K-KAR Los Angeles: The First and Final Listen

The “Older Oldies station” is always a highly personal thing for its creator. Those stations share a calling card — the ’60s and now ’70s titles that Classic Hits radio no longer plays. On stations such as WECK Buffalo, N.Y., and KDRI (The Drive) Tucson, Ariz., they’ve found a 3-4-share niche on a combination of AM frequencies and FM translators. There are enough stations doing something similar that you could create a Mediabase panel of monitored stations. But most owners have their own ideas, which keeps things interesting. 

That was definitely the case for Mt. Wilson’s KKAR (K-Kar 1260) Los Angeles, which launched Nov. 1 on the AM frequency of Classical K-Mozart, which remained on the frequency’s FM translator. By Nov. 10, it was simulcasting all Christmas music with sister KKGO-HD3. In between, the station did a very different version of “Older Oldies” that was, in particular, even older than what you’d hear on WECK or the Drive. 

K-Kar 1260 billed itself as “’50s, ’60s, and ’70s,” but it went particularly heavy on the former, as well as the pre-Beatles ’60s, including the MOR’ish aspect of the early ’60s. Market-leading Classic Hits outlet KRTH (K-Earth 101) Los Angeles has long moved away from the ’60s/’70s legacy of one-time-sister station KHJ. K-Kar was jockless and owed more musically to the “Color Channel 98” era of KFWB. The only song I heard on both stations last week was “Take It Easy” by the Eagles.

The most unlikely element, however, was the presence of some early-’60s titles that were bigger in the UK than here, e.g., “The Young Ones” by Cliff Richard, “Johnny Remember Me” by John Leyton, and “My Old Man’s a Dustman” by Lonnie Donegan. “Shakin’ All Over” is by Johnny Kidd & the Pirates here, not the Guess Who. (In the UK, you’d hear those songs on Boom Light, the older-skewing companion station to Boom Radio.)

Here’s K-KAR around 7:15 p.m., on its first day. The ’60s titles are mostly the ones from Oldies radio’s onetime safelist. The early-’70s titles could venture into the “Chevy Van” ’70s. But the ’50s and early ’60s set the tone, particularly for a station whose slug line was “Rock Around the Clock.”

• Beach Boys, “Good Vibrations”
• Bill Haley & Comets, “Shake, Rattle, and Roll”
• Billy Joel, “My Life”
• Byrds, “Turn! Turn! Turn!”
• Gary Lewis & Playboys, “This Diamond Ring”
• Larry Williams, “Bony Maronie”
• Aretha Franklin, “Respect”
• Mary Wells, “My Guy”
• Elvis Presley, “Can’t Help Falling in Love”
• Billy Paul, “Me & Mrs. Jones”
• Lovin’ Spoonful, “Do You Believe in Magic”
• Beatles, “And I Love Her”

Here’s K-KAR around 4:30 p.m., on Nov. 3

• Cliff Richard & the Shadows, “The Young Ones”
• Paul Davis, “I Go Crazy”
• Martha & Vandellas, “(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave”
• Frank Ifield, “Lovesick Blues”
• Platters, “Twilight Time”
• James Taylor, “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight”
• Four Seasons, “Sherry”
• Dixie Cups, “Chapel of Love”
• Paul Anka, “Put Your Head on My Shoulder”
• Meco, “Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band”
• Cascades, “Rhythm of the Rain”
• Elvis Presley, “She’s Not You”
• Jan & Dean, “The Little Old Lady (From Pasadena)”
• Harry Nilsson, “Without You”
• Lawrence Welk, “Calcutta”
• Champs, “Tequila”
• Connie Francis, “My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own”
• Everly Brothers, “Cathy’s Clown”
• Shirelles, “Soldier Boy”
• Peaches & Herb, “Reunited”
• Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, “Shakin’ All Over”
• Beatles, “Lady Madonna”
• Marty Robbins, “El Paso”
• Jim Croce, “I Got a Name”
• Elvis Presley, “Good Luck Charm”
• Little Richard, “Tutti Frutti”
• KC & the Sunshine Band, “(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty”

Here’s KKAR again around 5:30, November 8:

• Barbra Streisand, “Love Theme From ‘A Star Is Born’ (Evergreen)”
• Diana Ross & Supremes, “Someday We’ll Be Together”
• Emile Ford & Checkmates, “What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For”
• Martha & Vandellas, “(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave”
• Tommy James & Shondells, “Crimson and Clover”
• Dixie Cups, “Chapel of Love”
• Bonnie Tyler, “It’s a Heartache”
• Jan & Dean, “Heart and Soul”
• Cascades, “Rhythm of the Rain”
• Marvin Rainwater, “Whole Lotta Woman”
• Isley Brothers, “It’s Your Thing”

The Orange County Register’s Richard Wagoner notes that KKAR has had technical difficulties since its launch and has ended up simulcasting other formats for brief periods before. So it’s possible that the station might be back after the holidays. In the meantime, because everybody hears “Older Oldies” differently, I found myself wondering over the last two weeks how one might draw on the KHJ legacy, if they wanted to. That station is a distant memory now, although one signal-boosted a few years ago by Quentin Tarantino and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” In a sprawling metropolis, invoking it would require an airstaff and a full-market FM signal, both of which immediately relegate this discussion to the realm of fantasy. 

K-Earth 101 isn’t in any way broken. In October, it returned to No. 1 in the market, its usual perch for the last six months, up 5.4-5.8. But it has left a musical opening. For years, the station’s heavily rotated top tier of ’80s hits that played 4-5x a day was followed by ’70s titles that played 2-3x a day. Then that category became a mix of ’70s and ’90s. Now, they’re all ’90s. Sister KCBS (Jack-FM) used to be newer and more rock-leaning. The two stations are more similar musically these days, and Jack is still fourth in the market, 4.6-4.5.

If you were trying to make a real run with “Older Oldies” in a market where the Classic Hits station leans newer, it then becomes a question of who the target is. Is it the 65+ listeners who heard ’60s or ’70s songs as currents? Or are you researching younger demos for the all-ages songs that have somehow been passed down to them? In the past, that might have been only a small handful, but in the era of “Connie Francis on TikTok,” that seems a lot more fluid. So you might end up in the ’50s/early ’60s anyway.