KHJ Radio in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
broadcasts Spanish-language entertainment programming as
La Ranchera. It was also one of America's most formidable Top 40
radio stationRadio broadcasting is an audio broadcasting service, broadcast through the air as radio waves from a transmitter to an antenna and a thus to a receiving device. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast common programming, either in syndication or simulcast or both...
s in the 1960s and 1970s as
93 KHJ before changing its format in 1980.
Early history
KHJ went on the air in 1922. It shifted frequencies the lower half of the radio dial like most stations of the day, in response to the growing interference problem standard broadcast stations faced as their numbers grew. The new Federal Radio Commission established order on the AM band in the late 1920s, forcing some substandard operations off the air, pushing others to merge, and assigning others to stable and permanent channels with predictable signal power in 1927-28. As part of that effort to bring order from chaos, KHJ was assigned the regional-service channel of 900 kHz, with 1000 watts of power, and remained on that channel and that power level until 1941. At that point another reorganization of AM broadcasting by the
Federal Communications CommissionThe Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, directed, and empowered by Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President...
(successor to the FRC), in conjunction with a multinational North American treaty agreement, saw KHJ permitted to raise power to 5,000 watts and move to a frequency of 930 kHz, where it continues to operate today.
Originally owned by the
Los Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California since 1881. It is distributed throughout the Western United States. It is the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States and the fourth-most widely distributed newspaper in the United States...
newspaper, KHJ even served for a short time in the late 1920s and early 1930s as the Los Angeles affiliate and West Coast production hub of the fledgling CBS radio network, functioning as the originating station for programs like Bing Crosby's first national network radio show in 1931. CBS would eventually purchase its own more powerful West Coast flagship station, 50,000 watt
KNXKNX is an all-news radio station in Los Angeles, California, USA. The station operates on a clear channel and is owned by CBS Radio...
, and part company with KHJ. Then, KHJ was purchased by
Don LeeDonald Musgrave Lee was the exclusive west coast distributor of Cadillac automobiles in the early 20th century. In 1919 Lee purchased the Earl Automobile Works of Hollywood, California. Harley Earl, the son of the company's owner, was kept on as manager...
, a well-known local luxury automobile dealer who also owned
KFRCKFRC was a radio station in San Francisco, California in the United States, which began operating in 1924. For over 80 years, the station had broadcast on 610 kHz AM, until 2005. The station was also simulcast on FM, on 106.1 MHz in the 1970s, and later began simulcasting on 99.7 MHz in 1991, and...
in San Francisco. Lee eventually accumulated 21 radio stations. In 1949, the entire broadcasting company, including KHJ and other stations, was merged into RKO General. The call letters were said to stand for "Kindness, Happiness, and Joy".
During its Don Lee ownership, KHJ became the West Coast
flagship station of the
Mutual Broadcasting SystemThe Mutual Broadcasting System was an American radio network, in operation from 1934 to 1999. Of the four national networks of American radio's classic era, Mutual had for decades the largest number of affiliates but the least certain financial position. In the golden age of U.S...
, one of the "Big Four" networks in radio's classic era of the 1930s – 1970s. Famous entertainers of the period, such as
George BurnsGeorge Burns , born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.His career spanned vaudeville, film, radio, and television, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became familiar trademarks for over three quarters of a century...
and
Gracie AllenGrace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen , better known as Gracie Allen, was an American comedienne who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns...
, and
Steve AllenSteve Allen may refer to:*Steve Allen, American musician, comedian, and writer*Steve Allen , presenter on the London-based talk radio station LBC 97.3*Steve Allen, British musician, lead singer of Liverpool rock band Deaf School...
, appeared on KHJ. At one point the station employed its own 50-piece orchestra to back up musical guests. In an historic 1931 broadcast (which partially survives today), KHJ introduced the world to an up-and-coming singer named
Bing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American popular singer and actor whose career stretched over more than half a century from 1926 until his death....
.
Pat WeaverSylvester Laflin "Pat" Weaver, Jr. was an American former radio advertising executive, who became president of NBC between 1953 and 1955. He has been credited with reshaping broadcasting's format and philosophy as radio gave way to television as America's dominant home entertainment...
(the president of
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
, creator of
The Today Show and
The Tonight ShowThe Tonight Show is an American late-night talk and variety show airing on NBC since 1954. Tonight is the third longest-running entertainment program in U.S...
, and the father of actress
Sigourney WeaverSigourney Weaver is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Lieutenant Ellen Ripley in the Alien film series and as Dana Barrett in the Ghostbusters movies. Weaver is also a three-time Academy Award nominee for her performances in Aliens, Gorillas in the Mist and Working Girl...
