92.3 KKFR - Power 92 Archives - FM Airchecks: Recent Episodes
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At Noon on September 2, 1993, following a sale from Edens Broadcasting to Sundance Broadcasting, CHR “Y95” ceased to exist on KOY 95.5 FM in Phoenix. For the next 24 hours, a stunt known as “American Radio Museum” would air on the frequency. According to Wikipedia, the stunt featured “loops of quotes from famous people and figures from American pop culture and history.” This aircheck contains two sweepers from that stunt, along with one of the “special Arizona exhibits”. On September 3, 1993, “95.5 the Coyote” debuted with a format known as “Rhythm and Rock”. This aircheck also contains a promo that aired during the early days of “The Coyote”, featuring feedback from the station’s listeners. (Six months later, the format switched to Smooth Jazz, with “The Coyote” name remaining intact.) At the end of the aircheck is a promo that begin airing on Rhythmic CHR KKFR “Power 92” on the afternoon of September 2, 1993, inviting displaced Y95 listeners over to 92.3 FM. The promo claimed that Power 92 “won’t sell out” — yet that’s pretty much what happened 3 1/2 months later, as their successful Rhythmic CHR format (and almost all hip-hop and R&B songs) was replaced with a considerably less successful Modern Rock-oriented Mainstream CHR format. The final days of Y95 (although not THE final day) can be heard towards the end of this aircheck. Thanks to Beau Duran for contributing the logo! EDIT: And thanks to John Davis for the amazing behind-the-scenes insider info posted as a comment below!
The post KYOT (95.5) – Phoenix – Sep ’93 (stunting: Amer. Radio Museum) appeared first on FM Airchecks.
Since June of 1997, KKFR — both at its former home on 92.3 FM, and at its current home on 98.3 & 96.1 FM — has made hip-hop and R&B the primary focus of its Rhythmic CHR format. However, around January 1999, the station began incorporating elements reminiscent of its days as a more traditional Rhythmic CHR in the early and mid-90’s. This continued until at least July 2000, as heard on this sample of the “Power Workout at Noon” mixshow. The station’s slogan at this time was a hybrid of two of its positioning statements from the mid to early 90’s – “Power 92 Jams Today’s Hottest Music”.
The post KKFR (Power 92) – Phoenix – July 2000 – Mini Salas & DJ Earth (Power Workout @ Noon) appeared first on FM Airchecks.
During the mid-1990’s, under the direction of Program Director Don Parker, KKFR (Power 92) in Phoenix was at its peak, registering an all-time high 7.1 share (12+) in the Winter 1996 Arbitron survey. The station offered a broad Rhythmic CHR mix that focused primarily on dance and R&B music. In the Spring of 1996, KBZR (103.9 FM) in rural Coolidge, AZ began a six-month stunt focused on “old school” music that eventually led to a hip-hop/old school-friendly Rhythmic CHR format. At the end of October 1996, the station officially signed on as “The New 103.9, Arizona’s Party Station.” In its first full book (Winter 1997), KBZR (eventually KPTY) achieved a 2.9 share 12+ … which was absolutely remarkable considering that it was operating with a signal possibly as weak as 1,100 watts located some 50 miles outside of the Phoenix metro. In the same survey, KKFR fell to a 4.7 share 12+. The station began to emulate KPTY in some ways, such as offering contests in which listeners were rewarded for having a Power 92 bumper sticker, airing more mixshow programming and more old school music in general. This aircheck was recorded in the midst of these changes – it features samples of the “9:26 Quick Mix”, the “Drive at Five”, and the “Power 500” classic dance/old school countdown from Memorial Day Weekend 1997. On June 13, 1997, KKFR began focusing exclusively on hip-hop and R&B music, and adopted the tagline “Where Hip-Hop Lives”.
The post KKFR (Power 92) – Phoenix – Spring/Memorial Day Weekend 1997 – Various Personalities appeared first on FM Airchecks.
Recorded on Good Friday 1991, this is a sample of the dominant CHR station in Phoenix for most of the 1990’s, at the start of that decade. Specifically, this is a montage of the “Power Morning Zoo”. One of the co-hosts was Danny Partridge a.k.a. Danny Bonaduce, who became a TV star via “The Partridge Family” in the 1970’s. He joined KKFR around September 1990. Two days after this aircheck was recorded, Bonaduce was involved in an incident with a prostitute. The next day, he was placed on administrative leave. Many thanks to Beau Duran of WBBM NewsRadio for providing this aircheck.
