The End of KFRC

On August 11, 1986, The Big 6-10, KFRC in San Francisco dropped the top 40 format that had catapulted it into the #1 position in the Bay Area for more than a decade. This tribute, from KXTV, News10, in Sacramento, aired three days earlier, on Aug. 8, as the KFRC personalities said their final farewells.

[@depaola63]

I’m 58 in May and from the east bay towns of Pittsburg and Antioch ❤️ Dr. Don and KFRC was my youth 🌈 absolutely Classic memories 💎

[@ScottInVa1760]

KFRC was my favorite AM station for years. It'll live on in memory. Anyone else remember those crazy hours with Dr Don Rose?

[@PlasmaCoolantLeak]

Loved those shows. Would have loved to have had his library of sound effects.

[@danno02]

Shortly after high school (1986) I worked on his back padio in Alamo when I was a concrete guy. I met him and he sounded just like he did on the radio. He was a warm and friendly man.

[@maryrafuse2297]

KFRC was famous. Growing up in a Nova Scotia radio family we were aware of this station. We listened to air checks sent by a friend in San Francisco. It was one amazing and popular station. I don't believe the bull crap about AM Radio being impossible to sell in a market like the Bay Area. Unfortunately AM radio going talk has reinforced a lot of hate in the United States. Wide bandwidth AM radio's can sound very good and transmitters such as the Nautel line bring out the best sound possible. AM stations can have a very punchy pop sound. Unlike tube transmitters the loudness and performance of Nautel transmitters remain constant. Their is something magical about a powerful AM station reaching a massive audience. I would love to own CKLW and KFRC returning them to their former glory. And yes with great personalities behind the microphone and the best music they would prove to be popular.

[@danadams596]

Everything you said is so true. Unfortunately, I think that era is gone. You may want to check out this streaming station based on KFRC ... JFRC, which includes some of the original jocks who graced the 610AM airwaves. jfrcradio.com/

[@NyeGuy-yv2dv]

The summer of 1984 was spent at my grandparents home in Santa Clara. I had an old am radio for entertainment and that is when I discovered Dr. Don Rose and KFRC. I spent that whole summer discovering rock music and that lead to my career in music. I have KFRC to thank for that.

[@brianoneill7186]

Summer of '84 was probably thepeak of Top 40 rock for the decade.

[@10TVMan]

So true. I grew up in San Jose as well when there were several excellent AM radio stations ... KLIV, KYA, KEWB, and starting in 1966, KFRC. And, as Dr. Don told me many years later, there will never be another KFRC.

[@mrbinky7]

Flashback: Dr Don Rose was a GOD OF RADIO... talent, wit, humor and best... a big heart. You helped the bay everyday with your love. Facebook, Google, Apple, Twitter, Prudential, Morgan Stanley, Bank Of America, Wells Fargo and many other owe you a tribute for your energy in the morning to start the day in the best place to be in the world, the city by the bay.....

[@MannyMallo]

The memories of the 60s was something that will, is burnt into my mind forever. And all those sounds, concerts, shows, etc., where amplified with both, KFRC, and KYA-1260, am too.... Those times and events will never return! So remember them...forever in your mind!

[@bernardevans1]

Been there when the mic goes down for the last time........ this is sure stirring up some Ghosts for me, ....... Heartbeat Fm Dublin 1988 .... The Hearbeat of Dublin City,

[@ModelA]

I miss you every day, Don. I presume you are keeping God laughing in heaven.

[@christopherbrowne977]

I remember 2 big morning shows - Dr. Donald D. Rose on KFRC and Frank Dill and Mike Cleary on KNBR. Just great stuff.

[@hawknews8503]

Grew up in the 1970’s, loved KFRC!

[@arbonneladyTN]

Alameda girl here… loved KFRC! Dr Don Rose was the best! Just now seeing this y/tube. Thanks to the U.S. Navy, we left the Bay Area in ‘87. Majority of my Family is still there but, KFRC isn’t and that is a shame.

