As stations are bought and sold, many of the great call letter combinations are replaced with what might best represent the new on-air product, or so most new owners believe. Actually, we have lost most of the three-letter call signs due to this misguided theory. You can’t get those call signs back.
The four letter call signs come and go. These end up in other markets occasionally. Looking back at the list of Seattle area stations that have changed formats and ownership over the last 50 years, here is a sampling of those changes.
“Where Have All The Good Songs Gone?” KUUU – the oldies station in Seattle at 1590, once had the KSND call letters. Now, both sets of call letters are gone, as are those that followed at the 1590 position, KJET. KSND is the call sign now at a regional Mexican station in Monmouth, OR. KUUU, also known as U92, is a Rhythmic Top 40 radio station broadcasting to the Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo, Utah areas. KJET call letters are used on 105.7 FM in Aberdeen, WA., these days.
The old progressive rocker in Seattle, KZAM, disappeared years ago. Those call letters were last seen at an FM country station in Ganado, TX.
KRPM Tacoma, played country music at 106.1, where KBKS FM now blasts out Hip Hop.
The KRPM sign now hangs at the New Magic 107.5 in Billings, MT.. a soft rock station.
Long ago, stereo debuted in the Pacific Northwest at 106.1 on KLAY, with the music of Mantovani and 101 Strings. KLAY can be heard at 1180 AM, from studios in Lakewood, WA., with mostly talk show and barter programming.
Like KJET and KLAY, many of the call signs are snatched up by local broadcasters for stations in nearby communities. KBRD FM in Tacoma was a Beautiful Music station, similar to the old KLAY format of the early 60s. When Entercom brought the Mountain format to that FM frequency, the call letters changed to KMTT. The KBRD call letters ended up down the road in Lacey, WA on an AM station that programmed Big Band music. The station streams on the Internet and plays an eclectic mix of jazz, Big Band and Swing music from the WWII era.
There is a slew of old Tacoma call letters on the eastside of Washington these days.
Thomas Read snagged KTBI, KTAC, KTW (once 1250 in Seattle) KGDN (remember that at 630 in Seattle) and a few of the old call signs from Eastern Washington that were shucked off in station sales or format changes, KSPO (good one!) and KYAK.
