KGGO
Encyclopedia
KGGO is a classic rock
radio station based in Des Moines, Iowa
. It is located at 94.9 on the FM band. The station's studios are in Urbandale, Iowa
, with Cumulus Media
's other Des Moines stations: KJJY
, KHKI
, KWQW
, and KBGG
. (Before 2001, KGGO's studios were located in Berwick
, a small town north of Des Moines.)
On May 31, 1964, KFMG debuted on that frequency with a "fine arts" format. In 1970 KFMG became a free-form station that played a wide variety of music, including alternative rock
. KFMG became KGGO in 1975, and KGGO played Top 40 music for its first few years as "Go-95" before shifting to an album-oriented rock
format on July 19, 1978. In the spring of 1984, KGGO became the first FM station in the Des Moines area to finish in first place in the local Arbitron
ratings. KGGO remained the Des Moines area's highest-rated radio station throughout most of the late 1980s and 1990s.
KGGO's rock music format was simulcast on 1460 AM
from 1989 to 1994 after the former KSO radio ended its country music format. The AM frequency adopted the KGGO call letters during that time period. The simulcast ended in 1994, when 1460's call letters became KDMI. By the end of the 1990s, KGGO had transitioned into a classic rock station.
KGGO's ownership has changed several times in recent years. AMFM, Inc., owned KGGO in the late 1990s. In 2000, AMFM merged with Clear Channel Communications
, but since Clear Channel already owned several stations in the Des Moines market, KGGO and sister station KHKI were sold to Barnstable Broadcasting. (Clear Channel kept KDMI, which later became KXNO
.) In May 2001, Barnstable sold its Des Moines cluster of stations to Wilks Broadcasting; two years later, Wilks sold the stations to Citadel Broadcasting
. Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.
On September 22, 2005, Citadel Broadcasting
purchased the naming rights
to the former Buccaneer Arena in Urbandale. The home of the Des Moines Buccaneers
was then renamed 95KGGO Arena.. In 2008, the name reverted back to Buccaneer Arena.
acts from the local Funny Bone
comedy club as guests. In 2001 the trio released a CD
, Kiss This CD!!!, which was sold to raise money for local charities. The CD featured bits from the morning show as well as interview
s with Sammy Hagar
, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, and John G. Brennan
of the Jerky Boys
; in-studio performances by Shannon Curfman
and Kenny Wayne Shepherd
; and comedy bits from Roy D. Mercer
, Red Peters
, and Heywood Banks
.
Other current on-air personalities include Jeff "Clutch" Witzke, Brian James, Joey The Ratt, and Doug Bailey. On Sunday evenings they air "The Rockin' 80s", from 9:00pm - 11:00pm, which plays most of the rock music from the 1980s.
Steve Pilchen, "The Round Guy", represented the state of Iowa in the third season of the NBC
television program The Biggest Loser
.
Lou Sipolt, Jr can be seen Sunday Mornings at 10am (In EVERY TIME ZONE) on FOX SPORTS NET as one of the HOSTS of the Great American Stockcar Series TV Program. Lou races Locally in the Dirt Truck Racing Association.
12:00 AM - 7:00 AM Classic Rock That Rocks,
7:00 AM - 8:00 AM House of Blues,
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM The Roadhouse,
12:00 PM - 6:00 PM Shawn T,
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Classic Rock That Rocks,
8:00 PM - 9:00 PM Clutch,
9:00 PM - 11:00 PM The Rockin' 80s,
11:00 PM - 12:00 AM Classic Rock That Rocks,
Monday - Friday:
12:00 AM - 5:30 AM Joey the Ratt,
5:30 AM - 9:30 AM Lou, Round Guy & Heather,
9:30 AM - 2:00 PM Heather,
2:00 PM - 7:00 PM Clutch,
7:00 PM - 12:00 AM Brian,
Saturday:
12:00 AM - 8:00 AM Joey the Ratt,
8:00 AM - 10:00 AM Racing Rocks w/Riki Rachtman,
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM Doug Bailey,
3:00 PM - 8:00 PM Shawn T,
8:00 PM - 12:00 AM Joey the Ratt
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 based in Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
. It is located at 94.9 on the FM band. The station's studios are in Urbandale, Iowa
Urbandale, Iowa
Urbandale is a city in Polk and Dallas counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 29,072; a special census taken by the city in 2005 counted 35,904 residents and the United States Census Bureau estimated that 38,369 residents lived there in 2008...
