KKXX-FM
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KKXX-FM (93.1 FM, "Hits 93.1") 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 ...
broadcasting a Top 40 (CHR) musical format. KKXX-FM is licensed to
Shafter, California Shafter is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is located west-northwest of Bakersfield. The population was 16,988 at the 2010 census, up from 12,736 at the 2000 census. The city is located along State Route 43. Suburbs of Sh ...
, and serves the
Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...
area. The station is owned by American General Media. The station's studios are located at Easton Business Complex in southwest Bakersfield, and its transmitter is located just north of Oildale. From the late 1970s through the early 2000s, under several owners, KKXX was one of the most popular radio stations in
Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...
and
Kern County Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...
for youth oriented music.


History

KKXX-FM went on the air in 1977 at 107.9 FM and was owned by
Buck Owens Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for the Buckaroos, Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 ...
Productions. Its transmitter is located on top of Mount Adelaide, northeast of Bakersfield. At the time Owens owned both KKXX and
KUZZ KUZZ (550 kHz) and KUZZ-FM (107.9 MHz) are American radio stations licensed to serve Bakersfield, California, United States. The stations are owned by Buck Owens Production Company (which is controlled by the estate of country star Buck Owens) ...
located at 550 on the AM dial. Under Owens, KKXX was programmed as an adult contemporary/Top 40 station well into the 1980s. During that time it sat at the top of the ratings in Bakersfield. In 1988, Owens dumped the KKXX call letters and format and moved his country station
KUZZ KUZZ (550 kHz) and KUZZ-FM (107.9 MHz) are American radio stations licensed to serve Bakersfield, California, United States. The stations are owned by Buck Owens Production Company (which is controlled by the estate of country star Buck Owens) ...
to 107.9.
KUZZ KUZZ (550 kHz) and KUZZ-FM (107.9 MHz) are American radio stations licensed to serve Bakersfield, California, United States. The stations are owned by Buck Owens Production Company (which is controlled by the estate of country star Buck Owens) ...
was now on both AM and FM. He did this because its AM was losing listeners to the new American Country KAMM at 105.3. In May 1988 KAMM picked up the old KKXX calls and dumped country and brought back the KKXX Top 40 sound Kern County. Before KAMM there was KZAY at 105.3 in the early 1980s.


Frequency changes

A few years earlier, in 1982,
KQXR KQXR is a commercial radio station licensed in Payette, Idaho, broadcasting to the Boise, Idaho metro area on 100.3 FM. The station is owned by Lotus Communications with studios located at 5257 Fairview Avenue #260, Boise, Idaho 83706. "The X" ...
("Q94 FM"), which was located at 94.1 FM, went on the air. It offered the same Hot/AC format that KKXX had under Buck Owens' ownership. In the summer of 1988, Mondosphere re-tooled the station, calling it ''Power 105''. It began to reflect its growing
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
listenership by rotating more
dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
, R&B, and freestyle songs into its playlist, making it one of the earliest examples of the
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, a ...
format. While KKXX still played the
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 ...
hits each week, the playlist tended to shy away from artists like
Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...
and
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
, and included acts like
Salt-N-Pepa Salt-N-Pepa (also stylized as Salt 'N' Pepa or Salt 'N Pepa) is an American hip-hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). Their debut album, ''Hot, C ...
, Stevie B. and
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam were an urban contemporary band and one of the first freestyle music groups to emerge from New York City in the 1980s. Cult Jam consisted of vocalist Lisa Lisa (born Lisa Valez), guitarist/ bassist Alex "Spanador" Moseley, ...
. KKXX was also a long-time affiliate of the "
Rick Dees Rigdon Osmond Dees III (born March 14, 1950), best known as Rick Dees, is an American entertainer, radio personality, comedian, actor, and voice artist, best known for his internationally syndicated radio show '' The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Coun ...
Weekly Top 40 ''Rick Dees Weekly Top 40'' (sometimes known as ''The Weekly Top 40'') is an internationally syndicated radio program created and hosted by American radio personality Rick Dees. It is currently heard on over 200 radio stations worldwide. It is di ...
". The nationally syndicated countdown show ran on Power 105, and then later on X 96.5 from 1988 until 2001. KKXX also carried "
Casey's Top 40 ''Casey's Top 40'' was a syndicated radio music program that was distributed by the Westwood One radio network. The show was a vehicle for former '' American Top 40'' host and co-creator Casey Kasem and ran for over nine years. Like Kasem's prior ...
", hosted by veteran personality
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 ...
from 1989 until 1998.


