KNAC
 |
|
| City | Long Beach, California |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Greater Los Angeles |
| Branding | 105.5 KNAC |
| Slogan | Pure Rock |
| Frequency | 105.5 |
| First air date | January 8, 1986 |
| Format | Heavy metal, hard rock, grunge, alternative rock, classic rock |
| Callsign meaning | "K-N-A-C" |
| Webcast | Listen |
| Website | knac.com |
KNAC-FM (branded as Pure Rock 105.5 KNAC) was a Los Angeles heavy metal FM radio station based in Long Beach, originally owned by Fred Sands, broadcasting at 105.5 MHz from January 8, 1986 to February 15, 1995; about two weeks after the sign-off, it was replaced by the Spanish-language radio station known as KBUE (Que Buena). In February 1998, however, KNAC was revived as an internet-based radio station. Prior to 1986, KNAC had existed in several different formats, including "freeform" and "Rock N Rhythm", which was a new wave/alternative rock station.
The original KNAC was based in Long Beach, California and served Los Angeles and Orange counties on the FM band at a center frequency of 105.5 MHz. KNAC-FM had a variety of different formats. With a relatively weak radio signal and a small geographical area, KNAC never appeared in the Arbitron radio ratings. Outside the Los Angeles area, the station gained a huge following from heavy metal fans across the United States (via marketing and selling of t-shirts, stickers, compact discs, etc., with ads in heavy metal fan magazines). Before KNAC became popular under the heavy metal format, KNAC was branded as "The Knack."
KNAC was inducted into the Rock Radio Hall of Fame in the "Legends of Rock Radio-Stations" category in 2014.
In the late 1960s through the late 1970s, the Rock format KNAC ran was referred to as "freeform." A "freeform" radio format gives the on-air talent almost total control over what music to play, regardless of commercial concerns.
...
Wikipedia