The Mighty Met, 94.7 KMET

Real legends are made, not born. At least in the radio world. One of the stations that practically set the standard for FM radio programming in the late sixties and early seventies was Metromedia’s 94.7 KMET.

KMET billboards popped up in San Fernando Valley in 2021 as Paul Thomas Anderson shot his latest film, Licorice Pizza,

Music had changed radically in the sixties, as everyone knows. Rock ‘N’ Roll was experiencing growing pains, beginning perhaps with Sgt. Pepper, arguably the first “concept album”. By the dawn of the seventies, popular music had clearly splintered out into several different directions. It was becoming clear that rock had a place on FM radio.

In 1967, the former KRHM 94.7 traded frequencies with KLAC-FM at 102.7 and the KRHM calls moved to the latter frequency until the station became automated top-40 KKDJ on April 15, 1971. KLAC-FM “disappeared” and KMET was born during the 1967 frequency switch.

As Tom Donahue got behind the mike for the first time, few (if any) knew then that the station would set a standard for many other album-oriented rock stations to come. Groups like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin helped anchor the AOR format… read more >