KRCD (FM)


KRCD is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Inglewood, California, and broadcasting to Greater Los Angeles on 103.9 MHz.
KRCV is also a commercial FM radio station, licensed to West Covina, California, and broadcasting to the eastern San Gabriel Valley area of the Eastern Los Angeles radio market on 98.3 MHz.
KRCV and KRCD simulcast a Spanish language adult hits radio format branded as "Recuerdo" or in English, "Memory." The music focuses on the Mexican soft regional, pop and ballad hits of the 1980s, 1990s and up to 2010. The stations are owned by Univision Communications.
The stations have studios located on Centre Drive in Westchester area of West Los Angeles. KRCD's transmitter is at a site in the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area in Baldwin Hills. KRCV's transmitter is off Via Blanca in San Dimas near California State Route 57.

History of 103.9

KTYM-FM

On 14 February 1958, the station signed on as KTYM-FM. In its early days, 103.9 mostly simulcast co-owned AM 1460 KTYM. The stations were owned by Al J. Williams. Because KTYM was then a daytimer, required to be off the air at night, programming continued in the evening on KTYM-FM.
In 1961, KTYM-FM began targeting Los Angeles' African-American community at night with R&B and soul music. The first black Operations Manager on Los Angeles FM radio was Charles Johnson and Lonnie Cookie was the first African-American program director on an FM station. KTYM-FM carried the AM station's programming by day. Then from sunset to midnight, the station aired black programming. Johnson had been a popular disc jockey at KPRS Kansas City and Cook was also from Kansas City.
The format included R&B, Doo Wop, and Blues. Floyd Ray, the owner of the first black Los Angeles record distributor and former big band leader, hosted one of the shows. Ron Johnson was the lone white DJ. At midnight, just before sign-off, the station played "Sugarloaf at Twilight" by Ahmad Jamal, who doubled as a station engineer. Many future celebrities made their debuts on the station including a police officer who would soon be the Mayor of Los Angeles, Tom Bradley. LaMonte McLemore was a member of The Intervals and was the station photographer. He was the photographer of the center page models in Jet magazine and later was one of The 5th Dimension.
KTYM-FM was noted for its independent approach to programming, and many times refused to air the designated "A" side of a record. It even played tunes like "Your Old Lady" by The Isley Brothers which had been banned from airplay in 1961. Cook featured the Doo Wop "B" side "Write to Me". AM 1230 KGFJ's Larry McCormick heard the station making noise and getting attention with "Your Old Lady" and added it to his playlist and to his televised dance show. When Atlantic Records got calls for the 45 rpm record, the record label put it back on the market, earning a new hit song.

KAGB-FM and KACE

In 1973, Avant Garde Broadcasting acquired KTYM-FM and changed the call letters to KAGB-FM. For the next three and a half decades, 103.9 FM, which became KACE in 1976, played urban contemporary music. It became one of the premier stations for African American listeners in the Los Angeles area. In 1977, after Avant Gardé was put into receivership, All Pro Broadcasting, owned by former Green Bay Packers defensive end Willie Davis and his wife Ann, acquired the newly renamed KACE. Some of the air personalities included Steve Woods, Lawrence Tanter, Pam Wells, Lisa Lipps, Ken Taylor, Hamilton Cloud, E.Z. Wiggins, Karla with a K, Mark Gunne, Antoinette Russell, Tommy T. with Mike Mann, and Rico Reedie, along with news and public affairs personalities that included Ron Dungee, Sam Putineye, Mark Whitelocke, Isidra Person-Lynnie and Kevin A. Ross.
For a three-year period, between 1988–90, the station featured nightclub-formatted music mix shows for every six days a week, with Southern California club DJ Elvin Bridges. In addition to being an on-air personality, Bridges created and produced his own weekday music mix show that aired during the afternoon rush hour he coined "Bumper To Bumper - In The Mix with Elvin Bridges", plus a weekly three-hour Saturday night party music mix show. "Let's Talk", "Speak Out", "Sunday Morning Live" and "The People's Connection" were popular community affairs talk shows. Production director Mark Drummond was also assistant program director during the Cox ownership years, and later worked on the production staffs at AM 640 KFI.
KACE experimented with a hip-hop format in 1993 as "The People's Station, The New V103.9." Because KACE was powered at only 3,000 watts, it added an Inland Empire simulcast, KAEV, which also broadcast at 103.9 The Variety. But the hip hop music was scaled back in October of that same year. Davis' company, responding to the political and social backlash against hip hop, announced an prohibition of the words "bitch," "ho," and "nigger" on air, and shifted to a "Positive Urban" format. However, this lowered ratings significantly. Davis flipped KACE to urban oldies and ended the simulcast with KAEV, switching it to modern rock as KCXX.
In 1994, KACE was sold to Cox Radio for $11.3 millon. Cox was then also the owner of 640 KFI and 103.5 KOST-FM.

History of 98.3

On 18 November 1957, KDRC went on the air. It was owned by Pacific South Broadcasting with J. Kent Blanché and J. David Worthy as the principals. The studios were at 1415 West Garvey Avenue.
In 1962, KDRC became KBOB, airing an easy listening format. In the late 1980s, it became a dance music station. In 1993, it switched to adult contemporary music as KMQA, Valley 98.3 or 98.3 The Valley's soft rock station. The station was powered at only 2,300 watts, targeting the San Gabriel Valley. In 1992, the station was sold to San Gabriel Valley Radio Communications Corporation Ltd. for $3.2 million.
San Gabriel Valley Radio Communications Corporation switched 98.3 to a unique rock en español format, becoming KRTO "Valle 98.3." Shortly after Cox Radio bought KACE, it added KRTO to give KACE's programming better coverage in the eastern suburbs of Los Angeles. Cox paid $19 million for the 98.3 signal.

Simulcast

In 1997, the two stations began simulcasting KACE's Urban AC format on two frequencies. In 1999, the stations added the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show but ratings remained low.
In 2000, Cox decided to leave the Los Angeles radio market. It traded 103.5 KOST and 640 KFI to a radio company known as AMFM in exchange for several stations in Atlanta where Cox is headquartered. KACE/KRTO were sold to Hispanic Broadcasting Company. The price tag for 103.9 in Inglewood and 98.3 in West Covina was $75 million.
Once the sale was finalised, the stations flipped to an adult hits in Spanish format, branded as "Recuerdo" or in English, "Memory." KACE switched its call sign to KRCD while KRTO became KRCV. In recent years, the station has dropped most 60's and 70's music and is focused on the 80's to 2010. Both stations became affiliates of the Uforia Audio Network in 2019.