KLSX
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| Broadcast area | Los Angeles, California |
|---|---|
| Branding | 97.1 Free FM |
| Slogan | Free FM |
| First air date | 1978 (as KHTZ), 1986 (as KLSX) |
| Frequency | 97.1 (MHz) |
| Format | talk radio |
| ERP | 21000 watts |
| Class | B |
| Callsign meaning | KLaSsiX (from its original classic rock format) |
| Owner | CBS Corporation/CBS Radio |
| Website | http://www.971freefm.com |
KLSX 97.1, Free FM, is a talk radio station in Los Angeles. It is the flagship station for the syndicated Adam Carolla; Frosty, Heidi & Frank ("The Triplets"); Tom Leykis; and John and Jeff shows. Local shows include Conway and Whitman (Tim Conway Jr. is the son of actor Tim Conway). The station once broadcasted the long-running Beatles show "Breakfast with the Beatles" with host Chris Carter on Sunday mornings.
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[edit] History
[edit] Early history
In the late 1960s, 97.1 FM became home to KGBS-FM, a country music station owned by Storer Broadcasting. Since its AM station KGBS 1020 was only authorized to be on the air during daylight hours, this allowed the format to be broadcast 24 hours a day. In the early 1970s, the station experimented with rock 'n' roll and pop music formats before returning to country in 1973, when it adopted the name "Gentle Country". In 1976, KGBS-FM continued with its country music format while its AM sister station switched to a top-40 format. On August 28, 1978, the call letters changed to KHTZ while continuing with its country music format.
On July 31, 1979, Storer, after having sold the AM radio station which was now known as KTNQ 1020 (Ten-Q), moved its adult contemporary format to 97.1 FM and began broadcasting as KHTZ (K-Hits). For a few hours the two stations simulcasted the signal until KTNQ switched to Spanish language programming at noon.
On November 27, 1985, the station changed its call letters to KBZT and was known as "K-Best".
On September 27, 1986, the station was renamed KLSX and became a classic rock radio station. The call letters KLSX were chosen to sound like the word "classics".
In 1988, the long-running Beatles show Breakfast with the Beatles with host Deirdre O'Donoghue moved here from KNX-FM, a show which she began doing on KMET in 1983. After she died in 2001, the show was taken over by Chris Carter. On September 3, 2006, the station broadcasted the last airing of Breakfast with the Beatles which is now replaced by infomercials that has drawn some local protest. [1][2] Current host Carter has stated that the departure of Howard Stern can be attributed to why the program is being dropped. Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and Yoko Ono have all called in to the program.
On July 21, 1991, the station began to play the syndicated Howard Stern show, and took on the slogan "Howard Stern all morning, classic rock all day."
[edit] Real Radio/FM Talk
In August 1995, the station changed to an all-talk format on weekdays and went by the moniker "Real Radio 97.1", and had hosts such as Susan Olsen and Ken Ober, Riki Rachtman, Kato Kaelin, Mother Love, Carlos Oscar, and the Regular Guys, the radio duo of Larry Wachs and Eric Haessler. Howard Stern was critical of this format change and referred to it as "Hindenburg Radio." In 1996, the station dropped the "Real Radio" name and became known as "The FM Talk Station," hired new hosts and in 1997, the station began carrying the syndicated Tom Leykis show, becoming its flagship station. On April 1, 2002, KLSX temporarily brought back Kato Kaelin and the "Real Radio" slogans and jingles as part of an April Fool's joke. Until June 2005, evening host Tim Conway Jr. was paired up with Doug Steckler in "The Conway and Steckler Show". Doug Steckler's contract was not renewed. Tim Conway Jr. is now paired with funnyman/impressionist Brian Whitman. In addition, two new Free FM stations opened up in California, KSCF in San Diego and KIFR in San Francisco, both of which now carry the Tom Leykis and John and Jeff shows. The Frosty, Heidi, and Frank show is now being syndicated to the San Diego station. On October 25, 2005, it was announced that Adam Carolla would take over as the station's morning show host in January 2006 due to Stern's departure to satellite radio. On that same day, the station also became known on-air as "97.1 Free FM".
KLSX was owned by Greater Media until 1997, when Greater Media swapped KLSX and sister station KRLA for three stations: WMMR in Philadephia, WOAZ in Boston, and WBOS in Boston. The deal enabled Greater Media to operate larger clusters in these two markets while exiting Los Angeles. The swap led KLSX into the ownership of CBS Radio, where it joined radio stations KTWV and KCBS-FM.
On weekends they continued to play classic rock until 1999 when the talk format was expanded to weekends, leaving only Sunday morning's Breakfast with the Beatles as the only program that played music. In 1997 KLSX was also playing a "Triple-A" (adult album alternative) rock format blending classic rock, softer new rock and deep retro alternative rock hits on weekends only. During that era and prior to being sold (swapped), KLSX boasted the only late-night L.A. talk shows featuring women as hosts: "Dr. X" and subsequently a short-run of "Shrink Rap."
[edit] External links
- 97.1 Free FM
- Frosty, Heidi & Frank Show
- Conway & Whitman Show
- John & Jeff Show
- Query the FCC's FM station database for KLSX
| FM radio stations in the Los Angeles market (Arbitron #2, 25, and 120) | |
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San Bernardino (Arbitron #25) |
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