[@capitolguy106]

Yup, I saw your other video of DDR saying there will never be another KFRC. Thanks again for the great memory!

[@peterjv8748]

I could hear it in Tahoe on a good night.

[@visionseeker68]

That was me too, grew up during the 70s and 80s while hearing Dr. Donald Rose on KFRC with his characteristic jovial sense of humor. I even had the pleasure of sharing a correspondence with him before he passed.

[@awake7126]

Loved KFRC. I grew up with it. Don Rose and Jane Dornacker. Still the best ever!

[@chiefvilla3167]

I live in Northern California I grew up in. 90 MI miles north of San Francisco in the Redwoods. And I grew up listening to kfrc radio. Transistor radios. I rode bicycles afternoons Backroads where I lived afrc help me through my times. See I grew up with my grandfather. . Couldn't really ask anything so I learned a lot by listening to the radio the music I grew up listening to from the fifties through the mid-sixties actually 67. Kfrc for me all the time. Then came FM. My last word was a 10 transistor so it actually had FM.👍🏽🤙🏾✌🏽👏🏽😊😎🙋🏽‍♂️. I'm watching you on KZbin .

[@BG-su6gx]

Food for thought....what would KFRC be today had they stayed with it...evolved the music but stuck with it? Won't work because it's on the AM dial...and people don't listen to music on AM? Is that what the Geniuses that run stations say? But did listeners back then listen strictly for the music? No !!...music was only part of it. Radio then was more than just music...it was information and entertainment. Radio then was like a reliable friend you could always turn to. Radio Stations back then tapped our emotions too. They made us laugh and happy...sometimes made us cry or sad...but that is what made it so compelling! Some experts say people don't get news from Radio anymore....tell that to WINS in NYC. Radio's audience wanting music has not deteriorated that much in the last 30 years. Radio Stations use to have a personality of its own, all made up by the Jocks, the music, creative contests, news, traffic, weather, callers etc etc. The worse thing that ever happened to Radio was "more music...less talk" ! There was a time...when if you wanted to know what was happening in a particular city...more than likely there was a Top 40 station you could turn to to find out. Stations don't even have live local Jocks anymore...at least outside of morning drive. The big companies have drilled it down to run it so lean that they've cut out the most important thing....local personalities market specific. Will it ever come back around?? If it does...it won't be the big companies to do it... They ruined Radio...period.

[@yolandajohnson8685]

This reminds me of when WIBG was going off air, this is what is was saying: WIBG is dying, WIBG is dying and kept on until it was off air. Many decades later (just last year) I came across it on KZbin. It sounded so good that I got very emotional and started crying like a baby (tears of joy) it brought back such sweet memories. Nothing like vintage radio. The DJ's were so wonderful. But, thanks to KZbin I can reminisce with those beloved radio stations. THANK YOU KZbin!!!!

[@caesarbenutto845]

I remember this station my grandfather always used to switch on KFRC when he was giving me rides to school when I was a kid. This station give me respect for older music thank you for the wonderful times KFRC.

[@FYIfuckutube2011]

Dr Don was the listen to DJ on the way to school out here in Stockton. Starting the day will his jokes and antics was great. Seems everyone was tuned in on what he said.

[@mrgreenjeans1794]

As a child, remember the days when AM radio was king. Had a pocket size panasonic battery operated radio with antenna and would listen all day to those classic billboard 100 songs from late 60s early 70s. FM was still underground or croner radio in 1970. As the decade slipped away I remember how each of those once upon a time top rated AM radio stations like KFRC and Philly giants WIBBAGE and WFIL signed off or changed formats ending an era that started with rock rolls beginning back in 50s. End was slow a coming and sad. Miss those create broadcasters. FM radio does not have the same excellence in broadcasting.

[@daprezzzzzz]

i first listenned to kfrc in 1976 and i had finally found rock n roll. before that i thought that i liked country. kfrc is the background music to my adolescence and dr don will always be remembered as that friend that woke me up every morning. long live the king

[@56firedome]

Dr. Don! loved the work he did on KFRC and KBHK TV 44.

