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45 years of Radio Activity
| 1959 | At 8:PM on October 20, KFJC station manager Bob Ballou spoke the first words ever to be heard on KFJC, broadcasting from a broom closet at the old Foothill Junior College campus in Mountain View, California. Ballou's actual remarks are lost in the great beyond. Broadcasts took place Mondays through Thursdays, between 5 and 7:PM only, with programming such as the popular "Background to Study By" and prerecorded educational materials. |
| 1961 | The new Foothill College campus in Los Altos Hills opened. |
| 1965 | First rock record played on KFJC: "Fear" by the Ventures. DJ Woody Muff was reprimanded afterwards. |
| 1966 | DJ Woody Muff was later shown to be prescient with his instincts, with the debut of his 3 hour rock show from 9:AM to noon on Saturday, April 2. A featured track was the Sonic's "Louie Louie", certainly not the last time that song would be heard on KFJC (see 1983!). Alas, rock programming was discontinued later that year, and Woody was forced out by more reserved staff members. |
| 1968 | Staffing at KFJC numbered over 100 volunteers, and the broadcast day was increased, running from noon to 9:30PM, Monday through Friday. Hard rock was showcased via shows such as "Yellow Unicorn". |
| 1970 | During the nationwide student strike about the war that spring, the entire Foothill campus was shut down, except for the fire station and KFJC, which offered a week-long open-mike for the community during the strike. This was KFJC's first big revolution, with staff spinning so-called "progressive" music and informing listeners of local anti-war protests. Enrollment in radio classes rose dramatically in response. |
| 1974 | KFJC started broadcasting in stereo. |
| 1978 | On October 4, five student managers at KFJC voted to overthrow the general manager in reaction to his aggressive emphasis on tight formatting, following mainstream radio industry practice. The mutineers take control of KFJC, waving high the banner of Punk. This was another defining moment in KFJC history. |
| 1980 | KFJC increased its power from 10 to 250 watts. |
| 1981 | KFJC held its first April Fool's day (tune in if you don't know) as well as the first Month of Mayhem specials |
| 1983 | Starting August 19th, KFJC captured the attention of the Wall Street Journal (and the rest of the world) with the definitive "Maximum Louie Louie" marathon that ran for over 63 hours and featured 823 versions, including "Louie" songwriter Richard Berry performing his song live on the air. |
| 1984 | The KFJC studios are enlarged and remodeled, finally adding a bathroom. Legend decrees that it's never been clean since then. |
| 1993 | The on-air fall fundraiser became an annual event starting this year. And in September, KFJC introduced its fundraising "Penny Pitch" remote broadcasts. |
| 1994 | KFJC issued its first CD release, "Summer Surf", as part of the 1994 fundraising effort. |
| 1996 | In January, KFJC had its first-ever international remote broadcasts, live from JTI Studio in Brixton, England, presenting four bands over two weekends. KFJC started webcasting on the Internet that Spring. |
| 1998 | In April, KFJC broadcast live from "Terrastock II" in San Francisco. |
| 2000 | In October, KFJC travelled to Dunedin, New Zealand, for six nights of remote broadcasts, featuring 15 bands. |
| 2002-
2003 |
Two of the KFJC studios are once again remodelled and upgraded. |
| 2004 | KFJC celebrates 45 years on the air with the release of its first seven-inch 45 r.p.m. single, as well as scheduling an entire day of 45 r.p.m. single programming on Sunday, October 31. |
A great article from back in the day.