KPXQ
Encyclopedia
KPXQ is a Christian
radio station
owned by Salem Communications
in Phoenix, Arizona
, USA. Programs include Through the Bible with J. Vernon McGee
, Grace to You with John MacArthur
, and Love Worth Finding with Adrian Rogers
. KPXQ is licensed to Glendale
.
1230 AM for Top 40 radio dominance in Phoenix. KRUX and KRIZ went back and forth in the ratings game before both stations succumbed to the more popular FM rockers of the 1970s. Program Director
s during the station's heyday included Larry "Lucky Lawrence" Wright and Al McCoy
, who went on to become the long-time play-by-play voice of the NBA Phoenix Suns
.
, Charles L. "Kit" Carson, Norm Seeley and Dick Gray. The jocks of the 1970s were John Driscoll aka the 2nd Bob Shannon, John Sebastian, Dave Trout, Chuck Browning, Harry Scarborough and Rich "Mother" Robbins.
ill-fated "News and Information Service" network. When that experiment failed, they went back to their Top 40 format, but would never recover with the insurgence of FM competition. KRUX management (Lotus Corporation) brought in many valley vets from other stations to try to stem the tide of music on FM. Those radio personalities included "KC in the Morning" Kennedy from 5 AM to 10AM, Daniel (Oshe) from 10AM to 3 PM, Program Director Bobby Rivers 3PM to 7PM in the late seventies till January 1981, when the final rock and roll turntable (Cart machine) went silent. Other DJ's included Greg Mills from 7PM till midnight and Morgan Evans from midnight to 6am. Evans moved to morning drive at Anchorage, Alaska AOR rocker KRKN in 1981 after the KRUX format change to Big Band. CW MCMUffin on Weekends doubled also as the engineer for over five years. Richard Ruiz of Downey California was music director before KC Kennedy took over in 1980.
In 1981, KRUX became KLFF with the "Music of Your Life" MOR format until 1992, when they tried another attempt at all-news (featuring the CNN Headline News
audio feed) as KNNS. This would last two years before they switched to sports talk as KGME
, now at 910 AM. In 1998, KGME upgraded its power from 5000 to 50,000 watts daytime, while remaining at 1000 watts at night.
In April 1999, AM/FM (now part of Clear Channel
) purchased the call letters, studio, and programming of KGME, moving them to 550 kHz. In turn, co-owned KOY
, which was the first radio station in Arizona and had been on 550 since 1941, moved to 1230 where it remains to this day. KGME and news/talk sister-station KFYI
swapped frequencies in 2000, with sports on 910 and news/talk on 550.
New Planet Radio kept the 1360 transmitter, changing the call letters to KFDJ, and simulcasted co-owned KEDJ
106.3 until the AM station was sold to Salem.
Salem purchased the station in 1999, with intentions of creating a new conservative talk station in Phoenix to pair with its Christian Talk and Teaching format at 960 AM (which was then called "Q96"). Instead, Salem moved the religious programming to 1360 AM with 960 becoming the home for secular talk.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
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...
owned by Salem Communications
Salem Communications
Salem Communications is a U.S. radio broadcaster, Internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher specializing in evangelical Christian and conservative political talk radio. It owns 99 commercial radio stations, 65 of which are in the top 25 markets. Salem is the fifth largest U.S....
in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, USA. Programs include Through the Bible with J. Vernon McGee
J. Vernon McGee
John Vernon McGee, Th.D., LL.D, was an ordained Presbyterian minister who later pastored an interdenominational church, a Bible teacher, theologian, and was also a radio minister.-Early Years and Education:...
, Grace to You with John MacArthur
John MacArthur
John MacArthur may refer to:* John Macarthur , Australian wool industry pioneer and Rum Rebel* John McArthur, Jr. , American architect* John McArthur , Union general during the American Civil War...
, and Love Worth Finding with Adrian Rogers
Adrian Rogers
Adrian Pierce Rogers served three terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention , a Southern Baptist pastor, and a conservative author....
. KPXQ is licensed to Glendale
Glendale, Arizona
Glendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, located about nine miles northwest from Downtown Phoenix. According to 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city is 226,721....
.
History
KPXQ signed on in 1947 as KRUX on 1340 kHz, licensed to Glendale. KRUX moved to 1360 in 1957.The glory years
From the 1950s until the 1970s, KRUX was a major Top-40 station in Phoenix. During its heyday, it competed head to head with KRIZKOY
KOY in Phoenix is the oldest radio station in the state of Arizona. It is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications.-KOY:KOY was the first radio station in the state of Arizona, signing on in 1921 as Amateur Radio station 6BBH on 360 meters . Earl Neilsen was the holder of the 6BBH...
