KLOS
Encyclopedia
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.
station KECA 790. The FM station was owned by ABC
since the beginning, and the call letters of the AM and FM stations were accordingly changed to KABC
and KABC-FM in the 1950s. In 1960, KABC adopted an all-talk
format.
On January 1, 1968, due to new Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) rules requiring FM stations to have separate programming from their AM counterparts, KABC-FM experimented with an all-news
format, the first station in Los Angeles to have such a format. This experiment did not last long, as the format was dropped on March 11, 1968, the day that KFWB started its own all-news format.
KABC-FM adopted a progressive rock
format and programmed a taped format that was run on co-owned stations throughout the country known as "Love." The taped programming was voicetraced by Brother John Rydgren. The taped format did not last long. Live, locally programmed free-form/progressive rock programming was the norm on most ABC-FM owned and operated stations by mid-1970. In 1971, the station acquired the KLOS call letters to avoid confusion with its AM talk station. In the fall of 1971, ABC-Owned FM Stations Vice President, Allen Shaw and KLOS Program Director, Tom Yates, launched the first Album-Rock Format, playing only the best cuts from the best selling rock albums. The slogan was "Rock 'N Stereo." The disc jockey line up included Jeff Gonzer, J.J. Jackson, Jim Ladd, and Damion. KLOS promoted a huge outdoor rock concert called "California Jam" during this time. By 1972, along with ABC-owned sister stations like WPLJ
New York
, WRIF
Detroit and WDVE
Pittsburgh, KLOS had become the top-rated rock FM station in Los Angeles.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s "KLOS 95½" was a broad-based album rock station. Their primary competition during this period was KMET, the legendary station at 94.7, which had been one of the original progressive rock stations in the U.S. KMET was considered by most Angelenos to be the more authentic and "cool" of the two stations, while KLOS was more formatted and mass appeal in style. In the late 70s and early 80s, KMET began leaning toward a harder-rocking sound, and became a ratings powerhouse. By the mid-80s, however, KMET had become unfocused and stale, and KLOS took a big lead in the ratings.
In 1986, a new rival appeared: KLSX
. KLSX was part of a wave of "classic rock" stations sweeping the nation. The term "classic rock," which was coined around this time, referred to rock songs from the 60's & 70's. Ironically, these songs had once been played by KMET and KLOS. Especially at first, these classic rock stations reintroduced (or introduced) people to artists that had been forgotten, such as Traffic, Grateful Dead, and early Chicago. KLOS, for the most part, stuck with their harder-rocking format.
With KNAC
in Long Beach switching to heavy metal, and KROQ-FM
drawing the Modern Rock
audience, there was keen competition on the rock radio dial. KMET began to falter even more in the ratings, and finally switched to a new age/light jazz format called "The Wave." The fall of the "Mighty Met" was greeted with enormous press coverage, and sadness from longtime fans. KLOS, of course, could not have been happier to have a competitor out of the way.
KLOS and KLSX duked it out for a number of years, sometimes challenged by upstarts like Pirate Radio, KMPC-FM ("The Edge"), and KSCA
101.9. The only significant challenge for KLOS was Arrow 93 (KCBS-FM
). Arrow began as "all rock and roll oldies," featuring lighter, more Top 40 classic rock like Billy Joel and Huey Lewis in the classic rock mix. During this period, KLOS consistently had a broader and more varied playlist than both KLSX and Arrow, though increasingly they played less new rock. KLSX switched to all-talk in the mid-90's, with a schedule centered around syndicated Howard Stern in the mornings.
In the early 90's, with the popularity of KROQ-FM's grunge and "alternative" rock, KLOS altered their format, dropping the old jocks, and most of the classic rock. This did not last long, nor was it a ratings success. Within a year, the new music was mostly jettisoned, and the classic rock brought back.
In 1997 John Duncan was hired as program director (previously at KYYS in Kansas City) and took the station in an adult rock direction. Within eight months, KLOS moved from #18 to #5 among 25-54 adults, reclaiming its status as L.A.'s #1 adult rock station. While at KLOS, Duncan hired Jim Ladd, Garth Kemp and other long-time personalities. It was also during this period that the station ran a billboard campaign with lines such as, "We lost our mind for a moment, but we're okay now." Duncan left the station in late 1998, on the heels of Mark & Brian
's "Black Hoe" promotion.
