KKHI (defunct)
Encyclopedia
- For current station at 95.7 FM in San Francisco, see KGMZKGMZKKOL-FM is an oldies music formatted radio station serving Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. The Salem Communications outlet broadcasts at 107.9 MHz with an ERP of 100 kW and is licensed to Aiea, Hawaii.-History:...
KKHI was a classical music station in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
operating on both AM (at 1550 kHz) and FM (at 95.7 MHz).
Profile
KKHI relied heavily on local announcers playing recordings, especially by Herbert von KarajanHerbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
The Berlin Philharmonic, German: , formerly Berliner Philharmonisches Orchester , is an orchestra based in Berlin, Germany. In 2006, a group of ten European media outlets voted the Berlin Philharmonic number three on a list of "top ten European Orchestras", after the Vienna Philharmonic and the...
. The station played primarily orchestral recordings and was known for avoiding chamber music. Unlike its sister station in Los Angeles, KFAC
KFAC
KFAC was a commercial classical music radio station in Los Angeles, broadcasting for most of its life on 1330 kHz AM, and subsequently in both simulcast and separate programming on 92.3 MHz FM as well. "Only 41 of nearly 9,000 commercial radio stations in the United States play classical music" and...
, KKHI tended to play longer selections and never excerpts from symphonies or concertos. The various daily programs each had a specific musical introduction; one of the evening programs, for example, was introduced by the opening bars of the third movement of the second symphony of Sergei Rachmaninov. One notable fact was KKHI's monthly playing of the Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky
Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky (Arensky)
Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky, Op. 35a, a piece for string orchestra by Anton Arensky, started out as the slow movement of his String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 35. It was written in 1894, the year after the death of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, in a tribute to that composer...
by Anton Arensky
Anton Arensky
Anton Stepanovich Arensky -Biography:Arensky was born in Novgorod, Russia. He was musically precocious and had composed a number of songs and piano pieces by the age of nine...
.
History
The AM signal of KKHI began on March 17, 19471947 in radio
The year 1947 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*10 February: The Nederlandse Radio Unie is established.*19 February: CBS Radio premiere of Villa-Lobos' "Bachianas Brasilieras No. 3"...
, as KSMO in San Mateo, California
San Mateo, California
San Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of approximately 100,000 , it is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, Belmont to the south,...
. It was owned and operated by the Amphlett Printing Company, the owner and publisher of the daily San Mateo Times. The station's three directional transmitter towers were built in Belmont, California
Belmont, California
Belmont is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. It is in the San Francisco Bay Area, located half-way down the San Francisco Peninsula between San Mateo and San Carlos. It was originally part of the Rancho de las Pulgas, for which one of its main roads, the Alameda de las Pulgas,...
, next to the brand-new Bayshore Freeway
Bayshore Freeway
The Bayshore Freeway is a part of U.S. Route 101 in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It runs along the west shore of the San Francisco Bay, connecting San Jose with San Francisco. Within the city of San Francisco, the freeway is also known as James Lick Freeway...
(U.S. Highway 101). KSMO's programming was primarily classical recordings with some coverage of San Mateo High School
San Mateo High School
San Mateo High School is an American National Blue Ribbon comprehensive four-year public high school in San Mateo, California serving grades 9–12 as part of the San Mateo Union High School District....
athletic games.
In 1952
1952 in radio
The year 1952 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*4 March: The Courier, the first seagoing radio station, is dedicated by president Harry Truman....
, Amphlett sold the station and it became known as KEAR. The station's call letters were changed again in the mid-1950s to KOBY, and the station became a popular early outlet for Top 40 rock music. Gordon McLendon
Gordon McLendon
Gordon Barton McLendon was a radio pioneer and pirate radio broadcaster. He has been coined the Maverick of Radio. McLendon is widely credited for perfecting, with great commercial success, the Top 40 radio format during the 1950s and 1960s which was first invented by Todd Storz and for developing...
bought the station in 1960
1960 in radio
The year 1960 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*January 25 - In Washington, DC, the National Association of Broadcasters reacts to the Payola scandal by threatening fines for any disc jockeys who accepted money for playing particular records.*February 8 - Congressional...
and changed its call letters to KQBY. The station had been owned by Sherwood R. Gordon. He sold the station when a contract dispute with the union representing station engineers could not be resolved. McLendon also owned KABL in Oakland.