, with Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
's other Des Moines stations: KJJY
KJJY
KJJY is a commercial radio station licensed to West Des Moines, Iowa, broadcasting on 92.5 FM. KJJY airs a country music format and is under ownership of Cumulus Media, who also owns the market's other country music outlet, KHKI.-History:...
, KHKI
KHKI
KHKI is a country music radio station located in Des Moines, Iowa, broadcasting on 97.3 FM. The station's studios are in Urbandale, Iowa, with Cumulus Media's other Des Moines stations: KJJY, KGGO, KWQW, and KBGG.-Programming:...
, KWQW
KWQW
KWQW "WOW-FM" is a radio station broadcasting a talk radio format. Licensed to Boone, Iowa, the station serves the Des Moines area. The station is currently owned by Cumulus Media. KWQW's studios are in Urbandale, Iowa, along with Cumulus' other stations: KGGO, KJJY, KHKI, and KBGG.-History: The...
, and KBGG
KBGG
KBGG , is a radio station in the Des Moines, Iowa area. It formerly broadcast a Spanish language format and was known as "La Indomable AM." The station is owned by Cumulus Media....
. (Before 2001, KGGO's studios were located in Berwick
Berwick, Iowa
Berwick is an unincorporated community in Polk County, Iowa, United States, on the east bank of Fourmile Creek. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, a small town north of Des Moines.)
History
The first radio station to occupy the 94.9 FM frequency in Des Moines was KNDR (New Directions Radio), which signed on in 1961 but left the air a year later due to financial problems.On May 31, 1964, KFMG debuted on that frequency with a "fine arts" format. In 1970 KFMG became a free-form station that played a wide variety of music, including alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
. KFMG became KGGO in 1975, and KGGO played Top 40 music for its first few years as "Go-95" before shifting to an album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
format on July 19, 1978. In the spring of 1984, KGGO became the first FM station in the Des Moines area to finish in first place in the local Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
ratings. KGGO remained the Des Moines area's highest-rated radio station throughout most of the late 1980s and 1990s.
KGGO's rock music format was simulcast on 1460 AM
Amplitude modulation
Amplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent...
from 1989 to 1994 after the former KSO radio ended its country music format. The AM frequency adopted the KGGO call letters during that time period. The simulcast ended in 1994, when 1460's call letters became KDMI. By the end of the 1990s, KGGO had transitioned into a classic rock station.
KGGO's ownership has changed several times in recent years. AMFM, Inc., owned KGGO in the late 1990s. In 2000, AMFM merged with 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...
, but since Clear Channel already owned several stations in the Des Moines market, KGGO and sister station KHKI were sold to Barnstable Broadcasting. (Clear Channel kept KDMI, which later became KXNO
KXNO
KXNO is a sports radio station based in Des Moines, Iowa. It is located at 1460 on the AM band.-History:KXNO's roots can be traced back to KSO , a station that first broadcast from Clarinda, Iowa, on November 2, 1925...
.) In May 2001, Barnstable sold its Des Moines cluster of stations to Wilks Broadcasting; two years later, Wilks sold the stations to Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country...
. Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.
On September 22, 2005, Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country...
purchased the naming rights
Naming rights
In the private sector, naming rights are a financial transaction whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three...
to the former Buccaneer Arena in Urbandale. The home of the Des Moines Buccaneers
Des Moines Buccaneers
The Des Moines Buccaneers are a Tier 1 junior ice hockey team of the United States Hockey League . The team played in the West Division starting in the 2009 - 2010 season....
was then renamed 95KGGO Arena.. In 2008, the name reverted back to Buccaneer Arena.
Personalities and programming
KGGO is the home of the "Lou, Round Guy, & Heather" morning show featuring Lou Sipolt, Steve Pilchen ("the Round Guy"), and Heather Burnside. (2011 marks Lou Sipolt's 26th year at this Heritage Radio Station) It airs weekday mornings from 5:30 AM to 9:30 AM and regularly features stand-up comedyStand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
acts from the local Funny Bone
The Funny Bone
The Funny Bone is a comedy club chain in the United States. Its marketing slogan is: "America's No. 1 Comedy Nite Clubs!"The original Funny Bone Comedy Club opened in Pittsburgh, PA by co-founders Mitch Kutash and Gerald Kubach in 1982. The Funny Bone, with its sister club The Improv has now...
comedy club as guests. In 2001 the trio released a CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, Kiss This CD!!!, which was sold to raise money for local charities. The CD featured bits from the morning show as well as interview
Interview
An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...
s with Sammy Hagar
Sammy Hagar
Sam Roy "Sammy" Hagar , also known as The Red Rocker, is an American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Also sings Country Music....
, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, and John G. Brennan
John G. Brennan
John G. Brennan , a.k.a. Johnny B., is an American actor, film writer, and voice actor. He is a member of the Jerky Boys prank call duo, with Kamal Ahmed, who formed in 1989 and split up in 2001, but reformed in 2006...
of the Jerky Boys
Jerky Boys
The Jerky Boys are an American comedy duo from Queens, New York, whose routine consists of prank telephone calls and other related skits. Formed in 1989, The Jerky Boys were made up of childhood friends Johnny Brennan and Kamal Ahmed...
; in-studio performances by Shannon Curfman
Shannon Curfman
Shannon Marie Curfman is an American blues-rock guitarist and singer. She came to prominence in 1999, at the age of 14, with the release of her first album, Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions, which she recorded a year earlier.Curfman has toured with John Mellencamp, Buddy Guy, George Thorogood and The...
and Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Kenny Wayne Shepherd is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has released several studio albums and experienced a rare level of commercial success both as a blues artist and a young musician.-Biography:Shepherd graduated Caddo Magnet High School in Shreveport, Louisiana...
; and comedy bits from Roy D. Mercer
Roy D. Mercer
Roy D. Mercer is a fictional character created by disc jockeys Brent Douglas and Phil Stone on radio station KMOD-FM in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Douglas, who performs Mercer's voice, uses the character as a vehicle for comedy sketches in which he performs prank calls. Seventeen Roy D...
, Red Peters
Red Peters
Red Peters is a musician and songwriter from the Boston area who has made five CDs titled I Laughed... I Cried... I Fudged My Undies!, Ol' Blue Balls Is Back!, "The Best Of The Red Peters Comedy Music Hour, Vol. #1", "It's A Red Peters Christmas! Vol. 1" plus "Red Peters Presents- The Summer Song...
, and Heywood Banks
Heywood Banks
Heywood Banks is an American comedian, and writer and performer of humorous songs.His songs include "Toast", "Fly's Eyes", "Wiper Blades", "Pancreas", "Big Butter Jesus" , and "18 Wheels ".Heywood frequently appears on the nationally syndicated radio program The Bob and Tom Show...
.
Other current on-air personalities include Jeff "Clutch" Witzke, Brian James, Joey The Ratt, and Doug Bailey. On Sunday evenings they air "The Rockin' 80s", from 9:00pm - 11:00pm, which plays most of the rock music from the 1980s.
Steve Pilchen, "The Round Guy", represented the state of Iowa in the third season of the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television program The Biggest Loser
The Biggest Loser (Season 3)
The Biggest Loser is the third season of the NBC reality television series entitled The Biggest Loser. The third season premiered on September 20, 2006 with fifty overweight contestants , each competing to lose the most weight...
.
Lou Sipolt, Jr can be seen Sunday Mornings at 10am (In EVERY TIME ZONE) on FOX SPORTS NET as one of the HOSTS of the Great American Stockcar Series TV Program. Lou races Locally in the Dirt Truck Racing Association.
Other Personalites
- Heather - Mon-Fri: 9:30am-2:00pm
- Clutch - Mon-Fri: 2:00pm-7:00pm
- Brian James - Mon-Fri: 7:00pm-12:00am
- Joey the Ratt - Wed-Fri: 12:00am-5:30am, Saturday: 12:00am-8:00am, 8:00pm-12:00am
- Doug Bailey - Saturday: 10:00am-3:00pm, Mon-Tue: 12:00am-5:30am
- Shawn T - Saturday: 3:00pm-8:00pm, Sunday: 12:00pm-6:00pm
Programming Schedule
Sunday:12:00 AM - 7:00 AM Classic Rock That Rocks,
7:00 AM - 8:00 AM House of Blues,
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM The Roadhouse,
12:00 PM - 6:00 PM Shawn T,
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Classic Rock That Rocks,
8:00 PM - 9:00 PM Clutch,
9:00 PM - 11:00 PM The Rockin' 80s,
11:00 PM - 12:00 AM Classic Rock That Rocks,
Monday - Friday:
12:00 AM - 5:30 AM Joey the Ratt,
5:30 AM - 9:30 AM Lou, Round Guy & Heather,
9:30 AM - 2:00 PM Heather,
2:00 PM - 7:00 PM Clutch,
7:00 PM - 12:00 AM Brian,
Saturday:
12:00 AM - 8:00 AM Joey the Ratt,
8:00 AM - 10:00 AM Racing Rocks w/Riki Rachtman,
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM Doug Bailey,
3:00 PM - 8:00 PM Shawn T,
8:00 PM - 12:00 AM Joey the Ratt