In 2005, KLOS became the last rock station standing when Arrow 93 switched formats to become Jack FM
. Jack FM was a format out of Vancouver, Canada which mixed alternative, classic rock, and Top 40 songs from the 70s to the present. It is noted for having no disc jockeys, a huge playlist, and a pseudo-renegade attitude. For their first two years, they were a runaway ratings success, rocketing to the top of many key demographic areas. As usual, KLOS stuck with the tried-and-true.
Also in 2005, long-time DJ Al Ramirez, who worked the night shift, died at the age of 54 of natural causes.
KLOS is now home to many prominent progressive and AOR rock DJs from Los Angeles radio history. Joe" Benson, a former Arrow 93 DJ, has joined KLOS since the introduction of Jack FM, and is on weekdays from 3 pm to 7 pm. Another former Arrow DJ, Bob Coburn was already at KLOS prior to the Arrow/Jack FM
flip, and can be heard weekends at various times, as well as on "Rockline Replay" (a live nationally-syndicated call-in show with Bob Coburn, taped Wednesday nights). Both Benson & Coburn had enjoyed previous, lengthy runs as KLOS jocks, since the 80s. Coburn was also at KMET in the 70s. Cynthia Fox holds down the daytime shift. She was a long-time jock on KMET. Ex-KMET jock Denise Westwood can be heard weekends and does the occasional fill-in. Former program director Rita Wilde, now on KSWD, had been choosing the music on KLOS for decades, and can now be considered a rock radio vet herself.
Especially noteworthy was the return of Jim Ladd, former DJ on KNAC (in its progressive days), KMET during its glory days, KLOS, KLSX, and "The Edge." Ladd is allowed unusual latitude in selecting the music for his show, one of the few jocks in the country still enjoying this coveted privilege. Ladd's show is routinely the #1 music-based show in its timeslot, if not #1 overall. Since Ladd programs his entire five-hour shift himself, he relies heavily on listener requests, which is one of the reasons his show is so popular. Ladd plays many Deep cut
s both from mainstream artists, as well as artists from forgotten eras that no one else plays, such as Tommy Bolin
, Quicksilver Messenger Service
& Fairport Convention
. He also plays artists such as Johnny Cash
, Jerry Lee Lewis
& Emmylou Harris
, who are generally considered genres outside of rock & roll, yet they clearly inspired & influenced classic rock artists. Ladd bills himself as "the last free-form radio DJ" left. The closest example outside of Ladd to a freeform
jock would likely be DJ Steve Jones (ex-Sex Pistols
), who hosted a free-form program of his own, daily from noon to 2 pm on Indie 103.1
; Jones was perhaps a truer form of "free" radio, as he pulled from far more genres than Ladd.
Joe Reiling has also recently returned to KLOS after an even longer absence. He was last heard in the early 80's. Joe started the Local Music Show (later renamed, Local Licks) He does the occasional fill-in. Most of Joe's time away from the station found him hosting his own Alternative Rock show worldwide on AFN (American Forces Network and formerly AFRTS, Armed Forces Radio and Television Services) Joe was also involved in managing, producing and programming the inflight audio entertainment for many domestic and international airlines, and, Air Force One.
Dion was another part-time jock at KLOS that had been on overnights for several years. Dion was also at KLSX
when they played classic rock.
Sunday nights/Monday mornings KLOS used to air a public affairs call-in talk show hosted by long time KLOS personality, Frank Sontag
. He celebrated his 20th anniversary doing the Impact Program in late November 2007. Frank also is part of the Mark & Brian
morning team. He runs the control board, and is a frequent contributor on the show.
KLOS also airs a midday show hosted by veteran KMET/KLSX
DJ Cynthia Fox called "In Tune at Noon" where she features a daily celebration of events in Rock n Roll History and events in the News.
In 2006, the station came under ownership of Citadel Broadcasting
after it merged with The Walt Disney Company
's ABC Radio. Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011. In October 2006, KLOS restructured its daily lineup of radio hosts, following Mark & Brian
's show. Cynthia Fox, "Uncle Joe" Benson and Jim Ladd saw each of their daily airshifts increased by one hour. However, this has resulted in the (temporary) dismissal of former evening DJ Gary Moore (returning in the Fall of 2007 and now can be heard weekday evenings). Former overnight jock (ex-KQLZ) Mark Miller was only heard hosting Saturday morning's "The Best of Mark & Brian Saturday Special" shows, from 6 am to 10 am. Miller's daily shift was replaced with automated programming, billed as "KLOS, After Hours", which runs from 1 to 5 am, Tuesday through Friday mornings. Although the same classic rock format is generally followed, occasionally KLOS delves into deep cut
s & live versions of songs that are not usually played during the dayshifts.
