KQQL
Encyclopedia
KQQL is a classic hits
music formatted radio station
serving the Twin Cities region of Minnesota
, licensed to the suburb
of Anoka
. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications
, and primarily plays rock
and pop music
from the 1970s and 1980s.
They are also known as "The Twin Cities' Christmas Superstation" and play Christmas music
from the day after Thanksgiving
through midnight on Christmas Day, competing with 102.9 Lite FM
. In 2008, KQQL started the Christmas music earlier than ever, on the weekend of November 15. This is suspected of being a response to Lite FM switching earlier in the week.
KQQL also airs classic American Top 40
from the 1970s and 1980s hosted by Casey Kasem
. It is one of a handful of stations in the state to broadcast digital radio
using iBiquity
's HD Radio
format.
, a short stint with classical music
beginning September 1, 1974 , then a full-service MOR format, focusing on the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities. From 1978
to 1983
, they carried a jazz
format. At the time, the station was operated by Jack Moore, who had previously run WAYL
, the market's leading beautiful music station.
The station was sold and the new owners immediately switched to a lite AC
/oldies
hybrid on September 24, 1983 as KGBB ("B108"). Later, the station became "Magic 108" with the call letters KMGW (later KMGK). The station's signal limitations were a hindrance as they faced competition from the larger WLTE
and KS95
.
Finally, the station was reborn as KQQL (Kool 108) in September 1988
, became the first true FM oldies
station in the Twin Cities area. This followed several days of stunting, playing various versions of "Louie, Louie" nonstop.
The oldies format originally spanned the era of the late 1950s through the 1960s. By 2000, they had gravitated toward hits of the 1960s and 1970s (with the occasional early 1980s song thrown in). For a brief time, they were the FM flagship for Minnesota Vikings
football (simulcasting with KFAN
).
The format was tweaked again in 2006, to a oldies
/classic hits
hybrid, positioning themselves as "Super Hits of the 60's & 70's", though they include some 1980s hits also. Kool 108 also began airing classic American Top 40
from the 1970s hosted by Casey Kasem
. The station started playing less 1980s music starting in September 2007 in response to creation of Love 105
. For a short time, Kool 108 also aired classic 1980s American Top 40 shows, but the station dropped the AT40 '80s broadcasts after they cut back on playing '80s music.
April 28, 2009 KOOL released all of their on-air personalities including Morning Drive host Lois Mae; and radio icon, Dan Donovan. Disk Jockeys on KQQL will now be voicetracked from other Clear Channel Stations with news coming from KOA-AM In Denver, CO. However in mid-2010 KQQL hired new on-air personalities including radio veteran and KARE 11
reporter Lee Valsvik.
On December 27, 2009, the station tweaked to an classic hits
format and dropped most 1960s
titles, added some 1990s
titles, while emphasizing on 1970s and 1980s music. Citadel
continues to survive the gold-based format on WGVX
(Love 105), an oldies station.
During summer 2011, the HD2 subchannel changed programming to a simulcast of AM radio station KFXN ('The Score'). On September 8, 2011 The "Score" sports format began airing exclusively on KQQL-HD2.
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...
music formatted 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...
serving the Twin Cities region of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, licensed to the suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Anoka
Anoka, Minnesota
At the 2000 census, there were 18,076 people, 7,262 households and 4,408 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,709.0 per square mile . There were 7,398 housing units at an average density of 1,108.7 per square mile...
. The station is owned 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...
, and primarily plays rock
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...
and pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
from the 1970s and 1980s.
They are also known as "The Twin Cities' Christmas Superstation" and play Christmas music
Christmas music
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music normally performed or heard around the Christmas season, which tends to begin in the months leading up the actual holiday and end in the weeks shortly thereafter.-Early:...
from the day after Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
through midnight on Christmas Day, competing with 102.9 Lite FM
WLTE
WLTE is a radio station in Minneapolis-St. Paul that carries a "Lite rock" adult contemporary format and has done so for more than two decades. WLTE is owned by CBS Corporation, which also owns WCCO radio today...
. In 2008, KQQL started the Christmas music earlier than ever, on the weekend of November 15. This is suspected of being a response to Lite FM switching earlier in the week.
KQQL also airs classic American Top 40
American Top 40
American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...
from the 1970s and 1980s hosted by Casey Kasem
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
. It is one of a handful of stations in the state to broadcast digital radio
Digital radio
Digital radio has several meanings:1. Today the most common meaning is digital radio broadcasting technologies, such as the digital audio broadcasting system, also known as Eureka 147. In these systems, the analog audio signal is digitized into zeros and ones, compressed using formats such as...
using 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...
's HD Radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
format.
History
In the 1970s, the station was known as KTWN-FM. It cycled through several formats, including beautiful musicBeautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
, a short stint with classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
beginning September 1, 1974 , then a full-service MOR format, focusing on the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities. From 1978
1978 in radio
The year 1978 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting.-Events:* May 6 – Bob Kingsley, producer of the syndicated "American Country Countdown," takes over as host. He replaces Don Bowman, who had hosted for the first 4½ years...
to 1983
1983 in radio
The year 1983 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*August 2 - WHTZ in New York City debuts, soon becoming one of the most influential CHR stations in the US...
