KZAP (defunct)

KZAP was an album rock formatted radio station based in Sacramento, California, which broadcast between 1968 and 1992 at 98.5 on the FM dial.

In the spring of 1968, Lee Gahagen (California Talking Wireless Company) was approached by some students from Sacramento State University who worked at campus radio station KERS (90.7). They convinced Gahagen to run a “free form” radio station, similar to KMPX and KSAN in San Francisco.

Gahagen agreed, and, on November 8, 1968, radio station KZAP made its debut. After hearing a montage of the new station’s announcers and “Revolution” by the Beatles, listeners were treated to the song “Cristo Redentor” by Harvey Mandel. The station had the slogan “K-ZAP…Free Form Stereo at 98 and a half.” Initially, the station broadcast from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., Monday through Saturday. Within a few months, the station was on 24 hours a day, six days a week. A year after the station made its debut, it was on the air 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It was located on the top floor of the Elks building in downtown Sacramento.

The station was truly free form. The air talent hand picked their music, and one could conceivably hear a classical piece followed by a psychedelic rock track followed by a jazz or blues tune. The station’s emphasis was on the “art” of mixing music, rather than company profit.

The station continued in this mode until late 1971 or early 1972. At that time, KZAP placed a certain amount of control on the musical presentation, but not enough to make a significant difference to the average listener. The station changed hands in 1972, following the sudden death of owner Lee Gahagen. The new owners, New Day Broadcasting, were supportive of the format and the air talent working at the station.

In 1973, KZAP became more rock-focused and established some guidelines for the announcers to follow, but there were no actual play-lists. Announcers had to play a certain number of songs from a given musical category each hour, but that was the general limit of the play-list. The station’s slogan was “FM 98, K-ZAP…..It’s all about the music.” The station more or less continued in this direction until the station was sold to a Las Vegas company (Western Cities Broadcasting) in late 1978.

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