), worked there as an announcer.
"Boss Radio"
In April 1965, programming consultant
Bill DrakeBill Drake , born Philip Yarbrough, was an American radio programmer who co-developed the Boss Radio format with Gene Chenault via their company Drake-Chenault.-Early career:...
was brought in to craft KHJ's new top-40 format. Drake hired noted program director
Ron JacobsRon Jacobs is an American broadcaster, author, record producer and concert promoter. He is best known as the program director of KHJ radio in Los Angeles during its ground-breaking "Boss Radio" period , and as co-creator of the countdown show American Top 40, and the seminal radio program The...
, who had built stations in Hawaii and California to No. 1 in the ratings and would go on to co-create
American Top 40American Top 40 is an internationally-syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...
with
Casey KasemKemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor.Kasem founded the popular American Top 40 franchise in 1970, hosting it from 1970 to 1988 and then from 1998 to 2004. Between 1989 and 1998, he was the host of Casey's Top 40, Casey's Hot 20, and Casey's Countdown...
in 1970. The new format featured a very "tight" sound built on a restrictive music playlist and restraints on on-air commentary by the announcers (although a few superstar announcers, such as
Robert W. MorganRobert W. Morgan was an award-winning morning radio personality best known for his work at several stations in Los Angeles, California...
, Humble Harve, and The Real Don Steele were allowed to develop their own on-air personalities). Also part of the format, which came to be known as "
Boss RadioBoss Radio was the name of two radio programming formats, both launched in the early 1960s: One in the United States, and one in the United Kingdom. Although the names were the same, the formats were quite different.- Boss Radio in the United States :...
", was a package of memorable jingles performed by the Johnny Mann Singers. "Boss Radio" subsequently spread throughout the nation and brought high ratings and acclaim to stations such as
KFRCKFRC was a radio station in San Francisco, California in the United States, which began operating in 1924. For over 80 years, the station had broadcast on 610 kHz AM, until 2005. The station was also simulcast on FM, on 106.1 MHz in the 1970s, and later began simulcasting on 99.7 MHz in 1991, and...
in San Francisco,
WQXIWQXI, "790 The Zone", is a radio station licensed to the city of Atlanta broadcasting at a frequency of 790kHz. The station has a power of 28,000 Watts in the daytime, and 1,000 Watts at night. WQXI's signal is non-directional during the daytime, and directional at night...
in Atlanta,
CKLWCKLW is a 50,000 watt AM radio station broadcasting on 800 kHz and located in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and serving Windsor and Detroit. Additionally, its signal can be heard clearly in Toledo and Cleveland, Ohio....
in
Windsor, OntarioWindsor is the southernmost major city in Canada and lies in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, although administratively separated from the county government. Windsor is located south of Detroit, is separated...
, and
WRKOWRKO is a radio station based in Boston, Massachusetts, currently owned by Entercom. Its transmitter is located in Burlington, Massachusetts, next to the Burlington Mall.-1920-1940:...
in
BostonBoston is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the region and is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England"...
. Bill Drake, teamed with Gene Chenault, brought up many of their "Boss" announcers through
KYNOKYNO is a News/Talk radio station broadcasting at 1300 kHz in Fresno, California, United States of America.-Station history:KYNO from 1957 and throughout the 1960's and 1970's, was a Top-40 station, and was the #1 "Hooper" rated station in Fresno under the ownership of Eugene Chenault...
in
Fresno, CaliforniaFresno is a city in California, USA, the county seat of Fresno County. As of February 27, 2009, the population was estimated at 500,017, making it the fifth largest city in California and the 36th largest in the nation...
, which they used as a proving ground for talent.
KHJ was famous for its call-in request number, which used the
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
area code 213North American area code 213 is a California telephone area code which was one of California's original three area codes. The 213 area code was created in October 1947...
, conflict exchange 520, followed by the current year. For example, in 1974, the phone number to call the station would be (213) 520-1974, then the next year it would change to 520-1975.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the station competed with three other local stations with similar formats:
KFIKFI is an AM radio station in Los Angeles, California. It began operating on March 31, 1922 as one of the United States' first high-powered, "clear-channel" stations...
,
KTNQKTNQ is a radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California with a Spanish News/Talk format. It is owned by Univision. on June 13 1925 until 1955 it was called . From August 1 1955 until 1960 it was called KPOP. From June 29 1960 until 1976, it was called KGBS...
and San Diego-based XETRA-AM, which operated under the servicemark "The Mighty 690." The other nicknames for KHJ radio was "Boss 30" and "Double colon" as in "//".
