KHGE (102.7 FM, "102.7 The Wolf") is a commercial

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

, owned and operated by

iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...

. Its studios are located on Shaw Avenue in North Fresno, and the transmitter tower is east of

Clovis Clovis may refer to: People * Clovis (given name), the early medieval (Frankish) form of the name Louis ** Clovis I (c. 466 – 511), the first king of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler ** Clovis II (c. 634 – c. 657), ...

. KHGE broadcasts two channels in HD. The HD-2 channel was known as "Salsa Bembé", with dance music in Spanish. The HD2 subchannel has since been turned off.

History

KKNU -

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

- (1962 through 1985) KKNU signed on the air in 1962 airing an easy listening music format programmed by Jim Schulke and branded as "Easy 103" until 1985. KKNU -

Soft Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

- (1985 through March 1988) KKNU aired a soft adult contemporary music format from 1985 until March 1988 branded as "103 FM". During most of this time, KKNU was also known as "The Love Song Station" which blended romantic music with what they called "Champagne Jazz", or lite contemporary jazz. KTHT -

Contemporary Hit Radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

- (April 1988 through September 1989) KTHT aired a contemporary hit radio format in April 1988 and it was branded as "K-Hit 102.7" until September 1989. The programming change from soft adult contemporary music to contemporary hit music on April Fools' Day 1988 began as a publicity stunt staged by morning show personality Nick Ryan, who barricaded himself in the control room all day to protest the soft adult contemporary format which he characterized as "wimpy music". KTHT re-branded to "Thunder 102.7" in September 1989. KTHT re-branded to "The New Mix 102.7" in 1992, led by Program Director Jon Zellner, who also hosted PM Drive. KALZ -

Modern Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

- (April 1, 1998 through January 2, 2006) * KALZ aired a modern adult contemporary music format from April 1, 1998, until January 2, 2006, branded as "Alice 102.7 FM" The modern adult contemporary music format was moved to 96.7 FM retaining the call letters, KALZ, and "Alice" branding. KCTZ/KHGE -

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

- January 2, 2006 KHGE began airing country music programming on 102.7 FM on January 2, 2006, branded as "Cat Country" using the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

(FCC)

call letters In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a Identifier, unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be fo ...

, KCTZ. KHGE re-branded to "Big Country 102.7" on June 19, 2006; a change of FCC

followed to KHGE. On December 26, 2010, following a stunt of country

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of Music genre, genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas and holiday season, Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of Christmas ...

, Big Country 102.7 was re-branded as "102.7 The Wolf". The first song under the new branding was " Turn On the Radio" by

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire ( ; born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music, country singer and actress. Dubbed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Sin ...

, whose version of "

Up On the Housetop "Up on the Housetop" is a Christmas song written by Benjamin Hanby in 1864.Bronson, Fre"Signs Of The Season" Billboard Magazine; December 6, 2007. It has been recorded by a multitude of singers, most notably Gene Autry in 1953. History According ...

" had been the last song in KHGE's holiday music stunt.

References

External links

KHGE official website
{{coord, 36.819, N, 119.510, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title HGE Country radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1962 1962 establishments in California IHeartMedia radio stations