January 1962 Seattle radio listings
6 thoughts on “January 1962 Seattle radio listings”
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KSEA was recommended to me, where is it on the dial?
Couldn’t find one web site gave that information.
Thank you,
Pam Ferrell
KSEA Seattle is no longer in existence. The KSEA call letters are now used on a Salinas California Música Ranchera FM station.
Sadly, oldies rock from the 50,s and 60,s have disappeared. We had free internet access for Siriusxm for a month and they had too many choices. So I binged listened till they shut it off. I want it, but I cannot see spending that kind of money. There are web sites that provide that. Live from the 60,s with the real don steele is heard Fridays noon till 3 on KZRO, Mt. Shasta as well as a canadian station at 3.p.m. Both times pacific.
John = some good observations. The interest in classical music & jazz over the decades has waned considerably. The last remnants of beautiful music were to be found within the smooth jazz format which also fizzled out about 10 years back. In FM radio’s early day’s in the 50’s & 60’s, classical, jazz & easy-listening format stations appealed to those with giant console stereo sets that emphasized elegant furniture more than the electronic components. Classical, jazz & easy-listening recordings were the first to be released in stereo which became a big selling point for FM radio & the record labels as the 60’s commenced. However within the 1962 listings we can see at least two FM’s that didn’t fit that mold: KOL-FM which, when not simulcasting the AM pop music format was airing tapes of 40′, 50’s swing band & MOR vocals & instrumentals. The original, first version of 92.5 KZAM was Seattle’s first all-black formatted station offering up the top 40 R&B tunes, gospel & jazz which I really liked – a fresh take on a format in the Seattle area. Looking at these listings, it should also be noted that classical music programs also aired on KIRO-AM, KOMO & on KTW
Right, Mike. And there was the weekly Saturday afternoon broadcast of The Metropolitan Opera with the same announcer, Milton Cross, and same sponsor, Texaco, for more than forty years.
Strange to imagine that Texaco sponsored the Metropolitan Opera and Milton Berle’s Texaco Star Theatre at the same time.
Looking at this, I am struck by now many FM stations in Seattle at that time in my childhood were largely devoted to classical music — FIVE! KUOW, KGMJ, KLSN, KING and KISW, and also don’t want to forget KXA on the AM dial. Today, both Seattle and Portland each have basically only ONE station for classical music — KING in Seattle and KQAC in Portland — and both are listener-supported operations. I certainly know that cultures and tastes can change over a 60-year period, but was there really THAT much greater demand for classical music in 1962 compared to today?
Of course, I guess the same could be said for the Beautiful Music/Easy Listening format that was so prevalent back then. I remember that it was all over the dial in Seattle — KIRO-FM (which later became KSEA), KBBX (later KEZX), KIXI, KBRD, and even, for a short time, KEUT. Now, there is NO Seattle station with that format, nor is there one here in the Portland area.
I can only guess that the popularity of rock and roll in the 1960s among Baby Boomers (like myself) was the start of some real changes in music culture. But the funny thing is, the older I’ve gotten (I’m in my 60s now) the more I appreciate the Easy Listening stuff my Dad used to prefer. I honestly think that as each of us ages, our nervous systems change and we react differently to music!