KRTH

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KRTH is a U.S. radio station located in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area on 101.1 FM. It airs an oldies music format.

[edit] History

KRTH first signed on August 11, 1941 with the call letters K45LA, broadcasting on 44.5 FM. After World War II, when the FCC mandated the 88-108 MHz range, the station was moved to 99.7 FM, and the call letters were changed to KHJ. In 1948, KHJ-FM moved yet again to its current broadcast frequency of 101.1 FM.

In 1965, when KHJ-AM (930) switched to a top-40 format as "Boss Radio", they simulcast on KHJ-FM. In 1969-70, KHJ-FM aired Drake-Chenault's "Hit Parade" format, an automated mix of oldies and current hits. In 1971, the station had a top-40 format that was independent of sister station KHJ-AM.

In 1972, there was a switch to what was then called a "gold" format, featuring older songs from the past. At the time, this was a novel idea: most stations played current music, with a few older songs mixed in. The "gold" station would play those older, forgotten songs. With the switch in format came a new moniker, "K-Earth," which was named after the first "Earth Day" which had debuted to much fanfare the year before. The call letters were thus switched to KRTH. The jingle, "K-Earth 101" was also introduced at this time. It directly echoed the sound and notes of the jingle from KHJ-AM, the station where many of these "gold" songs had originally been played. (KHJ-AM was still on the air at this point, but was playing current Top 40 songs.)

During the 70s and early 80s, K-Earth vacillated between this "Gold" format and an Adult Contemporary format. Then-current music was played, to varying degrees, throughout this period, though the focus was almost always on the past.

In 1985 K-Earth shifted to what was becoming known as an "oldies" format, adopting the motto "Classic Rock and Roll." KRTH began promoting their "Good Time Oldies" image with frequent TV ads featuring Beach Boys music, classic cars, palm trees, and the ever present K-Earth jingle. The songs featured were from the years 1955-1984, though the focus was largely on the 50s and 60s. Doo-wop, early rock, Motown, girl groups, Elvis, and the Beatles were the mainstays of the station's music mix. By the early 90s, the playlist had become exclusively 1955-1969.

Oldies was a ratings success for KRTH, and for similar stations across the country. In Los Angeles, another oldies station emerged in the late 80s to compete with KRTH: Oldies 93. The two stations went head to head for a few years, with K-Earth eventually emerging the winner. (Oldies 93 successfully switched to a classic rock format called "Arrow 93" in the early 90s.)

K-Earth continued with its oldies format throughout the 90s. Toward the end of the decade, older songs from before the British Invasion of 1964 were increasingly dropped from the playlist, and the station began to showcase the late 60s, especially Motown music, to a much greater degree. The playlist itself began to shrink, with only the biggest, most-requested hits from this period played in heavy repetition.

With its demographic aging and ratings sagging, K-Earth, along with most oldies outlets across the country, began adding select 1970s songs into its playlist around 2002. Artists such as Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Abba, the Bee Gees, Earth Wind and Fire, and Peter Frampton were now mixed in with 60s artists such as the Supremes and the Beatles. Though still repetitive, the playlist was also rotated a bit more, with a few rediscovered chestnuts brought out of the closet now and again, while other songs were given the chance to rest.

This process was taken a step further in 2007 with a few early 1980s songs added to the mix by artists such as Hall and Oates, Phil Collins, and Michael Jackson.

Whether by luck or due to the musical changes implemented, by the end of 2007, K-Earth had improved its ratings substantially and was once again a Top 10 Los Angeles station. More importantly from an advertising standpoint, the station was attracting a younger demographic.

A slight format change has occurred during the past two Decembers, as KRTH adds in some Adult Contemporary Christmas music from the likes of Mannheim Steamroller, Air Supply, and Barry Manilow. Airing three times an hour, this holiday fare is designed to entice listeners away from easy listening KOST-FM, which annually shoots to #1 in the ratings with its all-Christmas music. (In years past, K-Earth played a similar amount of Christmas music, but only from "oldies" artists such as the Beach Boys or the Chipmunks.)

In 2007 KRTH began broadcasting its regular signal in HD. A second channel, KRTH HD2, features the 1955-1964 songs which have been jettisoned from the main station. Both HD signals can only be received with an HD Radio.

KRTH has been sold twice in its history. First in 1989 to Beasley Broadcasting, and then again in 1997 to its current owner, CBS Radio.

[edit] Notable personalities

The station has had many famous DJs, such as Brian Beirne "Mr. Rock 'N Roll", Robert W. Morgan, "The Real" Don Steele, Bob Shannon, Charlie Tuna, Joni Caryll, "Shotgun Tom" Kelly[1], Charlie Van Dyke, and Gary Bryan, Dave Hull "The Hullablooer" and Wolfman Jack.

[edit] External links

• Official Website
• www.kearthchristmas.blogspot.com
• Query the FCC's FM station database for KRTH
• Radio Locator information on KRTH
• Query Arbitron's FM station database for KRTH