The long-revered "Breakfast With The Beatles", hosted by Chris Carter
, is heard on Sunday mornings from 8 am to 11 am. Prior to hosting Breakfast With the Beatles, Carter was heard on Channel 103.1/KACD-FM in 2000, when they played Adult Alternative
music. He is also the former bass player & producer for Dramarama
, and produced and supervised the music for the film Mayor of the Sunset Strip
, a rock documentary about influential LA DJ Rodney Bingenheimer
of Modern Rock
KROQ-FM, which in 2003 was nominated for Best Documentary by the Independent Spirit Awards
.
Periodically, KLOS abandoned its format with an "A to Z" special, where songs from the KLOS library were played alphabetically by title. Running 24 hours a day (with breaks only for the Mark & Brian show, and Jim Ladd's show), it generally lasted about 2 weeks with no repeated songs. Unlike many similar specials, the KLOS A to Z unearthed a large number of rarely heard songs. This marked a stark contrast with KLOS' regular playlist, which typically features an extremely narrow and repetitive selection of safe, familiar staples. In its final years the A to Z special aired around the Christmas holiday. Since the firing of program director Rita Wilde, the A to Z countdown has not aired on KLOS. However, their new competitor The Sound recently revamped the idea with a very similar, though shorter, A to Z countdown of familiar and deep tracks.
in San Diego, which can sometimes even be heard in Los Angeles due to tropospheric ducting. This might be considered by most listeners to be nitpicking, since although KGB can occasionally be received in the Los Angeles area, it is out of range most of the time. There is also KOCP
The Octopus in Camarillo, but it does not serve as competition to KLOS due to KFSH in Anaheim broadcasting on the same frequency. The only other station in the area that can be considered to carry classic rock
is KRTH, which broadened its "goodtime oldies" format to include more album rock and material from the mid to late 1970s after Jack FM
took over KCBS. However, the majority of KRTH's format would not be considered classic rock. Jack-FM plays considerably more classic rock than any other station outside of KLOS, but also plays plenty of top 40 artists. In April, 2008, a new station emerged as a competitor, as KSWD "The Sound" 100.3 FM signed on the airwaves, and although their focus began as adult alternative
music, it is now essentially classic rock.
In August 2009, the station switched its slogan to "Southern California's Best Rock", in order to play a wider variety of rock music, including classic and current, in a more mainstream rock
direction.
In Tune at Noon is a one-hour show hosted by Cynthia Fox where they celebrate birthdays or anniversaries of events in rock and roll history by playing music associated with those dates. It plays weekday afternoons from 12:00 P.M. to 1:00 P.M.
The 5 o' Clock Funnies is a brief sketch done by a stand-up comedian who is currently or shortly will be touring somewhere. This airs weekday afternoons at 5:15 P.M.
Get The Led Out with Gary Moore is on weeknights at 7:00 P.M.
Spotlight on the Community is an hour-long show hosted by Cynthia Fox and Nelkane Benton on Sunday mornings from 6:00 A.M. to 7:00 A.M. Discussing current issues in the community and offers non-profit organizations the opportunity to disseminate information for their organization.
Breakfast with the Beatles, hosted by Chris Carter, is a special three-hour program that airs Sunday mornings from 8:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M., devoted entirely to music from The Beatles, their individual efforts, as well as music inspired by The Beatles. Carter often has special guests appear in-studio or on the phone. Former John Lennon paramour, May Pang appears usually half-way in the show with "This week in Beatle news", delivering it in a gossip-style. Breakfast With The Beatles boasts it is "America's longest-running Beatles show", and has been on the air in Los Angeles on one radio station or another since 1983 having been founded by Deirdre O'Donoghue and aired on KMET, KNX-FM, and KLSX http://articles.latimes.com/2001/jan/24/local/me-16255
Jim Ladd used to bring his brand of free-form radio, interrupting the regular classic rock radio format, Monday through Thursday from 10:00 P.M. to 2:00 A.M. and Sundays from 9:00 P.M. to 12:00 A.M., with Ladd picking the music personally, often based on listener requests, and playing it in thematic sets. Listeners call in requests/ideas or post them on Ladd's MySpace page. Every Wednesday night at midnight, Ladd devotes an hour to Headsets, which combines music with a slightly more "sonic" quality (designed to be listened to in headphones, or with no background noise interfering), spoken-word poetry, and audio clips from movies & TV. On Sundays, Ladd brings "Theme of Consciousness", with the entire content of the 3-hour show devoted to a singular word or "theme", and chosen entirely by the listening audience, by phone or by MySpace.