[@rwagoner]

Blame the decline of KFRC on ONE man: Walter Sabo. Hired to "save" the RKO AM stations, he totally destroyed them. First game shows, then Car Radio. No wonder they went to 24th place. Before Sabo they were still in the top 5. He killed off KHJ in Los Angeles as well.

[@n124ac9]

It has been a memory for almost 13 years.

[@_dave4460]

i listened to kfrc in the late 60s living off berkeley. it was by far the best bay area am

[@danno02]

Summer days growing up in Danville with Dr. Don and the big610! Radio was different then, it was a big part of your day. When ever I listen to Don Rose and old recordings of KFRC, it sure brings me back to a good time in life. Dr Don, the radio and summer days in the pool. Good times. God rest that mans sole.

[@danadams596]

The engineer is George Zema who retired in 2013 after many years with the station.

[@Y9Power]

I remember KFRC and I loved the music they played. KFRC went to106.9 FM and I kept the dial locked on to that. Now It left that as well, and It's permanently off the air forever. Not many people have HD radios yet. So their rating will start off low. So many changes these days. It's irritating to keep up with it.

[@CurtRyanMusic]

I loved Dr Don Rose.

[@65Wildkat]

WFIL in Philly and Doctor Don thanks for the memories from a kid who grew up as the Presbyterian Children Village listening

[@josequinteros8213]

SOME TIMES ABOUT 12 AM EL SALVADOR CENTRAL AMERICA,USUALLY 2 HOURS AHEAD OD CALIFORNIA, I COULD LISTEN KFRC WITH THE SLOGAN “KFRC SAN FRANCISCO” PROBABLY BECAUSE MOST RADIO STATION SIGNAL OUT AT MIDNIGHT, IT WAS 1965-1969, MADE ME DREAM TO VISIT CALIFORNIA , HIPPIE CALIFORNIA

[@rjmcallister1888]

Part of the old Don Lee Network, which included KHJ/Los Angeles and KGB/San Diego, the original homes of CBS on the West Coast. Later, under RKO General, KHJ and KFRC ruled Top-40 radio until FM took over. And like most of the great AM's, it's now all but forgotten.

[@aeromoe]

OK. I'm 52 years old and like many comments here I listened to him in the late 70s while getting ready for 9th n 10th grade. I'd even record his show on my dad's 8-track deck. One time I recorded a tape and when listening back there was this annoying feedback being recorded along with the show. Took a while to figure out it was the dimmer switch on the kitchen light causing the interference. He was such a zany guy with his pals and that crazy dog Roscoe. I also remember when he hosted cartoons on Channel 44 in the mid 70s. Great memories. Thanks for posting.

[@NyeGuy-yv2dv]

I remember that show on channel 44!

[@miggans21012]

I'm also 52 and grew up listening to KFRC and watching cartoons on channel 44 afternoons after school. Great memories

[@Whtxombi]

Wow! The station closed the year I moved to Georgia. A real shame.

[@frankW6NYX]

DR.DON RULES FOREVER!!!-

[@Whtxombi]

As a California transplant to Georgia, the same thing happened here. All the radio stations I enjoyed are gone. One went from heavy metal to top 40 overnight with no warning at all. It's all a bad joke now :(

[@ShaggyDawg]

That's my cousin George right there at 0:27, back before we had grey hair. XD

[@wonderglory]

While I was in high school, I got a job learning experience. At my job, the radio station was tuned to Magic 61 AM. As they played music from the 1940s and 1950s, I had a feeling Bobby Troup and Julie London would also be heard.

[@capitolguy106]

Growing up in San Jose, KFRC was king. Dr. Don was the BEST morning radio personality ever. Sadly, radio stations are programmed by suits in LA or New York. The suits have no appreciation ffor the local market in which their station is heard.

[@trigas55]

His and all the listeners hearts were broken on that day. I know mine was.

