KLOS (95.5 FM, "95-5 KLOS") is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Los Angeles, California, and serves the Greater Los Angeles area. The station is owned by Meruelo Media. KLOS airs a mainstream rock radio format and has broadcast rock music in some form since 1969. The studios are on West Olive Avenue in Burbank.
The transmitter is atop Mount Wilson. The station is rebroadcast on FM translator K255BZ in China Lake, California. KLOS broadcasts using HD Radio technology. The KLOS morning drive time show, Heidi & Frank, is featured on the nationally syndicated television program Dish Nation and is rebroadcast around the clock on KLOS-HD2. The HD3 digital subchannel carries SoCal Armenian which plays Armenian music.
History
Early years
The station first signed on the air on . The original call sign was KECA-FM, simulcasting the programming of AM sister station KECA. The two stations were owned by ABC Radio. In 1954, the call letters of the AM and FM stations were changed to KABC and KABC-FM, to reflect their corporate ownership. In 1960, KABC-AM-FM adopted an all-talk format.
On January 1, 1968, due to new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules requiring FM stations to have separate programming from their AM counterparts, KABC-FM tried something new. It became the first station in Los Angeles with an all-news format. This experiment did not last long. KABC-FM dropped all-news programming on March 11, 1968, the same day that KFWB 980 AM switched to the format.
Rock formats
In early 1969, KABC-FM adopted a progressive rock format known as "Love". Under the direction of Allen Shaw, head of ABC FM Special Projects, the automated programming aired on ABC's other owned-and-operated stations—KGO-FM in San Francisco, KQV-FM in Pittsburgh, WABC-FM in New York City, WLS-FM in Chicago, and WXYZ-FM in Detroit. The syndicated format was voice-tracked by Brother John Rydgren.
Not long after its debut, Love was dropped in favor of live, locally programmed freeform rock music at KLOS and its FM sister stations. In 1971, the station adopted the KLOS call letters. The switch was made to avoid confusion with its AM talk station. In late 1971, the freeform progressive rock sound ended, as Shaw and KLOS program director Tom Yates launched the first album-oriented rock (AOR) station in the United States. Under AOR, KLOS played only the top tracks from the best-selling rock albums and used the slogan "Rock 'N Stereo". The initial slate of disc jockeys on KLOS includes Jeff Gonzer, J. J. Jackson, Jim Ladd, and Damion. By 1972, KLOS had become the top-rated FM rock station in Los Angeles. The station promoted an outdoor rock concert called "California Jam", held April 6, 1974 at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California.
KLOS has sponsored a blood drive in conjunction with the American Red Cross annually since 1982. Blood donation centers are set up throughout the station's listening area for several days, usually in the summer months when donation levels are typically low. In 2014, the blood drive collected approximately 7,900 units of whole blood, which can be separated into red blood cells and plasma. As a token of gratitude, the station has given donors rewards such as T-shirts and vouchers toward concert tickets.
In the spring of 1987, KLOS general manager Bill Sommers hired longtime rock radio programmer Charlie West to be the station's new program director. West hired Stephanie Mondello as music director for the station. By fall, West brought the Mark & Brian Show (Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps) to KLOS for morning drive. The station's Arbitron ratings grew steadily under West's direction; by 1988, KLOS emerged as the leader among Los Angeles album rock stations, finishing fifth overall in the market with a 4.3 share, up from a 3.6 the previous ratings period. When West left KLOS in early 1989, Mondello assumed programming duties, directing all key decisions and overall revenue and ratings strategies. The station maintained its fifth-place ranking overall in the market and reached the number-one position in its target young male demographics, defeating main rivals KLSX, KROQ-FM, and the upstart KQLZ (Pirate Radio). Mondello left KLOS in late 1990.