KQIV The station
signed on for the first time at 10:15 p.m. on September 15, 1972, as KQIV. It was a short-lived but popular
progressive rock station. KQIV was owned and operated by Willamette Broadcasting Company, Inc., with Walter J. M. Kraus serving as president. The station also called itself "KQ4" and "FM 107". The original KQIV offices and studios were located at the Lake Oswego
Elks Lodge (#2263). Members of this historically conservative organization frequently crossed paths with the station's
hippie disc jockeys and creative staff. and the first to be designed and built to be quadraphonic, But those reports were based on erroneous information. KQIV established its quadraphonic identity and "Rockin' in Quad" branding in anticipation of being selected as the exclusive FM station in the Portland radio market to field test the
Dorren Quadraplex System, invented by audio engineer
Louis Dorren. About a month before KQIV went on the air, the FCC suspended further testing of Quadraplex due to a concern that the system used a subcarrier component not permitted under its regulations. KQIV continued to identify itself as a quadraphonic station in the hope that Quadraplex testing eventually would be permitted. Meanwhile, the station broadcast music from
phonograph records encoded in various
quadraphonic matrix formats. In 1974, operation of KQIV was turned over to Brotherhood Broadcasting Company, with Roy Jay as president. Brotherhood changed the station's music format to
urban contemporary, branded as "Soul 107". In 1975, the KQIV offices and studios were moved to
Milwaukie. But the station's ratings failed to improve. Ongoing financial difficulties led to the court-ordered
liquidation of KQIV, which went off the air on June 18, 1976.
KMJK KQIV remained
silent for nearly 14 months. On August 1, 1977, Communico Northwest Corp. began operating the station, using the same license as KQIV. The
call sign switched to KMJK, using the moniker "Magic 107" and playing
soft rock. The offices and studios moved to "Magic Manor" in Lake Oswego and the transmitter was relocated to Portland. On June 29, 1979, KMJK changed its format to
Top 40, but still called "Magic 107". The contemporary hit format failed to catch on, and in July 1981, KMJK changed back to
soft adult contemporary music, still using the "Magic 107" moniker. In August 1982, KMJK switched back to Top 40, while retaining the "Magic 107" name. On April 13, 1987, at 6 a.m., after a 12-hour
stunt, KMJK changed its format to
classic hits, now calling itself "Classic Hits 106.7". On September 1, 1989, KMJK shifted its format to
classic rock, calling itself "Classic Rock 106.7". On February 19, 1990, KMJK changed to
hot adult contemporary as "106.7 Magic FM".
KMXI, KKBK and KKJZ On January 25, 1991, the station rebranded and changed call letters to "Mix 106" KMXI, while continuing its hot AC format. On December 30, 1991, KMXI changed its format to
oldies as "Oldies 106.7". In 1993, KMXI was bought by BayCom Partners for $2.6 million. On July 7, 1993, 106.7 flipped to
classical music as "K-Bach" KKBK. While the format was popular with mostly older listeners, the station struggled to attract advertisers. In less than a year, management decided to try a different unique format that was catching on in many cities,
smooth jazz. On March 17, 1994, the station became KKJZ, and rebranded as "Smooth Jazz 106.7".
KLTH In 1998, KKJZ was acquired by
Infinity Broadcasting, which later was merged into
CBS Radio. On February 1, 2002, CBS changed the station's call sign to KLTH, and flipped back to soft AC as "Lite Rock 106.7, K-Lite". On January 9, 2006, KLTH changed its format to 1960s and 1970s oldies as "106.7 K-Hits". Over time, KLTH expanded its scope to cover the 1980s as well. Its competition was
adult hits KYCH, which was previously KKSN, Portland's outlet for the oldies format prior to KLTH's debut. The debut of “K-Hits” was quite successful, capitalizing on the oldies/classic hits vacuum left by KKSN. Programmed by Dennis Constantine and Creative Imaging by John Hugill, K-Hits was a top 3 contender until KQOL changed to classic hits and competed directly. On April 1, 2009, CBS Radio sold KLTH to
Clear Channel Communications along with
KXJM. The sale made KLTH and KQOL sister stations. Both co-existed until May 6, 2009, when KQOL flipped to classic rock as
KFBW. Previous KQOL listeners were redirected to KLTH, which aired the message "Welcome 105.9 listeners." Weekend specialty programs on KLTH included "Saturday Night Fever", a weekly classic
disco show. Shortly after the move, on August 17, 2009, the name was changed to "Oldies 106.7" with a logo identical to CBS Radio's
WODS in
Boston. This was later replaced by a more modern logo. In the May 2011
Arbitron PPMs, KLTH became the number one station in the Portland area radio rankings, overtaking the market's usual top station, co-owned
KKCW, which plays
adult contemporary music. On August 1, 2014, at 5 p.m., KLTH shifted its format to classic hits and rebranded as "106.7 The Eagle". Most listeners did not notice much of a change, since KLTH had already been cutting back 1960s titles and focusing mostly on the 70s and 80s hits. ==KLTH-HD2==