KHJ competed against four other "soul radio" stations serving the Los Angeles radio market at the time:
KDAYKDAY in Redondo Beach and KWIE in Ontario, are a pair of synchrocasting radio stations based in South Los Angeles that airs a Gold-leaning classic hip-hop format aimed at African-Americans in the 18-49 range. The station is owned by Magic Broadcasting and broadcast at 93.5 MHz on the FM dial...
and KGFJ both of Los Angeles, and the "border blasters" XERB and XHFHJ-FM both based in Rosarito,
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
located south of San Diego.
The End of an Era
The format brought high ratings to the station through the late 1970s until FM radio became the dominant way to broadcast popular music. At 5 pm on September 20th, 1980 during the
Bob ShannonBob Shannon was a long time radio personality, best remembered for his numerous stunts and promotions including the staged take over of his popular radio show by teen sensations “The Monkees” of TV fame.-Radio career:He began his pursuit of a broadcasting career at the age of 14 when he auditioned...
Show, "93/KHJ" switched from Top 40 to
Country musicCountry music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains...
. The country format which boasted, "we all grew up to be Cowboys" lasted three years before changing to an all oldies format, "The Boss is Back" using the original Johnny Mann "Boss Radio" jingles. In 1984, KHJ tried a Top 40 format called "Car Radio," highlighted with traffic reports every ten minutes, 24 hours per day.
From English-language to Spanish-language Broadcasting
KHJ, in its original English-language form, signed off on January 31, 1986. That evening, regular "Car Radio" evening jock Dave Sebastian Williams was joined in studio by
Robert W. MorganRobert W. Morgan was an award-winning morning radio personality best known for his work at several stations in Los Angeles, California...
. Many disc jockeys from throughout KHJ's heyday of Boss Radio phoned in (including
M.G. KellyM. G. "Machine Gun" Kelly is an actor, disc jockey and radio personality. In addition to hosting several radio programs over the years, Kelly has held several acting roles as a disc jockey; also, he has served as an offstage announcer on two game shows.His stage name is a reference to George...
, Bobby Ocean, and Boss Radio-era Program Director
Ron JacobsRon Jacobs is an American broadcaster, author, record producer and concert promoter. He is best known as the program director of KHJ radio in Los Angeles during its ground-breaking "Boss Radio" period , and as co-creator of the countdown show American Top 40, and the seminal radio program The...
) for a farewell broadcast, playing the songs that had made KHJ a popular AM station in the 1960s and 1970s. At the stroke of midnight, the station changed its call letters to
KRTH to match those of its FM sister station,
KRTH-FMKRTH is a U.S. oldies radio station located in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles Area. Its signal covers an extremely large area, and sometimes can be heard as far south as San Diego and Tijuana, as far east as Moreno Valley, and as far north as Baker,...
playing a format called "Smokin' Oldies" that featured hits of the first ten years of
rock and rollRock and roll is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States after World War II in the late 1940s, from a combination of the rhythms of the blues, from the African American culture, and from America's country music and gospel music scenes...
. The station used "AM-930" as its on-air ID.
Switch to Spanish, and problems with new call letters
RKO General was under nearly continuous investigation by federal regulators from the 1960s onward due to unethical conduct at its television stations, including KRTH-AM/FM's television sister, KHJ-TV (channel 9, now
KCAL-TVKCAL-TV, channel 9, is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, owned by the CBS Corporation. KCAL-TV shares its studio facilities with KCBS-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson.-Early...
). It was eventually ruled unfit to be a broadcast licensee and forced by the FCC to sell off its broadcast properties. In the summer of 1989, KRTH AM/FM were sold to Beasley Broadcasting, which immediately turned around and sold KRTH-AM to Liberman Broadcasting. It became a full-time Spanish-language station, adopting the call letters
KKHJ in honor of its historic calls.
As time went by, program director Alfredo Rodriguez and chief engineer Jerry Lewine wanted to bring back the legendary three-letter call sign. However, the FCC hadn't issued three-letter calls to radio stations since the 1930s. So they came up with a plan to convince the FCC that KKHJ could not use the Spanish pronunciation of its call letters on the air. This was purportedly because the pronunciation of the first two letters in Spanish (kah-kah) sounded like «caca», the Spanish vulgar slang word for feces. As a result, whenever the call letters were used, they were pronounced in English. This proved somewhat awkward over a decade, so the station collected letters from listeners and community listeners and lobbied the FCC to allow the station to drop one of its Ks. The FCC allowed the station to return to its original three-letter calls, KHJ. The change became official on March 15, 2000.