Finally, in 1963
1963 in radio
The year 1963 in radio involved some significant events, including the addition of FM-compatible radios in cars made by major American automobile companies, and the birth of future radio personality Doctor Dré-Events:...
, the station became KKHI and was joined with its FM counterpart; within a year it switched back to classical music.
KKHI-FM, which also began broadcasting in 1947, was first known as KGSF. The Warner Brothers of Oakland, owners of KWBR launched the station in San Francisco. There were several ownership changes and call letter changes: KXKX and KEAR-FM. Fred Krock joined KXKX as an announcer in 1953; he would later become a major contributor at KKHI.
KKHI quickly arranged to broadcast many of the Friday evening concerts of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, usually when it was conducted by music director Josef Krips
Josef Krips
Josef Alois Krips was an Austrian conductor and violinist.-Biography:Krips was born in Vienna and went on to become a pupil of Eusebius Mandyczewski and Felix Weingartner. From 1921 to 1924, he served as Weingartner's assistant at the Vienna Volksoper and as répétiteur and chorus master...
(1902-1974), in stereo from the War Memorial Opera House. Since Krips refused to make recordings with the San Francisco orchestra, the KKHI broadcasts were the only mass media outlet for the concerts. The broadcasts continued in 1970 when Seiji Ozawa
Seiji Ozawa
is a Japanese conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of large-scale late Romantic works. He is most known for his work as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Vienna State Opera.-Early years:...
(1935-) became the orchestra's music director. In the summer of 1973, when the orchestra toured Europe, KKHI made history by broadcasting a Paris concert in stereo via satellite. San Francisco Symphony broadcasts moved to KQED-FM
KQED-FM
KQED-FM is an NPR-member radio station owned by Northern California Public Broadcasting in San Francisco, California.KQED-FM was founded by James Day in 1969 as the radio arm of KQED Television. The founding manager was Bernard Mayes who later went on to be Executive Vice-President of KQED TV and...
in the early 1980s and were eventually nationally syndicated.
Krock became chief engineer at KKHI in 1966. He was also the host for the afternoon commute programming and had major responsibilities for the San Francisco Symphony broadcasts. His resonant voice became a fixture at the station. Krock would eventually leave KKHI and become engineering supervisor at KQED-FM
KQED-FM
KQED-FM is an NPR-member radio station owned by Northern California Public Broadcasting in San Francisco, California.KQED-FM was founded by James Day in 1969 as the radio arm of KQED Television. The founding manager was Bernard Mayes who later went on to be Executive Vice-President of KQED TV and...
in 1980.
By the late 1960s, longtime KNBR
KNBR
KNBR, The Sports Leader, is the on-air branding used by two AM radio stations in the San Francisco, California, area broadcasting a sports radio format, owned by Cumulus Media....
disc jockey Doug Pledger had moved to KKHI, hosting a long-running Saturday afternoon program devoted to light classics. Pledger was particularly fond of recordings by Arthur Fiedler
Arthur Fiedler
Arthur Fiedler was a long-time conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, a symphony orchestra that specializes in popular and light classical music. With a combination of musicianship and showmanship, he made the Boston Pops one of the best-known orchestras in the country...
and the Boston Pops Orchestra
Boston Pops Orchestra
The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, that specializes in playing light classical and popular music....
, as well as selections from operettas. For that matter, KKHI's popular announcer Bill Agee hosted another long-running weekend program called Gilbert & Sullivan & Me, which showcased one of the operettas by the famous British duo, complete with a running commentary on the storyline; the program began with the opening strains of the overture to HMS Pinafore
HMS Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
.
