KMET (FM)

KMET(1968-1987) was a Los Angeles FM radio station owned by Metromedia (hence the "MET" in its call sign) that broadcast at 94.7 MHz, beginning in June 1968. It signed off on February 14, 1987. The station, nicknamed "The Mighty Met" (among other nicknames), was a pioneering station of the underground progressive rock format.

This article is about the defunct FM radio station. For the current station holding the KMET callsign, see KMET (AM).

History

As with many FM stations at the time, KMET featured an automated format in June 1968 (with female voices and middle-of-the-road music). The origin of KMET’s freeform rock music format came about due to events at a rival radio station. In 1967, popular Top 40 disc jockey Tom Donahue (Rock Radio Hall of Fame inductee 2015) and his wife Raechel took the FM underground rock sound to KMPX in San Francisco, and soon, along with L.A. Top 40 personality B. Mitchel Reed, to KPPC-FM in Pasadena. Both stations quickly became popular with their innovative formats, and brought the owners more success than they encountered before. But it was to be short-lived. After conflicts with the stations’ owners, the Donahues, Reed and the rest of the KPPC and KMPX staff left both stations and went on strike. As prospects for resolving the strike looked hopeless (the owners had hired scabs to continue the rock programming), Tom Donahue looked elsewhere, and eventually convinced Metromedia to install KPPC’s format at KMET. They did likewise at KMET’s sister station, KSAN-FM in San Francisco. Many of the personalities at both stations transferred to Metromedia.

From 1970 to 1973 Jim Pewter hosted an oldies rock show on KMET[1]. The KPPC format was only mildly successful. After leaving KROQ AM/FM, Shadoe Stevens was hired by General Manager L. David Moorhead in 1974 to create something new for the struggling format KMET had put in place. With a staff that included B. Mitchell Reed, Stevens, Jimmy Rabbitt(country DJ),[2] Brother John, and ("The Burner") Mary Turner, Stevens introduced a new rock format that retained some of Donahue's progressive freedom but gave it energy and consistency that featured programming and high production values similar to those that had been integrated at KROQ. Stevens also designed a futuristic billboard campaign called "Hollywood as seen from Mulholland Drive in the year 2525."

An original KMET bumper sticker. The followup to the Hollywood billboard created by Stevens had big, bold letters and the logo was upside down. The bumper stickers were intentionally displayed upside down by the station's fans as well.

Artist Neon Park did ads for KMET as well as the famous billboards.

KMET's station identification jingle, "A Little Bit of Heaven, Ninety-Four Point Seven - KMET - Tweedle-Dee" was originally written by Michael Shuler, a friend of the Rainbow Choir—Sandy and Teresa Smith, Melissa Levesque, and Beth Underwood—performed live in the broadcast booth on the Jeff "The Gonzer" show. The group changed the words to Mr. Shuler's song to advertise the station. Sandy Smith and Underwood had also rewritten the lyrics to "Deep Elem Blues", renaming that traditional tune "Deep L.A. Blues," specifically for Jeff Gonzer's show. After the live performance, KMET asked the Rainbow Choir if they had any other "stuff." This request was unexpected, and several station IDs were quickly created on the spot, all of them recorded, but only one was used. This ID "jingle" came to be emblematic for KMET.

Stevens left in 1975 to begin a production company and the station's programing was taken over by Sam Bellamy. At the time, the studios of KMET and its local AM counterpart, country-western KLAC, were located across the street from the La Brea Tar Pits on Wilshire Blvd.

KMET stood in direct contrast to other music stations of the era. KMET and other progressive-rock stations played more eclectic artists with much longer songs and more socially-conscious lyrics than the Top 40 AM stations. The disc jockeys talked far less, and in a more personal, relaxed manner. They voiced their opinions on controversial topics, such as the killing of whales, the spraying of marijuana with the toxic chemical Paraquat, the Vietnam War and civil rights, and most importantly they chose the music that they played on the air. Longtime KMET late-night DJ Jim Ladd's philosophy was influenced by folk and rock songs from artists such as Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, CSN&Y, and The Doors[3](Jim Ladd :fired October 25, 2011 by one-time rival KLOS-FM and currently hosting his own show on SiriusXM).

KMET often mixed counterculture comedy skits by the Firesign Theatre and the Credibility Gap with the music. The Credibility Gap broadcast satirical skits during Pasadena's Tournament of Roses Parade in the 1970s.[4] Another KMET staple at the time was Dr. Demento, whose variety show began on KPPC-FM. The Dr. Demento Show moved to KMET-FM in 1972.

