more like other stations in the U.S. using the "Smooth Jazz" handle, dropping some of its more eclectic music along the way in favor of mass appeal R&B songs.
The 2000s brought many changes to KKSF. During 2001 many announcers left, a number of them going to former sister station KDFC. Through the next eight years the number of live announcers on staff gradually decreased, as KKSF began airing syndicated shows in morning drive, like the national "Wake Up with Whoopi" show hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, and later The Ramsey Lewis Morning Show, featuring pianist Ramsey Lewis
Ramsey Lewis
Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. is an American jazz composer, pianist and radio personality. Ramsey Lewis has recorded over 80 albums and has received seven gold records and three Grammy Awards so far in his career.-Biography:...
. In 2008 KKSF added the syndicated Dave Koz show to afternoons. By the end of the Smooth Jazz era at KKSF, only midday personality Miranda Wilson was truly live in her time slot.
On May 18, 2009, at 3 p.m., KKSF began a classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
format. Owner Clear Channel cited economic considerations and the results of "exhaustive market research" as they announced the change to "103.7 The Band." The first song played under the Classic Rock format was "Everybody's Everything" by Santana
Santana (band)
Santana is a rock band based around guitarist Carlos Santana and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice" at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill...
.
The demise of Smooth Jazz on KKSF also ended one of the Bay Area's most spirited radio rivalries, as KKSF battled it out with Urban AC KBLX
KBLX
KBLX-FM is an Urban Adult Contemporary radio station that broadcasts from San Francisco. The station is licensed to Berkeley, California, and is owned by Inner City Broadcasting Corporation.-About KBLX:...
, which often included Smooth Jazz in its Quiet Storm
Quiet storm
Quiet storm is a late-night radio format, featuring soulful slow jams, pioneered in the mid-1970s by then-station-intern Melvin Lindsey at WHUR-FM, in Washington, D.C. Smokey Robinson's like-titled hit single, released in 1975 as the title track to his third solo album, lent its name to the format...
Smooth R&B playlist. Smooth Jazz in San Francisco can now be heard on the HD2 channel of KKSF's sister station KISQ
KISQ
KISQ is a radio station licensed to San Francisco that features the Urban Oldies format on the 98.1 FM frequency. It is owned by Clear Channel.- History :As KABL...
98.1, KKSF.com, SFsmoothjazz.com, and a few outlets on JAZZRADIO.com.
In its first few months as 103.7 The Band, KKSF gained listeners aged 25–54, considered a more desirable group by advertisers than KKSF's previous audience which skewed considerably older. The station features mostly out-of-market personalities who voice track their shows, and has a very small local staff.
KKSF began shifting to more of a classic hits format in February 2011
2011 in radio
The following events occurred in radio broadcasting in 2011.-Events:*January 1: 2 Knoxville stations change formats as WDLF and WYLV flip to K-LOVE and Air 1 , and a few Pittsburgh station change formats, as ESPN Radio moves from WEAE to WBGG, and Radio Disney moves from WWCS to the renamed WDDZ,...
, after Entercom added classic rock on KUZX
KUZX
KUZX is a classic rock-formatted radio station in San Francisco, California. It is owned by Entercom Communications. As of noon January 24, 2011, the station is simulcasting the programming of sister station KUFX in San Jose...
, using one-time sister station KDFC's former frequency. The classic hits format had previously been heard on CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
's KFRC-FM
KFRC-FM
KFRC-FM is a commercial radio station in San Francisco, California, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It simulcasts sister station KCBS, which carries an all-news format...
, which became a simulcast of all-news
All-news radio
All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcast of news.All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried in some form on both major US satellite radio networks...
KCBS
KCBS (AM)
KCBS is an all-news radio station in San Francisco, California, that is a key West Coast flagship radio station of the CBS Radio Network and Westwood One. Its transmitter is located in Novato, California. KCBS currently has studios on Battery Street, where it shares the location with co-owned KPIX...
in October 2008. The shift to classic hits was completed on April 8, 2011, when the station rebranded to "Oldies 103.7".
Technical facts
KKSF is a Class B FM station, transmitting from Sutro TowerSutro Tower
Sutro Tower is a three-pronged antenna tower near Clarendon Heights in San Francisco, California. Rising from a hill between Twin Peaks and Mount Sutro, it is a prominent part of the city skyline and a landmark for city residents and visitors...
at an effective radiated power
Effective radiated power
In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...
of 7,200 watts. A low-powered booster in Pleasanton
Pleasanton
Pleasanton is the name of several places in the United States of America:* Pleasanton, California* Pleasanton, Iowa* Pleasanton, Kansas* Pleasanton, Nebraska* Pleasanton, New Mexico* Pleasanton, Texas* Pleasanton Township, Michigan...
, CA fills in East Bay coverage gaps caused by topography issues.
KKSF broadcasts digitally using the HD Radio system from iBiquity
IBiquity
iBiquity Digital Corporation is a company formed by the merger of USA Digital Radio and Lucent Digital Radio, with the goal of creating an in-band on-channel digital radio system for the United States and around the world...
. KKSF's HD broadcast also makes available a second channel that can only be received with an HD Radio capable receiver. The format of KKSF's HD-2 Channel is Classic Hits.
From the time that KKSF started its NAC format in 1987 to mid 1996, the station used very light audio processing in order to create a signature sound. It was based on the Schulke Beautiful Music approach of having a very light touch to the audio. KKSF's Chief Engineer, Tim Pozar, who was also one of the co-founders of San Francisco's first ISP, TLGNet, installed an Aphex Systems
Aphex Systems
Aphex is a brand of audio signal processing equipment. Aphex Systems was founded in 1975 in Massachusetts by Marvin Caesar and Curt Knoppel, the inventor of the Aural Exciter. The company changed its name to Aphex in 2011.-About Aphex:...
audio chain of a Compellor and Dominator along with a Digicoder which was one of the first digital stereo generators.
Tim Pozar also put up the original 1993 web site through TLGNet.