KLPX (96.1 FM) is a commercial

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 radi ...

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. It is owned by

Lotus Communications Lotus Communications Corporation is a media company that owns numerous radio stations and a few TV stations, and is one of the largest privately owned radio station groups in the United States. Headquarters are located in Los Angeles, and the com ...

and airs a

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prima ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when radio was compelle ...

. Local DJs are heard during the day and the syndicated "

Nights with Alice Cooper ''Nights with Alice Cooper'' is a radio show hosted by Detroit born rock and roll artist and shock rock pioneer Alice Cooper. It is syndicated by United Stations Radio Networks and broadcast on a wide variety of affiliate radio stations in the ...

" show is heard evenings. The station uses the slogan "#1 for Classic Rock". KLPX's studios and offices are on North Commerce Drive. Its

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

is located on Tower Peak in the

Tucson Mountains The Tucson Mountains ( O'odham: Cuk Doʼag) are a minor mountain range west of Tucson, Arizona. The Tucson Mountains, including Wasson Peak, are one of four notable mountain ranges surrounding the Tucson Basin. The Santa Catalina Mountains l ...

near

Saguaro National Park Saguaro National Park is an American national park in Pima County, southeastern Arizona. The park consists of two separate areas—the Tucson Mountain District (TMD) about west of the city of Tucson and the Rincon Mountain District (RMD) about ...

History

KCEE-FM first signed on the air on August 16, 1967. It was owned by Strauss Broadcasting Company, which had acquired the construction permit from Associated Broadcasters of Tucson, Inc., before it went on the air, and was a sister station to KCEE (790 AM, now

KNST KNST (790 AM) is a commercial radio station in Tucson, Arizona, airing a news/talk radio format. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and serves Greater Tucson, including the suburbs of Marana, Oro Valley, Green Valley, Sahuarita, Sierra Vista, a ...

). At first, it

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simulta ...

its AM counterpart, but later programmed a

beautiful music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator mu ...

format. On July 4, 1979, Lotus bought KCEE-FM and changed its

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assign ...

to KTKT-FM, as a companion to

KTKT KTKT (990 AM) – branded ''La Buena 94.3'' – is a commercial Spanish language adult hits radio station licensed to serve Tucson, Arizona. Owned by Lotus Communications, the covers the Tucson metropolitan area and Southern Arizona. The ...

(990 AM). On February 26, 1981, KTKT-FM became KLPX. That was coupled with a change to

album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-orien ...

. KWFM (92.9 FM, now

KHUD KHUD (92.9 FM) is a country radio station in Tucson, Arizona. It is owned by . The radio studios and offices are located north of downtown Tucson along Oracle Road. On weekdays, KHUD carries two nationally syndicated country music shows from c ...

) had been Tucson's only rock outlet but with KLPX's switch, there were now two rock stations in the market. By the late 1980s, KWFM gave up rock for

adult contemporary music Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

; this made KLPX the only rocker in the Tucson radio market for some time. In the early 2000s, KLPX had begun scaling back on newer rock songs, and made the complete transition to classic rock a few years later.''Broadcasting Yearbook'' 2006 p. D-56
/ref>

References

External links

96.1 KLPX
* * {{Lotus Communications LPX Classic rock radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1967 Lotus Communications stations