The mighty MET lives again!

[sammyg2]

Heard on the news today, they're bringing back KMET for one day. IIRC it is on July 10th at FM 100 something or other.

They're getting allot of the original DJ's back, but not Jim Ladd or Cynthia Fox. Doan know if they even still on this planet.

Fish report.
Brings back the good ole days. back when I was your age.

With any luck they'll do it right and it'll catch on and will be back for real.

[sammyg2]

KMET was a Los Angeles radio station originally owned by Metromedia that first took to the air in June 1968 at 94.7 MHz. The station, nicknamed "The Mighty Met," was the pioneering station of the "underground" progressive rock format.

Like 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 and his wife Raechel brought the FM underground rock sound to KMPX in San Francisco, and soon, along with legendary L.A. Top 40 personality B. Mitchel Reed, to its co-owned station, KPPC-FM, in Pasadena. Both stations quickly became popular with their innovative formats, and brought the owners more success than they ever 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 (with the owners hiring scab employees 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 eventually wound up at Metromedia.


Scan of original KMET bumper sticker. As it was customary for the station to display their logo upside down on their billboard advertising, the bumper stickers were intentionally displayed upside down by the station's fans as well.KMET's jingle was "A Little Bit of Heaven, Ninety-Four Point Seven - KMET - Tweedle-Dee" was performed live on the Jeff Gonzer show by The Smith Sisters (Sandy and Teresa), with Melissa Levesque and Beth Underwood. The Smith Sisters rewrote the lyrics to a song by local songwriter and friend, Michael Shuler, called "Tweedle-Deedle Lover." The live recording was used for years, but was rerecorded in the seventies with session singers. It has been incorrectly linked to Shadoe Stevens instead of The Jeff "The Gonzer" Show, on which it was first performed in 1971. It was Stevens who created the stations' tongue-in-cheek attitude, and upside down billboards. Artist Neon Park did ads for KMET as well the famous billboards.

At the time, the studios of KMET and its local AM counterpart, country-western KLAC, were located across the street from the famous La Brea Tar Pits on Wilshire Blvd. In Summer 1976, both stations moved to the then-Metromedia complex where KTTV Channel 11 was located).

KMET stood in direct contrast to other music stations of the era. Rather than the tight, high-energy Top 40 sound of popular AM stations such as KHJ, KMET and other progressive rock stations played more eclectic artists with much longer songs and more socially-conscious lyrics. The disc jockeys talked much less, and in a more personal, relaxed manner. They were also not afraid to voice their opinions on controversial topics, such as politics, the Vietnam War and civil rights, and most importantly, they chose the music that they played on the air. There was no playlist. Evident of this approach is longtime KMET late night host Jim Ladd (currently at onetime rival KLOS-FM), whose laid-back philosophical ruminations usually led into a song, from artists such as Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Pink Floyd, The Doors or Led Zeppelin - that underscored his point.

KMET often mixed counterculture comedy skits by Firesign Theatre and The Credibility Gap with the music. The The Credibility Gap broadcast satirical skits during the Pasadena Rose Bowl Parade in the 1970's.[1] Another KMET staple at the time was Dr. Demento, whose show began on KPPC-FM. The "Dr. Demento Show" moved to KMET-FM in 1972 and soon became the most listened-to Sunday evening radio program in Los Angeles. Following Dr. Demento on Sunday nights, Mike Harrison hosted a phone-in talk show called Harrison's Mike.

The adventurous KMET was a member of a fraternity of widely respected progressive rock stations that emerged across the country in the late 1960s and early 1970s, along with KSAN, WNEW in New York, WBCN in Boston, WMMS in Cleveland, KQRS-FM in Minneapolis, and others.

The 1978 movie “FM” was reportedly loosely based on KMET. Much of the history of the salad days 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 [2].