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
based in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, that debuted in 1969. The station is owned by Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
. It is home to the nationally broadcast Mark & Brian
Mark & Brian
The Mark & Brian Show is an American radio talk show hosted by Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps, known on the air as "Mark & Brian." The syndicated program originates weekday mornings from KLOS-FM in Los Angeles, California, and blends comedy sketches, listener phone calls, interviews with in-studio...
radio show, and Off The Record host Uncle Joe Benson.
History
On December 30, 1947, KECA-FM began broadcasting on 95.5 MHz, simulcasting the programming of AMAM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
station KECA 790. The FM station was owned by 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...
since the beginning, and the call letters of the AM and FM stations were accordingly changed to KABC
KABC (AM)
KABC is a Los Angeles radio station, and a West Coast flagship station for the Cumulus Media company. A pioneer of the talk radio format, the station went "all-talk" in 1960 and was one of the first stations to do so...
and KABC-FM in the 1950s. In 1960, KABC adopted an all-talk
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...
format.
On January 1, 1968, due to new Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) rules requiring FM stations to have separate programming from their AM counterparts, KABC-FM experimented with an 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...
format, the first station in Los Angeles to have such a format. This experiment did not last long, as the format was dropped on March 11, 1968, the day that KFWB started its own all-news format.
KABC-FM adopted a 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 and programmed a taped format that was run on co-owned stations throughout the country known as "Love." The taped programming was voicetraced by Brother John Rydgren. The taped format did not last long. Live, locally programmed free-form/progressive rock programming was the norm on most ABC-FM owned and operated stations by mid-1970. In 1971, the station acquired the KLOS call letters to avoid confusion with its AM talk station. In the fall of 1971, ABC-Owned FM Stations Vice President, Allen Shaw and KLOS Program Director, Tom Yates, launched the first Album-Rock Format, playing only the best cuts from the best selling rock albums. The slogan was "Rock 'N Stereo." The disc jockey line up included Jeff Gonzer, J.J. Jackson, Jim Ladd, and Damion. KLOS promoted a huge outdoor rock concert called "California Jam" during this time. By 1972, along with ABC-owned sister stations like WPLJ
WPLJ
WPLJ is a radio station in New York City owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media. WPLJ shares studio facilities with sister station WABC inside 2 Penn Plaza in midtown Manhattan, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building. The station currently plays a Hot Adult...
New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, WRIF
WRIF
WRIF — branded 101 WRIF: The RIFF — is a commercial active rock radio station licensed by the FCC to operate in Detroit, Michigan serving surrounding Metro Detroit. The station is currently owned by Greater Boston Radio, Inc. WRIF is a grandfathered Class B station with a signal equivalent to...
Detroit and WDVE
WDVE
WDVE is a mainstream rock music formatted radio station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA at 102.5 MHz. It is often referred to by Pittsburghers as simply "DVE." WDVE's transmitter is located on Pittsburgh's North Side...
Pittsburgh, KLOS had become the top-rated rock FM station in Los Angeles.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s "KLOS 95½" was a broad-based album rock station. Their primary competition during this period was KMET, the legendary station at 94.7, which had been one of the original progressive rock stations in the U.S. KMET was considered by most Angelenos to be the more authentic and "cool" of the two stations, while KLOS was more formatted and mass appeal in style. In the late 70s and early 80s, KMET began leaning toward a harder-rocking sound, and became a ratings powerhouse. By the mid-80s, however, KMET had become unfocused and stale, and KLOS took a big lead in the ratings.
In 1986, a new rival appeared: KLSX
KLSX
KAMP-FM 97.1 FM, known on-air as 97.1 AMP Radio, is a Rhythmic Contemporary radio station in Los Angeles, California. The station is owned by CBS Radio.The station had long been known as KLSX before the call sign changed on June 30, 2009....
