KIMN

In Denver, the generation that grew up in the 1950s and 1960s had its worldview formed by KIMN, located at 950 on the AM radio dial. Under the ownership of, the station became the dominant Top 40 music station in town. Newspapers reported that anywhere a crowd gathered waiting for the Beatles to play Red Rocks on August 26, 1964, all the transistor radios could be heard tuned to KIMN.

Pogo Poge

During this era of more innocent shock radio, KIMN’s popular record spinners were kings. Leading the pack was Pogo Poge, who would do almost anything to get people to listen to KIMN radio.

He derived his name from hopping from Denver to Boulder on a pogo stick. He sat atop a flagpole for days and once played the Kingston Trio’s “Tom Dooley” for 18 hours straight.

October 9, 1964

Paul Anderson, John Nelson, Pogo Poge

The most famous stunt he masterminded put him in the hospital—he spent nearly two weeks in a snake pit with more than 100 snakes and was bitten by a water moccasin.

Jay Mack was notorious for his cast of crazy characters, including Betty Jo with Niles and Farley. Hal “Baby” Moore was voted Denver’s top disc jockey in the Harmony Record Shop poll.

Boogie Bell on February 26, 1962. [ Part 1 ] (29:27) and [ 2 ] (29:35)

The station highlighted the popular local rock ‘n’ roll bands and sponsored concerts with national stars mixed with local acts, giving them their biggest crowds ever. The news department featured “Sky Spy” Don Martin, who flew above Denver’s rush-hour skies when Interstate 25 extended only from Broadway to the notorious Mousetrap, which he named. Contests included jocks broadcasting live—in bed—from a dream house in Denver’s new Broomfield Heights suburb. The house went to the listener who guessed most closely the number of continuous hours the jocks could broadcast without sleep.

KIMN first hit the map with Owner Cecil Heftel, who owned the station from 1957-1960. Cecil was responsible for the big contests paying out mountains of money, paying well for talent, and starting the "Action News" department.

The 50s and 60s

In 1959 KIMN Boss Jock lineup included “Rolls Royce” Johnson, Grahame “Crackers” White, Glen “Bells-A-Poppin” Bell (Boogie Bell), Al “Franzenstein” Lohman, Morgan “Pogo Pogue” White (sometimes “Poge”) and Roy “The Bell Boy” Gunderson.

Ken Palmer, owner of KYSN in Colorado Springs since 1958, bought KIMN in 1960, with partners John Hunter and Bobby Donner, and continued the stations dominance throughout the sixties. About 1963, part ownership was granted to Tom Duggan, the National Sales Manager, Tom Jones, local Sales Manager as well as News Director Don Martin. The ownership group was known as KIMN Broadcasting.

August 12, 1964

The talent was legendary as well as sometimes flamboyant. Pogo Poge jumping a pogo stick to Boulder, broadcasting from a snake pit (he got bitten), or from atop a flagpole. Roy "The Bellboy" Gunderson jumping on a trampoline while on the air. Steve Kelley sitting in every seat at Mile High Stadium or visiting every phone booth in the city. Jay Mack with his bizarre little characters: Betty Jo Bioloski, Niles Lischness and Farley McCloot.

Palmer knew that to compete for advertising dollars, he would have to build a station that appealed to more than teens. The KIMN News department was a dominant force in local radio... a position it held for most of it's run.

Larry Taylor, Ed Green July, 1977

With 5,000 daytime watts and 1,000 at night, KIMN could be heard in New Mexico, Nebraska and South Dakota. At one time, the station claimed more listeners in Cheyenne, Wyoming than any local station.

It is a Denver radio legend that, in the mid 60's, KIMN overwhelmed the competition with a 56 share of the audience.

Palmer sold the station in 1970 along with another station it owned in Portland. KIMN was purchased by Pacific and Southern Broadcasting of Atlanta for over $6 million, outbidding Rio Grande Industries, Inc of Denver.

The 1970s

Soon after, a major housecleaning took place. Gone were such names as Don Martin, Danny Davis, Jay Mack and Ross Reagan. Pacific and Southern had rather frivolous news policies which tended to emphasize the trivial and slight major developments. Pacific and Southern sold KIMN to Jefferson-Pilot Broadcasting, a holding company based in Greensboro, NC. KIMN was its first acquisition outside of North Carolina and Virginia.

Shortly before the sale, General Sales Manager John J. McGuinness was named General Manager. Among his first actions was to bring in News Director Jackson Kane from San Francisco to re-establish and "add a serious dimension to KIMN's news". In Kanes' words, "let's just say we're a news organization and not circus clowns" (Denver Post-June 7, 1973).

The new owner, Jefferson Pilot brought back the KIMN sound and the Denver Tiger regained it's position in Denvers's Top 40 wars. McGuinness resigned in December of 1976 and was replaced by Hal Widsten who held the post into 1978. KIMN's sound evolved into "Adult Contemporary" as the format for the 80's. The Tiger fought off challengers for years untill fragmentation of the rock format plus the migration of listeners to the FM band became too much.

Due to drastic hits in the ratings - Fall '87 Arbitron ratings had KIMN in 15th place with a 2.7 share - translating to loss of revenue, KIMN ceased to exist in April, 1988. GM Wayne Phillips goes down in history as the one who "pulled the plug". 950 on the AM dial became a country station, KYGO-AM at noon on April 26, 1988.

WHO WORKED AT KIMN? Here is the list: Chuck Buell, Glen 'Bellzapoppin' Bell, Mort Crowley, DaBoogieman, Dapper Dan - (Johnny Williams), Neal Dionne, Stu Evans, Dave Fransen'stein', Roy 'the BellBoy' Gunderson, Jim Herron, Al Hogan, Happy Holiday - (Bruce Holland), Bobby Irwin, Royce Johnson, Terry Lahn - (Terry-O on the Radio), Al Lohman Jr., Jay Mack, CC McCartney, Smiling Jack Merker, Mike Metz, Bill Minckler, Johnny Mitchell, Hal Moore, Mike Morgan, Phil Mueller, Gary Owens, Pogo Poge - (Morgan White), John Ravenscroft, Jack Regan, Grahame Crackers Richards, Gary Ross, Harry Scarborough, Norm Seeley, Gary Semro, Bill Stevens - (Dave Shaw), Carl Strandell, 'Tiny' Tim Tindall, Todd Wallace, Bill Western, and Johnny Williams.

Some materials used on this page were originally published by the following: Youtube, Fabulous KIMN 95, MrChasvid, The Colorado Music Hall of Fame, UK Invasion, PopBopRocktilUDrop, Rock Radio Scrapbook.