Donahue and his fellow DJs, however, walked off the job and migrated to a classical music station, KSFR, and worked with the management to reshape it into San Francisco's second community rock station, KSAN. But that was disputed by friends of Bay Area resident Lee de Forest. Online radio stations including Soma.fm, the Mission Districts Radio Valencia and BFF.fm have brought the pirate radio vibe back, with the kind of eclectic and experimental programming that the first Bay Area broadcasters experienced. Lifestyle. it had to be paid for in advance, and I had no money at the time. The call-in talk show premiered in the Bay Area in the 1950s, allowing listeners to become part of the show, and shifting the dynamics of San Francisco radio. Although Nisker was soon forced out by a nervous management, he was succeeded by Larry Bensky, who broadcast equally radical news, yet without the dramatic and provocative sound effects that had tended to whip listeners into a frenzy. On the West Coast, the VOA purchased the NBC and CBS sites in Delano and Dixon, and the two networks happily exited the business of shortwave broadcasting for the last time. Was KNBC-FM,KNBR-FM, KNAI and KYUU under NBC ownership(1948-1988). Aircheck recording of WHTZ New York (December 04, 1987). KSJO (1590 AM) did well in the San Jose ratings as an early sixties top 40 radio station. San Francisco station KPOO has been embraced by the community, and independent public radio station KALW (an FM radio pioneer) remains a treasure. They provide a complete historical record of what would be playing on the air over radio stations of the time. Editors Note: Fred Krock is a retired broadcaster who worked in commercial broadcasting in San Francisco and New York City. December 10, 1965 Warlocks become "The Grateful Dead," and debut with the new name at the Fillmore Auditorium for the second San Francisco Mime Troupe Appeal Party. They provide a complete historical record of what would be playing on the air over radio stations of the time. Some of their happenings included the Death of Money Parade, Intersection Game, Invisible Circus, and Death of Hippie/Birth of Free. Mr. Gleason believes the San Francisco rock groups are making a serious contribution to musical history. KXLR). We do not know of any dealer carrying them in stock in this city.). MOR stations of the era included KSFO, KNBR (formerly KNBC) and KFOG (which even played soft instrumentals). Nisker recalled on the KSAN retrospective in 1978 that "in 1970, after the guilty verdicts in the Chicago Conspiracy Trial were announced, the San Francisco Examiner had an article saying that the rioters (in Berkeley) were listening to the KSAN news to find out where to go. We will keep fighting for all libraries - stand with us! KSFO cemented itself as a powerhouse in 1958, luring Russ Hodges from New York and pairing him with Lon Simmons to broadcast the San Francisco Giants, who had just arrived from New York. It is known as The Seed. Rock music on the radio? Invoice Payment | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy. Home; Attractions. A few FM stations were kept on the air by AM stations because simulcasting their main signal did not cost much. The Diggers Fredrick Street and Cole Street Free Stores KDFC leased space for other transmitters such as land mobile radio at its Mt. Larry hosted the hours from midnight to 6AM. Many thanks to Tim Pozar for providing a copy of the original mp3 files. . KMPX 107 (Stereo) -- San Francisco, CA -- October 11, 1967 (2 recordings total) KMPX -- 107 (Stereo) -- San Francisco, CA -- October 11, 1967 Edward Bear -- Time Not Mentioned (1) [0:00:00] "Nashville Pickin'," Aircheck recording of KYA San Francisco (February 16, 1970). Part Three:More Heroes of the Hip The wireless pioneer, who had proposed to his wife by telegraph in a San Francisco hotel in 1906, may have had a radio station operating in Marin County six months earlier. Total class size was limited to 75 students. They provide a complete historical record of what would be playing on the air over radio stations of the time. Stories about military uses for radio technology appeared in The Chronicle throughout World War I. NOTE: Recording #2 contains langugage that could be construed as "fat shaming." There were several stations at educational institutions. Bay area resident Tom Donahue was a veteran disc jockey, songwriter, music-act manager, and concert producer (with an associate, he had produced the Beatles last show in their final public tour); he was inspired to revive a moribund radio station, KMPX, in early 1967. It was associated with the counterculture community in San Francisco, particularly the Haight-Ashbury district, during these years. Those few independent FM stations that managed to survive had other sources of income. Historical Timeline: KEAR 97.3 FM (1956-1978) Historical Timeline: KEAR 106.9 FM (1978-2005) KEEN Historical Timeline KEST Historical