. KLSX was part of a wave of "classic rock" stations sweeping the nation. The term "classic rock," which was coined around this time, referred to rock songs from the 60's & 70's. Ironically, these songs had once been played by KMET and KLOS. Especially at first, these classic rock stations reintroduced (or introduced) people to artists that had been forgotten, such as Traffic, Grateful Dead, and early Chicago. KLOS, for the most part, stuck with their harder-rocking format.
With KNAC
KNAC
KNAC is an internet based heavy metal music radio station. It was previously a Los Angeles, California area FM radio station.-KNAC at 105.5 FM:...
in Long Beach switching to heavy metal, and KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
drawing the Modern Rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
audience, there was keen competition on the rock radio dial. KMET began to falter even more in the ratings, and finally switched to a new age/light jazz format called "The Wave." The fall of the "Mighty Met" was greeted with enormous press coverage, and sadness from longtime fans. KLOS, of course, could not have been happier to have a competitor out of the way.
KLOS and KLSX duked it out for a number of years, sometimes challenged by upstarts like Pirate Radio, KMPC-FM ("The Edge"), and KSCA
KSCA
KSCA is a commercial radio station in Glendale, California, broadcasting to the Los Angeles, California, area on 101.9 FM. As of 2007 KSCA is the most listened to radio station in the Los Angeles Metro Area....
101.9. The only significant challenge for KLOS was Arrow 93 (KCBS-FM
KCBS-FM
KCBS-FM is a radio station in Los Angeles, California broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area on 93.1 FM. KCBS-FM airs an adult hits music format branded as "Jack-FM"....
). Arrow began as "all rock and roll oldies," featuring lighter, more Top 40 classic rock like Billy Joel and Huey Lewis in the classic rock mix. During this period, KLOS consistently had a broader and more varied playlist than both KLSX and Arrow, though increasingly they played less new rock. KLSX switched to all-talk in the mid-90's, with a schedule centered around syndicated Howard Stern in the mornings.
In the early 90's, with the popularity of KROQ-FM's grunge and "alternative" rock, KLOS altered their format, dropping the old jocks, and most of the classic rock. This did not last long, nor was it a ratings success. Within a year, the new music was mostly jettisoned, and the classic rock brought back.
In 1997 John Duncan was hired as program director (previously at KYYS in Kansas City) and took the station in an adult rock direction. Within eight months, KLOS moved from #18 to #5 among 25-54 adults, reclaiming its status as L.A.'s #1 adult rock station. While at KLOS, Duncan hired Jim Ladd, Garth Kemp and other long-time personalities. It was also during this period that the station ran a billboard campaign with lines such as, "We lost our mind for a moment, but we're okay now." Duncan left the station in late 1998, on the heels of Mark & Brian
Mark & Brian
The Mark & Brian Show is an American radio talk show hosted by Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps, known on the air as "Mark & Brian." The syndicated program originates weekday mornings from KLOS-FM in Los Angeles, California, and blends comedy sketches, listener phone calls, interviews with in-studio...
's "Black Hoe" promotion.
In 2005, KLOS became the last rock station standing when Arrow 93 switched formats to become Jack FM
Jack FM
JACK FM is the alternative name and on-air brand of 60 radio stations in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia. Jack stations play a mix of 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s hits with some current hot adult contemporary singles. Jack's slogan "playing what we want" can also be...
. Jack FM was a format out of Vancouver, Canada which mixed alternative, classic rock, and Top 40 songs from the 70s to the present. It is noted for having no disc jockeys, a huge playlist, and a pseudo-renegade attitude. For their first two years, they were a runaway ratings success, rocketing to the top of many key demographic areas. As usual, KLOS stuck with the tried-and-true.
Also in 2005, long-time DJ Al Ramirez, who worked the night shift, died at the age of 54 of natural causes.
KLOS is now home to many prominent progressive and AOR rock DJs from Los Angeles radio history. Joe" Benson, a former Arrow 93 DJ, has joined KLOS since the introduction of Jack FM, and is on weekdays from 3 pm to 7 pm. Another former Arrow DJ, Bob Coburn was already at KLOS prior to the Arrow/Jack FM
Jack FM
JACK FM is the alternative name and on-air brand of 60 radio stations in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia. Jack stations play a mix of 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s hits with some current hot adult contemporary singles. Jack's slogan "playing what we want" can also be...
flip, and can be heard weekends at various times, as well as on "Rockline Replay" (a live nationally-syndicated call-in show with Bob Coburn, taped Wednesday nights). Both Benson & Coburn had enjoyed previous, lengthy runs as KLOS jocks, since the 80s. Coburn was also at KMET in the 70s. Cynthia Fox holds down the daytime shift. She was a long-time jock on KMET. Ex-KMET jock Denise Westwood can be heard weekends and does the occasional fill-in. Former program director Rita Wilde, now on KSWD, had been choosing the music on KLOS for decades, and can now be considered a rock radio vet herself.