Beginning in 1971, KKHI also broadcast Friday evening performances of the San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
. For a number of years actor/writer Scott Beach
Scott Beach
Scott Beach was a popular actor, writer, and disc jockey.-Biography:Born Alvin Scott Beach, he appeared in numerous motion pictures, most notably as a German scientist patterned after Wernher von Braun in The Right Stuff.Beach's deep, resonant voice was often heard in films...
hosted these broadcasts, which were offered in stereo with special encoding for those able to receive matrix quadraphonic
Quadraphonic
Quadraphonic sound – the most widely used early term for what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four channels in which speakers are positioned at the four corners of the listening space, reproducing signals that are independent of one another...
signals. Like the famed Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts
Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts
The Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts are a regular series of weekly broadcasts on network radio of full-length opera performances. They are transmitted live from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City...
, also carried on KKHI, there were regular intermission features, including interviews with the conductors and singers in each opera. These broadcasts continued until 1979.
A regular feature on KKHI was a daily musical quiz program, "Telemusic Quiz," hosted by Bill Agee. Listeners would call in answers to the questions and, if they had the right answer, they would win tickets to various concerts. Agee hosted the San Francisco Symphony broadcasts and made regular appearances at the summer concerts held in San Francisco's Stern Grove
Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove
Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove, locally called Stern Grove, is a recreational site in the Sunset District, San Francisco, California. It is administered by the city's Recreation and Parks Department, and is the concert setting for the 74-year-old Stern Grove Festival.The site, along Sloat...
.
The station operated 24 hours a day and its AM signal, transmitted from Belmont, California
Belmont, California
Belmont is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. It is in the San Francisco Bay Area, located half-way down the San Francisco Peninsula between San Mateo and San Carlos. It was originally part of the Rancho de las Pulgas, for which one of its main roads, the Alameda de las Pulgas,...
with 10,000 watts of power, could be received over much of the western United States and Canada at night. The FM transmitter was located on San Bruno Mountain
San Bruno Mountain
San Bruno Mountain in northern San Mateo County, California is the northernmost part of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Most of the mountain lies within the San Bruno Mountain State Park, a unique open-space island in the midst of the San Francisco Peninsula's urbanization. Next to the state park is the...
.
The KKHI call letters were later used by a Smooth Jazz Station
KXWA
KXWA is a radio station licensed to Centennial, Colorado, USA. The station serves the Denver metropolitan area and is currently owned by Way-FM Media Group.-History:...
in Denver, Colorado, from June, 9 2008 to August 31, 2010.
Demise
Labor disputes, along with declining advertising support, eventually brought an end to the classical music programming. The station was sold in 1994 to WestinghouseWestinghouse Electric (1886)
Westinghouse Electric was an American manufacturing company. It was founded in 1886 as Westinghouse Electric Company and later renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation by George Westinghouse. The company purchased CBS in 1995 and became CBS Corporation in 1997...
and its format was dramatically changed. Now it was known as KPIX-FM and AM. The AM/FM simulcasts ended in 1997
1997 in radio
The year 1997 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*February 15 - After 5 years of Alternative Rock, WDRE flips into Rhythmic AC as Philly 103.9, the station, began to play Pearl Jam's Alive while crowding the live stage....
, when Westinghouse sold KPIX-FM to Bonneville International
Bonneville International
Bonneville International Corporation is a broadcasting company wholly owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through its for-profit arm, Deseret Management Corporation...
, which changed the call letters to KZQZ. The AM station is now known as KZDG. The FM station is now known as KGMZ
KGMZ
KKOL-FM is an oldies music formatted radio station serving Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. The Salem Communications outlet broadcasts at 107.9 MHz with an ERP of 100 kW and is licensed to Aiea, Hawaii.-History:...
.
The KKHI call letters were revived in 1994 on what had been KTIM-FM and AM in San Rafael, California
San Rafael, California
San Rafael is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
. The attempt to revive KKHI's classical music programming ultimately proved unsuccessful.
The Bay Area's main classical music outlet today is KDFC
KDFC
KDFC-FM is a non-commercial radio station in the San Francisco Bay Area that broadcasts a classical music format on 90.3 MHz FM. The station is the radio home of the San Francisco Symphony and the San Francisco Opera....
in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, a station which broadcasts on FM only. For many years there were daytime simulcasts on KIBE
KDOW
KNTS is a radio station broadcasting a Spanish language Christian talk format. Licensed to Seattle, Washington, USA, it serves the Seattle metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by Salem Communications....
, a 5,000-watt station in Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
.