Timeline KEWB (see also KNEW) Problems began to develop around disagreements over money. Aircheck recording of KYA San Francisco (June 14, 1971). What ended up happening was that some people who had licenses went out to the ethnic community to sell advertising time to small business operators to fund their time slots. Through nearly 100 years of broadcasting, the city has produced more than its share of broadcast legends. chronicle of the origins of broadcasting in the Bay Area. They provide a complete historical record of what would be playing on the air over radio stations of the time. All rights reserved. It caught so much attention that the station's owner, Leon Crosby, realized he could turn a greater profit and wanted more commercials from bigger businesses. From left: Royce Johnson, Mike Phillips, Bobby Dale, Steve O'Shea, Howard Clark, Ed Mitchell and Glenn Adams. Another positive trend in the 1970s was the better-late-than-never rise of the female disk jockey. In the San Francisco Bay Area we had new AM radio stations in San Jose, Palo Alto, San Mateo, San Rafael, Pittsburg, and other suburban communities. Sly & the Family Stone, a San Francisco-based group that got its start in the late 1960s, was an exception, being a racially integrated hippie band with a hefty influence from soul music, hence making use of brass instrumentation. During the mid- and late-1960s, the San Francisco Diggers organized free music concerts and works of political art, provided free food, medical care, transport, and temporary housing. Harrison Holliway, a former sports writer with the San Francisco Call, took over KFRC at age 23. But on March 20, 1922, the Emporium department store staff moved one of the radio receivers upstairs, and tuned in to a broadcast of an orchestra playing live across the bay in Oakland. The Big 610 Collection 1966-1986 The first generation of KFRC's "Big 610 Men" the Class of 1966 striking a classical pose. KMPX 107 (Stereo) -- San Francisco, CA -- October 12, 1967 (2 recordings total) KMPX 107 (Stereo) -- San Francisco, CA -- October 12, 1967 (1) -- Bob McClay -- ~6:35pm [0:00:00] "Iana Has Been Surprised In The Aircheck recording of KLOK San Jose (August 09, 1988). (Sample question: Radio Editor Chronicle Do you know of any dealer in San Francisco who has Myers RAC-3 tubes in stock? [9] This questing bass quality has been wryly characterized as a "roving" (rather than the conventional "stay-at-home") style. January 8, 1966 The KMPX frequency was the 1st to go that way. In cooperation with All Saints Church and later via the Haight Ashbury Switchboard at 1830 Fell Street, they arranged free crashpads for homeless youth drawn to the Haight-Ashbury area. 01/28/1940, Lee DeForest Aircheck recording of KFRC San Francisco (April 30, 1979). | KEWB | KFOG | KFRC | KGO | KHIP | KIOI | KITS | KKHI | KKIS | Aircheck recording of KYA San Francisco (September 22, 1967). Free speech on the airwaves came under threat, however, immediately following the inauguration of Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew in 1969. By the mid-sixties they had a rockier sound than the . [20], Brinkley, Douglas 1999 "Introduction" in Hunter S. Thompson's, Learn how and when to remove this template message, book on the most influential albums in American popular music, List of bands from the San Francisco Bay Area, Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 19651970, "April 8, 1967: Ralph Gleason TV Interview", "Show 41 The Acid Test: Psychedelics and a sub-culture emerge in San Francisco", Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh 1967 Interview, Youtube, Discographies of San Francisco bands (1965-1973) at the Grateful Dead Family Discography, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=San_Francisco_sound&oldid=1153927037, This page was last edited on 9 May 2023, at 05:22. Subscribe to the free weekly Radio Survivor Bulletin: 1950s, featured, KZSU, radio history, San Francisco Bay Area, Stanford University, RSS | iTunes | Stitcher| Google Podcasts | Mixcloud | Radio Public | Spotify. Had beenKTAB from 1925-1935. Recorded off the air by Mike Schweizer, these airchecks include commercials, songs, and DJ interludes. Holliways Blue Monday Jamboree was an early version of the modern wacky morning zoo, mixing music and comedy while promoting stunt broadcasts in unique locations including a cruise ship. KNBR has produced a steady stream of memorable hosts, from Pete Franklin to Tom Tolbert. Used FM transmitting equipment could be bought for about 10 cents on the dollar of original cost that was slightly over the scrap metal value. Hodges and Simmons continued a tradition of solid Bay Area pro sports broadcasters, from Bill King to Bob Fouts to Greg Papa to the current stellar lineup of Duane Kuiper, Mike Krukow, Dave Flemming and Jon Miller with the Giants. KPFA airs public news, public affairs, talk, and music programming. By 1923, there was a