[@DonBeppo]

No. It's Vicki Liviakis. And man, was she ever hot! Actually, she's still pretty hot today!

[@JoeSmoeX]

Yay Dr. Don! I was but a wee tyke in KFRC's heyday but I remember Dr. Don and KFRC very well. They are missed...

[@barefooboy17]

The last of great radio. SAD

[@auerstadt06]

Lived in Marin from '74 to '82. KFRC was my main station. I think the proliferation of portable stereo radios was part of its downfall.

[@scarletgen]

I miss KFRC

[@10TVMan]

Neither ... it's the edited story from KXTV archives. When stations archive stories, they regularly do so without graphics. When it aired, supers/graphics were inserted from the control room.

[@moxie96]

it's now broadcasting the syndicated true oldie channel which I have accepted for the past year or so.

[@BiLatKnee]

Who is Rose's engineer in this clip? I worked with him a few years later at KSFO/KYA. Great guy. Super funny. Taught me a lot about computers in the early 90's.

[@hoibsh21]

I'm gonna miss KFC. I love their chicken.

[@johns.6133]

That's Dave Sholin @ 0:36. Dave was the last one to interview John Lennon before he was killed in an accident back in 1982.

[@ronaldschild157]

John Lennon died in Dec. 1980, and it was no accident.

[@YoungGun821]

What KFRC did I hear all the time my parents listen to growing up in the 90's???

[@LeeanneHansen]

not the KFRC that was around in the 80's. they changed it many times after this

[@Ronbo710]

KFRC became Magic 61 in '86.

[@brianoneill7186]

They were listening to 99.7 KFRC-FM, which went on the air in 1991 as an oldies station. KFRC-AM dropped the 'Magic 61' format in 1993, and simulcast oldis until a religious station took over the AM frequency in 2005.

[@ronpc]

The woman at 1:00 is not the late Jane Dornacker is it?

[@Guitarpicker575]

I'm pretty sure it isn't.

[@wannawatchu66]

No, Jane Dornacker was at WNBC in 1986. If I'm correct, the woman in this clip is News Director Vikki Liviakis.

[@Pontiac65Cat]

I miss magic 61 and kfrc

[@Ronbo710]

Agreed !! I LOVED Magic 61 but I could do w/o Dr. Don's stupid laugh. Try 92 KVIN if you like oldies.

[@muziklvr7776]

I miss KFRC, Magic 61, and especially KABL.

[@phillipjones3439]

Its a bit like the loss of Radio Luxembourg to the people of the UK. Sad. I find it hard to believe Radio will soon be a distant memory.

[@chansetwo]

It pretty much already is a distant memory. In the US, all the life has been sucked out of radio. At least in the UK, you still have high quality programming on BBC radio.

[@phillipjones3439]

@@chansetwo I suppose we are lucky in that respect. The five BBC stations are still doing well here, but most of the listening is now done on line using cell phones which isnt really what a cell phone is for because it compromises bandwidth for other users. FM probably has another fifteen years - the same for DAB but the writing is on the wall for AM. It has all come and gone in one hundred years!

[@RadioAirchecks]

You must have been gone for 23 years. That's how long it's been.

[@jasonguyer926]

With today's hit music which includes Maroon 5 and Rihanna Cardi B Ariana Grande and more

[@TheOriginalLenGroat]

If you heard Dr. Don on WQXI Atlanta - you'll remember these! soundcloud.com/len-groat/custom-jingles-for-dr-don-rose

[@scarletgen]

Santa Rosa and Novato California girl

[@judacia]

when did KMMG become KKSJ?

[@wannawatchu66]

There was too much protest from KMGG in Santa Rosa, so they stayed KFRC after the change to Magic 61.

[@radiodave1]

Well THIS SUCKS! Did the idiots at KZbin kill the audio on this one? *sigh*

[@RegisWilkins]

If not for Dr Don, KFRC would have changed format in the early 80's, He brought in listeners with his humanity and hilarity.