KLTH (106.7

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 ...

"The Eagle") is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

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 ...

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

Lake Oswego, Oregon Lake Oswego () is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon, primarily in Clackamas County, with small portions extending into neighboring Multnomah and Washington counties. Located about south of Portland and surrounding the Oswego Lake, the town was ...

, and serving the

Portland metropolitan area The Portland metropolitan area is a metro area in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington centered on the principal city of Portland, Oregon. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) identifies it as the Portland–Vancouver–Hillsboro, ...

. It is owned by

iHeartMedia, Inc. 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 ...

, and airs 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 ...

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 broadcasting, ...

. Specialty programs on KLTH include

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably '' American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice Nor ...

's " American Top 40: The 70s" on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Sundays also feature

Yacht Rock Yacht rock (originally known as the West Coast soundThat ' ...

". KLTH's studios and offices are located on SW 68th Parkway in

Tigard, Oregon Tigard ( ) is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States. The population was 48,035 at the 2010 census. As of 2007, Tigard was the state's 12th largest city. Incorporated in 1961, the city is located south of Beaverton and north of Tua ...

. The

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 ...

is located on SW Barnes Road in the

Tualatin Mountains The Tualatin Mountains (also known as the West Hills or Southwest Hills of Portland) are a range on the western border of Multnomah County, Oregon, United States. A spur of the Northern Oregon Coast Range, they separate the Tualatin Basin of Washi ...

. KLTH covers much of Northwestern

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and Southwestern

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

History

KQIV

The station

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...

for the first time at 10:15 P.M. PDT on September 15, 1972 as KQIV. It was a short-lived but popular

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

station. KQIV was owned and operated by Willamette Broadcasting Company, Inc., with Walter J. M. Kraus serving as president. The station also called itself "KQ4" and "FM 107". The original KQIV offices and studios were located at the Lake Oswego

Elks The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. History The Elks began in 1868 as a soci ...

Lodge (#2263). Members of this historically conservative organization frequently crossed paths with the station's

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

s and creative staff. The KQIV transmitter was located between

Oregon City ) , image_skyline = McLoughlin House.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = The McLoughlin House, est. 1845 , image_flag = , image_seal = Oregon City seal.png , image_map ...

and Carver. An American Electronic Laboratories (AEL) FM-25KD transmitter fed 24,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s into a Jampro JSCP eight element antenna yielding an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would hav ...

(ERP) of 100,000 watts. The antenna was mounted on a 200-foot tower based at an elevation of 800 feet in

height above average terrain Height above average terrain (HAAT), or (less popularly) effective height above average terrain (EHAAT), is the vertical position of an antenna site is above the surrounding landscape. HAAT is used extensively in FM radio and television, as it is ...

(HAAT). Both the "Q" and "IV" in the station's call sign alluded to four-channel

quadraphonic sound Quadraphonic (or quadrophonic and sometimes quadrasonic) sound – equivalent to what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four audio channels in which speakers are positioned at the four corners of a listening space. The system allows for th ...

. KQIV was reported in the local press to be the second quadraphonic radio station in the world. and the first to be designed and built to be quadraphonic, But those reports were based on erroneous information. KQIV established its quadraphonic identity and "Rockin' in Quad" branding in anticipation of being selected as the exclusive FM station in the Portland radio market to field test the Dorren Quadraplex System, invented by audio engineer

Louis Dorren Louis Dorren (1948 – October 26, 2014), commonly referred to as Lou Dorren, was an American sound engineer, music producer and inventor. He was also the owner of Bay Sound Records. In 1969 Dorren invented the Quadraplex system of single statio ...

. About a month before KQIV went on the air, the FCC suspended further testing of Quadraplex due to a concern that the system used a subcarrier component not permitted under its regulations. KQIV continued to identify itself as a quadraphonic station in the hope that Quadraplex testing eventually would be permitted. Meanwhile, the station broadcast music from

phonograph records A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove ...

encoded in various quadraphonic matrix formats. In 1974, operation of KQIV was turned over to Brotherhood Broadcasting Company, with Roy Jay as president. Brotherhood changed the station's music format 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 ...

, branded as "Soul 107". In 1975, the KQIV offices and studios were moved to Milwaukie. But the station's ratings failed to improve. Ongoing financial difficulties led to the court-ordered

liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistrib ...

of KQIV, which went off the air on June 18, 1976.

KMJK

KQIV remained silent for nearly 14 months. On August 1, 1977, Communico Northwest Corp. began operating the station, using the same license as KQIV. The

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 assigne ...

switched to KMJK, using the moniker "Magic 107" and playing

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

. The offices and studios moved to "Magic Manor" in Lake Oswego and the transmitter was relocated to Portland. On June 29, 1979, KMJK changed its format to

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 ...