station at the Hearst Building (KUO) and the Oakland Tribune (KLX). A collection of airchecks (off the air recordings) of many historical radio stations, primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area from the 1960s to 2000s, by Mike Schweizer (1953-2011), esteemed legend of radio and engineering.Recorded by Schweizer over the course of decades, this collection consists. He soon instituted stricter guidelines for music and DJ air time. Exhibiting more pronounced jug band, country and blues influences than many bands from the same scene, the Charlatans rebellious attitude and distinctive late 19th-century fashions exerted a major influence on the Summer of Love in San Francisco. They forget to go out and buy TVs.". One of the most appealing factors about KSAN and KMPX was that they afforded their audiences greater participation and a sense of shared community. Became KFRC-FM (1991-Present). ttps://archive.org/details/KYA_San_Francisco_09-09-68 KYA -- San Francisco -- September 9, 1968 -- Tom Campbell -- (3 recordings total) KYA -- San Francisco -- September 9, 1968 -- Tom Campbell -- ~6:40pm -- (1) [0:00:00] Aircheck recording of KQAK San Francisco (August 23, 1982). Psychedelic Daze is presented courtesy of music futurist Don Robertson, composer, music educator, and author. The San Francisco sound refers to rock music performed live and recorded by San Francisco -based rock groups of the mid-1960s to early 1970s. Other formats that began to spring up in the sixties were all-oldies, all-news and elevator music. They threw free parties with music provided by the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane and other bands. The Heroes of the Hip. "[15] In San Francisco, musical influences came in from not only London, Liverpool and Manchester, but also included the bi-coastal American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s, the Chicago electric blues scene, the soul music scenes in Detroit, Memphis, and Muscle Shoals, jazz styles of various eras and regions. An electrical engineer, he got his start in radio at KZSU at Stanford University in 1950. In The Death of Hippie, also staged in the Haight Ashby neighborhood, masked participants carried a coffin with the words HippieSon of Media on the side. The Institute was not restricted to Sanford students, although those who had matriculated at Stanford could get class credit. KVSM in San Mateo broadcast country music, and KWBR (later KDIA) in Oakland programmed for black listeners. (Courtesy of Chris Treadway.) Rock music on the radio? Lesh had developed his style on the foundation of having studied classical, brass-band, jazz, and modernist music on the violin and later the trumpet.[10]. District Attorney and soap operas. It is true that many of the San Francisco bands did record "three-minute" tracks when they desired pop-music station airplay for a song. KYA -- San Francisco -- November 5, 1967 Sean O'Callaghan -- (1 recordings total) KYA -- San Francisco -- November 5, 1967 Sean O'Callaghan -- ~2:42pm -- (1) [0:00:00] Nancy Hearn Sings KYA Anthem [0:01:16] "Say a Aircheck recording of KYA San Francisco (October 21, 1967). In actuality, they had cost a lot of capital to put them on the air and they were providing tax deductions for depreciation. from Voices Out Of The Fog, Historical Timeline: I can see merit in guys on the opposite side, and so can you San Franciscans.. San Francisco had gotten used to broadcasters who pushed the boundaries, and craved content that was smart and fun. In Stockton KUOP was owned by the University of the Pacific. College radio stations took two forms. Diana Blackmon on KDIA and Shana Livigni on KFRC were pioneering female DJs in Bay Area radio, while Belva Davis started her radio career at KSAN in 1961. Election night at station KNBC in 1948, when radio was strong in San Francisco, but not as big as it would become in the 1950s and beyond. America's Greatest 70s Hits ; SOUL RADIO Classics ; Free FM Classics USA ; Jesus People Radio ; Makeout Memories . [11] This was the period when "rock" was differentiating itself from rock & roll, partly due to the upshot of the British Invasion. "[16] Women, in a few cases, enjoyed an equal status with men as stars in the San Francisco rock scenebut these few instances signaled a shift that has continued in the U.S. music scene. Heres an excerpt from The Chronicles 1976 interview with KGOs brand-new host Ronn Owens, who was interviewed while sipping wine and photographed no exaggeration wearing a silk shirt opened to a fountain of chest hair. landmark, Bay Area heat wave: These cities face major risk as temps soar, Retired East Bay judge robbed at gunpoint in Oakland, Warriors free agent Donte DiVincenzo may be headed to New York Knicks, Californians react to Supreme Court blocking student loan debt relief, An ambitious food fall is replacing a beloved Point Reyes institution, Bay Area heat wave is here. The FCC did not