KFXM: the Early Days

Radio was a big success in the early 30s.  A lot of vaudeville performers were both talented and resourceful and the migration to radio was fairly easy for them. What were once live performances of comedy, big bands and singers took to the air waves.

In the evening, instead of sitting in the living room exchanging stories, families were gathering around the radio.  Beautiful radios were covered in wood veneers of Cherrywood, Mahogany and Oak. Name brands like RCA and Philco were common.  

In those early days, actors working in the movies spent a lot of their leisure time in the Inland Empire at places like Soboba Springs near Hemet and San Jacinto hot springs. The Arrowhead Hotel and Resort was another place where actors and others in the movie industry came to relax.

Tennessee Ernie Ford at KFXM!

The website for Tennessee Ernie Ford Web site claims, “Tennessee Ford was hired immediately to work at KFXM in March of 1946 after he left the military in Victorville.” It was at KFXM where he had his debut for the first time as Tennessee Ernie Ford.  He also had started a wild and crazy show titled, "Dude Ranch Party."

Local talent perform on KFXM from the California Hote in 1949

KFXM - How it Started

To: Mr. John Bunnell via email

KFXM started as KFWC in Upland in 1925, ended up in San Bernardino for a while, then moved to Ontario and Pomona, before moving back to San Bernardino as KFXM in September of 1929. The KFXM calls were first used by the station on September 25, 1929.

The station was on several frequencies, but ended up on 1210-AM in 1929, 1240-AM on March 29, 1941, and then moved to 590-AM in late-1947.

Also, from 11/1928 until 1947, KFXM shared time with KPPC-AM in Pasadena; that is until June 13, 1944, KFXM had to go off the air whenever KPPC would broadcast on Sundays and Wednesday nights.  After that date, KFXM would stay on the air on 1240, but had to lower its power when KPPC was on air.  After the move to 590, a new station came on air on 1240 in San Bernardino.

Sincerely,
Jim Hilliker
Los Angeles Radio Historian
Monterey, California

Attached with email: (Some history of KFWC/KFXM San Bernardino, CA)

KFWC: Was licensed on February 9, 1925 from Upland, originally under the ownership of Larry Wall, who ran a motion picture production company. The station was moved several times within four years. Mr. Wall decided at one point to have KFWC broadcast from Pickering Park, a popular amusement park at that time in San Bernardino on Foothill Blvd. This move became official on April 19, 1926.

When all the equipment was in place, an opening night program was broadcast from the park for several hours on June 17, 1926. Talent from San Bernardino and surrounding towns was featured, along with a few entertainers from vaudeville and movies. Local politicians also took part in the festivities to welcome KFWC to the city. Nearly a year later, in May of 1927, the studio and transmitter location moved to the California Hotel at 5th and E Streets.

The station moved again in 1928 to Ontario and Pomona, but was back at the California Hotel in San Bernardino by October 31, 1929, with a flattop wire transmitting antenna on top of the building. A slogan used by KFWC around 1927 was "The Voice of the Orange Empire", which was continued under the KFXM calls.

Larry Wall sold KFWC in 1928 to KMIC-Inglewood owner James Fouch, who in turn sold it to brothers John and Eugene Lee in September, 1929. They requested a call letter change to KXB, KXM or KXY, claiming the KFWC calls were formerly used by an "unworthy party". But they settled for KFXM, beginning September 25,1929.

The station was part of the Don Lee Mutual Network by 1938 and into the 1940s. By mid-1938, KFXM's slogan was "The Voice of the Sunkist Valley".

In 1940, the station's power was raised from 100 to 250 watts. A new transmitter building and vertical tower were built on Colton Ave., now the site of KLFE-1240. On October 1, 1947, KFXM was granted approval from the FCC to change frequency, from 1240 to 590 khz. This move, combined with a power increase to 1,000 watts, gave KFXM a much better signal in its listening area. To prevent interference to other stations on 590, a new multi-tower directional antenna system was constructed on a 40 acre site southwest of the city. Separate directional patterns were used for day and night broadcasting. Studios remained at the hotel.  The now-abandonded transmitter site became the new home for the KRNO-1240 property.

In early 1964, studios were moved to their current location at 666 Fairway Drive.  As radio changed to meet the challenge of competing with television, KFXM took on a Top-40 pop format with rock and roll music. During the '60s and into the '70s, KFXM was an important rock station for young people in the Inland Empire. But, times change and, along with ownership changes, there was a decision to drop the long-time KFXM calls after 59 years. The call letters became KRSO in December 1988, for Radio San Bernardino and a short-lived all-news format failed. Next, a brief stint as an Adult Standards/Big Band music station. In early 1994, the owners of AM-590 decided to change the call letters to KHTX. The format became country music by simulcasting 97.5 FM in Riverside. By the end of 1994, the calls became KSZZ with a Spanish language format, "La Super Zeta" or Super Z.