KGO-FM

KGO-FM Stereo 104 (actually at 103.7 MHz. on the FM dial) could trace its origins back to late 1946, when its owner, the American Broadcasting Company, received a Conditional Grant for the station to operate at 96.9 FM from San Francisco. In the Summer of 1947, ABC was issued a construction permit for KGO-FM that moved the station to 106.1 on the dial; the station debuted on November 3, 1947, on this frequency from a temporary transmitter facility at KGO’s longtime plant at 5433 East 12th Street in Oakland, duplicating the programming of sister station KGO (810 AM) for six hours each day.

The Sounds Of San Francisco, From The KGO Music Tower, Circa 1962.
Narrated by Leslie G. Stein, also known as Les Crane (noted for his broadcasts from the legendary hungry i nightclub), this collection of music and spoken interludes was presented on an LP album with these liner notes:

"In January of 1962, KGO created a fantasy — a KGO 'Music Tower' ... 81 stories high in the sky, looking over the bays and bridges of San Francisco. This windswept spire, built on sounds and suggestions, has captured the imagination of listeners everywhere. KGO personalities broadcast from the very top of this tower ... and with the beautiful Bay Area below them, fill the moments between music with vivid descriptions of the many breath-taking views." [ LISTEN ]

KGO-FM moved from 106.1 to 103.7 FM on January 14, 1955, and mostly mirrored KGO-AM for the next dozens years before dropping the simulcast in 1967. The resulting format change found KGO-FM running an automated music mix, sans live announcers, that ran the gamut from The Beatles and Strawberry Alarm Clock to Cher, Ed Ames and Bobby Vinton, with a smattering of Soul and Oldies thrown in.

In 1968, KGO-FM returned to simulcasting its AM counterpart’s News/Talk programming for four hours each day. On February 24, 1969, KGO-FM became a key outlet for ABC Radio’s syndicated progressive rock “Love” format.

On January 1, 1971, KGO-FM became KSFX, and expanded its local progressive rock programming. In 1982, the station brought back the KGO-FM call letters and returned to a limited simulcast of KGO News/Talk 81, with its own roster of talk show hosts during parts of its daily schedule.

On January 3, 1984, ABC sold KGO-FM for $5.5-million to the owners of San Jose’s KLOK (1170 AM), at which time it adopted an Adult Contemporary music format as KLOK-FM.

First, a warning: the broadcast recording that you are about to hear may not be the most exciting aircheck in history. You will not hear exciting formatics or a disc jockey at the top of his game. You will not come away dazzled by the great production values or clever music mix.

What you will hear, however, is a snapshot of a San Francisco FM station owned by a major corporate broadcaster in the Autumn of 1967, only months past the momentous “Summer of Love” that brought hippies, Haight-Ashbury and underground rock to the forefront of America’s consciousness.

KGO-FM STEREO 104 AUTOMATED PROGRAMMING (110 minutes)

October 16, 1967. Part 1: [ LISTEN ] Part 2: [ LISTEN ]