The progressive format thrived on KMET throughout the 1970s and into the early 1980s, at one time becoming one of the most successful FM stations in the country. But changing trends in music, culture and society, and the advent of strict formatting in radio eventually turned KMET into a relic of the past. The staff and management of KMET were unsure how to continue in the wake of these occurrences. Soon, the station was besieged by staff turnover, radio consultants, corporate meddling, tight playlists and an increasingly impersonal approach typical of the more mainstream album oriented rock format.

The station’s owners finally gave up, and KMET signed off on February 14, 1987 with The Beatles singing "and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make" from "The End". KMET was immediately replaced with new age KTWV "The Wave," much to the consternation of its fans, many of whom called it "the Valentine's Day Massacre". Today, like many other new age music stations, "The Wave" has evolved into a smooth jazz format and is presently owned by CBS Radio. The KMET call letters have been since reassigned to an AM smooth jazz station in Banning, California.


[edit] Former Personalities
Richard Beebe
Sam Bellamy
Bobby Blue
Bob Coburn
Al "Jazzbo" Collins (1966)
Sky Daniels
Dr. Demento
Raechel Donahue
Tom Donahue
Cynthia Fox
Jeff Gonzer
Paraquat Kelley
Richard Kimball
E.J. Knight
Jim Ladd
John Langan
Pat Martin
Brad Messer
L. David Moorhead
Thom O'Hare
David Perry
Jim Pewter (1970-1973)
Jimmy Rabbitt
B. Mitchel Reed
Billy Pearl
Rosko
Rick Scarry
Brent Seltzer
Shana
Lee 'Baby' Simms
China Smith
Frazer Smith
Jack Snyder
Shadoe Stevens
Bill Todd
Mary Turner
Ace Young (1971-1983 and 1985-1987)

[rcecale]

COOL!!!!

I listened to KMET during the early 80's when I was stationed at El Toro. Was totally disappointed when they "94.7" changed their format to "The Wave" Not that I have anything against smooth jazz, but more, I was disappointed in losing an ally in the Rock war!



Rock on, Mighty MET!

Randy

[Zeke]

You forgot Steven Clean and Elliot Mintz.

Hoo-yaa!

[KNS]

I remember being shocked and saddened one day tuning in to find "The Wave".

[fxeditor]

Originally Posted by KNS

I remember being shocked and saddened one day tuning in to find "The Wave".

My buddy and I were in the car listening when KMET switched over to the Wave. It was like a little part of my childhood died that day. I am very excited to hear that it will back for at least a day!

Michael

[daepp]

Ladd still broadcasts every night on 95.5.

Gonzer filled in the other day on my new (a year ago) fav station 100.3 The Sound.

[Zeke]

And Bob Coburn is the voice of JACK FM.

[sammyg2]

Here's the article with details:

KMET returns — for a day
By Richard Wagoner
Updated: 06/18/2009 09:07:51 PM PDT


It was Valentine's Day 1987 when the legendary Southern California album rocker KMET (now KTWV, 94.7 FM) left the airwaves to make room for The Wave.

Now, more than two decades later, KMET is coming back.

On July 10, 100.3 The Sound will re-create KMET for one day, using as many original Mighty Met personalities as possible.

On the A-list of potential participants right now are Jeff Gonzer (recently added to the Sound's staff for weekends and fill-ins), Ace Young, Pat "Paraquat" Kelley, David Perry and the master programmer herself, the woman who led KMET into and through its glory days, Sam Bellamy.

Actual recordings are being used to help set the tone for the day. Some of these airchecks will be played on the air, while others will help re-create the musical sets as they were played during the approximate years of 1976 to 1984, considered by most to be the best years of the station.

Unfortunately, not everyone associated with the station during that period will be able to attend. Jim Ladd, Denise Westwood, Cynthia Fox and Terry Gladstone, for example, all work for rival KLOS, and I sincerely doubt KLOS will let them off to promote another station ... even if it is a salute.

That being said, July 10 should be a fun day of radio for fans of the once mighty station. Might be a good day to take off work.

