The First Underground FM Radio Station

Until 65' the only music being played was the pop music on AM radio-Beach Boys Beatles etc. Then along comes Big Daddy Tom Donahue-a AM bay area dj and starts a new station in San Francisco to play the new underground music coming out in San Francisco like Grateful Dead-Quicksilver Messenger Service Jefferson Airplane-A new band that he managed was the very first rock group to ever be on FM-the Beu Brumells-doing the hit Cry Just A Little -the station was a little hole in the wall and we used to go hang out there sometimes and do whatever-lotta fun-this was the launching pad for all the SF bands and many others as the AM stations would not play the new acid rock type music-my how times change-so KMPX was the first in the country on FM radio with real rock-and thats the rest of the story!

 

The first underground FM station in NYC was WBAI. I don't know what year they started, but in 1966 they were trying to raise money for some no doubt noble cause and the DJ threatened to play Barry Sadler's "The Ballad of the Green Berets" until they raised the money. He did, too, but we just turned it off. We beatniks were more or less apolitical.

 

Oh.... I Sooooo remember that time. I remember like it was yesterday. I was going to the theatre (movies) to see the English flic Blow-Up (1966) and the "Ballad" was playing over the sound system. It seemed so strange. Stranger yet, three short years later, I was wearing "silver wings". I always did, and still do - hate that song. imhip

 

That song was just another government ploy "spin" to get people to sign up to go away to a foreign country' meet interesting people' then kill em!--Gee-kinda sounds like this current mess-when will we learn?

 

Never-- and IMHip knows me from a previous incarnation here at HIP FORUMS-- Hint: different screen-name, friend of AngelGodviva. Hi! pal.,

 

---IMHIP-I signed the petition and am still in shock over what I just read-unbelievable!--To treat a 12 year old as an adult is completely wrong-no matter what the crime-does Bush want to use the death penalty on minors?-That is total abuse of power and not what people had in mind when they voted to allow executions again--that punishment was supposed to be reserved for the hard core murdering dogs-not kids--Kids all do stupid stuff-we all have -it's part of the learning process-to push the limits-but adults know right from wrong-up from down-if we start killing the youth-we will be living like the barbarians or some 3rd world country-Do you know there are countries in this world that execute people for drunk driving?-Thats the direction were goin if this is not reversed-kids are allowed to fall down so they can see that it hurts--hard to teach anything to a dead person!

 

If I'm correct, SF's KMPX and KSAN got their start in either '66 or '67 with the former gone within a couple of years and the latter going country about 1980. In other areas, WMMR got their start in 1968. WNEW-FM started up in NYC in December of '67. That same year-I believe-WOR-FM started up. WCBS-FM was progressive rock for some time before becoming oldies in 1972. I think that Boston's first FM progressive rocker was WBCN, and that station probably dates from the late '60s. Washington DC, as I understand it didn't have progressive rock on FM until about 1968 when WHFS began what would be about a three year evolution towards a full-time format.

 

The first underground station in Los Angeles was KBLA. But it was an AM station Dave Diamond from deep within the Diamond Mine. He was playing Doors and Bowie while everyone else was still listening to The Supremes, and The Beach Boys. I was working at A & W Root Beer on Hawthorne Blvd. Cruising and Racing were big time activities then And there would be hundreds of cars cruising through the parking lot

I can't remember the first FM station, but I think it was KLOS with Humble Harve. Long album cuts, and no commercial. I liked how he would play sets that had a certain theme or story that could be followed from song to song, being done by different groups.