Radio Waves: November 17, 2023

John and Ken’s Ken Chiampou hanging up his headphones

Ken Chiampou, half of the long-running and tremendously popular John and Ken Show airing weekdays from 1 to 4 p.m. on KFI (640 AM) is hanging up his headphones. He announced the decision to retire at the start of the program last Monday, November 13th. Chiampou will leave the show on December 6th, at which time the other half of the show — John Kobylt — will go solo.

Together since 1988, they made a real name for themselves at WKXW/Trenton, New Jersey, when they went after New Jersey governor Jim Florio on the air for passing a huge tax hike. The coverage caught the attention of listeners throughout the broadcast area, and helped propel them to the top of the ratings.

In 1992, the duo moved to Los Angeles to take over afternoons on KFI. Except for a roughly two-year period starting in March, 1999 when their contract ran out and they soon found themselves doing mornings on KABC (790 AM), they have called KFI home for the past three decades.

“Ken is such a talent!” exclaimed KFI programmer Robin Bertolucci. He has the unique ability to add information, wind John up, cool him down, and keep the show on track. Their chemistry is true magic!” 

Unlike some teams that grow tired of each other, they remain friends to this day.

I’ll have look back at their career highlights in a near-future column. In the meantime, if you have memories or thoughts of their show, send them my way!

Highway Radio

Last weekend my wife Jean and I took a drive to Las Vegas for a family reunion, as cousins on her side of the family have lived in the area for many years. We don’t go all that much, but between family visits and other trips we get out once a year … maybe twice. 

Funny, though, one of my memories going way back revolves around the Highway Stations, a set of stations spaced out such that much of the drive between Victorville and Vegas is filled with adult contemporary music, news, traffic, and updates on what is happening in and around the famous casinos.

This last trip, I was wondering if the Highway Stations were still on the air … it had been years and numerous trips since I had tuned in, and I started thinking that it had been a very long time  since I say a billboard advertising the frequencies on which to tune in.

With streaming services, downloaded music and even satellite radio offering entertainment on the drive to Las Vegas, do the Highway Stations even exist?

Turns out they do … and since I last noticed, they’ve multiplied. Must be the fertile desert sand. Now there are three formats to entertain you: Highway Drive (96.9 and 94.9 FM) playing alternative rock; Highway Country (101.5 and 107.3 FM); and The Highway VIBE (99.7 and 98.9 FM) playing contemporary hit and dance music. The adult contemporary format I remember — which back then ran on three FM frequencies — is gone, as is the original format when the stations launched in 1980 that featured the some of the Las Vegas performers of the day … think Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra.

The format expansion occurred under current owner Heftel Broadcasting, which bought the original Highway Stations (then playing dance music) out of bankruptcy in 2017. Since that time the company has added signals by buying from other companies, allowing the new formats to develop.

The alternative format is quite good, on par with any other station I can think of … I listened for a long time until I couldn’t pick it up. It was then that I discovered the other formats, accidentally, as I tried to find another receivable Drive frequency … which I never did. It would have helped to know the various format frequencies, and again called out the lack of marketing … there are no billboards or signs I ever saw directing me to any of the stations. Not even anything in Baker, home of the world’s largest thermometer — something I remember being advertised years ago on the old Highway Stations.

In the end I was pleased to know that the stations are still on the air, still priding a service for the many who drive across the desert for their vacations. But I cannot figure out why radio does such a poor job of marketing that this obvious need is so totally ignored. After I lost the signal, we switched over to the K-Mozart (1260 AM, 105.1 HD2) app and listened to classical music the rest of the way. Jean’s Dad Roger likes classical music.

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