KHKS (106.1 FM) is a

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

Metroplex

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 ...

broadcasting a Top 40 (CHR) format,

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Denton, Texas Denton is a city in and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, United States. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 27th-most populous city in Texas, the 197th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous ...

, and is under ownership of

iHeartMedia 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 ...

, (formerly Clear Channel Communications). It is known as "

Kiss FM Kiss FM, Kiss Radio or variants may refer to: Asia-Oceania * Various Kiss FM-branded stations in the Philippines ** 95.1 Kiss FM, Lucena, Quezon ** 102.3 Kiss FM, Tagbilaran, Bohol * Kiss92 FM, Singapore * KISS 969, Sri Lanka * Kiss Radio Taiwan ...

". The station's studios are located along Dallas Parkway in

Farmers Branch Farmers Branch, officially the City of Farmers Branch, is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States. It is an inner-ring suburb of Dallas and is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its population was 28,616 at the 2010 census. Known as ...

(although it has a Dallas address), and their

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...

site is located in

Cedar Hill Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

History

Early years

KDNT-FM was established in June 1948 at 106.3 on the FM dial and moved to the current 106.1 frequency in 1962. The station was a simulcast of KDNT (AM) during its early years. KDNT-FM went through a number of different formats during the late 1970s and early 1980s, including 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 ...

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 ...

hybrid,

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, and

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 ...

. The station's calls changed to KDDC in 1980, and then to KIXK at the start of 1981. KIXK's format remained country (as "Kix 106") until changing to oldies/classic hits in December 1982.

The first "Kiss" era

In September 1984, KIXK flipped to CHR/

as ''Kiss 106 FM'', KTKS. At this time, 106.1 was owned by ABC Broadcasting until being purchased by Capital Cities in 1985.

106.1 The Oasis

At Midnight on September 30, 1987, KTKS began stunting with birds chirping and nature sounds. At Noon the same day, the station flipped to

New age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...

Smooth jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...

as KOAI "106.1 The Oasis". Gannett Broadcasting acquired KOAI in 1989. In October 1992, Gannett reached a deal with Granum Communications to move the Smooth Jazz format to 107.5 (now

KMVK KMVK (107.5 FM, "La Grande 107.5"), is a commercial radio station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas and serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The station is owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. KMVK broadcasts in Spanish and airs a radio format ...

), where they remained until the fall of 2006.

The revived "Kiss FM"

On November 1, 1992, at 1:11 a.m., the CHR/Top 40 format and "Kiss FM" branding were revived as ''106.1 Kiss FM'' with the current KHKS calls. The first song on the revived "Kiss FM" was

Wilson Phillips Wilson Phillips is an American pop group formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The group consists of Carnie Wilson and Wendy Wilson, the daughters of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, and Chynna Phillips, the daughter of John and Michelle Phillips of th ...

' version of "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...

." Gannett would sell the station to Chancellor Broadcasting in April 1997; after a subsequent series of mergers and buyouts, KHKS came under the ownership of San Antonio-based Clear Channel Communications (now

,) in 2000. Since its launch, KHKS has been the flagship station of

The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show ''The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show'' (formerly ''Kidd Kraddick in the Morning'') is an American ensemble morning radio show that originates from Dallas, Texas. The show is heard weekday mornings on flagship station, KHKS, and on dozens of other r ...

, which began nationwide

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

in 2001. From September 7-10, 2010, the station was slightly rebranded to "06.1 Kiss FM" (leaving out the first "1") as part of its $5,000 contest. That same year, KHKS ran a new initiative where they broadcast commercial free every Monday. However, during that time, they've been known to stretch a song out a little by repeating the chorus of a song twice. From

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, KHKS was the only top 40 station in

, although it had always been leaning rhythmic since then. From 2009 to

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, it was competing head-on with

Cumulus Cumulus clouds are clouds which have flat bases and are often described as "puffy", "cotton-like" or "fluffy" in appearance. Their name derives from the Latin ''cumulo-'', meaning ''heap'' or ''pile''. Cumulus clouds are low-level clouds, gener ...

-owned

KLIF-FM KLIF-FM (93.3 MHz, "''Hot 93.3''") is a commercial radio station licensed to Haltom City, Texas, and serving the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The station is owned by Cumulus Media, and the broadcast license is held by Radio License Holding SRC LL ...

, which leaned more

adult CHR The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

. In November 2014, KLIF-FM flipped to a

classic hip-hop Classic hip hop is a music radio format focusing primarily on hip hop music from the 1980s, 1990s, and the early to mid-2000s. Although stations with such a format date back as far as 2004, the format was first popularized in October 2014, after ...

format for the holiday season before flipping to

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...

full-time, leaving KHKS as the sole Top 40/CHR station in the Metroplex once again. KHKS, however, regained KLIF-FM as its competitor, as ''Hot 93.3'' has returned to their previous Top 40/CHR format. It also competed with

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...

-owned

KVIL KVIL (103.7 FM, ''Alt 103.7'') is a commercial radio station dual-licensed to Highland Park and Dallas, Texas. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and it serves the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in North Texas. The station's studios are located along N ...

from October 2016 to November 2017.

KHKS-HD2

106.1-HD2 (

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...

needed) first launched in 2004 as "Kiss-FM En Espanol", targeting a Hispanic audience with Hispanic Rhythmic format. Then it was jettisoned in favor of

Pride Radio Pride Radio (stylized as PRIDE Radio) is an LGBTQ+ lifestyle and top 40 radio network launched by Clear Channel Communications Format Lab under the direction of Michael Albl, who conceived the format, on terrestrial HD2 & HD3 stations and onlin ...

in late 2006 with a format intended for the

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

community. "Pride Radio" was then moved to its sister station

KDMX KDMX () is a radio station serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Texas. It is currently owned and operated by iHeartMedia, and airs a hot adult contemporary format. The station's studios are located along Dallas Parkway in Farmers Branch ...

on 102.9-HD2 in favor of "Wild Radio" in early 2008, running "Party Mix" (

Rhythmic CHR Rhythmic may refer to: * Related to rhythm * Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic gymnastics, a form of gymnastics * Rhythmic (chart) The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and ...

) music similar to the "Kiss FM" playlist. However, since March 28, 2011, it has been replaced by Pride Radio, marking the format's return to that particular frequency.

Programming

(flagship station) *Raven *Billy the Kidd (also known by the name "DF Dub," under which he released a single in 2002 called "Country Girl" that achieved moderate success) *Colt *Priscilla

References

External links

Official website

DFW Radio Archives

*
FCC History Cards for KHKS
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