| City of license | Petaluma, California |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Santa Rosa |
| Slogan | La Vaquera 1490 AM |
| Frequency | 1490 kHz |
| Format | Regional Mexican |
| Power | 1,000 watts unlimited |
| Class | C |
| Facility ID | 52345 |
| Owner | Moon Broadcasting Licensee LLC |
| Website | moonradios.com |
KTOB (1490 AM) is a radio station that broadcasts in a Regional Mexican format. Licensed to Petaluma, California, it serves the Santa Rosa area. The station is owned by Moon Broadcasting Licensee LLC.
The KTOB transmitter building and radio tower were featured in the film American Graffiti. The interior "DJ" scenes, featuring the late Wolfman Jack, were filmed at KRE in Berkeley, California.
On Tuesday January 10, 1950 at 6 a.m., 1490 KC commenced broadcasting as KAFP which, seriously, stood for 'Krowing Always For Petaluma,' associating the city with its poultry-processing status. Under the original ownership of Harold Sparks and Forrest Hughes, aka Petaluma Broadcasters, KAFP initially broadcast a hodgepodge of local and network/syndicated programs such as Sammy Kaye's music show, UP Radio News, a.o. For most of its life, 1490 signed off around Midnight, though it was licensed to broadcast 24 hours daily.
KAFP, now owned by Lloyd Burlingham, became KTOB at 6:45 p.m. on January 10, 1961, exactly eleven years after signing on. The format remained relatively the same, with a mix of news, talk, sports and music shows geared toward the Petaluma community.
During its life, KTOB was fraught with financial problems. On September 30, 1963, KTOB was shut down due to bankruptcy, but was resuscitated two weeks later. At that time, October 13, 1963, a gentleman became closely associated with KTOB's mostly-MOR (Middle Of The Road) programming over the next several years, and eventually became a part-owner: Ron Walters.
Local sports broadcasts, church features, and a strong community-orientation were hallmarks of KTOB well into the 1980s. Notable air talent in this era included two sports personalities: John Emmett, who later became play-by-play broadcaster for the AAA baseball Richmond Braves; and Ken Korach, who is presently the play-by-play man for the Major League Oakland A's.
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