The station
signed on the air on December 6, 1967. Its original
call sign was KLIQ-FM. It was the FM counterpart to KLIQ (AM 1290), which is no longer on the air. The two stations were owned by the Cascade Broadcasting Company,
simulcasting a
talk radio format. Because KLIQ was a
daytimer, the staton's programming could only be heard on KLIQ-FM after dark. In 1973, as more people bought radios that received FM stations, KLIQ-FM was sold to KYXI, Inc., the same firm that owned KYXI (now AM 1520,
KGDD). On February 1, 1974, the new owners changed the format to
album-oriented rock under new
call sign KGON. The first song after the flip was "
Here Comes the Sun" by
The Beatles. The flip put KGON in competition with
KINK, which went on the air in 1968 as a
freeform radio station, along with
KQIV, which signed on in 1972 playing
progressive rock. KGON was programmed with a more structured format, playing only the most popular tracks from the top-selling rock albums. It would continue in this direction until November 4, 1992, when it shifted to its current classic rock direction. In 1992, KGON and KFXX (the former KYXI) were bought by Apogee Communications for $5.5 million. In 1995, the station changed hands after just three years when
Entercom acquired KGON. Entercom changed its name to Audacy in 2021. ==References==