KMPX (defunct)

KMPX (106.9 FM) was a San Francisco FM radio station which was best known in the late 1960s as the birthplace of America's freeform progressive rock format ("Underground radio").

History

On December 10, 1959, the station, owned by San Francisco businessman Franklin Mieuli, signed on at 106.9 MHz with the KPUP call letters.

Early-mid-1960s

In July 1960, the call letters were changed to KHIP and the station aired jazz music programming. Mieuli sold KHIP on July 1, 1962 to Leon Crosby, who had previously owned KHYD in Hayward.

Under Leon Crosby's ownership, the station began operating in multiplex stereo and the call letters were changed to KMPX (for "MultiPleX") the following month. Soon after, Crosby gained authorization by the FCC to increase the station's power from the original 37,000 watts to 80,000 watts. The transmitter was in Marin County on Wolfback Ridge above Sausalito.

By mid-1964, KMPX was airing a middle of the road music format. As the money-strapped station struggled, by 1966 the schedule became dominated by various foreign language and other brokered programs.

The birth of freeform rock radio

Though KMPX's daytime schedule was heavy with ethnic programming, the midnight-6 AM slot was mostly open. On February 12, 1967, on-air personality Larry Miller was given the shift, where he played his preferred folk rock music whenever a foreign language show was not scheduled. But even with this impediment and the station's high-end-of-the-dial position, word spread that "rock and roll is on FM".^[1]

A month later, Tom Donahue, a former well-known local Top 40 disc jockey on KYA, fledgling record label owner and concert promoter, was looking for an opportunity to do something unique on the radio. According to his then-girlfriend (and future wife) Raechel's recollection, mentioned in Jim Ladd's book Radio Waves, after spending a night listening to The Doors' first album at home, Donahue wondered why radio stations weren't playing it.^[2] He soon started calling around town to local stations on the less-desirable FM dial. When he found that KMPX's phone was disconnected, he decided to approach Crosby with his plan, as he felt the station had nothing to lose.^[3] Donahue proposed to take over some of KMPX's programming and replace the brokered foreign-language shows with freeform album-based rock music,^[4] declaring, "no jingles, no talkovers, no time and temp, no pop singles."^[5] Advertisers would come in the form of local businesses serving the local hippie and Haight-Ashbury communities. As Donahue was a well-known and respected person in local radio, Crosby hired him.

On Friday, April 7, 1967, Donahue went on the air at KMPX for the first time, working from 8 PM to midnight, leading into Miller's show. The station's programming evolved over the weeks and months that followed, and Donahue sought out air personalities who fit what he envisioned for the format. Early staffers included Edward Bear, Dusty Street, and even future actor Howard Hesseman. Donahue's rock music format expanded to full-time on August 6, 1967, as the last of the foreign-language program contracts expired. The station at the time employed an unheard-of all-female studio engineer staff.^[6] The presentation of music on the station stood in stark contrast to most other stations of the day. Instead of a hit music-dominated playlist, KMPX played more album cuts, local, emerging and cutting-edge artists, and a wide mix of genres such as rock, blues, jazz and folk music. Some of the music played in the Spring of 1967 included Jefferson Airplane's album Surrealistic Pillow, the first Grateful Dead album, Jimi Hendrix's Are You Experienced and The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which KMPX played uninterrupted in its entirety.

KMPX staffers go on strike

In November 1967, as the progressive rock format was doing very well for KMPX, Crosby offered Tom and Raechel Donahue the opportunity to also program a station his company recently purchased in Pasadena, KPPC-FM (106.7 FM). The Donahues accepted, and immediately began splitting their time between northern and southern California, consulting KPPC and hosting shows on both stations. They also hired a staff for KPPC, with the most notable personality being local Top 40 disc jockey B. Mitchel Reed.

The task of programming and operating two stations was rather time consuming, and Donahue had to occasionally miss his show on one or the other station. He also taped his shows on one station to air on the other the following day.^[7] The situation, as well as the overall casual atmosphere among the staffers, caused friction between Donahue and Crosby. When Crosby decided to institute a dress code and other forms of structure to the otherwise anarchic nature of the station staff,^[8] Donahue turned in his resignation. This led directly to a strike by the loyal Donahue-led KMPX staff in the early hours of Monday, March 18, 1968. The KMPX staff began picketing outside the station's offices, and were soon supported in their efforts by popular bands such as the Grateful Dead and Blue Cheer, as well as the station's devoted listeners. The staff at KPPC walked out the next day.

Crosby refused to cave in to his striking staff, and brought in his own replacements, who were forced to cross angry picket lines, to continue the progressive rock format at both stations. Several popular rock bands — including The Rolling Stones and the Grateful Dead — insisted that the station not play their music, in a show of support to the picketers. The eight-week strike ended on May 13, with no resolution between the former staffers and Crosby. Instead, Metromedia decided to switch the format of their local also-ran classical music FM station, KSFR (94.9 MHz), to freeform rock and adopt call letters KSAN, formerly used by an early San Francisco R&B station. Metromedia hired Donahue and most of the displaced KMPX staffers, who started at the station on May 21. Metromedia also hired former KPPC staffers to work at KMET in Los Angeles.

With new competition from the very staff that helped to create KMPX, Crosby continued with the freeform format. In 1969, Crosby's radio stations were sold to National Science Network, Inc. KMPX reduced power to 40,000 watts and moved their studios twice over the next few years. They continued with the freeform format, though they tweaked it over the next several years. Crosby eventually purchased a local television station, KEMO, channel 20.

In March 1972, KMPX dropped rock and switched to a big band/nostalgia format. They increased power back to 80,000 watts in 1975.

Three-way station swap

When the owner of National Science Network died, his estate explored various opportunities to sell the station, including one offer from film director Francis Ford Coppola for $870,000, which was not consummated.

The company finally found a buyer in 1978, when Family Radio, owner of KEAR, struck a deal to purchase the station for $1 million. In accordance with FCC ownership guidelines at the time, Family Radio sold their station at 97.3 MHz to CBS Inc. for $2 million, and CBS in turn sold their lower-powered station at 98.9 MHz to a small local company, Golden Gate Radio, for $850,000. Golden Gate Radio decided to adopt the KMPX call letters and format for 98.9 MHz, at least temporarily. The three-way switch occurred on September 13, 1978. And 106.9 MHz became the new location of KEAR's religious format, until 2005, when KEAR moved to AM frequency of 610 kHz.

After a brief stint as Free FM talk station KIFR, 106.9 in 2007 became KFRC-FM, playing classic top 40 hits that recalled the former glory days of KFRC-AM. Apparently that format didn't work as a business venture, because KFRC-FM then switched to simulcasting all-news KCBS-AM (740 kHz).

References

External links

• A Brief History of 106.9 FM In San Francisco
• KMPX page on jive95.com
• A Brief History of Freeform Radio from WFMU
• Ralph Gleason reviews highest-rated DJ at KMPX-FM
• Grateful Dead Live at KMPX Radio Show on April 1, 1967 from the Internet Archive