Maybe,
just maybe, we can get Dr. Demento to do a shift.

As it turns out. that's on a Friday. I don't work Fridays. I'll be listening all day

F Jim ladd anyway. I called into his talk show once. We were discussing the government's role in something, probably welfare or such. Eventually it broke down to me calling him a drugged out hippie, but he cut it off before it hit the air. I was allot more mellow back then

[craigster59]

100.3 The Sound had a deal where you donated something and people would e-mail with a story about how they could put the item to good use. I donated a cheap guitar that went to someone who taught underpriveliged kids and a 35mm camera that went to a woman who had been laid off and wanted to take up photography to keep her spirits up.

Anyway, those deejays at The Sound called me a few times to personally thank me and called the other day out of the blue to ask how I thought the station was doing and if there were any improvements or suggestions I had for their programming. I thought that was pretty cool and very out of the ordinary for a radio station.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

Here's the article with details:



As it turns out. that's on a Friday. I don't work Fridays. I'll be listening all day

F Jim ladd anyway. I called into his talk show once. We were discussing the government's role in something, probably welfare or such. Eventually it broke down to me calling him a drugged out hippie, but he cut it off before it hit the air. I was allot more mellow back then

Figures you would be reduced to calling him a name. Not too many people around as intelligent as some of those jocks of the day.

I remember one show where Steven Clean was blasting high school basketball and basketball in general. I've never cared much for basketball, so he was hitting a home run with me. But he brought out so many points that I had never considered that I was having an epiphany.

Probably didn't hurt that we were most likely both high. B, Mitchel Reed was the hippest dude in Hollywood for years. He was like a father to the rest of those guys as he was 60 when he was broadcasting in the later years of KMET.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by milt

Figures you would be reduced to calling him a name. Not too many people around as intelligent as some of those jocks of the day.

.

Figures you would think he was intelligent. Doesn't surprise me a bit.
Howz that pottery business going?

[rcecale]

Originally Posted by fxeditor

My buddy and I were in the car listening when KMET switched over to the Wave. It was like a little part of my childhood died that day. I am very excited to hear that it will back for at least a day!

Michael

I remember "The Wave" touting themselves as "The Soundtrack For Southern California" As if, all of a sudden, people who had listened to the station with it's Rock format all-of-a-sudden for the previous 20 years didn't exist anymore. WTF???

Randy

[daepp]

I can't say enough about the Sound. The station certainly seems to have a soul.

[daepp]

BTW - they are doing their Album Sides again tomorrow for 24 hours. All vinyl, all day, picked by the listeners or the DJ's.

[Danimal16]

Any of you guys remember the original KYMS? There were some great stations in the 60s and 70s in SoCal. Like so many things that I took for granted they are now a pleasant memory.

[ossiblue]

Originally Posted by Danimal16

Any of you guys remember the original KYMS? There were some great stations in the 60s and 70s in SoCal. Like so many things that I took for granted they are now a pleasant memory.

Hell yes! Thought I was the only one! The "underground" started with KPPC for me, then moved to KYMS when the limited broadcast range became an issue, then ended the underground era on KMET.
Whatever became of "Head Shampoo?"

[tabs]

Hope they play the LONG version of the Greatfull Deads...Good Morning Little School Girl

[tabs]

HOPE they DON"T play the Zeps ...Stairway to Heaven.....

If anything killed em it was that song....

[Danimal16]

Originally Posted by ossiblue

Hell yes! Thought I was the only one! The "underground" started with KPPC for me, then moved to KYMS when the limited broadcast range became an issue, then ended the underground era on KMET.
Whatever became of "Head Shampoo?"

Just a memory of the staff and stuff that went on. All I know was that it played just the latest and greatest. What was that AM station on 1500 that was a great rock station along the same time. I think it was out of Santa Monica.

But KYMS was Orange Counties stellar contribution. It was up there with all of those stations that we took for granted.