KGB-FM

Infobox Radio Station


name = KGB-FM
airdate = 1972
city = San Diego, California
area = San Diego, California
frequency = 101.5 (MHz) HD Radio | format = Classic rock
owner = Clear Channel Communications
sister_stations = KHTS, KIOZ, KLSD, KMYI, KOGO, KUSS
erp = 50,000 watts
haat = 152 meters
branding = "101.5 KGB"
slogan = "The Classic Rock Experience"
class = B
facility_id = 34454
webcast = [http://www.101kgb.com/cc-common/streaming_new/index.html?refreshed=yes Listen Live]
website = [http://www.101kgb.com/ www.101kgb.com] [http://www.1015kgb.com/ www.1015kgb.com]
callsign_meaning = K George Bowles, station manager of KGB-AM from 1928 to 1931. [http://www.ct30.com/kgb/history.html]

KGB-FM (101.5 FM) is a classic rock radio station in San Diego, California. It is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications.

History

*1922 July: W.K. Azbill got a licence and the callsign KFBC; he operated at 10 watts on 1210 kilocycles.
*1927: This license was assigned to Dr. Arthur Wells Yale.
*1928: Pickwick Broadcasting Corporation bought the station and made George Bowles vice president and manager of the station and changed its callsign to KGB to folow his name.
*1931: Don Lee, Inc bought KGB
*1934: Don Lee died and the license went to station manager Marion Harris.
*1942: The station began operating at 1360 kilohertz
*1949: By now KGB was operating at 1000 watts. Don Lee, Inc was merged with Mutual Broadcasting Company.
*1954: The station was sold to Marion Harris, who increased the output to 5000 watts.

The AM station was a major contender in the AM Top 40 market during the late 1960s.

KGB-FM was one of the early adopters of the FM album oriented rock format in the early 1970s, as a complement to the AM side of the house, and soon eclipsed the AM side as rock listeners moved to FM. KGB was named "Station of the Year" by Billboard Magazine in 1974.

In 1974, KGB gave the world a piece of pop culture Americana. The "KGB Chicken," an advertising mascot played by Ted Giannoulas, was hatched that year when employees of KGB-FM hired Giannoulas (then a student at San Diego State University) from off the street to wear a chicken outfit for a promotion to distribute easter eggs to children at the San Diego Zoo. The Chicken, whose antics entertained steadily larger crowds, moved on to features at concerts and sporting events (appearing at more than 520 San Diego Padres games in a row). Conflict emerged between KGB Radio and Giannoulas, and the latter was fired in 1977. Another unnamed employee was hired to don a chicken outfit at a Padres game. After a lawsuit was decided in Giannoulas's favor in June 1979, Giannoulas was allowed to continue to perform in a chicken costume (though not the same as the original costume), and his San Diego Chicken emerged from his egg at a "Grand Hatching" seen by 47,000 people as played.

Programming

The station's morning show is the long-running Dave, Shelly, and Chainsaw. The show is rebroadcast at various times on the station, and is broadcast 24 hours a day on their HD Radio subchannel.

KGB-FM also airs [http://www.101kgb.com/cc-common/CCOMRholder.html?pour=/beatles_front.html"The Beatles Radio Show"] , hosted by Ken Dashow, on Sundays. The show features rare Beatles performances, celebrations of Beatles historic events, and much more.

External links

* [http://www.101kgb.com/ 101.5 KGB]
* [http://www.1015kgb.com/ 101.5 KGB (alternate URL)]
* [http://www.ct30.com/kgb/history.html History of KGB Radio by David Leonard]
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