license carrier current stations since technically they did not broadcast. It was put on the air in 1947 to demonstrate the product, and the station had a small studio in the Eimac factory, with the transmitter on Mt. Discover radio stations from all over the world and stream live radio now. John Rieger lets his radio do the talking during a half-hour of listener access to KPFA radio in 1984. Chris Stewart / Chris Stewart / The Chronicle 1984. He covers Bay Area culture, co-hosts the Total SF podcast and writes the archive-based Our SF local history column. The Musicast receivers muted whenever this tone was broadcast so that all that ever came out of the receiver was music. Chronicle columnist Herb Caen was a fan, but also seemed to enjoy stoking controversy around the popular star. In the early '60s, as rip-roaring rock softened to Philadelphia schlock, rock 'n' roll radio tightened its format considerably to include only "the hits" in a rigidly structured rotation known as Top 40. Recorded off the air by Mike Schweizer, these airchecks include commercials, songs, and DJ interludes. The FCC did not require operation on Sunday. The new music was loud and community-connected: bands sometimes presented free concerts in Golden Gate Park and "happenings" at the city's several psychedelic clubs and ballrooms. The poster for the first six week stint of performances from The Charlatans beginning in June 1965 is the first one of the rarest psychedelic posters. But San Francisco radio isnt dead its arguably closer to its roots than ever, even as corporate radio has stripped San Franciscos larger stations of much of their uniqueness. The San Francisco bands' music was everything that AM-radio pop music wasn't. Jim Gabbert is a good example; the Stanford electrical engineering student built K101 into a powerhouse, before selling several stations and buying TV-20. Four new stations arrived in May 1922, including KPO, which was owned by Hale Bros. department store and broadcast at the Fairmont Hotel. Charles Doc Herrolds KQW originated in 1909, when the inventor conducted a broadcast between two buildings in downtown San Jose. Photo ran 08/26/1973, p. 15 Total Views 156,707 (Older Stats). [5] According to writer Douglas Brinkley, celebrated author Hunter S. Thompson, one of the Bay Area cultural-scene boosters, was a big early fan of the group: "Thompson extolled the sonic energy of the Jefferson Airplane as it pulsed around the California locales that nursed the psychedelic era"[6]. So dig out those love beads, put a flower in your hair, and enjoy the trip. on the Internet. Many existing AM stations had also gotten FM licenses, but because the public had not bought many FM receivers, those stations had tiny audiences. KCSM trained electronic technicians but it also taught announcers. This is Part 2 of my 12-part series on the San Francisco countercultural movement of 1965-1969 that created a revolution in music and culture. Aircheck recording of KMPX San Francisco (July 19, 1982). After that date, KGO's programs originated from NBC's San Francisco headquarters at 111 Sutter Street. San Francisco Bay Area Radio History: 1950s by Alex Cosper . KQED-FM was built as an arm of the public television station, with smart programming including Michael Krasnys long-running Forum. KCBS, a descendant of Doc Herrolds KQW, settled into a reliable all-news format. Laughlin and George Hunter of the Charlatans wore long hair, boots and outrageous clothing of distinctly American (and Native American) heritage. The Internet Archive is a nonprofit fighting for universal access to quality information, powered by online donations averaging about $17. Discover how an iHeartRadio station can deliver connect your message with your audience, live and local, right where you live. Some were licensed for full-time operation and others were daytime only. But that was disputed by friends of Bay Area resident Lee de Forest. French documentary about The Diggers. A very few had FM licenses; most were carrier current. Much like television in the city nearly 30 years later, the hype was fueled by retailers, who started selling radio receivers on the promise of the future. Radio sets were novelties, playthings for children, nothing more., Starting that day, and every day thereafter, The Chronicle printed entire playlists for KZY and KDN, the first two local stations with scheduled programming. Part Nine:The Art KFOG had a particularly long run, playing rock music that was off the beaten path for decades, with Dave Morey leading the cult of Fogheads. Monterey, California is about 120 road miles south of San Francisco. The potential profits to be reaped from new rock music was too great to resist. Spanish-language stations grew in popularity during this era as well. Some commercial stations sold time to churches to broadcast Sunday morning services. Of course there will be notable exceptions to this rule as in the case of women of great national prominence who may happen to be visiting here.). Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future. Only 9% of US homes had a television set in 1950 and public television also was in the future. Buy Your Tickets Now! Owens remains at KGO, but the station has struggled with plummeting ratings in the last decade. According to an announcer for a TV show that Ralph J. Gleason hosted: "In his syndicated newspaper column, Mr. Gleason has been the foremost interpreter of the sounds coming out of what he calls 'the Liverpool of the United States.' They provide a complete historical record of what would be playing on the air over radio stations of the time. 5 radio stations. The San Francisco Chronicle operated KRON-FM in addition to television channel 4. By broadcasting a unique format to the entire area, a station could get enough total listeners to be viable. Donahue, inaugurating the first FM-radio rock station in San Francisco, intended to showcase this new genre of music. People picket at radio station KMPX during a strike in 1968. KRON-FM had one full time employee who broadcast the minimum time required by the FCC to keep the license: six days a week. By the 1970s, radio hosts were some of the biggest media stars in San Francisco. ERP was 300,000 watts on 101.5 mHz making it one of the most powerful FM stations in the United States. KDKA in Pittsburgh has widely been credited as the first radio station, debuting with scheduled programming on Nov. 2, 1920. 1960, Embarcadero Freeway in Downtown San Francisco. "It's community radio, and what this is saying is that the community does not deserve to have a voice," said Michael Rosenberg-Beausoleil, a disc jockey on San Francisco Liberation Radio (SFLR, 93 . It turned out that the offer was contingent on having a broadcaster's license for which one needed to take a.class. Birth of Community Rock Radio: A brief history of KMPX and KSAN-FM, https://foundsf.org/index.php?title=Birth_of_Community_Rock_Radio:_A_brief_history_of_KMPX_and_KSAN-FM&oldid=33797. KYA San Francisco (April 18, 1969) - Tom Campbell, KYA San Francisco (June 14, 1971) -- Dave Stone, WHEW Riviera Beach (May 25, 1966) -- All-American Hit Line / Sweet 16 Countdown - Chris Edwards. By 1960 the main top 40 battle was between KEWB (910 AM) and KYA (1260 AM) with KPEN developing as an independent alternative on FM. Operated on 106.9 FM from 1962-1978. I arrived on the San Francisco Bay Area scene in the summer of 1968. Listen to all radio stations from San Francisco via internet radio for free. The bohemian predecessor of the hippie culture in San Francisco was the "Beat Generation" style of coffee houses and bars, whose clientele appreciated literature, a game of chess, music (in the forms of jazz and folk style), modern dance, and traditional crafts and arts like pottery and painting. I was a part of that movement, recording my album Dawn for Mercury Records in San Francisco in 1969. Well let 1976 Ronn Owens have the last word on that. The Diggers skillfully used this technique for media relations. It had to buy a new transmitter in 1946 to operate on the new FM band. Nicks and Buckingham went on to bring that San Francisco sound to established British rock band Fleetwood Mac when they both joined in 1975. The Diggers combined street theater, anarcho-direct action, and art happenings in their social agenda of creating a free city. Handout, KSAN radio station (l to r) Bob McClay (dj) and Tom O'Hair, program director receive a tape from the SLA Gary Fong / Gary Fong / The Chronicle 1983, Photographer Unknown / The Chronicle file photo, Worst weve ever seen: Huge crowds crush Yosemite, Yosemite finalizes controversial rules for climbing El Capitan, Half Dome. The articles include links to rare video footage such as the 1967 "Human Be-In" at Golden Gate Park, an "Acid Test Graduation Ceremony" led by Ken Kesey, and a 1965 press conference with a very young Bob Dylan. The press and 50 other adult listeners were so amazed, they had to be pulled away from their headsets. Bay Area real estate: Property tax cut coming for many homeowners. Elon Musks mother wants to cancel his proposed cage fight with Mark New free pickleball courts will soon open at historic S.F. Operated from Concord on 1480 AM from 1963-1993. They provide a complete historical record of what would be playing on the air over radio stations of the time. Coming of age in the San Francisco Bay Area, famed singer/songwriter Stevie Nicks gained her first performing experience there in the 1960s with Lindsey Buckingham and his band. KMPX was not commercially driven, but the commercial possibilities were obvious. The station's studios and offices are on Battery Street in the SoMa district of San Francisco, along with five other Bay Area Cumulus stations. "It was astounding to be able to hear that kind of music and it was so important.".
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