KAAY
 |
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| City | Little Rock, Arkansas |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Little Rock metropolitan area |
| Branding | 1090 AM KAAY |
| Slogan | Hear The Word |
| Frequency | 1090 kHz |
| First air date | 1924 |
| Format | Brokered/Christian |
| Power | 50,000 watts |
| Class | A (clear channel) |
| Facility ID | 33253 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 34°36′00″N 92°13′30″W / 34.60000°N 92.22500°WCoordinates: 34°36′00″N 92°13′30″W / 34.60000°N 92.22500°W |
| Former frequencies | 800 kHz, 780 kHz (1927-1928) 600 kHz (1928-1929) 1040 kHz (1929-1941) |
| Owner |
Cumulus Media (Radio License Holding CBC, LLC) |
| Sister stations | KARN (AM), KPZK/KIPR, KURB, KARN-FM, KLAL |
| Website | www.1090kaay.com |
KAAY is a 50,000-watt, class A clear-channel AM radio station in Little Rock, Arkansas, licensed on 1090 kHz. The station is owned by Cumulus Media. The station's studios are located in West Little Rock, and the transmitter tower is located in Wrightsville, Arkansas.
KAAY was founded as KTHS in 1924 in Hot Springs; it moved to Little Rock in 1953. After the TV station KTHV was created from it in 1955, KTHS was sold to LIN Broadcasting, who turned it into a Top 40 station in 1962 under its present call sign. It has been a stalwart of Christian radio since 1985, and has been owned by Cumulus Media since its 2011 merger with Citadel Broadcasting (which bought the station in 1998).
KAAY's cult status was forged in the late 1960s, when, after 11pm, the station abandoned the standard Top 40 format for three hours of underground music with the program Beaker Street hosted by Clyde Clifford.[1]
During the station's heyday, KAAY featured a full-service Top-40 format, and was the dominant station for most of the state of Arkansas. During the 1960s and 1970s, on-air personalities included Mike McCormick, Doc Holiday, Jonnie King, Buddy Karr, Ken Knight, Sonny Martin, newsman George J. Jennings, Wayne Moss, Phil North, and Ray Lincoln of the "Ray and Ram Program." The station also broadcast University of Arkansas football games. Its nighttime signal extended well beyond Little Rock and Arkansas, covering much of the Great Plains, North Central, and mid-south regions of the United States, leading to its sobriquet "The Mighty Ten Ninety." KAAY could be heard clearly at night in Key West, Florida, and as far to the northwest as Jamestown, North Dakota. It could also be heard late at night clearly as far south as Cozumel, Mexico. This radio station was a big inspiration to Cuban rock musicians and rock fans who listened to Beaker Street every night, keeping themselves informed about American music and underground music in the 1970s. They listened undercover with Soviet made transistor radios. In the late 1960s the jingle started out with roaring thunder followed by a deep voice...FIFTY THOUSAND WATTS OF MUSIC POWER K>>DOUBLE-A Y Little Rock.
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Wikipedia