Monday, February 20, 2012

KOLA February 19, 1977

Night Moves-Bob Seger #1
New in the top ten
Theme From A Star Is Born-Barbara Streisand #9
Dancing Queen-Abba #10
Highest debut
All Strung Out-John Travolta #34
Also new
Right Time Of The Night-Jennifer Warnes

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

KOLA has been in the background for around 40 years now, just sort of plugging away year after year. Does anyone know a condensed history of KOLA, i.e. what years/formats were automated versus years with live dj's? and how it's changed over the years? When I'm in the IE I have always had a button set for them but all the years kind of run together in my mind. Can anyone draw a clear picture/timeline?

Anonymous said...

"K-O-L-A, San Bernardino, the Pop Sound of Southern California, located in the world-famous Mission Inn Hotel in Riverside."
(an old classic top-of-the-hour station ID)

Lord Darth Rageous said...

KOLA Radio was founded by Frederick R. Cote and Chester Coleman who purchased then-existing station KFMW-FM at a cost of $50,000 in 1969.
Account Executive Helen Jones (who later careered in sales at KFXM/KDUO-FM) reportedly chose the new call sign of "K-O-L-A".

At 99.9 MHz and transmitting at 29.5 kW, KOLA is presently owned by the INLAND EMPIRE BROADCASTING CORP.

note: Cote was a former radio engineer at KHJ prior to starting his KOLA 'operation'. (pun INTENDED!)

Anonymous said...

I was a broadcast engineer in 1966-1968 at then KFMW. I recall before I took a job there the studios were located in San Bernardino and it was already automated then. In fact the Rube Goldberg contraption was called "Otto." When I came on as a night engineer the studios were located on University Blvd in Riverside. The system was automated during the day using 1 hour tape reals and with embedded tones triggered a mobius cartridge tape with prerecorded Station IDs and another cart with commercials. At the beginning of a shift I recorded a fresh tape. During the day the music beat was two fast songs followed by one slow.
In the summer of 1967 the studios moved to an old victorian house on Main Street and the co-owners had their bedrooms upstairs.The owners kept their day jobs as engineers at KHJ and KMPC. From six until midnight (later 1 am) we spun records but the announcements were still canned (usually L.A. radio talent at KHJ and KMPC). After the move to Main Street (still KFMW) if was fully automated using reel tapes rented from some music supplier. We did have a Jazz show on Friday and Saturday nights after 11pm which I engineered and Chuck Larsen hosted.

Lord Darth Rageous said...

thanks very much to the anonymous poster (i.e., "broadcast engineer") who helped fill in a lot of missing details to the KOLA station history and operations story, especially in its prior incarnation as KFMW.