Especially noteworthy was the return of Jim Ladd, former DJ on KNAC (in its progressive days), KMET during its glory days, KLOS, KLSX, and "The Edge." Ladd is allowed unusual latitude in selecting the music for his show, one of the few jocks in the country still enjoying this coveted privilege. Ladd's show is routinely the #1 music-based show in its timeslot, if not #1 overall. Since Ladd programs his entire five-hour shift himself, he relies heavily on listener requests, which is one of the reasons his show is so popular. Ladd plays many Deep cut
Deep Cut
Deep Cut is a play performed by Cardiff based theatre company Sherman Cymru and written by Philip Ralph. It premiered at the Edinburgh Festival in 2008 and won the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award in the same year as well as best Actor and Best Actress awards with The Stage's...
s both from mainstream artists, as well as artists from forgotten eras that no one else plays, such as Tommy Bolin
Tommy Bolin
Thomas Richard "Tommy" Bolin was an American-born guitarist who played with Zephyr , The James Gang , and Deep Purple , in addition to doing solo work...
, Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service is an American psychedelic rock band, formed in 1965 in San Francisco.-Introduction:Quicksilver Messenger Service gained wide popularity in the Bay Area and, through their recordings, with psychedelic rock enthusiasts around the globe and several of their albums ranked...
& Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
. He also plays artists such as Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
& Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
, who are generally considered genres outside of rock & roll, yet they clearly inspired & influenced classic rock artists. Ladd bills himself as "the last free-form radio DJ" left. The closest example outside of Ladd to a freeform
Freeform (radio format)
Freeform, or freeform radio, is a radio station programming format in which the disc jockey is given total control over what music to play, regardless of music genre or commercial interests. Freeform radio stands in contrast to most commercial radio stations, in which DJs have little or no...
jock would likely be DJ Steve Jones (ex-Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
), who hosted a free-form program of his own, daily from noon to 2 pm on Indie 103.1
KDLD
KDLD is a commercial radio station in Santa Monica, California, broadcasting to the Los Angeles area on 103.1 FM. KDLE is a commercial radio station in Newport Beach, California, broadcasting to the Orange County area on 103.1 FM....
; Jones was perhaps a truer form of "free" radio, as he pulled from far more genres than Ladd.
Joe Reiling has also recently returned to KLOS after an even longer absence. He was last heard in the early 80's. Joe started the Local Music Show (later renamed, Local Licks) He does the occasional fill-in. Most of Joe's time away from the station found him hosting his own Alternative Rock show worldwide on AFN (American Forces Network and formerly AFRTS, Armed Forces Radio and Television Services) Joe was also involved in managing, producing and programming the inflight audio entertainment for many domestic and international airlines, and, Air Force One.
Dion was another part-time jock at KLOS that had been on overnights for several years. Dion was also at KLSX
KLSX
KAMP-FM 97.1 FM, known on-air as 97.1 AMP Radio, is a Rhythmic Contemporary radio station in Los Angeles, California. The station is owned by CBS Radio.The station had long been known as KLSX before the call sign changed on June 30, 2009....
when they played classic rock.
Sunday nights/Monday mornings KLOS used to air a public affairs call-in talk show hosted by long time KLOS personality, Frank Sontag
Frank Sontag
Frank M. Sontag is an American radio personality. He is the former host of the Impact program on 95.5 KLOS-FM for more than twenty years, a talk radio show which discussed a wide variety of topics...
. He celebrated his 20th anniversary doing the Impact Program in late November 2007. Frank also is part of the Mark & Brian
Mark & Brian
The Mark & Brian Show is an American radio talk show hosted by Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps, known on the air as "Mark & Brian." The syndicated program originates weekday mornings from KLOS-FM in Los Angeles, California, and blends comedy sketches, listener phone calls, interviews with in-studio...
morning team. He runs the control board, and is a frequent contributor on the show.
