KEYN-FM (103.7

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

) is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

operating in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

, owned by

Audacy, Inc. Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corporation, it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media ...

The station broadcasts a

classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980s ...

music format, featuring hits from the 1970s and 1980s. The station's studios are located on East Douglas Avenue in East Wichita, while the transmitter is located outside Colwich, Kansas.

History

KEYN-FM signed on the air in October 1968 as a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

/ CHR station, the first stereo FM station west of the Mississippi River. The station was co-owned with KEYN (then at 900 AM, now KSGL), with both stations simulcasting until 1975, when the AM flipped to

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

. In the 1970s, their studios were located at 2829 North Salina in Wichita. Later, studios were moved to the west end of the Central Heights Shopping Center at Central Avenue and Ridge Road. During that time, the station's identification jingle was "FM 104 KEYN The Rock Of Wichita", and featured a graphic depicting the faces of Mount Rushmore, wearing stereo headphones. In 1974, KEYN AM and KEYN-FM was purchased by Robert Freeman, Lowell Denniston, and Frank Carney. Their AM sister station was sold in 1977, though KEYN-FM would become a sister station to KWBB (1410 AM) shortly thereafter. The station was purchased by TM alum Jimmy Long and country music artist Charley Pride doing business as Long-Pride Broadcasting in 1980; also that year, KEYN (AM) flipped to

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...

under new KQAM call letters. During the Top 40/CHR years, KEYN went by a few names, including "104 FM KEYN", "MusicRadio 104 KEYN", "103.7 KEYN", and "Power 104 KEYN". Long-Pride Broadcasting sold KEYN-FM and their sister station KQAM in 1987 to Aberdeen Communications. On August 30, 1989, at Noon, after almost 22 years of playing the hits, KEYN-FM flipped to oldies as simply "KEYN FM 104". The final song as "Power 104" was " The End of the Innocence" by

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. He is the drummer and one of the lead singers for the Eagles. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles hits such as "Witchy Woman", "Despe ...

, while the first song under the new format was " Ticket to Ride" by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

. Aberdeen allowed their company to go to receivership in 1991, and was bought by

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

the following year. Throughout the late 1990s and 2000s, KEYN's format gradually evolved to

Classic Hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980s ...

. It previously used the slogans as "Good Time Oldies", "Wichita's Fun Oldies", and "The Greatest Hits of All Time". Their current slogan is "Greatest Hits 103.7 KEYN". Triathlon Broadcasting bought the station in 1994; Entercom (now Audacy) bought KEYN-FM in February 2000. In early 2015, the station moved from the Brittany Place Shopping Center at East 21st Street and North Woodlawn Avenue to the Ruffin Building at 9111 East Douglas, formerly the Pizza Hut headquarters.

Previous logos

References

External links

* * {{Entercom EYN-FM Classic hits radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1967 1967 establishments in Kansas Audacy, Inc. radio stations