KFRC was first heard on September 24, 1924. The station, initially located in the Hotel Whitcomb, was launched by a San Francisco radio shop called Radio Art Corporation. Young Harrison Holliway, a Stanford student employed by the radio shop, was the station manager and would go on to play a major role in the station’s development over the next decade.
Within a year, KFRC wound up under the ownership of the City of Paris department store and quickly gained prominence, becoming a flagship for both local programming and national network broadcasts.
In its early years, KFRC became known for live music broadcasts, comedy, drama, and variety shows, reflecting the golden age of radio. It was a cornerstone of the Don Lee network after the automobile dealer bought the station in 1926. When Lee joined forces with CBS in the 1930s, KFRC became one of its key West Coast stations. During this period, KFRC offered listeners big band performances and dramatic serials, and helped to launch the careers of many national entertainers.
A long-running favorite program of this era, The Breakfast Gang, featured versatile entertainer Mel Venter and bandleader/sidekick Lyle Bardo.
In the early 1940s, as World War 2 shook up American society, Ruth Anderson became San Francisco’s only female news anchor. Her fifteen-minute program Last Minute News was heard six days a week on KFRC.
RKO General acquired KFRC in 1949, running it as a personality-based station playing middle of the road music until the mid-1960s, when a major change occurred.
Rebranded as “The Big 610,” the Top-40 KFRC became a cultural touchstone for Bay Area youth. Under the leadership of programmer Bill Drake and consultant Gene Chenault, KFRC implemented the “Boss Radio” format—tight playlists, energetic DJs, and a fast-paced presentation.
Throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, KFRC was one of the most influential Top 40 stations in the United States. Its powerhouse lineup included legendary DJs like Dr. Don Rose, Bobby Ocean, and Dave Sholin. The station was instrumental in breaking new records and launching major artists, contributing heavily to the popular music culture of the time.
As musical tastes changed and FM radio gained dominance in the 1980s, KFRC’s audience began to decline. In 1986, the station transitioned to an oldies format known as “Magic 61”, playing hits from the 1950s to the 1970s. Although the shift appealed to nostalgic listeners, it marked the start of a string of format changes over the following decades.
KFRC would be sold to Bedford Broadcasting in 1991 and then to Alliance Broadcasting in 1993. Infinity Broadcasting acquired the station in 1996. Corporate mergers in the ensuing years put KFRC under the ownership of Viacom International.
In 2005, as part of a transaction in which Viacom acquired Sacramento’s KOVR-TV, KFRC was sold to Family Stations. At midnight on April 29, 2005, Family Stations took control and began carrying Christian educational programming on KFRC.
A marketing agreement between KFRC and the Oakland Athletics meant A’s baseball stayed on the station until the end of the 2005 season. On October 3, 2005, with the baseball season over, Family Stations changed the station’s call letters to KEAR, ending an 81-year legacy for KFRC.
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