On July 7, 1978, KMET aired Bruce Springsteen's concert live from the Roxy. KMET was a member of a group of progressive-rock stations that emerged across the country in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The 1978 movie FM, written by former employee Ezra Sacks, was reportedly loosely based on KMET. The lead character was based around Mike Herrington, the program director for much of the era preceding the film. Much of the history of KMET is documented in Jim Ladd's book Radio Waves, where the station is referred to as Radio KAOS and many of the DJs are given pseudonyms.[5] Arguably, 1978 was the pinnacle year at the station and the line-up was impressive such as Jeff Gonzer, Bob Coburn, Cynthia Fox, Mary "The Burner" Turner, and Jim Ladd. Ace Young and Patrick 'Paraquat' Kelley provided the breaking news and views of the day. But changing trends in music, culture and society, and the advent of strict formatting in radio eventually turned KMET into a relic.

In 80s, KMET is also notable for broadcasting the program The Mighty METal Hour, which was hosted by Jim Ladd on Friday nights from 10PM to midnight,[6] and showcased the music of many then-up-and-coming hard rock and heavy metal bands, including Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, Iron Maiden, Queensrÿche, Mötley Crüe, Motörhead, Y&T, Metal Church, Great White, Armored Saint, Dio, W.A.S.P., Ratt, Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister, Saxon, Riot, and Warrior. Early 80s the presentation and sound of KMET to a more conventional album-oriented rock (AOR) format. In the process, KMET quickly became a shell of its former self: playlists were tightened and hit-oriented, disc jockeys became less personal in their presentation, and the station was heavily constructed by outside consultants.

This drove KMET's ratings down to the point of being well behind established AOR pioneer KLOS as well as behind KROQ-FM, a station that rose from the ashes of KPPC-FM to become the trademark radio home in Los Angeles for the new wave and punk scenes in the 1980s. Then, in 1986, KMET got two new competitors that hurt the station irrevocably: KNAC, targeting younger listeners via the budding heavy metal genre that KMET wouldn't touch and more aggressively than KLOS and KROQ, and KLSX, targeting older listeners with the music that KMET made famous through the newly created classic rock genre. Both stations ate further into KMET's ratings immediately.

Additionally in 1986, Metromedia — which already sold off its TV stations (including KTTV) to News Corporation — sold KMET and eight other stations for $250 million to a group of investors who rechristened the company Metropolitan Broadcasting.

1987 to present

But Metromedia fired the entire KMET on-air staff on February 9, 1987. The last live jock on the air that day was morning man Paraquat Kelly. He got word of what was happening, and at the end of his shift played "Beautiful Losers" by Bob Seger (dedicated to his co-workers) and "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" by The Rolling Stones (for KMET itself). Choked with emotion, his last words were "We all love you. Goodbye, Southern California. This is KMET, the Mighty 'MET."[7] At that time, the station went jockless and automated while playing an ominous countdown to noon on February 14, 1987 set to the opening bars of Tangerine Dream's "Sunset Drive".

Valentine's Day 1987 would be known as the "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" for Los Angeles rock fans. The last hour featured sentimental songs "My Generation" by The Who and "You're All I've Got Tonight" by The Cars, and California-inspired songs "L.A. Woman" by The Doors and "Hotel California" by The Eagles wrapped around classic KMET IDs by Tom Donahue and B. Mitchel Reed. Nearly 19 years of rock came to an end with "Funeral for a Friend" by Elton John, and "Born to Run". KMET was replaced by the new-age KTWV "The Wave".[8] Today, "The Wave" has evolved into a Smooth Jazz format, though now plays Urban Adult Contemporary and is owned by Entercom, which merged with CBS Radio in 2017.

Side note: The KMET studio sign can be seen briefly on the TV show "CHiPs", season 3, episode 21 at approximately 33 minutes into the show which was recorded in the early eighties.The sign [upside down] can also be seen on the intro to The Soupy Sales Show of the late 1970's.

On June 21, 2009 Los Angeles radio station KSWD ("The Sound 100.3") announced that on July 10, 2009 it would do a one-day revival of KMET complete with the original airchecks and many of the on-air staff from the station's heyday.[9] The Sound had another KMET reunion from November 1 to 3, 2013.[10]

DJ/Personality

References
  1. "Jim Pewter KMET". Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  2. http://www.jimmyrabbitt.com/rabbittbio.htm Jimmy Rabbitt biography
  3. "He's a Deejay as Free as the Air". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  4. http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/the_credibility_gap Credibility Gap Biography
  5. https://www.amazon.com/Radio-Waves-Life-Revolution-Dial/dp/0312077866
  6. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/kmet-94-jim-ladd-mighty-metal-hour-314221998
  7. "KMET Drops AOR After 19 Years, Dismisses Airstaff" (PDF). February 13, 1987. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  8. http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1980s/1987/RR-1987-02-13.pdf
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-07-20. Retrieved 2009-06-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. Wagoner, Richard (October 30, 2013). "KMET returns with its old uniquely L.A. sound for the weekend". Press-Telegram. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  11. https://www.variety.com/article/VR1118003038.html?categoryid=23&cs=1
  12. http://www.rr-cowboy.net
  13. "Raechel Donahue profile". The Paley Center for Media. Retrieved 14 August 2020.

See also
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