| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Los Angeles County;Greater Los Angeles,Southern California |
| Frequency | 1260kHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Go Country Gold AM 1260 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classic country |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Mount Wilson FM Broadcasters |
| KKGO-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | October 19, 1947; 77 years ago (1947-10-19) (as KGIL) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | "Go Country" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 43937 |
| Class | B |
| Power |
|
Transmitter coordinates | 34°14′57″N118°27′14″W / 34.24917°N 118.45389°W /34.24917; -118.45389 |
| Repeater(s) | 105.1 KKGO-HD4 (Los Angeles) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | gocountrygold |
KKGO (1260kHz) is a commercialAMradio station licensed toBeverly Hills, California. Owned byMount Wilson FM Broadcasters, the station servesGreater Los Angeles and much of surroundingSouthern California. The KKGO studios are located inLos Angeles'Westwood neighborhood, while the station transmitter resides in the nearbyMission Hills neighborhood. Besides a standardanalog transmission, KKGO broadcasts over through theHD Radioin-band on-channel standard for AM stations.[2]
KGIL began broadcasting October 19, 1947, on 1260 kHz with 1,000watts of power full-time. The station was licensed to San Fernando Valley Broadcasting Company, with studios and executive offices at 4919 Van Nuys Boulevard, Sherman Oaks, California.[3]
At that time, it aired abig band music format. KGIL aired other formats includingtalk until 1993.[4]
From 1993 to 1995, it had the call letters KJQI, playingadult standards music. In 1995, it became K-NEWS, simulcasting with XETIN inTijuana (then with call letters XETIN) and now-defunctKNNZ inCosta Mesa, California. K-NEWS was anall-news radio service with content from theAssociated Press or local announcers Peter Arbogast, Jim Roope, and H.K. Malay. K-NEWS was also the home of theLos Angeles Clippers and had an unprecedented 8 traffic reports an hour, causing competitorsKNX andKFWB to add more traffic reports to their schedules. On January 3, 1997, the station reverted to the KGIL call letters and aired an all-Beatles format until August 31.[5] On September 1, 1997, the station switched to a format of Broadway show tunes.[6] In July 1998, the station switched toMusic of Your Life.[7] In 2000, KGIL adopted a mainstreamjazz format and changed call letters to KJAZ. Then, in 2002, it took on the call letters KSUR and began broadcasting anadult standards format, changing its call letters to KKGO in 2005. From August 2004 to June 2005 the station had a 1950s-60soldies format.[6]
On December 1, 2006, KKGO changed to acountry music format, filling the void left behind when KZLA becamerhythmic adult contemporary asKMVN earlier in 2006. On February 26, 2007, KKGO swappedcall signs and formats with FM sister station KMZT, moving thecountry music format to105.1 FM, and the classical format known as "K-Mozart" to 1260 AM and to a new HD channel at 105.1 HD2. On October 29, 2007, KMZT changed its calls back to KGIL and flipped formats from classical totalk radio, withMichael Jackson as the headline host. Jackson was laid off from the station about a year later and replaced byJohn Ziegler, who left after a few months. Aside from Jackson and Ziegler, the bulk of KGIL's programming was syndicated, mostly of second-tier programs left over from whatKFI,KRLA andKABC did not want.
On November 27, 2007, KGIL started simulcasting onXESURF (540 AM) (the former XETIN), which flipped fromclassic country music.[8]
Owner Saul Levine decided to return KGIL to a music format after the debut of a similartalk radio format onKFWB, which took place in September 2009. On August 27, 2009, the station switched to a mix ofoldies andadult standards as "Retro 1260." Mornings had John Regan, middays had Gary Hollis, afternoons had Kimber Murphy, followed by Chuck Southcott, who had worked at KGIL from 1962 to 1975. "Retro 1260" emphasized vocals and playedElvis Presley,Sam Cooke,The Beatles, andThe Beach Boys, as well asFrank Sinatra,Ella Fitzgerald,Steve Tyrell, andMichael Feinstein. On March 28, 2011, theLos Angeles Times reported that the station would begin airing classical music on April 4.[9] The final song on "Retro 1260" was "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" by Keely Smith at 11:58 p.m. on April 3,2011.[10] "Retro 1260" would soon be relaunched as an internet stream atRetro105.com and on airing on KKGO's HD3 subchannel.
In addition to music, KGIL was the Los Angeles-area affiliate forCalifornia Golden Bears football and had aired games of theLos Angeles Clippers andLos Angeles Kings in the past to resolve time conflicts with other stations.
KMZT aired aclassical musicradio format that was also heard onsister stationKMZT-FM (95.9MHz) inBig Sur, California.[11]
On August 19, 2016, KMZT switched to anadult standards format and rebranded as "Unforgettable 1260," duplicating the format and branding of sister stationKNRY (1240 AM) inMonterey.[12] On September 7, 2016, KMZT changed call letters to KBOQ. Those call letters previously belonged to aclassic hits station owned by Saul Levine inMonterey. That station is nowKDFG, and is owned byUSC.
On March 17, 2017, the station flipped tooldies as "LA Oldies K-SURF."[13] On March 20, 2017, KBOQ changed their call letters to KSUR.
In July 2020, the "K-Mozart" classical music format returned on KKGO-HD4.[14]
On November 21, 2020, KSUR and KKGO-HD2 switched to full-time Christmas music. Subsequently, station management announced that it would return to a classical music format on December 1, with the oldies format remaining on KKGO-HD2.[15] The station also changed back to its former KMZT call sign on December 1.
On September 6, 2024, KMZT dropped its "K-Mozart" classical format (which continues on KKGO-HD2 and HD3, as well as K252FO 98.3 Los Angeles) and began stunting with all-Taylor Swift music.[16] On September 27, the station switched to a loop of "Gone Country" byAlan Jackson, before relaunching asclassic countryGo Country Gold on October 2 as a companion to its FM sister station.[17]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) HD Radio Guide for Los Angeles