KSTN (AM)

KSTN

Stockton, California
Frequency	1420kHz
Branding	105.9 The Bull
Programming
Format	Country
Ownership
Owner	Robert LaRue (KSTN, LLC)
History
First air date	November 27,1949
Call signmeaning	Stockton
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	58838
Class	B
Power	5,000wattsday 3,500 watts night
Transmitter coordinates	37°55′32″N121°14′44″W
Translator(s)	92.3MHzK222DE (Linden) 105.9K290AG (Stockton)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	1059TheBull.com

KSTN(1420kHzis acommercialAMradio stationinStockton, California,owned by Robert LaRue, and licensed by KSTN, LLC.It airs acountry musicradio format,known as "105.9 The Bull."

KSTN broadcasts at 5,000wattsby day. But to reduce interference at night to other stations onAM 1420,it reduces power to 3,500 watts. KSTN uses adirectional antennaat all times. Thetransmitteris off Ralph Avenue in Stockton, along with thestudiosand offices.Programming is also heard on 250 wattFM translatorK290AGat 105.9MHz.

History

On November 27, 1949, at 6 AM, KSTNsigned onthe air.KSTN's first General Manager was Dave Greene and the original power was 1,000 watts. It was owned by Knox LaRue until his death on December 22, 2004.An FM station, originally 107.3 KSTN-FM (nowKLVS) went on the air in 1962.

The LaRue Family planned to sell KSTN-AM-FM to Independence Media Holdings ofDallas,Texas,for $24,250,000 in 2008.Due to the bad economy, the deal fell through.

At its inception, KSTN's programming wasBig Band/Swing,with someCountry westernMusic in the afternoons with Dusty Duncan as the host. Other early KSTN on-air personalities included Bud Hobbs, Bill Elliott and Paula Stone.

The station switched to aTop 40format in 1957. In 1962, station owner Knox LaRue contracted with noted Top 40 radio programmerBill Draketo program KSTN. Upon leaving San Francisco's KYA in 1962, Bill Drake was hired to split time as program director of both KYNO in Fresno, and KSTN in Stockton, California.

KSTN owner Knox LaRue (December 18, 1922 – December 22, 2004) was a business partner with KYNO ownerGene Chenaultin various ventures. They co-hired Drake upon the recommendation of Jane Swain, LaRue's general manager at KSTN, who had worked with Drake at WAKE in Atlanta. While the classic KMAK–KYNO battle of Fresno has been well documented, KSTN and LaRue are certainly owed their debt as well.

A pioneer of the Top 40 genre, LaRue built KSTN in 1949, and began playing the popular music of the day. As the rock era began, KSTN just stayed with it, providing a training ground for numerous talents. Among the audio exhibits on theReelRadio.comsite are the original deejay jingles from Drake's tenure at KSTN. These rare artifacts from his Stockton days are precursors to theJohnny Mannacapellas and Bill Drake-voiced jock intros and station IDs of the "Boss Radio"era. Other elements of the famed Drake format were also initiated and honed during his stint at KSTN in the early 1960s.

KSTN hired John Hampton for weekends on September 24, 1980, the airshift previously held by Jay Richard (aka Tom Richard). John was promoted to full-time in 1981 and was made program director in September 1981. In 1981, KSTN switched from Rhythmic Top 40 to Pop Top 40. In 1984, KSTN switched back to Rhythmic Top 40. In the late 1980s and the 1990s, while many other radio stations on the AM dial changed to news/talk formats, KSTN continued its music broadcasts. In 1995, John Hampton was moved to mornings.

In 1999, KSTN changed its format to a Variety Hits Oldies format it called "Power Oldies 1420." KSTN played may types of music includingDoo WopOldies of the '50s, Top 40 of the '60s and '70s, '70sDisco,Classic rockof the '70s and '80s,punk,Alternative Musicof the '80s and '90s and an occasional touch ofCountry.In 2005, KSTN fine-tuned its format toClassic Hits,which is a format more common for the FM dial; KSTN no longer branded itself as "Power Oldies 1420." KSTN also added local sports play-by-play to its schedule, includingOakland A'sbaseball,Stockton Portsbaseball,Stockton ThunderECHLhockey, andUniversity of the PacificTigers athletics.

On February 13, 2006, KSTN replaced John Hampton's Morning Show with the syndicated "Mancow's Morning Madhouse"fromChicagovia satellite.This marked the first time KSTN had placed a syndicated show in its daily lineup.

On February 19, 2010, after over 60 years on the air, KSTN went silent. The station played "Another One Bites the Dust"byQueenfollowed by the theme fromWKRP in Cincinnatibefore signing off the air for the final time at 6:15 pm.

As of January 2012, the station is on the air again with a syndicated country format.

On February 13, 2013, KSTN changed their format to classic country.

After a weekend of stunting, on March 17, 2014, KSTN changed their format to country, branded as "105.9 The Bull" (the frequency in the branding is for FMtranslatorK290AG 105.9 FM Stockton).

External links

• FCC History Cards for KSTN
• KSTN (1420 AM) in the Central Valley Radio Museum
• KSTN Power Oldies 1420 Tribute (Streaming Digital Radio)
• KSTN airchecks with slideshows
• Facility details for Facility ID 58838 (KSTN)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
• KSTNinNielsen Audio's AM station database
• Facility details for Facility ID 202812 (K222DE)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
• K222DEat FCCdata.org
• Facility details for Facility ID 86382 (K290AG)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
• K290AGat FCCdata.org