KAZZ On November 2, 1957, 95.5 KAZZ first signed on the air. It was owned by Audioland Broadcasting, and powered at only 340
watts. The
call sign KAZZ was supposed to rhyme with "
jazz." The station played jazz,
adult standards and
big band music. At a time when few people owned FM radios, this was a rare "stand-alone" FM outlet, not co-owned with an
AM radio station, TV station or newspaper. The station was purchased in July 1964 by Monroe Lopez, owner of four Mexican restaurants in the Austin area. Under Lopez' ownership, KAZZ adopted a block-programming format featuring various types of music throughout the broadcast day. They included
easy listening, jazz,
country music, show tunes,
R&B, and, starting in 1964,
Top 40. That made KAZZ (now known as "Kay-Zee" or "Alive 95" on the air) the first FM station in Austin to play
rock and roll. During this time, the station also expanded its broadcast day from 6am to 1am for 24 hours.
KOKE-FM In December 1967, Lopez sold KAZZ to the owners of AM 1370 KOKE (now
KJCE). On January 5, 1968, the station began
simulcasting KOKE 1370's country format as KOKE-FM. (There is currently a KOKE-FM on the air at 99.3 MHz and 98.5 MHz, playing
progressive country, but it is not related to this station.) Because KOKE 1370 was a
daytimer, 95.5 KOKE-FM allowed listeners with FM radios to continue hearing the station after sunset. The station called itself "The People's Choice, KOKE." At this point, KOKE-FM's power was 10,000 watts, able to cover Austin and its close-in suburbs, but still just a fraction of its current power.
Soft AC In the early 1980s, the owners of KOKE-AM-FM decided to make a change. KOKE 1370 became KMMM, a
Regional Mexican music station, while KOKE-FM switched to
soft adult contemporary music as KLQT. The
call sign stood for "Light 95," as in light music. In the mid-1980s, the station got a boost to 100,000 watts, the maximum power permitted for non-
grandfathered FM stations. The current power has been reduced to 49,000 watts, but the tower height is now in
height above average terrain (HAAT), making KKMJ's signal equal to Austin's other major FM stations. KKMJ can be heard from the suburbs of
San Antonio to
Temple and
Killeen. In 1990, The Tremont Group bought AM 1370 and FM 95.5. The soft AC format was retained, while the AM station reverted to the KOKE call letters, airing an
easy listening/
adult standards format. In 1998,
Infinity Broadcasting, which would later merge into
CBS Radio, bought KKMJ and its AM station, which became
KJCE, airing a
talk radio format. In 2004, KKMJ was named the "
R&R Station of The Year" for
radio markets between #26 and #100. KKMJ has a consistent history of being a top 5 rated station in the Austin Arbitron and
Nielsen ratings.
Mainstream AC In the 2000s, KKMJ began shifting from mostly Soft AC to a more uptempo adult contemporary sound. In late 2013, it dropped the "Continuous Soft Rock" description and began using the slogan "Better Music for a Better Workday." The
syndicated Delilah evening show was discontinued in August 2014, with the 7 p.m. to midnight hours being programmed similarly to other dayparts. In 2007, KKMJ and KJCE, along with
Hot AC 94.7
KAMX were acquired by
Entercom, when CBS Radio decided to leave the Austin radio market. (Coincidentally, CBS Radio merged into Entercom in 2017.) In 2014 KKMJ began occasionally airing "The Great '80s Weekend," similar to the previous '70s weekends.
Past programming From 2008 to 2011, KKMJ aired a mix of adult contemporary and 1970s hits, called the "Super Songs of The '70s." On Fridays, from 3 to 7 p.m., the station would play only 1970s hits followed by Adult Contemporary music with Delilah, and from midnight until 7:00 p.m. on Saturdays, '70s Oldies were heard, followed by Delilah again. Then back to '70s Oldies from midnight until 7:00 PM. On some Monday holidays, the '70s Oldies weekends were extended into the holiday. Around 2011, the "Super Songs of the '70s" stopped airing on weekends. KKMJ began calling its music "Continuous Soft Rock." ==HD Radio==