KXXR
Encyclopedia
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
". Its transmitter is located in Shoreview, Minnesota
.
format. When the format fell out of favor nationwide during the 1980s, the frequency enjoyed success with several rock music
formats.
. A few years later, WAYL moved its beautiful music
format to 93.7 FM. Entertainment Communications (later Entercom) acquired the station in 1969.
In 1976, Entercom added an AM sister station with the purchase of WYOO
(980 AM).
, due to the aging demographics of the beautiful music format (and despite high ratings), WAYL became classic hits
KLXK, with the beautiful music format moving to 980 AM. KLXK was clearly influenced by another young station, WKLH
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
, which had recently adopted a similar format. KLXK enjoyed modest success, but rival KQRS-FM had retooled their format to include a large amount of classic rock
product, and also had the top-rated morning show in the market.
KLXK eventually decided to attack KQRS from another front. In 1991
, 93.7 flipped to hard rock
with the call sign KRXX ("93X"). Their co-owned AM station had earlier flipped to a similar hard rock format as KMZZ, initially airing the syndicated Z-Rock network for a time before briefly switching to a locally-based automated heavy metal
format ("Mega Rock 980") and finally simulcasting 93X by 1993
. 1993 saw such talent as "The O-brothers" the first of the edgy morning shows that 93X is known for today, featuring Gary and Mike. They would often play their own recordings such as "The Vibrator Polka," "The Ballad of the Father of a Boy Named Sue," and "Bad With My Bone," and was routinely endorsed by "Weird Al" Yankovic
.
Cap Cities/ABC
, the owner of rival KQRS-FM, took control of 93X pending purchase (but not KMZZ, which was sold separately later) from Entercom on February 4, 1994
. The selling price was $20 million, then a record for highest amount ever paid for a radio station in the market. Two days later, 93X began playing It's the End of the World as We Know It by R.E.M.
and repeated it over and over throughout the weekend. Confused listeners flocked in droves to the KRXX studios in Eagan, Minnesota
that Saturday to see what was going on. Some listeners thought the DJ's were being held hostage and reportedly, more than 50 calls regarding KRXX were logged to 911. Finally, on Sunday at 8pm, 93.7 began simulcasting KQRS' weekly alternative rock
show, "Over the Edge", leading the way for "93.7, The Edge", which billed itself as "Minnesota's New Music Alternative" The new KEGE-FM Call letters
were soon registered for the new station. The move to create The Edge was due to the growing popularity of modern rock
format nationwide, and to thwart Cargill Communications pending plans to roll out the format on the new Rev 105. The Edge came on the air almost two years after KJJO
switched to country music
, and it did what KJ104 couldn't - it became a massive ratings success. At one point, KEGE had the highest overall Arbitron
market ratings of any modern rock station in the country.
A station-sponsored annual concert known as the EdgeFest (later 93XFest) debuted soon after, and took place annually in Somerset, Wisconsin
. It was so popular that even rival Rev 105 gave away tickets for it (though not mentioning the "Edgefest" name). When KEGE went back to being 93X and the "Edge" name was retired in the Twin Cities, the festival briefly continued as "Edgefest" and was later renamed 93XFest. The annual festival in Somerset continued until 2004, when "93X Riverfest" replaced it.
that relaxed ownership restrictions, ABC purchased KEGE's rival, "Rev 105
" in March 1997
and immediately began broadcasting hard rock
on that station as "X105". Later that year, the two stations did a format swap of sorts, and 93.7 returned to being known as 93X, with new call letters KXXR, with The Edge's format moving over to the 105 frequencies and renamed as "Zone 105". On the final day of broadcasting, The Edge played It's the End of the World as We Know It by R.E.M.
on a continuous loop.
ABC sold its non-Radio Disney
and ESPN Radio
stations, including KXXR, to Citadel Broadcasting
in 2007. Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011..
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
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...
broadcasting to the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area
Metropolitan area
The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...
. It 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...
, which also owns KQRS-FM and the three station trimulcast known as "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....
". Its transmitter is located in Shoreview, Minnesota
Shoreview, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there are 25,377 people, Males: 12,303 , Females: 13,074 , 9,965 households, and 7,021 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,315.9 people per square mile . There are 10,127 housing units at an average density of 919.2 per square mile...
.
History
Through much of its early history, the station was known as WAYL, airing a beautiful musicBeautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
format. When the format fell out of favor nationwide during the 1980s, the frequency enjoyed success with several 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...
formats.
WAYL
WAYL signed on the air in October 1960 and originally broadcast on 96.1 FM. They soon began broadcasting in stereoSTEREO
STEREO is a solar observation mission. Two nearly identical spacecraft were launched into orbits that cause them to respectively pull farther ahead of and fall gradually behind the Earth...
. A few years later, WAYL moved its beautiful music
Beautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
format to 93.7 FM. Entertainment Communications (later Entercom) acquired the station in 1969.
In 1976, Entercom added an AM sister station with the purchase of WYOO
KKMS
KKMS is a Salem Communications-owned radio station licensed to Richfield, Minnesota, United States and serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Studios are located in Eagan, Minnesota...
(980 AM).
WAYL-FM becomes KLXK, then 93X
In the summer of 19881988 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...
, due to the aging demographics of the beautiful music format (and despite high ratings), WAYL became 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...
KLXK, with the beautiful music format moving to 980 AM. KLXK was clearly influenced by another young station, WKLH
WKLH
WKLH is a classic rock-formatted radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The station is owned by Saga Communications.-History:The station received its Federal Communications Commission license on November 30, 1955...
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
, which had recently adopted a similar format. KLXK enjoyed modest success, but rival KQRS-FM had retooled their format to include a large amount of 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...
product, and also had the top-rated morning show in the market.
