Seattle Radio Socks
Description: In 1977 a horse known as Seattle Slew won the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing and Seattle caught 'Seattle Slew Fever' as a local horse made good. KJR 95 AM was the big sports radio station at the time and Ichabod Caine was their star on-air personality, so they did some promotional work utilizing the two of them together, including this amazing example of radio giveaway design.
Description: KCMU began as a student and volunteer-run 10-watt college radio station based out of the University of Washington communications building in 1972 and quickly becoming an innovative, influential cultural force in the Seattle area and beyond. Their eclectic playlists created by an all volunteer staff made it a true beacon of light in the crowded, heavily commercialized FM radio world. Still operating today, albeit under a different call sign and with slightly more commercial leanings, they're still a darling of the independent radio world with countless listeners tuning in locally and streaming from around the globe.
Description: On March 17, 1981, First Media completed their pourchase of KBLE-FM, and flipped it to an automated Top 40/CHR format as "The Northwest's New 93 FM." On July 8, 1981, KBLE officially launched with live on-air staff. On April 2, 1982, the call letters were changed to KUBE, and the station became known as "KUBE 93 FM". Shortly after the switch to Top 40/CHR, KUBE shot up to the top 5 in the Seattle radio market ratings (occasionally reaching #1 in some books and target demographics) and would later become the dominant CHR station in the Seattle metropolitan area. KUBE primarily competed against two other Top 40/CHR stations in the Seattle metropolitan area, creating an intense rivalry between the three stations throughout the '80s.
Description: On February 1, 1988, Seattle area Top-40 station KNBQ flipped to an oldies format as “K-Best 97.3.” It picked up the KBSG-FM call letters. K-Best concentrated on the biggest hits of the ’60s, with some ’70s songs with a few late ’50s hits. As the station moved into the ’90s, the ’70s titles were increased and the ’50s songs were removed. In 2007, traded KBSG as part of a multi-market station swap. KBSG was rebranded from “KBSG 97.3” to “The New B97.3,” and dropped the word “oldies” from the station’s title. The station’s playlist was moved to more ’70s and ’80s music, with fewer ’60s titles, making it more of a classic rock format. Just one year later, the call letters would change again as the station went to an all news and talk format.
Description: KXRX 96.5 FM was a major rock radio station in Seattle that hit the airwaves in 1987. The station's relatively short tenure in the Seattle market was a momentous one, with 'The X' as they were known, establishing itself as one of the first major radio stations to play grunge, a wave of popular music originating in the Pacific Northwest and soon spanning the globe. The station helped launch the careers of numerous Seattle bands, and featured a roster of high-profile DJ's. After seven years of feisty, personality-oriented album rock, KXRX was sold in 1994, ending a short, but powerful run.