New Dodgers baseball contract
See also Los Angeles Dodgers Radio Network#Spanish
On August 21, 2007, the
Los Angeles DodgersThe Los Angeles Dodgers are a Major League Baseball team based in Los Angeles, California, USA. The team is in the Western Division of the National League. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming the Brooklyn...
announced that their Spanish-language broadcasts would come to KHJ for the 2008 season, leaving
KWKWKWKW is one of the oldest Spanish-language radio stations in the greater Los Angeles area. Currently, the station broadcasts on AM 1330 and has an all-sports format.-History:...
after 20 years.
Other KHJs
An unrelated low-powered FM station in
Madras, OregonMadras is a city in Jefferson County, Oregon, United States. Originally called The Basin after the circular valley the city is located in, it is unclear as to whether Madras was named in 1903 for the cotton fabric called "Madras" that originated in the Chennai area in India, or from the city of...
, KHJA-LP 102.1
FMIn telecommunications, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its frequency . In analog applications, the instantaneous frequency of the carrier is directly proportional to the instantaneous value of the input signal...
http://www.khjfm.com/ was a tribute to the 1960s and 70s era KHJ, using the Los Angeles station's vintage logo,
jingleA jingle is a memorable slogan, set to an engaging melody, mainly broadcast on radio and sometimes on television commercials.- History :The jingle had no definitive debut: its infiltration of the radio was more of an evolutionary process than a sudden innovation...
s, and "Boss Radio"
sloganA slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish and Irish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm...
s. In 2008, it changed its call sign to KGBZ-LP and switched formats.
Meanwhile, the former KKHJ callsign that was used during the 1990s by Liberman was assigned to an FM station in
American SamoaAmerican Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa . The main island is Tutuila, with the Manua Islands, Rose Atoll, and Swains Island also included in the territory...
http://www.khjradio.com/. They also use the legendary station's "93KHJ" on-air name. The classic 93KHJ jingles are also regularly played on the station.
"KHJ" is also used as the branding of a country music station in
Fredericton, New BrunswickFredericton is the capital of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, by virtue of the provincial parliament which sits there. An important cultural, artistic, and educational centre for the province , Fredericton is home to two universities, as well as cultural institutions such as the...
, Canada --
CKHJCKHJ is a Canadian radio station in Fredericton, New Brunswick broadcasting at 1260 kHz on the AM dial. The station broadcasts a country music format under the "KHJ" branding. CKHJ is owned by Astral Media....
.
WKHJ-FM in
Mountain Lake Park, MarylandMountain Lake Park is a town in Garrett County, Maryland, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 2,248.-Geography:Mountain Lake Park is located at ....
has always used the "KHJ" moniker. WKHJ, however, plays an adult contemporary format.
An
aircheckIn the radio industry, an aircheck is generally a demonstration recording, often intended to show off the talent of an announcer or programmer to a prospective employer...
sampleIn music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song. This is typically done with a sampler, which can be a piece of hardware or a computer program on a digital computer. Sampling is also...
of an old KHJ
jingleA jingle is a memorable slogan, set to an engaging melody, mainly broadcast on radio and sometimes on television commercials.- History :The jingle had no definitive debut: its infiltration of the radio was more of an evolutionary process than a sudden innovation...
can be heard at the beginning of the song "
AM Radio"AM Radio" is a rock song by the band Everclear. The song was recorded circa 2000 for Everclear's fourth album Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile...
" by the band
EverclearEverclear is a rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1992. For most of its existence, Everclear consisted of Art Alexakis , Craig Montoya , and Greg Eklund . Eklund replaced original drummer Scott Cuthbert in 1994...
.
On his
Greatest Stories LiveGreatest Stories Live is the first live album by the American singer/songwriter Harry Chapin, released in 1976, . Certain elements had to be re-recorded in the studio due to technical problems with the live recordings...
album, singer
Harry ChapinHarry Forster Chapin was an American singer and songwriter known for his folk rock songs "Taxi," "W*O*L*D," and the number-one hit "Cat's in the Cradle" as well as his masterful folk musical based on the biblical book of John, "Cotton Patch Gospel." Chapin was also a dedicated humanitarian who...
references
KHJKHJ may refer to:* KHJ , a radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, United States* KRTH, a radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, United States, which formerly used the call sign KHJ-FM...
in the song W*O*L*D ("I am the morning DJ, at KHJ. Playing all the hits for you; play them night and day"), much to the audience's delight (this version was likely recorded in concert in a locale served by
KHJKHJ may refer to:* KHJ , a radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, United States* KRTH, a radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, United States, which formerly used the call sign KHJ-FM...
).
External links