The Mighty 690 - XETRA. Tijuana Mexico airchecks.
XETRA was a 50,000 watt "border blaster" out of Tijuana with a directional antenna pointed straight at Los Angeles, heard in up to 37 states at night, it was a rockin' top 40 station that played only the hottest hits! All the music it played was pitched up, and the DJ banter was frantic.
In the summer of 1980, came this radio station launch...The Mighty 690, playing a rockier version of a Top 40 format than competitor 13K (KGB-AM 1360), which played anything from the B-52's and The Lizards to Barbra Streisand and Christopher Cross (Sailing, Zzzzzz).
Booming into Los Angeles from a 50,000 watt transmitter in Tijuana, the Mighty 690 took Southern California by surprise as it not only provided an alternative to the mixed-up 13K or the "grown-up" KYXY-esque B100, but it also gave some Top 40 stations in Los Angeles such as KIQQ and KFI, a run for the listeners as Mighty 690 billed itself as a Los Angeles station in the top-of-the-hour station I.D.'s to get listeners up there to also listen.
The Mighty 690 was also an answer to 13K's cluttered format as it billed itself as "Clutter-Free". Eventually, in March 1982, 13K lost enough listeners to be convinced to change formats to an audio version of CNN2 (now CNN Headline News), then its current KPOP format of nostalgia.
Ted Ziegenbusch hired me as production director during the first week of January, 1981 (3 and a half months after The Mighty 690 went on air). Ted left the Noble Organization soon after that. He was long gone when we ran with the 50k thing. Treasure hunts had been a staple of radio for decades–even at that time. We could down several rounds of cocktails while Kris Anderson, Roger Agnew and Frank Felix discussed whose idea it really was. These are the guys who kicked off The Mighty 690 in the first place. Frank Felix was THE programming genius.
Best Regards–
Michael Boss
(Mighty 690 afternoon drive guy)
On January 10, 1983, Mighty 690's low-rated station, 91X playing straight rock and roll without any noticeable personality, changed formats, but not its handle, to alternative rock based on the successful formula Los Angeles' KROQ 106.7 pioneered in 1978. The first song on the current 91X?
"Sex" by Berlin.
In the fall of 1984, the XTRA said goodbye to The Mighty 690 and switched to golden oldies from the 50's and 60's, XTRA Gold 690.
And as they say... the rest is history!
airchexx.com/mp3/0982-xetra-m_boss
youtube.com/playlist/Mighty 690 9/1983 Midday Countdown
airchexx.com/mp3/xxxx84-XETRA-KrisAndersonScoped
