KJR-FM
Encyclopedia
KJR-FM is a Seattle, Washington
,
radio station
that is broadcasting a classic hits
format. It operates at 95.7 MHz at 98 kW
, and also on the Internet
via streaming audio
. KJR-FM is owned by Clear Channel Communications, Inc
.
format under the callsign KGMJ. It was sold to the owners of KIXI
(880 AM) who kept the beautiful music format as a simulcast of the AM station, as well as changing call letters to KIXI-FM on October 19, 1978.
In 1980, the simulcasting ended. The AM side adopted an oldies format while the FM side programed an adult contemporary format that emphasized on instrumentals and easy listening
music as KIXI Light. The station was sold in 1986 to Ackerly Communications and changed call letters and monikers to KLTX "95.7 Seattle's K-Lite", on April 28, 1986. The station had a series of translators located in and around Seattle from the late 80's through early 90's. These included K292AL Everett
(106.3 FM), K285AE Olympia
(104.9 FM, now KSGX), K277AB Edmonds
(103.3 FM), and K277AA Seattle (also located at 103.3 FM). The station was known for having a diverse playlist, a rarity for an AC station.
The format was changed to classic hits
on June 1, 1994, and changed call letters to KJR-FM. The station was home to The Lost 45s
with Barry Scott during the mid-'90s.
In February 2000, the station flipped formats to hot adult contemporary with the branding "Mix 95.7" and call letters KMBX. However, the station would last only 8 months because of low ratings.
The format was changed to a rhythmic AC/rhythmic oldies
format with the branding "95-7 The Beat" in October 2000 (this format has been aired before on KBKS from 1996–1997; it is now a Top 40 station). The call letters were also changed to KBTB on January 29, 2001. This format did moderately well in the ratings; however, with the nationwide decline with the rhythmic/urban oldies format, the station fell in the ratings as well.
Clear Channel took over the station in May 2002, and on May 29 at 6 PM, after playing "Last Dance
" by Donna Summer
, the station started stunting with "Quick 96", where the station played 1200 10-second clips of certain songs from any given genre. On May 31 at 5 PM, the stunting concluded and during a live broadcast from the Space Needle
, the station changed formats back to classic hits
and changed call letters back to KJR-FM a month later. The station featured music from the 1970s and the 1980s. In 2008, KJR-FM started rebroadcasting actual American Top 40 shows from the 1970s after KBSG flipped formats.
On November 12, 2010
, at 3 PM, the station started playing round the clock Christmas music (though the majority of it was classic Christmas tunes) and changed monikers to "Christmas 95.7". On December 26, KJR-FM rebranded as "Oldies 95.7", but retained the classic hits
format. However, the station dumped 1980's tracks, but kept 1970's tracks and added more 1960's tracks. It is one of two stations targeting the Puget Sound area with an oldies/classic hits format, the other being KMCQ
.
On November 4, 2011
, Clear Channel did not transfer the KJR-FM calls to its sister station 102.9 FM after that station, which is KNBQ
, began simulcasting KJR-AM
.
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
,
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...
that is broadcasting a classic hits
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
format. It operates at 95.7 MHz at 98 kW
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
, and also on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
via streaming audio
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
. KJR-FM is owned by Clear Channel Communications, Inc
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...
.
KJR
KJR-FM is a replication of KJR AM when it was a rock/top-40 station from 1958 to 1981. The AM station is now a sports station, which started in 1991.95.7 FM
This station signed on the air on May 25, 1960 and was owned until 1963 by Rogan Jones, founder of the radio automation firm IGM. It had a beautiful musicBeautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
format under the callsign KGMJ. It was sold to the owners of KIXI
KIXI
KIXI is an AM radio station licensed to Mercer Island-Seattle, Washington on the frequency of 880 kHz. It operates 24 hours a day with a daytime power of 50,000 watts and a nighttime power of 10,000 watts.-Format:...
(880 AM) who kept the beautiful music format as a simulcast of the AM station, as well as changing call letters to KIXI-FM on October 19, 1978.
In 1980, the simulcasting ended. The AM side adopted an oldies format while the FM side programed an adult contemporary format that emphasized on instrumentals and easy listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
music as KIXI Light. The station was sold in 1986 to Ackerly Communications and changed call letters and monikers to KLTX "95.7 Seattle's K-Lite", on April 28, 1986. The station had a series of translators located in and around Seattle from the late 80's through early 90's. These included K292AL Everett
Everett, Washington
Everett is the county seat of and the largest city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. Named for Everett Colby, son of founder Charles L. Colby, it lies north of Seattle. The city had a total population of 103,019 at the 2010 census, making it the 6th largest in the state and...