1230 AM for Top 40 radio dominance in Phoenix. KRUX and KRIZ went back and forth in the ratings game before both stations succumbed to the more popular FM rockers of the 1970s. Program Director
Program director
In service industries, such as education, a program director or programme director researches, plans, develops and implements one or more of the firm's professional services...
s during the station's heyday included Larry "Lucky Lawrence" Wright and Al McCoy
Al McCoy (announcer)
Al McCoy , sometimes nicknamed as The Voice Of The Suns, has been the radio broadcast announcer of Phoenix Suns NBA basketball games since 1972 which makes him the longest tenured broadcaster in the NBA...
, who went on to become the long-time play-by-play voice of the NBA Phoenix Suns
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...
.
The DJ's
Some of the station's all time ratings getters were the personalities of the 1960s, known as the "KRUX Good Guys" Lucky Lawrence, "Bobby-Poo" Bob Shannon,"Your Boy" Al McCoyAl McCoy (announcer)
Al McCoy , sometimes nicknamed as The Voice Of The Suns, has been the radio broadcast announcer of Phoenix Suns NBA basketball games since 1972 which makes him the longest tenured broadcaster in the NBA...
, Charles L. "Kit" Carson, Norm Seeley and Dick Gray. The jocks of the 1970s were John Driscoll aka the 2nd Bob Shannon, John Sebastian, Dave Trout, Chuck Browning, Harry Scarborough and Rich "Mother" Robbins.
Format changes
For a brief period in the mid-1970s, KRUX experimented with an all-news format featuring NBC'sNBC
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...
ill-fated "News and Information Service" network. When that experiment failed, they went back to their Top 40 format, but would never recover with the insurgence of FM competition. KRUX management (Lotus Corporation) brought in many valley vets from other stations to try to stem the tide of music on FM. Those radio personalities included "KC in the Morning" Kennedy from 5 AM to 10AM, Daniel (Oshe) from 10AM to 3 PM, Program Director Bobby Rivers 3PM to 7PM in the late seventies till January 1981, when the final rock and roll turntable (Cart machine) went silent. Other DJ's included Greg Mills from 7PM till midnight and Morgan Evans from midnight to 6am. Evans moved to morning drive at Anchorage, Alaska AOR rocker KRKN in 1981 after the KRUX format change to Big Band. CW MCMUffin on Weekends doubled also as the engineer for over five years. Richard Ruiz of Downey California was music director before KC Kennedy took over in 1980.
In 1981, KRUX became KLFF with the "Music of Your Life" MOR format until 1992, when they tried another attempt at all-news (featuring the CNN Headline News
CNN Headline News
HLN, formerly known as CNN Headline News and CNN2, is a cable television news channel based in the United States and a spinoff of the cable news television channel, CNN. Initially airing tightly-formatted 30-minute newscasts around the clock, since 2005, the channel has increasingly aired long-form...
audio feed) as KNNS. This would last two years before they switched to sports talk as KGME
KGME
KGME, branded XTRA Sports 910, is a sports radio station located in Phoenix, Arizona and serving the Phoenix metropolitan area. KGME is owned by Clear Channel Communications, the former owners of Mexican station XETRA in Southern California, where the XTRA name came from.The station's weekday...
, now at 910 AM. In 1998, KGME upgraded its power from 5000 to 50,000 watts daytime, while remaining at 1000 watts at night.
In April 1999, AM/FM (now part of Clear Channel
Clear channel
A clear-channel station is an AM band Radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. Usually known as class A stations since 1982, they are occasionally still referred to by their former...
) purchased the call letters, studio, and programming of KGME, moving them to 550 kHz. In turn, co-owned KOY
KOY
KOY in Phoenix is the oldest radio station in the state of Arizona. It is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications.-KOY:KOY was the first radio station in the state of Arizona, signing on in 1921 as Amateur Radio station 6BBH on 360 meters . Earl Neilsen was the holder of the 6BBH...
, which was the first radio station in Arizona and had been on 550 since 1941, moved to 1230 where it remains to this day. KGME and news/talk sister-station KFYI
KFYI
KFYI is an American news/talk radio station broadcasting in Phoenix, Arizona. KFYI is owned by Clear Channel Communications. KFYI transmits in both analog AM and digital HD Radio.The digital signal is also rebroadcast on KNIX-FM's HD2 channel....
swapped frequencies in 2000, with sports on 910 and news/talk on 550.
New Planet Radio kept the 1360 transmitter, changing the call letters to KFDJ, and simulcasted co-owned KEDJ
KEDJ
KEXX is a commercial radio station located in Phoenix, Arizona, broadcasting to the Phoenix Metropolitan Area on 103.9 FM. KEXX airs a modern rock music format branded as "X 103-9". In July 2009, the station added less commercials and plays deeper tracks rather than just radio hits unlike normal...
106.3 until the AM station was sold to Salem.
Salem purchased the station in 1999, with intentions of creating a new conservative talk station in Phoenix to pair with its Christian Talk and Teaching format at 960 AM (which was then called "Q96"). Instead, Salem moved the religious programming to 1360 AM with 960 becoming the home for secular talk.