Sticker Board #1

I started collecting radio station bumper stickers in the mid 1980s, but it wasn't until 1997 that the amount of decals in the collection really started to grow significantly. That year I got internet access which made contacting radio stations cheap and easy. Up until then I was blindly sending out self-addressed stamped envelopes and hoping I got something back. Now I could email the station to see if a sticker was available and usually they mailed it right to me if I asked nicely (sometimes with other station goodies as well.) Around this time, my feeble mind decided it would be a good idea to stick a bunch of decals to large sheets of poster board. I filled up 26 of these boards which, at an average of 55 stickers per board, means I "wasted" 1,430 radio station bumper stickers. I even went so far as to get a sheet of plexiglass to display window and static stickers but then thought better of it. While I still technically own these stickers, and the boards look pretty cool, I wish I had them in their intact form. Like a giant puzzle, it was a real challenge finding and placing the stickers to fit the board perfectly. Here's the first sheet of stickers--click it for a closer view. I'll post the other 25 boards in the coming months/years.

Here's the station listing for this board from left to right, top to bottom.

KPRZ - San Diego, California WBAP - Fort Worth, Texas “Magic 105” KMJX - Little Rock, Arkansas “FM 102” KNOE - Monroe, Louisiana “106.5 The Buzz” KBZU - Richmond, Virginia “Z Rock 106.7 FM” KRQR - Orland, California KSFM - Woodland, California KOGT - Orange, Texas Rev 105 KREV/WREV - Minneapolis, Minnesota “Colors 92.7” KLRS - Chico, California KFKF - Kansas City, Kansas “KQ98” KQYB - Spring Grove, Minnesota “Hot 103” - Kansas City, Missouri WVUD - Newark, Delaware KIIM - Tucson, Arizona KOOP - Hornsby, Texas “103.7 The Planet” KPLN - San Diego, California KJLS - Hays, Kansas KQXY - Nederland, Texas WHSA - Brule, Wisconsin KPRO - Riverside, California 92,2 Radio Toulouse - Toulouse, France “Jazz FM 98” KIFM - San Diego, California KFWB - Los Angeles, California Radio Nostalgie 101.4 - France Energie 101,5 - Lyon, France “The River 93.5” WCTB - Waterville, Maine KFMW - Waterloo, Iowa KRNA - Iowa City, Iowa KKUA - Wailuku, Hawaii KHUM - Ferndale, California KGON - Portland, Oregon KIPO - Honolulu, Hawaii Radio Toulouse - Toulouse, France “93 Rock” KRXQ - Roseville, CA KLAW - Lawton, Oklahoma KONA - Kennewick, Washington KQKI - Morgan City, Louisiana “KRock 101.5” KMKF - Manhattan, Kansas KQRS - Golden Valley, Minnesota KRBE - Houston, Texas “Kiss 97.3” KKSS - Albuquerque, New Mexico KPCC - Pasadena, California KMLB - Monroe, Louisiana “The Boss 93.9” KOYN - Paris, Texas “B100” KBDR - Mirando City, Texas “Mix 96.3” KHMX - Houston, Texas KABF - Little Rock, Arkansas KRCC - Colorado Springs, Colorado WVBR - Ithaca, New York KPLX - Fort Worth, Texas KLJC - Kansas City, Missouri WRKY - Steubenville, Ohio Radio Pori - Pori, Finland

Coral Coast Radio

4BCR "Coral Coast Radio" is a community broadcaster from Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia. They have a variety of block formatted programming including Rock, Jazz, Blues, Country, Easy Listening and Ethnic.

Z Rock

Z Rock was a nationally syndicated Hard Rock/Heavy Metal radio network based out of Dallas, Texas. They existed from 1986 to 1996. I remember listening to our local Z Rock affiliate, 96.5 WZRZ out of Cincinnati which went on the air in 1990. At least one station still uses the Z Rock name and logo despite the network being defunct--KRQR from Orland, California. A surprising number of Z Rock stations lived on the AM dial including these three:

KMTW - Las Vegas, Nevada. Currently Spanish as KRLV.


KKZR - Houston, Texas. Currently News/Talk KNTH.

WLPZ - Westbrook, Maine. Currently carries a Sports format as WRED.

My son displaying a vintage, shark-logoed Z Rock t-shirt along with some apparent roid rage.

WFSR

1470 WFSR was a Country station from Harlan, Kentucky circa 1982. They're currently a Gospel station located at 970 AM. Just what exactly is "Country Lovin?" I'm serious...I have no idea. (Insert sheep joke here.)

Market #1s - Philadelphia - WBEB

101.1 FM first went on the air in 1963 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as WDVR. They became Adult Contemporary "B101.1" around 1993 and remain the only independently owned station in the market. WBEB was the highest-rated station in Philly according to the latest Arbitron ratings.

WRKO

WRKO was a powerhouse Top-40 station in Boston, Massachusetts from 1967 to 1981. They now carry a Talk format. An excellent WRKO tribute site can be found here.

WLLK

WLLK is a CHR station licensed to Somerset, Kentucky at 102.3 FM. From 2001 to 2005 WLLK lived at 93.9 FM licensed to Burnside, KY with the same format (I'm assuming.) WLLK is owned by Clear Channel Communications and this decal seems like a version of their ubiquitous Mix stickers.

WFUV

WFUV is a National Public Radio affiliate owned by Fordham University in New York, New York. They play Adult Album Alternative music along with some Folk, Pop and Jazz.

WABX

WABX was an Album Oriented Rock station from Detroit, Michigan. In the late 1960s they played freeform progressive rock but moved toward mainstream AOR in the 1970s. By the 80s WABX was the third ranked Rock station in Detroit behind WRIF and WLLZ. They flipped to Soft Rock "Class FM" WCLS in 1984. 99.5 FM currently carries a Country format as WYCD. WABX's logo was ripped-off lovingly borrowed by the current WABX in Evansville, Indiana.

