KGB-FM
Encyclopedia
KGB-FM is a classic rock
radio station
in San Diego, California
. It is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications
.
radio. 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 KGB-AM as rock listeners moved to FM. KGB was named "Station of the Year" by Billboard Magazine in 1974
and Rock Station of the Year by Rolling Stone magazine in 1991. Brad Messer was the station's News Director from 1972 to 1975. News anchors during this period included Messer, Brent Seltzer, Gerry Gazlay and George Wilson. Other industry veterans who spent time at KGB-FM include; Larry Himmel, Bob Coburn, Dave Benson, Damian Bragdon, Gabriel Wisdom, Erik Thompson, Jim McInnes, Rick Liebert, Pat Martin, Larry Bruce, Bill Hergonson, Ernesto Gladden, Ted Edwards, Linda McInnes, Digby Welch, Kevin McKeown, Pam Edwards, Brian Schock, Susan Hemphill, John Leslie, Blair and Kymythy Schultz, Phil Hendrie, Jeff Prescott, Michael Berger, Sue Delany, Cookie "Chainsaw" Randolph, Dave Rickards, Shelly Dunn, Coe Lewis and Mojo Nixon.
. 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 egg
s 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 the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey played.
In 1973, KGB created an annual contest called "Homegrown," in which local singers and songwriters submitted songs about the San Diego area for inclusion on an album produced by the station. Proceeds from sale of the albums went to local charities. The contest ran through 1978, yielding seven albums named Homegrown through Homegrown 7, with copyrights from 1973 to 1979. There were two additional Homegrown albums. One was Homegrown's "Greatest Hits" in 1978 with favorites from previous albums. The other was Homegrown, "Songs for 84" with additional songs by San Diego artists about San Diego. In 1976, singer Stephen Bishop
submitted his song, "On and On," but it was rejected because he submitted it on cassette tape instead of the required reel-to-reel format. The song went on to become a commercial hit.
In 1976, KGB launched the SKY SHOW and it has continued for 36 consecutive years. (Sky Show 36 is scheduled for September 2011) The Sky Show is a fireworks display, synchronized to a music soundtrack, broadcast on the radio. An artform invented by KGB and now practiced worldwide. The first SKY SHOW was fired from two locations, Fiesta Island and Chollas Lake. It created traffic jams all over the city as people watched and listened. The firing site was moved to San Diego (Jack Murphy)(Qualcomm) Stadium for reasons of crowd control. The show has become a very well attended annual event with fans viewing from both inside the stadium and outside, tailgating in the parking lot or from vantage points along Mission Valley's canyon rim. The KGB SKY SHOW also introduced the use of Rock and Roll music, multi-media, video, theatrical lighting and effects to enhance the fireworks display. It is, according to its creator Rick Leibert, a "continuing experiment blending the ancient art of fireworks with rock and roll." The Creative team for KGB SKY SHOW has been collaborating for more than 20 years. Blair Schultze has been Writer/Producer/Director of KGB SKY SHOW since 1988, and Ron Dixon has been Fireworks coordinator since 1979 and Choreographer since 1990.
KGB-FM also airs Beatles Radio Show, hosted by Ken Dashow, on Sundays. The show features rare Beatles performances, celebrations of Beatles historic events, and much more.
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. It is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
.
History
When it first went on the air in 1972, KGB-FM had common ownership with KGB-AM, a popular San Diego radio station that first went on the air in 1922. For the early history of KGB-AM, please see the Wikipedia article on KLSDKLSD
KLSD is a sports station based in San Diego, California. The sports programming began on November 12, 2007. Previously, KLSD's format was progressive talk radio....
radio. 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 KGB-AM as rock listeners moved to FM. KGB was named "Station of the Year" by Billboard Magazine in 1974
1974 in radio
The year 1974 in radio involved some significant events.-Debuts:*January 6 - CBS Radio Mystery Theater debuts and is broadcast on 218 stations.* February 19 - BRMB begins broadcasting to the Birmingham area...