, but still called "Magic 107." The contemporary hit format failed to catch on, and in July 1981, KMJK changed back to

Soft Adult Contemporary 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 sto ...

music, still using the "Magic 107" moniker. In August 1982, KMJK switched back to Top 40, while retaining the "Magic 107" name. On April 13, 1987, at 6 a.m., after a 12-hour

stunt A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat or an act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually on television, theaters, or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Before computer generated imagery spec ...

, KMJK changed its format to

, now calling itself "Classic Hits 106.7." On September 1, 1989, KMJK shifted its format to

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, primar ...

, calling itself "Classic Rock 106.7." On February 19, 1990, KMJK changed to

hot adult contemporary 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 ...

as "106.7 Magic FM."

KMXI, KKBK and KKJZ

On January 25, 1991, the station rebranded and changed call letters to "Mix 106" KMXI, while continuing its Hot AC format. On December 30, 1991, KMXI changed its format 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 ...

as "Oldies 106.7." In 1993, KMXI was bought by BayCom Partners for $2.6 million. On July 7, 1993, 106.7 flipped to

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

as "K-Bach" KKBK. While the format was popular with mostly older listeners, the station struggled to attract advertisers. In less than a year, management decided to try a different unique format that was catching on in many cities,

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 ...

. On March 17, 1994, the station became KKJZ, and rebranded as "Smooth Jazz 106.7."

KLTH

In 1998, KKJZ was acquired by

Infinity Broadcasting Infinity Broadcasting Corporation was a radio company that existed from 1972 until 2005. It was founded by Michael A. Wiener and Gerald Carrus. It became associated with popular radio personalities like Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, Don Imus an ...

, which later was merged into

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 ...

. On February 1, 2002, CBS changed the station's call sign to KLTH, and flipped back to

Soft AC 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 sto ...

as "Lite Rock 106.7, K-Lite." On January 9, 2006, KLTH changed its format to 1960s and 1970s oldies as "106.7 K-Hits." Over time, KLTH expanded its scope to cover the 1980s as well. Its competition was Adult hits

KYCH KYCH-FM (97.1 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Portland, Oregon. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs an adult hits radio format branded as "97.1 Charlie FM." KYCH-FM plays a fairly wide mix of music, mostly from the rock and pop genres, ...

, which was previously KKSN, Portland's outlet for the oldies format prior to KLTH's debut. The debut of “K-Hits” was quite successful, capitalizing on the oldies/classic hits vacuum left by KKSN. Programmed by Dennis Constantine and Creative Imaging by John Hugill, K-Hits was a top 3 contender until KQOL changed to classic hits and competed directly. On April 1, 2009, CBS Radio sold KLTH to

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 ...

along with

KXJM KXJM (107.5 FM, "Jam'n 107.5") is a commercial radio station licensed to Banks, Oregon and serving the Portland metropolitan area. KXJM's studios and offices are in Tigard and the transmitter is located in Portland's West Hills. The station ...

. The sale made KLTH and KQOL sister stations. Both co-existed until May 6, 2009, when KQOL flipped to

KFBW KFBW (105.9 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Vancouver, Washington, and broadcasting to the Portland metropolitan area. Owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., the station airs a mainstream rock radio format with emphasis on the late 1970 ...

. Previous KQOL were redirected to KLTH, which aired the message "Welcome 105.9 listeners." Weekend specialty programs on KLTH included "Saturday Night Fever", a weekly classic

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 ...

show. Shortly after the move, on August 17, 2009, the name was changed to "Oldies 106.7" with a logo identical to

's WODS in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. This was later replaced by a more modern logo. In the May 2011

Arbitron Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...

PPMs, KLTH became the number one station in the Portland area radio rankings, overtaking the market's usual top station, co-owned

KKCW KKCW (103.3 MHz, "K103") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Beaverton, Oregon and serving the Portland metropolitan area. It is owned by iHeartMedia and airs an adult contemporary radio format. From mid-November to the 31st of Decem ...

, which plays

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 ...

. On August 1, 2014, at 5 p.m., KLTH shifted its format to classic hits and rebranded as "106.7 The Eagle". Most listeners did not notice much of a change, since KLTH had already been cutting back 1960s titles and focusing mostly on the 70s and 80s hits.

KLTH-HD2

In 2010, KLTH began broadcasting in the

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 ...

format. On June 4, 2010, KLTH-HD2 signed on a 1950s-1960s

format branded as "Real Oldies". On April 17, 2015 KLTH-HD2 switched to iHeartMedia's "My 60s" format, featuring the hits of the 1960s (now known as "iHeart '60s").

KLTH-HD3

In December 2018 KLTH began airing "The Breeze" soft adult contemporary format on its HD3 subchannel. It has since removed.

References

External links

KQ4 Rockin' in Quad
Former KQIV engineer and others document the history of KQIV
106.7 The Eagle website
{{IHeartMedia LTH Classic hits radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1972 Lake Oswego, Oregon 1972 establishments in Oregon 1977 disestablishments in Oregon IHeartMedia radio stations Quadraphonic sound