KLOS also airs a midday show hosted by veteran KMET/KLSX
KLSX
KAMP-FM 97.1 FM, known on-air as 97.1 AMP Radio, is a Rhythmic Contemporary radio station in Los Angeles, California. The station is owned by CBS Radio.The station had long been known as KLSX before the call sign changed on June 30, 2009....
DJ Cynthia Fox called "In Tune at Noon" where she features a daily celebration of events in Rock n Roll History and events in the News.
In 2006, the station came under ownership of Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country...
after it merged with The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
's ABC Radio. Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011. In October 2006, KLOS restructured its daily lineup of radio hosts, following Mark & Brian
Mark & Brian
The Mark & Brian Show is an American radio talk show hosted by Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps, known on the air as "Mark & Brian." The syndicated program originates weekday mornings from KLOS-FM in Los Angeles, California, and blends comedy sketches, listener phone calls, interviews with in-studio...
's show. Cynthia Fox, "Uncle Joe" Benson and Jim Ladd saw each of their daily airshifts increased by one hour. However, this has resulted in the (temporary) dismissal of former evening DJ Gary Moore (returning in the Fall of 2007 and now can be heard weekday evenings). Former overnight jock (ex-KQLZ) Mark Miller was only heard hosting Saturday morning's "The Best of Mark & Brian Saturday Special" shows, from 6 am to 10 am. Miller's daily shift was replaced with automated programming, billed as "KLOS, After Hours", which runs from 1 to 5 am, Tuesday through Friday mornings. Although the same classic rock format is generally followed, occasionally KLOS delves into deep cut
Deep Cut
Deep Cut is a play performed by Cardiff based theatre company Sherman Cymru and written by Philip Ralph. It premiered at the Edinburgh Festival in 2008 and won the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award in the same year as well as best Actor and Best Actress awards with The Stage's...
s & live versions of songs that are not usually played during the dayshifts.
The long-revered "Breakfast With The Beatles", hosted by Chris Carter
Chris Carter (producer/disc jockey)
Chris Carter is a Los Angeles-based disc jockey and music/film producer who started his music career as a founding member and bass player with alternative rock/power pop band Dramarama. After Dramarama originally split in 1994, Carter formed QM Management to manage LA pop group The Wondermints,...
, is heard on Sunday mornings from 8 am to 11 am. Prior to hosting Breakfast With the Beatles, Carter was heard on Channel 103.1/KACD-FM in 2000, when they played Adult Alternative
Adult album alternative
Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats....
music. He is also the former bass player & producer for Dramarama
Dramarama (band)
Dramarama is a Los Angeles, California-based alternative rock/power pop band. The band was formed in New Jersey in 1982 and disbanded in 1994...
, and produced and supervised the music for the film Mayor of the Sunset Strip
Mayor of the Sunset Strip
Mayor of the Sunset Strip is a 2004 documentary film on the life of Rodney Bingenheimer directed by George Hickenlooper, and produced by Chris Carter.-Interviews:...
, a rock documentary about influential LA DJ Rodney Bingenheimer
Rodney Bingenheimer
Rodney Bingenheimer, born December 15, 1947, is a radio disc jockey on the long-running Los Angeles rock station KROQ who is notable for helping numerous iconic bands become successful in the American market. His contribution to the music business has been described as important...
of Modern Rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
KROQ-FM, which in 2003 was nominated for Best Documentary by the Independent Spirit Awards
Independent Spirit Awards
The Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
.
Periodically, KLOS abandoned its format with an "A to Z" special, where songs from the KLOS library were played alphabetically by title. Running 24 hours a day (with breaks only for the Mark & Brian show, and Jim Ladd's show), it generally lasted about 2 weeks with no repeated songs. Unlike many similar specials, the KLOS A to Z unearthed a large number of rarely heard songs. This marked a stark contrast with KLOS' regular playlist, which typically features an extremely narrow and repetitive selection of safe, familiar staples. In its final years the A to Z special aired around the Christmas holiday. Since the firing of program director Rita Wilde, the A to Z countdown has not aired on KLOS. However, their new competitor The Sound recently revamped the idea with a very similar, though shorter, A to Z countdown of familiar and deep tracks.
