The 101.5 MHz FM frequency originally signed on the air in 1950 as KSON-FM, owned by Fred Rabel. It is the second-oldest FM station in San Diego; the former KFSD-FM at 94.1 FM debuted in 1948. Rabel later sold the signal to Brown Broadcasting in 1958. KSON-FM was moved off the KSON AM tower on the corner of Highway 15 and Interstate 5, to the new site of sister station KGB at 52nd Street and Kalmia. KSON-FM's call letters were changed to KGB-FM. In 1964, Brown Broadcasting hired Bill Drake to consult for the new KGB as the format he installed there later became known as "Boss Radio". In 1964, KGB and KGB-FM were separated, and the latter became KBKB, a beautiful music station. By 1972, Boss Radio on KGB was failing and more focus was being given to KBKB. Brown Broadcasting hired Ron Jacobs to turn around the FM station. Jacobs' first move was to restore the KGB-FM call letters and to drop Boss Radio from 1360 AM. Jacobs created San Diego's first-ever freeform progressive album-oriented rock FM superstation, further nurtured by station general manager Sonny Jim Price. Among the innovations introduced during this era of KGB-FM is the station's iconic mascot, the "KGB Chicken", a series of records called the Homegrown albums, and the "Sky Show", a fireworks display set to rock music. KGB-FM has hosted many of San Diego's most prominent radio and television personalities. Such hosts include Lawrence "Larry The Cruiser" Himmel, Bob "B.C." Coburn, Dave Benson, Damian Bragdon, Gabriel Wisdom, Erik Thompson, Jimmy McInnes, Ricky Leibert, Patrick Martin, Larry Bruce, Bill Hergonson, Ernesto Gladden, Ted Edwards, Linda McInnes, Digby Welch, Kevin McKeown, Pamela Edwards, Brian Schock, Susan Hemphill, Johnny Leslie, Andrew "Long Tall Andy" Geller, Blair and Kymythy Schultz, Philip Hendrie, Jeffrey Prescott, Michael Berger, Susan "Sue" Delaney, Coe Lewis, "Steve-o", Cynthia "Spicy Cindy" Spicer, Teddy "The Chicken" Giannoulas, and Mojo Nixon. KGB-FM news anchors include Bradley Messer, Brent Seltzer, with Gerry Gazlay, and George Wilson. One prominent longtime fixture on KGB-FM, and on San Diego rock radio in general, is The DSC Show. The morning zoo program, hosted by Davivd "Denver Dave" Rickards, Shelly Dunn, and Cookie "The Chainsaw" Randolph, debuted on KGB-FM in 1990 as The 101 KGB-FM's Dawn Patrol. In 1994, the program moved to KIOZ, where it was renamed The Dave, Shelly and Chainsaw Show and aired for three years. Upon returning to KGB-FM in 1997, the show's name was shortened to The DSC. From August 2, 2010 to July 19, 2018, the program was broadcast on KFMB-FM. Prior to the show's cancellation on "100.7 KFM-BFM", co-host Shelly Dunn announced her retirement from radio broadcasting. On August 6, 2018, The DSC Show returned to KGB-FM once again with the remainder of the cast. KGB-FM airs The Beatles Radio Show, hosted by Ken Dashow, on Sundays.
Notable promotions
The World Famous 101 KGB-FM/San Diego Chicken
In 1974, KGB introduced the "KGB-FM 101 Chicken", an advertising mascot played by Ted Giannoulas. Ted then a student at San Diego State University was hired to wear a chicken outfit for a promotion to distribute both 1360 KGB and KGB-FM 101 Easter eggs to children at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. The KGB-FM 101 Chicken whose wacky but fun antics entertained steadily larger crowds, moved on to features at concerts and sporting events, including appearances at more than 520 consecutive San Diego Padres baseball games. Conflict emerged however between the station and Ted and he was dismissed in 1977. Another unnamed employee was hired to take his place, which triggered a lawsuit by Ted. After a court found in his favor in June 1979, Ted was allowed to continue to perform in a chicken costume but though not the same one as the original costume. He return with a brand spanking new name, this time as the San Diego Chicken was witnessed by 47,000 people at what was called a "Grand Hatching" event, where he emerged from a styroform egg as the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey played, since then Ted and his alternate ego The Chicken is still truly representing the city of San Diego and 101 KGB-FM to this very important day.
''Homegrown'' song contest and albums
In 1973, KGB-FM created an annual contest called "Homegrown", in which local singers and songwriters submitted songs about the San Diego area for inclusion on an album produced by the station. The songwriting contest is the brainchild of KGB-FM program director Ron Jacobs, who first held such an event at KHJ in Los Angeles. The Homegrown album series was introduced in response to the cancellation of the popular "Charity Ball" event at San Diego Stadium, a venue for which the station was not granted usage in 1973 after holding it the previous year. Proceeds from sale of the albums were donated to local charities. The contest ran through 1978, yielding seven albums named Homegrown through Homegrown VII with copyrights from 1973 to 1979. There were two additional Homegrown albums: Homegrown's Greatest Hits with favorite selections from previous albums, and Homegrown Songs for '84 with additional songs by San Diego artists about the area.
Homegrown
Homegrown II
Homegrown III
Homegrown IV
Homegrown V
Homegrown Greatest Hits
Homegrown VI
Homegrown VII
Homegrown '84
In 1976, singer Stephen Bishop submitted his song "On and On", but it was rejected because he submitted it on cassette tape instead of the required reel-to-reel format. The song went on to become a commercial hit.
Sky Show
In 1976, KGB-FM launched the annual "KGB Sky Show" and it has been held continuously ever since. The "Sky Show" is a fireworks display, synchronized to a music soundtrack, broadcast on the radio. This artform was invented by KGB and is now practiced worldwide. The first Sky Show was fired from two locations, Fiesta Island and Chollas Lake. It created traffic jams all over the city as people watched and listened. The firing site was moved to San Diego Stadium for reasons of crowd control. The show has become a very well attended annual event with fans viewing from both inside the stadium and outside, tailgating in the parking lot or from vantage points along Mission Valley's canyon rim. The KGB Sky Show also introduced the use of Rock and Roll music, multimedia, video, theatrical lighting and effects to enhance the fireworks display. According to its creator Rick Leibert, Sky Show is "continuing experiment blending the ancient art of fireworks with rock and roll". The creative team for Sky Show has been collaborating for more than 20 years. Blair Schultze has been Writer/Producer/Director of the KGB Sky Show since 1988, and Ron Dixon has been Fireworks coordinator since 1979 and choreographer since 1990.
Awards
KGB-FM has garnered several honors throughout its existence. Billboard magazine named KGB-FM its "Station of the Year" in 1974, and Rolling Stone designated it "Rock Station of the Year" in 1991.