, they carried a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
format. At the time, the station was operated by Jack Moore, who had previously run WAYL
KXXR
KXXR is an active rock radio station broadcasting to the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. It is owned by Cumulus Media, which also owns KQRS-FM and the three station trimulcast known as "Love 105"...
, the market's leading beautiful music station.
The station was sold and the new owners immediately switched to a lite AC
Adult contemporary music
Adult contemporary music is a broad style of popular music that ranges from lush 1950s and 1960s vocal music to predominantly ballad-heavy music with varying degrees of rock influence, as well as a radio format that plays such music....
/oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
hybrid on September 24, 1983 as KGBB ("B108"). Later, the station became "Magic 108" with the call letters KMGW (later KMGK). The station's signal limitations were a hindrance as they faced competition from the larger WLTE
WLTE
WLTE is a radio station in Minneapolis-St. Paul that carries a "Lite rock" adult contemporary format and has done so for more than two decades. WLTE is owned by CBS Corporation, which also owns WCCO radio today...
and KS95
KSTP-FM
KSTP-FM is a radio station serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota area. It is one of the flagship stations of Hubbard Broadcasting, which also owns several other TV and radio stations across the United States, along with other properties...
.
Finally, the station was reborn as KQQL (Kool 108) in September 1988
1988 in radio
The year 1988 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*August 13 — Los Angeles radio personality Shadoe Stevens takes over as host of "American Top 40." He replaces Casey Kasem, who had hosted since the show's debut in 1970...
, became the first true FM oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
station in the Twin Cities area. This followed several days of stunting, playing various versions of "Louie, Louie" nonstop.
The oldies format originally spanned the era of the late 1950s through the 1960s. By 2000, they had gravitated toward hits of the 1960s and 1970s (with the occasional early 1980s song thrown in). For a brief time, they were the FM flagship for Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
football (simulcasting with KFAN
KFAN (AM)
* See also KFXN-FMKTCN —branded News/Talk 1130—is a commercial radio station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, broadcasting a conservative news/talk format. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications, and serves the Twin Cities market. KTCN's main studios are in St...
).
The format was tweaked again in 2006, to a oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
/classic hits
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...
hybrid, positioning themselves as "Super Hits of the 60's & 70's", though they include some 1980s hits also. Kool 108 also began airing classic American Top 40
American Top 40
American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...
from the 1970s hosted by Casey Kasem
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
. The station started playing less 1980s music starting in September 2007 in response to creation of Love 105
WGVX
WGVX, WGVY and WGVZ is a trimulcast serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul region, and an area of central Minnesota to the north. The three stations are now owned by Cumulus Media, along with sister stations KQRS-FM and KXXR....
. For a short time, Kool 108 also aired classic 1980s American Top 40 shows, but the station dropped the AT40 '80s broadcasts after they cut back on playing '80s music.
April 28, 2009 KOOL released all of their on-air personalities including Morning Drive host Lois Mae; and radio icon, Dan Donovan. Disk Jockeys on KQQL will now be voicetracked from other Clear Channel Stations with news coming from KOA-AM In Denver, CO. However in mid-2010 KQQL hired new on-air personalities including radio veteran and KARE 11
KARE
KARE, digital channel 11, is an NBC-affiliated television station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota and portions of western Wisconsin. It also operates KARE WX NOW, formerly known as NBC Weather Plus on its second digital subchannel...
reporter Lee Valsvik.
On December 27, 2009, the station tweaked to an classic hits
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...
format and dropped most 1960s
1960s in music
For music from a year in the 1960s, go to 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69This article includes an overview of the major events and trends in popular music in the 1960s....
titles, added some 1990s
1990s in music
For music from a year in the 1990s, go to 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99This article includes trends in popular music in the 1990s....
titles, while emphasizing on 1970s and 1980s music. Citadel
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...
continues to survive the gold-based format on WGVX
WGVX
WGVX, WGVY and WGVZ is a trimulcast serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul region, and an area of central Minnesota to the north. The three stations are now owned by Cumulus Media, along with sister stations KQRS-FM and KXXR....
(Love 105), an oldies station.
KQQL HD2
On April 25, 2006, Clear Channel announced that KQQL's HD2 subchannel will carry a format focusing on hit music from the 1980s. The HD2 station, called Kool 1-0-80's, showcased every song to ever hit the Top 40 in the 80's.During summer 2011, the HD2 subchannel changed programming to a simulcast of AM radio station KFXN ('The Score'). On September 8, 2011 The "Score" sports format began airing exclusively on KQQL-HD2.
External links
- Kool 108
- http://www.kool108.com/cc-common/hdradio/KQQL-HD2
- KTWN Online
- Radiotapes.com Featuring historic airchecks of KTWN-FM, B108 and KQQL-FM along with other Twin Cities radio stations.
- Rick Burnett's TwinCitiesRadioAirchecks.com Old recordings and photos of KTWN and other Twin Cities radio stations.