and Rock Station of the Year by Rolling Stone magazine in 1991. Brad Messer was the station's News Director from 1972 to 1975. News anchors during this period included Messer, Brent Seltzer, Gerry Gazlay and George Wilson. Other industry veterans who spent time at KGB-FM include; Larry Himmel, Bob Coburn, Dave Benson, Damian Bragdon, Gabriel Wisdom, Erik Thompson, Jim McInnes, Rick Liebert, Pat Martin, Larry Bruce, Bill Hergonson, Ernesto Gladden, Ted Edwards, Linda McInnes, Digby Welch, Kevin McKeown, Pam Edwards, Brian Schock, Susan Hemphill, John Leslie, Blair and Kymythy Schultz, Phil Hendrie, Jeff Prescott, Michael Berger, Sue Delany, Cookie "Chainsaw" Randolph, Dave Rickards, Shelly Dunn, Coe Lewis and Mojo Nixon.
Notable Promotions
In 1974, KGB gave the world a piece of pop culture AmericanaAmericana
Americana refers to artifacts, or a collection of artifacts, related to the history, geography, folklore and cultural heritage of the United States. Many kinds of material fall within the definition of Americana: paintings, prints and drawings; license plates or entire vehicles, household objects,...
. The "KGB Chicken," an advertising mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
played by Ted Giannoulas, was hatched that year when employees of KGB-FM hired Giannoulas (then a student at San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
) from off the street to wear a chicken outfit for a promotion to distribute easter egg
Easter egg
Easter eggs are special eggs that are often given to celebrate Easter or springtime.The oldest tradition is to use dyed or painted chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as jelly beans...
s to children at the San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, is one of the most progressive zoos in the world, with over 4,000 animals of more than 800 species...
. 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
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...
games in a row). Conflict emerged between KGB Radio and Giannoulas, and the latter was fired in 1977
1977 in radio
In the year 1977, significant events in radio broadcasting included the President of the United States participating in a call-in radio program.-Events:*KSTP-FM in St...
. 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
1979 in radio
The year 1979 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*September - KDWB-FM in Minneapolis, Minnesota breaks away from their Top 40 AM sister, becoming album-oriented rock as "K101"...
, 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 the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey played.
In 1973, KGB created an annual contest called "Homegrown," in which local singers and songwriters submitted songs about the San Diego area for inclusion on an album produced by the station. Proceeds from sale of the albums went to local charities. The contest ran through 1978, yielding seven albums named Homegrown through Homegrown 7, with copyrights from 1973 to 1979. There were two additional Homegrown albums. One was Homegrown's "Greatest Hits" in 1978 with favorites from previous albums. The other was Homegrown, "Songs for 84" with additional songs by San Diego artists about San Diego. In 1976, singer Stephen Bishop
Stephen Bishop (musician)
Stephen Bishop is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and guitarist.-History:Bishop was born in San Diego, California, and attended Will C. Crawford High School...
submitted his song, "On and On," but it was rejected because he submitted it on cassette tape instead of the required reel-to-reel format. The song went on to become a commercial hit.
In 1976, KGB launched the SKY SHOW and it has continued for 36 consecutive years. (Sky Show 36 is scheduled for September 2011) The Sky Show is a fireworks display, synchronized to a music soundtrack, broadcast on the radio. An artform invented by KGB and now practiced worldwide. The first SKY SHOW was fired from two locations, Fiesta Island and Chollas Lake. It created traffic jams all over the city as people watched and listened. The firing site was moved to San Diego (Jack Murphy)(Qualcomm) Stadium for reasons of crowd control. The show has become a very well attended annual event with fans viewing from both inside the stadium and outside, tailgating in the parking lot or from vantage points along Mission Valley's canyon rim. The KGB SKY SHOW also introduced the use of Rock and Roll music, multi-media, video, theatrical lighting and effects to enhance the fireworks display. It is, according to its creator Rick Leibert, a "continuing experiment blending the ancient art of fireworks with rock and roll." The Creative team for KGB SKY SHOW has been collaborating for more than 20 years. Blair Schultze has been Writer/Producer/Director of KGB SKY SHOW since 1988, and Ron Dixon has been Fireworks coordinator since 1979 and Choreographer since 1990.
KGB-FM also airs Beatles Radio Show, hosted by Ken Dashow, on Sundays. The show features rare Beatles performances, celebrations of Beatles historic events, and much more.