KNOB was a broadcast 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...

 on 97.9 MHz, licensed to Long Beach, California

Long Beach, California

Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...

, with an effective radiated power

Effective radiated power

In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...

 of 79,000 watt

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:...

s.

It went on the air in 1957 on 103.1 MHz at 320 watts. Its owner was Sleepy Stein

Sleepy Stein

Alex N. "Sleepy" Stein was a jazz disc jockey and radio station owner. When he acquired KNOB in Signal Hill, California, he made it the world's first all-jazz radio station.Stein lived in Miami and Havana, graduating from the University of Havana...

, who was able to get permission from the Federal Communications Commission

Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...

 for a power increase by switching the frequency to 97.9 in 1958.

KNOB started out as a jazz station, operating 16 hours per day as "The Jazz Knob". KNOB was the world's first all-jazz radio station. It broadcast from a studio at their transmitter site atop Signal Hill

Signal Hill, California

Signal Hill is a small city in California located in the Greater Los Angeles area. Signal Hill, completely surrounded by the city of Long Beach, was incorporated on April 22, 1924, roughly three years after oil was discovered in Signal Hill. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...

, near Long Beach Airport. The building and tower remain to this day, though the station has moved away to Flint Peak near Glendale

Glendale, California

Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...

.

In 1966 the station was sold to the Pennino Music Company and operated by Jeanette Pennino Banoczi and husband Jack Banoczi. KNOB transitioned to MOR and eventually a soft adult contemporary format running on an SMC DP-2 automation system. KNOB's offices and studios were located at Euclid Avenue and I-5

Interstate 5 in California

Interstate 5 is a major north–south route of the Interstate Highway System in the U.S. state of California. It begins at the Mexico – United States border at the San Ysidro crossing, goes north across the length of California and crosses into Oregon south of the Medford-Ashland metropolitan...

 in Anaheim, California

Anaheim, California

Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...

. Voice tracks were provided by (now Ditech.com pitchman) Mike Villani, program director Madelaine Pennino, Michael Moore (as Michael Harris), Ed MacKay, A.J. Martin, and Richard Navarro.

In 1988 KNOB was sold to Spanish Broadcasting System

Spanish Broadcasting System

Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States. SBS is also invested in television and internet properties, deriving the majority of its income from advertising through its media products.SBS owns the internet portal LaMusica.com...

 and its format was changed to Spanish language

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

. It is today known as KLAX-FM

KLAX-FM

KLAX-FM is an American commercial radio station located in East Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area. KLAX-FM airs a regional Mexican music format branded as "La Raza".-History:...

.