WABX

WABX is a Classic Rock station from Evansville, Indiana.

KRVG

KRVG "95.5 The River" is a Classic Rock station licensed to Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

HFS Returns

Long-time Washington DC/Baltimore Alternative station WHFS (W High Fidelity Stereo) will return to the airwaves at 97.5 FM on August 1. In the 1960s and '70s WHFS was a Freeform Rock station located at 102.3 FM and had been a Modern Rock station until 1983 when they moved to 99.1 FM.  HFS flipped abruptly to Tropical Latin "El Zol" WLZL in 2005. WHFS is officially the HD-2 feed of WWMX at 106.5 FM and translated on W248AO at 97.5 FM licensed to Baltimore, Maryland.

EDIT:  I just finished watching a documentary titled "Feast Your Ears: The Story of WHFS 102.3".  This excellent feature-length doc focuses on WHFS' years as a Freeform Rock station with tons of interviews from station employees and performers who were heard on--and were fans of--the beloved station.  As of this edit in October 2024, it's available to stream for free on the PBS app.

Monsters of Rock / WRIF

The 1988 Monsters of Rock was a festival tour featuring Metallica, Dokken, Scorpions, Kingdom Come and headlined by Van Halen. This WRIF sticker was released to coincide with the June 16th and 17th stop of the tour at the Pontiac Silverdome near Detroit, Michigan. WRIF has been giving out various bumper stickers in the classic "racetrack" shape for much of its 40 year history. Most feature a band's name or logo but some have included sports teams, DJs, and station slogans. The station's website has a section with many of their decals over the years. There are probably hundreds (maybe thousands?) of different WRIF stickers out there. Some people have even made a hobby out of collecting WRIF stix.

KKRS

KKRS is a Christian station licensed to Davenport, Washington. They are one of a zillion stations and translators in the Calvary Satellite Network.

Bridges

Earlier this month we went white water rafting in West Virginia. It was something I'd never done before and was a total blast (that's me in back left of the picture....I let my son take the brunt of the rapids sitting front left.)

Near the end of the six hour journey we passed under the spectacular, 876 foot high New River Gorge Bridge. It's the longest steel span in the western hemisphere and the second highest vehicular bridge in the United States. The 1977 completion of the bridge reduced a winding, 40 minute drive to less than a minute.



KTBG "90.9 The Bridge" is an Adult Album Alternative station owned by the University of Central Missouri and licensed to Warrensburg, MO. They also carry some programming from National Public Radio including All Things Considered and Morning Edition.

KCWN is a Christian Contemporary station licensed to New Sharon, Iowa.

CKBD became Canada's first Contemporary Christian station in 1994. The 600 AM frequency went dark in 2008, having been used in Vancouver, British Columbia under various call letters since 1933.

KBSO

KBSO carried a "Texas Mix" format consisting of outlaw/progressive/classic country along with some rock from artists like ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Van Morrison. They were on the air from 2001 to 2006. After switching to Tejano they have since returned for one more go at the Texas Country format as "Badlands FM." KBSO is licensed to Corpus Christi, Texas.

KEGG

1560 AM KEGG was a Country station (at least when this sticker was printed) from Daingerfield, Texas. After reading the little bit of history I could find on this station, it seems they've had quite a few formats over the years and a fair amount of poor ownership. If this bulletin board post can be believed, in 1994 they switched to Urban yet, amazingly, carried Rush Limbaugh in the afternoon. 1560 AM is currently a Country Gospel station, "King Country Radio" KNGR.
This jumbo sticker measures a whopping 15" across.

Radio in the Movies #6 - "A.M. Mayhem"

"A.M. Mayhem" is a documentary about Tucson, Arizona's first Hip-Hop station "Power 1490" KJYK. I haven't seen the film myself because the only public showing was last night at the Fox Theatre in Tucson although it is also available on DVD.

"Power 1490" played Hip-Hop and Rap from 1991 to 1995. They then switched to Modern Rock KKND "The End"--an abrupt format flip that remained a mystery but is apparently explained in the movie. Watch the trailer below:

Anheuser-Busch / KMOX

While in St. Louis we took a tour of the Anheuser-Busch brewery.

The tour was very interesting. Anheuser-Busch was formed in 1869 and became the largest brewer in the United States in 1957. Three buildings on its site are listed as National Historic Landmarks. Afterwards we got two free glasses of beer. I chose a Shock Top and a Stella Artois. I had no idea that A-B brewed, imported or distributed so many brands besides Budweiser: Beck's, Michelob, Natural Light, Bass Ale, Rolling Rock and Bacardi Silver among many others.

The best part of the tour might have been seeing the famous Budweiser Clydesdales. There are five "hitches" or teams of horses that travel the country for promotional purposes and one hitch that stays at the brewery in a historic brick stable. To become a Budweiser Clydesdale the horse must have a reddish-brown coat, four white stocking feet and a blaze of white on their face. If not, then it's off to the glue factory they probably stay at Anheuser-Busch-owned Grant's Farm or their breeding facility Warm Springs Ranch.

I knew these horses were massive but you really have no idea until you're right up next to one (I'm 5'11".)

I also saw two beer wagon dalmatians scamper through the stable but they ran off before I could get a picture.

KMOX is a News/Talk station from St. Louis, Missouri. Anheuser-Busch owned the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team from 1953 to 1996. The Cardinals home of Busch Stadium was originally going to be called Budweiser Stadium but was prevented from doing so by Major League Baseball. A-B went ahead and named it Busch Stadium and then slyly introduced a new brew called Busch Bavarian Beer.