(106.3 FM), K285AE Olympia
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
(104.9 FM, now KSGX), K277AB Edmonds
Edmonds, Washington
Edmonds is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. Edmonds has a view of Puget Sound and both the Olympic Mountains and Cascade Range. The third most populous city in Snohomish County after Everett and Marysville, the population was 39,709 according to the 2010 census...
(103.3 FM), and K277AA Seattle (also located at 103.3 FM). The station was known for having a diverse playlist, a rarity for an AC station.
The format was changed to classic hits
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
on June 1, 1994, and changed call letters to KJR-FM. The station was home to The Lost 45s
The Lost 45s
The Lost 45s with Barry Scott"*The Boston Herald calls "The Lost 45s with Barry Scott" "The most successful weekend show in the history of Boston radio"...
with Barry Scott during the mid-'90s.
In February 2000, the station flipped formats to hot adult contemporary with the branding "Mix 95.7" and call letters KMBX. However, the station would last only 8 months because of low ratings.
The format was changed to a rhythmic AC/rhythmic oldies
Rhythmic oldies
Rhythmic Oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, disco or dance genres of music. Playlists may span from the 1970s through the early 1990s...
format with the branding "95-7 The Beat" in October 2000 (this format has been aired before on KBKS from 1996–1997; it is now a Top 40 station). The call letters were also changed to KBTB on January 29, 2001. This format did moderately well in the ratings; however, with the nationwide decline with the rhythmic/urban oldies format, the station fell in the ratings as well.
Clear Channel took over the station in May 2002, and on May 29 at 6 PM, after playing "Last Dance
Last Dance (song)
"Last Dance" is a hit 1978 song by singer Donna Summer. The song appeared on the Thank God It's Friday movie soundtrack. It was written by Paul Jabara and was co-produced by Summer's regular collaborator Giorgio Moroder, along with Bob Esty...
" by Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
, the station started stunting with "Quick 96", where the station played 1200 10-second clips of certain songs from any given genre. On May 31 at 5 PM, the stunting concluded and during a live broadcast from the Space Needle
Space Needle
The Space Needle is a tower in Seattle, Washington and is a major landmark of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and a symbol of Seattle. Located at the Seattle Center, it was built for the 1962 World's Fair, during which time nearly 20,000 people a day used the elevators, with over...
, the station changed formats back to classic hits
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
and changed call letters back to KJR-FM a month later. The station featured music from the 1970s and the 1980s. In 2008, KJR-FM started rebroadcasting actual American Top 40 shows from the 1970s after KBSG flipped formats.
On November 12, 2010
2010 in radio
The following events occurred in radio in 2010.-Events:*Date Unknown: CHOI/Quebec City flips from Alternative Rock to News/Talk.*January 4: KJCS/Lufkin, Texas goes silent....
, at 3 PM, the station started playing round the clock Christmas music (though the majority of it was classic Christmas tunes) and changed monikers to "Christmas 95.7". On December 26, KJR-FM rebranded as "Oldies 95.7", but retained the classic hits
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
format. However, the station dumped 1980's tracks, but kept 1970's tracks and added more 1960's tracks. It is one of two stations targeting the Puget Sound area with an oldies/classic hits format, the other being KMCQ
KMCQ
KMCQ , is a radio station based in Covington, Washington, targeting the Seattle market. The First Broadcasting outlet broadcasts an oldies music format at 104.5 MHz with an effective radiated power of 7.1 kW.-History:...
.
On November 4, 2011
2011 in radio
The following events occurred in radio broadcasting in 2011.-Events:*January 1: 2 Knoxville stations change formats as WDLF and WYLV flip to K-LOVE and Air 1 , and a few Pittsburgh station change formats, as ESPN Radio moves from WEAE to WBGG, and Radio Disney moves from WWCS to the renamed WDDZ,...
, Clear Channel did not transfer the KJR-FM calls to its sister station 102.9 FM after that station, which is KNBQ
KNBQ
KNBQ is a sports talk formatted radio station serving the Seattle-Tacoma area. The station is licensed to Centralia, Washington. It became active in the 1990s...
, began simulcasting KJR-AM
KJR-AM
KJR is an all-sports radio station based in Seattle, Washington, owned by Clear Channel Communications. KJR currently is the flagship station of the University of Washington, including Husky football and men's basketball broadcasts...
.