A-Z Thanksgiving - Hear Every Song In Our Library

By Jean Arrollado

It's an “A-Z Thanksgiving” and 101KGB is playing every song (from A to Z) in our massive Classic Rock library!

Listen ALL WEEK starting Sunday (11/19) at 6:30am all the way through to Sunday (11/26).

Beginning this Sunday, we mark KGB’s 45 years of non-stop rocking… with no format changes.  Few others in America can say this, and no one else in San Diego can for sure!

We’ll celebrate with KGB A to Z, as we play the library, title by title, beginning Sunday Morning.  Marc Coppola kicks off the letter A at 6:30.  Fitting that he does, since Cope was actually listening to KGB in 1972 when it flipped to rock!

I grew up on and started listening to the station in 1970 when they were still simulcasting on AM. It was very exciting when KGB split off and became its own entity in 1972. I remember when Evel Knievel jumped Snake River Canyon and KGB was there live broadcasting. Unfortunately, he crashed. The California Jam with KGB was also an amazing event filled with legendary musical acts! 

I'm honored and happy to be working on KGB today and going on my 9th anniversary with the station this coming Valentine’s Day. Appropriate as I’ve been in love with the KGB since I was a young “Tween.” Only then we were called, “Pre-pubescent teens.” - Marc Coppola

It’s our way of saying THANKS for listening to 101KGB!

History of KGB-FM

The 101.5 MHz FM frequency originally signed on the air in 1950 as KSON-FM, owned by Fred Rabel. 101.5 is the second oldest FM station in San Diego (94.1 formerly KFSD-FM signed on in 1948). Rabel later sold the signal to Brown Broadcasting in 1958. 101.5 was moved off the KSON AM tower on the corner of Highway 15 and Interstate 5, to the new site of KGB/1360 at 52nd Street and Kalmia. 101.5's call letters were changed to KGB-FM. In 1964 Brown Broadcasting hired Bill Drake to consult for 136KGB and it later became Boss Radio. In 1964 the AM and the FM were separated, and 101.5 became KBKB, a beautiful music station.

In 1972 Boss Radio on 1360 KGB was failing, and more focus was being given to the FM. Brown Broadcasting hired Ron Jacobs to turn around 101.5. The first thing that he did was to put the KGB-FM call letters back on 101.5, and drop Boss Radio from 1360 AM. Jacobs created San Diego's first "Album Oriented Rock" (AOR) station. KGB-FM was a ground breaking station due to the leadership of Jacobs and General Manager Sonny Jim Price. The KGB Chicken, The Homegrown Albums, and Skyshow were just a few of the groundbreaking events that were created during this era of KGB-FM

KGB-FM was named "Station of the Year" by Billboard in 1974 and Rock Station of the Year by Rolling Stone magazine in 1991.

KGB-FM created most of the radio and television legends that San Diego knows today including; Larry Himmel (the Cruiser), Bob Coburn, Dave Benson, Damian Bragdon, Gabriel Wisdom, Erik Thompson, Jim McInnes, Rick Leibert, Pat Martin, Larry Bruce, Bill Hergonson, Ernesto Gladden, Ted Edwards, Linda McInnes, Digby Welch, Kevin McKeown, Pam Edwards, Brian Schock, Susan Hemphill, John Leslie, Andy Geller, Blair and Kymythy Schultz, Phil Hendrie, Jeff Prescott, Michael Berger, Sue Delany, Cookie "Chainsaw" Randolph, Dave Rickards, Shelly Dunn, Coe Lewis and Mojo Nixon.

News anchors during this period included Brad Messer, Brent Seltzer, Gerry Gazlay and George Wilson.

- Source Wikipedia


SHOTGUN TOM ON KGB