KLXK eventually decided to attack KQRS from another front. In 1991
1991 in radio
The year 1991 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:* January 18 - Brian Beirne became one of the few celebrities from radio to get a "star" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame....
, 93.7 flipped to hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
with the call sign KRXX ("93X"). Their co-owned AM station had earlier flipped to a similar hard rock format as KMZZ, initially airing the syndicated Z-Rock network for a time before briefly switching to a locally-based automated heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
format ("Mega Rock 980") and finally simulcasting 93X by 1993
1993 in radio
The year 1993 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*WIBF debuts it's modern rock in Jenkintown/Philadelphia*March 13 - Eagle 106 WEGX becomes WJJZ Smooth Jazz 106.1 and featured Smooth Jazz format. the final song played for Eagle 106 was I Will Remember You by Amy Grant...
. 1993 saw such talent as "The O-brothers" the first of the edgy morning shows that 93X is known for today, featuring Gary and Mike. They would often play their own recordings such as "The Vibrator Polka," "The Ballad of the Father of a Boy Named Sue," and "Bad With My Bone," and was routinely endorsed by "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
.
KQRS buys KXXR, flips it to "The Edge"
ABC News Radio
ABC News Radio is the radio service of ABC News, a division of the ABC Television Network. Formerly known as ABC Radio News, ABC News Radio feeds, through Cumulus Media Networks, newscasts on the hour to its more than 2,000 affiliates...
, the owner of rival KQRS-FM, took control of 93X pending purchase (but not KMZZ, which was sold separately later) from Entercom on February 4, 1994
1994 in radio
The year 1994 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*January 11 - The Irish government announces the end of a 15-year broadcasting ban on the Provisional Irish Republican Army and its political arm Sinn Féin....
. The selling price was $20 million, then a record for highest amount ever paid for a radio station in the market. Two days later, 93X began playing It's the End of the World as We Know It by R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
and repeated it over and over throughout the weekend. Confused listeners flocked in droves to the KRXX studios in Eagan, Minnesota
Eagan, Minnesota
Eagan is a city south of Saint Paul in Dakota County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies on the south bank of the Minnesota River, upstream from the confluence with the Mississippi River. Eagan and nearby suburbs form the southern portion of Minneapolis-St. Paul, the fifteenth largest...
that Saturday to see what was going on. Some listeners thought the DJ's were being held hostage and reportedly, more than 50 calls regarding KRXX were logged to 911. Finally, on Sunday at 8pm, 93.7 began simulcasting KQRS' weekly alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
show, "Over the Edge", leading the way for "93.7, The Edge", which billed itself as "Minnesota's New Music Alternative" The new KEGE-FM Call letters
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
were soon registered for the new station. The move to create The Edge was due to the growing popularity 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...
format nationwide, and to thwart Cargill Communications pending plans to roll out the format on the new Rev 105. The Edge came on the air almost two years after KJJO
KZJK
KZJK is a radio station broadcasting the adult hits "Jack FM" format in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region of Minnesota. The current format took to the air on the morning of April 21, 2005, following more than four years of a 1980s-centered playlist...
switched to country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, and it did what KJ104 couldn't - it became a massive ratings success. At one point, KEGE had the highest overall Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
market ratings of any modern rock station in the country.
A station-sponsored annual concert known as the EdgeFest (later 93XFest) debuted soon after, and took place annually in Somerset, Wisconsin
Somerset, Wisconsin
Somerset is a village in St. Croix County, Wisconsin, along the Apple River. The population was 1,556 at the 2000 census. The village is located within the Town of Somerset.-Geography:Somerset is located at ....
. It was so popular that even rival Rev 105 gave away tickets for it (though not mentioning the "Edgefest" name). When KEGE went back to being 93X and the "Edge" name was retired in the Twin Cities, the festival briefly continued as "Edgefest" and was later renamed 93XFest. The annual festival in Somerset continued until 2004, when "93X Riverfest" replaced it.
The return of 93X
Following the Telecommunications Act of 1996Telecommunications Act of 1996
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the first major overhaul of United States telecommunications law in nearly 62 years, amending the Communications Act of 1934. This Act, signed by President Bill Clinton, was a major stepping stone towards the future of telecommunications, since this was the...
that relaxed ownership restrictions, ABC purchased KEGE's rival, "Rev 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....
" in March 1997
1997 in radio
The year 1997 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*February 15 - After 5 years of Alternative Rock, WDRE flips into Rhythmic AC as Philly 103.9, the station, began to play Pearl Jam's Alive while crowding the live stage....
and immediately began broadcasting hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
on that station as "X105". Later that year, the two stations did a format swap of sorts, and 93.7 returned to being known as 93X, with new call letters KXXR, with The Edge's format moving over to the 105 frequencies and renamed as "Zone 105". On the final day of broadcasting, The Edge played It's the End of the World as We Know It by R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
on a continuous loop.
ABC sold its non-Radio Disney
Radio Disney
Radio Disney is a radio network based in Burbank, California and headquartered out of the Disney Channel headquarters on West Alameda Ave., from where it has been based since November 2008. Prior to that, the network was based in Dallas, Texas...
and ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
stations, including KXXR, to 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...
in 2007. Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011..
External links
- radiotapes.com Featuring Minneapolis/St. Paul radio airchecks dating back to 1941 including beautiful music WAYL-FM and an aircheck of the late Tawn Mastrey, an announcer formerly on 93X.
- Rick Burnett's TwinCitiesRadioAirchecks.com A site for airchecks of WAYL, KXXR's predecessor, and many Twin Cities stations from the 1960s and 1970s.