The post KKFR (Power 92) – Phoenix – 3/29/91 – Scott Thrower, Danny Partridge, Kelly Boom appeared first on FM Airchecks.
Recorded on Cinco de Mayo 1995 – this is a sample of the only CHR serving the Valley of the Sun in the early to mid-90’s. In late 1993, despite enjoying great success as a Rhythmic CHR, Power 92 flipped to Modern Rock-heavy Mainstream CHR. Ratings declined, and the station began to move back towards Rhythmic CHR by the Fall of 1994. When this aircheck was recorded, the station used a Dance-heavy approach; the sound evolved to one more based on R&B (but remained Dance-friendly) by the Fall of 1995, which led to the station achieving an all-time high 7.0 Arbitron share (12+). Featuring entertaining sweepers voiced by Marc Driscoll, Power 92 was just a fun station to listen in this era. Especially now, I appreciate that they always had live legal IDs at this time. Also, I’ve left intact a couple of commercials that were done by the station’s various personalities.
The post KKFR (Power 92) – Phoenix – 5/5/95 – Carey Edwards appeared first on FM Airchecks.
This aircheck is a flashback to KKFR’s days as a 100,000 watt powerhouse originating from South Mountain in Phoenix. Following an ill-fated attempt at a Modern Rock oriented Mainstream CHR format during the first half of 1994, Power 92 began making a gradual transition back to Rhythmic CHR. By the Spring of 1995, as demonstrated on this montage, Dance and R&B-oriented titles dominated the playlist.
The post KKFR (Power 92) – Phoenix – April 1995 – Brian Simpson appeared first on FM Airchecks.
During the mid-1990′s, under the direction of Program Director Don Parker, KKFR (Power 92) in Phoenix was at its peak, registering an all-time high 7.1 share (12+) in the Winter 1996 Arbitron survey. The station offered a broad Rhythmic CHR mix that focused primarily on dance and R&B music. The weekend before Christmas 1995, the station celebrated its 10-year anniversary by playing songs with release dates as early as 1985. In reality, the station’s formats during that era, particularly from 1991-1994, were not necessarily ones that featured the selections heard on this montage; this is more of a representation of what would have been played if Power 92 had their late 1995 format during the full span. One of the personalities heard is Supersnake. He was one of the most recognized personalities in Phoenix radio, being heard at not only KKFR, but also KPTY (“Arizona’s Party Station“), KZZP (“104.7 Kiss-FM”), KZON (“Live 101.5“) and KAJM (“Mega 104.3“). Note: Part 2 of this already lengthy aircheck will be posted at a later date.
The post KKFR (Power 92) – Phoenix – 12/22 & 12/23/95 – (“FIRST 10 YEARS OF POWER 92”) – Supersnake & Cosmo (Part 1 of 2) appeared first on FM Airchecks.
“Today’s Hottest Music is on Power 92”. This aircheck, recorded on the night before Thanksgiving 1995, represents the sound of KKFR (92.3) Glendale/Phoenix that led the station to an all-time high 7.0 Arbitron share (12+). At this time, Power 92 offered superb all-around music, air talent, and production values. Hosted by Roxanne Steele (who later spent over a decade at Chicago’s B96).
The post KKFR (Power 92) – Phoenix – Nov 22/23, 1995 – Roxanne Steele appeared first on FM Airchecks.
This aircheck of KKFR, during its peak in the mid-1990’s, features morning show hosts Bruce Kelly & Maggie Brock broadcasting live from Majerle’s sports bar in downtown Phoenix, giving away tickets to games in the the Portland Trailblazers/Phoenix Suns first-round NBA playoff series.
The post KKFR (Power 92) – Phoenix – 4/28/95 – Bruce & Maggie appeared first on FM Airchecks.
This is a brief montage of the “Power Morning Zoo” as heard on KKFR (Power 92), which was the dominant CHR station in Phoenix for most of the 1990’s. The star of the show was Dave Ryan, who had joined Power 92 recently, after being at Adult CHR KZZP through its final days. Ryan departed KKFR in March 1993 and landed at legendary Mainstream CHR KDWB/Minneapolis – and as of February 2017, he remains their morning show host.
The post KKFR (Power 92) – Phoenix – early 1993 – Dave Ryan appeared first on FM Airchecks.