Competition
Although KLOS billed itself as "Southern California's only classic rock station", that is not entirely true as there exists KGBKGB-FM
KGB-FM is a classic rock radio station in San Diego, California. It is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications.-History:...
in San Diego, which can sometimes even be heard in Los Angeles due to tropospheric ducting. This might be considered by most listeners to be nitpicking, since although KGB can occasionally be received in the Los Angeles area, it is out of range most of the time. There is also KOCP
KOCP
KOCP is a commercial radio station located in Camarillo, California, broadcasting to the Oxnard-Ventura, California, area. KOCP plays a 70s-80s classic hits music format. It is owned by Gold Coast Broadcasting LLC.-History:...
The Octopus in Camarillo, but it does not serve as competition to KLOS due to KFSH in Anaheim broadcasting on the same frequency. The only other station in the area that can be considered to carry 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...
is KRTH, which broadened its "goodtime oldies" format to include more album rock and material from the mid to late 1970s after Jack FM
Jack FM
JACK FM is the alternative name and on-air brand of 60 radio stations in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia. Jack stations play a mix of 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s hits with some current hot adult contemporary singles. Jack's slogan "playing what we want" can also be...
took over KCBS. However, the majority of KRTH's format would not be considered classic rock. Jack-FM plays considerably more classic rock than any other station outside of KLOS, but also plays plenty of top 40 artists. In April, 2008, a new station emerged as a competitor, as KSWD "The Sound" 100.3 FM signed on the airwaves, and although their focus began as adult alternative
Adult album alternative
Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats....
music, it is now essentially classic rock.
In August 2009, the station switched its slogan to "Southern California's Best Rock", in order to play a wider variety of rock music, including classic and current, in a more mainstream rock
Mainstream rock
Mainstream rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.-Format background:...
direction.
Shows on KLOS
Mark and Brian is a sketch comedy show that airs Monday through Friday mornings from 6:00 A.M. to 10:00 A.M., with highlights from the show airing from 5:00 to 6:00 A.M., and a Saturday recap of the week, featuring the best of Mark & Brian, airs from 6 A.M. to 10 A.M.In Tune at Noon is a one-hour show hosted by Cynthia Fox where they celebrate birthdays or anniversaries of events in rock and roll history by playing music associated with those dates. It plays weekday afternoons from 12:00 P.M. to 1:00 P.M.
The 5 o' Clock Funnies is a brief sketch done by a stand-up comedian who is currently or shortly will be touring somewhere. This airs weekday afternoons at 5:15 P.M.
Get The Led Out with Gary Moore is on weeknights at 7:00 P.M.
Spotlight on the Community is an hour-long show hosted by Cynthia Fox and Nelkane Benton on Sunday mornings from 6:00 A.M. to 7:00 A.M. Discussing current issues in the community and offers non-profit organizations the opportunity to disseminate information for their organization.
Breakfast with the Beatles, hosted by Chris Carter, is a special three-hour program that airs Sunday mornings from 8:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M., devoted entirely to music from The Beatles, their individual efforts, as well as music inspired by The Beatles. Carter often has special guests appear in-studio or on the phone. Former John Lennon paramour, May Pang appears usually half-way in the show with "This week in Beatle news", delivering it in a gossip-style. Breakfast With The Beatles boasts it is "America's longest-running Beatles show", and has been on the air in Los Angeles on one radio station or another since 1983 having been founded by Deirdre O'Donoghue and aired on KMET, KNX-FM, and KLSX http://articles.latimes.com/2001/jan/24/local/me-16255
Former Shows on KLOS
3 at 3 with Bob Buchmann. He played three songs with a common theme. Then listeners got to call in and guess the common theme of the songs, weekday afternoons at 3:00 P.M.Jim Ladd used to bring his brand of free-form radio, interrupting the regular classic rock radio format, Monday through Thursday from 10:00 P.M. to 2:00 A.M. and Sundays from 9:00 P.M. to 12:00 A.M., with Ladd picking the music personally, often based on listener requests, and playing it in thematic sets. Listeners call in requests/ideas or post them on Ladd's MySpace page. Every Wednesday night at midnight, Ladd devotes an hour to Headsets, which combines music with a slightly more "sonic" quality (designed to be listened to in headphones, or with no background noise interfering), spoken-word poetry, and audio clips from movies & TV. On Sundays, Ladd brings "Theme of Consciousness", with the entire content of the 3-hour show devoted to a singular word or "theme", and chosen entirely by the listening audience, by phone or by MySpace.