Tune Into Free-Form Radio!

Photo Credit: kdvs.org

Relive what FM radio was like in the early days as KDVS, the radio station operated by UC Davis students, joins forces with former air staff of legendary Sacramento radio station KZAP to celebrate free-form radio.

KDVS will dedicate 48 hours of continuous programing featuring former KZAP disc jockeys playing the music of the late-1960s and early-1970s and telling stories about what it was like in the early days of progressive FM radio. The special programming begins 6:00 a.m. Thursday, November 8, 2012, and ends at 6:00 a.m. Saturday, November 10.

Back in the 1960s, most radio stations were only playing music from the top 40 playlist. Around that time, Tom Donahue invented free-form radio in which a station would play the album tracks chosen by the DJ rather than from the predetermined top 40 playlist.

Founded in November 8, 1968 in Sacramento, CA, KZAP was one of the earliest adopters of free-form radio. Ed Fitzgerald, Clear-Com’s Director of Customer Satisfaction, was the General Manager of and a DJ (Uncle Ed) at KZAP during its early beginnings. He will be one of the individuals featured on KDVS this week.

On a similar note, many of the rock and roll legends that were featured on KZAP played at the Avalon Ballroom, which was a music venue owned by Bob Cohen, who was one of the founders of Clear-Com. Those musicians included the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane and more. Tune into KDVS to hear some of those great hits once again!

The full press release, "KDVS Radio Celebrates Free-Form Radio," was featured on the KDVS website.