[Rod Belcher at KMO; photo courtesy of the Tacoma Public Library archives]
1922 was a big year for broadcasting in Washington. It was Year One for radio. The first radio station in the State of Washington was not located in Seattle or Tacoma, but in Spokane. 590 KAQQ, later KHQ, now KQNT, [Feb 28]. Next was Vincent Kraft’s experimental station, which became KJR, Seattle [Mar 9].
South Sound residents got their own station on March 30, as KGY 1240 began broadcasting. Those original call letters continue to be used by the station, still owned by members of the Kerry family after all these years.
Tacoma’s KMO 1360 took to the airwaves on March 30. The station dropped those great call letters in 1984, for KAMT. You can’t get the three letter calls back once you change them and the station later went with the call letters KKMO.
KTW 1250 Seattle started programming on April 22. The station is now KKDZ.
Finally, another station for Seattle on May 23, 1300 KDZE, a station that later had a set of three-letter calls, KOL, and tossed them away. After being KMPS for many years, the closest they could come to the classic call letters was KKOL.
Tags KAMT, KAQQ, KDZE, KGY, KJR, KKDZ, KKMO, KKOL, KMO, KOL, KQNT, KTW, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Vincent Kraft
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Jay Kelly, the programmer that led KBSG FM to great ratings success and did the same for KJR FM, has been let go by the Clear Channel suits this week. And just before Christmas! Surely, Santa Claus will slip coal into the Christmas stockings of some of the bean counters at CC.
KJR FM is now spinning non-stop Christmas tunes. Might KJR FM be in for a format switch following the holiday? Would that be mainstream Oldies [60s & 70s] or Sports Radio on FM? But, if an Oldies format was planned, Jay Kelly would have been the guy to have in charge.
57 KVI [Oldies] brings on the rest of that stations DJs starting January 3rd. They are likely to be voice-tracked and weekends will continue to be non-stop infomercials and barter programming. Keep your Ipod loaded and ready.
[KBSG FM 97.3 started as KTNT FM Tacoma. The station simulcasted the programming of the AM station, Middle of the Road music, local news and Tacoma baseball. KTNT was owned by the Tacoma News Tribune. Call letters were later changed to KNBQ, the format was Top 40 rock. The station was purchased by Viacom and became KBSG/Oldies. Entercom bought the station and it was part of that cluster until Bonneville bought 97.3 FM and it became KIRO FM - News/Talk]
Tags Bonneville, Clear Channel, Entercom, Jay Kelly, KIRO FM, KJR, KNBQ, KTNT, KVI, Tacoma, Tacoma News Tribune, Viacom
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On the ESPN list of the best places in America to watch high school football, the Stadium Bowl was rated “Best View On & Off The Field”. Located at the historic Stadium High School, in Tacoma, seating at Stadium gives spectators an exceptional view of Commencement Bay. I recall a few Friday night football events at Stadium, good times! Although we weren’t there to watch the game.
ESPN says:
Stadium Bowl (Tacoma, Wash.)
Seating capacity: 15,000
Home schools: Stadium (Tacoma, Wash.); Wilson (Tacoma, Wash.)
Why It’s Great: For beauty, it’s tough to beat this venue as fans sit with a breathtaking view of the Puget Sound in front of them. The stadium itself sits below Stadium High School in Tacoma. This year marks the stadium’s centennial.
“I think what makes it spectacular are the bay and the ships. … When the sun sets over the Olympic mountains and they’re framed in orange. The water is orange and black.” – Jim Catalinach, graduate, former football player and athletic director, Stadium High School
Clay Hungtington has operated stations KFHA-Lakewood, KLAY FM Tacoma, KQLA-Lakewood and now KLAY 1180-Lakewood, serving the Tacoma and South Sound area for well over 50 years. [pictured: Clay Huntington, voice of Tacoma Tigers baseball 1946-1951;] Huntington’s early sports broadcast career includes stints at KTBI, KTNT and KMO radio stations and both KTVW and KTNT television. All of this, as well as sports broadcasts on a 14-station network that covered Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. His vast record of community involvement includes helping to fund the construction of Cheney Stadium in 1960 and bring Triple A baseball back to Tacoma.
KLAY 106.1 FM was the first STEREO FM station in the Puget Sound region. At that time, KLAY FM was a Beautiful Music station. Ahhh…the sounds of Mantovani, Enoch Light and Richard Claydermann. Beautiful music orchestrations, programmed as background music, pleasant, relaxing and suitable for the office, home or in the car. Listeners stayed with KLAY FM for hours each day at work and at home. This format was relaxing and almost hypnotic when programmed right.
Competition for this format grew during the 60s and early 70s, with several stations adopting the format for some period. Over time there was KEZX, KBRD, KSEA, KIXI and KBIQ. Oceans of Beautiful Music emanated from some great Puget Sound area radio channels.
KLAY FM switched to a very different sound in the latter part of the 60s, Progressive Rock. Again, the station performed well and many people still recall that era and the DJs of KLAY. For example, Steve Slaton, who went on to a career at Album Rock stations in Seattle.
The FM was sold in the early 80s and became KRPM FM [now KBKS]. Clay Huntington continues to operate the AM, located in Lakewood at 1180 AM. He is still at the helm each day as 1180 KLAY broadcasts a talk radio format. Featured are many local hosts, such as well known civic leader Mike Lonergan and longtime horse racing expert and broadcaster, Vic Cozzetti, known as Victor the Predictor.
Tags Beautiful Music, Cheney Stadium, Clay Huntington, Enoch Light, Have You Read My Blog, KBIQ, KBKS, KBRD, KEZX, KFHA, KIXI, KLAY, KMO, KQLA, KRPM, KSEA, KTBI, KTNT, KTVW, Lakewood, Mantovani, Mike Lonergan, Richard Claydermann, Steve Slaton, Tacoma, Tacoma Tigers, Vic Cozzetti, Victor the Predictor
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[Rod Belcher at KMO; photo courtesy of the Tacoma Public Library archives]