Peak

With its re-tooled format, KKXX remained Bakersfield's most popular non-country radio station well into the 1990s. But by 1996, music had changed.
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 ...
was a radio format in decline, and the scene was ripe for a shakeup on the radio dial. During KKXX's greatest period of success, now defunct rival
KQXR KQXR is a commercial radio station licensed in Payette, Idaho, broadcasting to the Boise, Idaho metro area on 100.3 FM. The station is owned by Lotus Communications with studios located at 5257 Fairview Avenue #260, Boise, Idaho 83706. "The X" ...
, and its parent company American General Media, had been undergoing many changes. "Q94 FM" had been renamed KERN-FM, and had switched to a moderately successful Oldies format. Then in 1997, AGM launched "Kiss 94.1". Its Hip Hop & R&B format came in stark contrast to the mainstream pop music that KKXX had been playing at the time. 94.1, under the new call letters
KISV KISV (94.1 FM broadcasting, FM, "HOT 94.1") is a Rhythmic Top 40 music formatted radio station based in Bakersfield, California. The American General Media outlet broadcasts with an ERP of 4.5 kW. Its studios are located at the Easton Busine ...
, began moving up in the ratings quite rapidly. In response, Mondosphere Broadcasting once again changed the frequency of "Bakersfield's Hit Music Station". After 9 years at 105.3, KKXX moved to 96.5 FM as the new "X96.5". The
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 ...
format located at KSMJ 96.5 was moved to 98.5. The
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 ...
at 98.5 were moved to 105.3. They dumped
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 ...
in 2000 and made 98.5 KDFO
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 ...
. 105.3 was replaced with KKDJ, or "Star 105.3", which began as an
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 ...
format and later morphed into
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, quie ...
. Fans of the old station thought it simply disappeared, which served to boost the ratings of "Kiss 94.1".


Decline and rebirth

In 2000,
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 ...
bought the station from Mondosphere, and relabeled it "96.5 KISS-FM". Almost immediately Clear Channel sent American General Media a cease & desist order, insisting that it stop using "Kiss" as a moniker for
KISV KISV (94.1 FM broadcasting, FM, "HOT 94.1") is a Rhythmic Top 40 music formatted radio station based in Bakersfield, California. The American General Media outlet broadcasts with an ERP of 4.5 kW. Its studios are located at the Easton Busine ...
. AGM fought back and ultimately lost, renaming its station the "New Hot 94.1, the Rhythm Of the Valley". With victory in hand, Clear Channel began re-tooling KKXX once more, to mirror the Top 40 format of
KIIS-FM KIIS-FM (102.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, United States, and broadcasts to the Greater Los Angeles area. The station airs a top 40 format. Owned by iHeartMedia, KIIS-FM is the origin of the conglomer ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. Despite the publicity from the "Kiss" dispute and a dial and format change, it wasn't enough to pique the public's interest in KKXX. In 2004, the calls were changed to KBKO-FM, and the format switched to country (96.5 FM has since changed formats again, and is now known as
KPSL-FM KPSL-FM (96.5 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Regional Mexican format. Licensed to Bakersfield, California, United States, the station serves the Bakersfield area. The station is currently owned by Lotus Communications. History ;KIF ...
). American General Media now holds the KKXX call letters, which sit at 93.1 FM, which for four years hosted the "Pirate Radio" format, which is similar to the "Jack-FM" format in other markets. On July 20, 2009, at midnight, the station abruptly dropped the Pirate Radio format and began stunting, playing nonstop construction sounds. On July 20, 2009, at 4pm, the station revealed its new format as a Top 40 (CHR) format and the station rebranded as ''Hot Hits 93.1'' "Bakersfield's Hot Hit Station."


Airstaff

The current weekday line-up on this station includes the syndicated morning show JohnJay and Rich on mornings, and Snacks, who is on mid-days.


References


External links


KKXX-FM station website
{{Contemporary Hit Radio Stations in California Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1977 KXX-FM