KUTY (1470
AM, "Hermosa 1470") is a commercial
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 ...
that is
licensed to
Palmdale, California, United States and serves the
Antelope Valley
The Antelope Valley is a valley primarily located in northern Los Angeles County, California, United States and the southeast portion of Kern County, California, Kern County, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert. It is situated ...
area. The station is owned by High Desert Broadcasting LLC and broadcasts a
regional Mexican
Regional Mexican music refers collectively to the regional subgenres of the country music of Mexico and its derivatives from the Southwestern United States. Each subgenre is representative of a certain region and its popularity also varies by ...
format.
History
KUTY signed on in 1957 as a
top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
station with the branding "Radio 147" — the only top 40 station audible in the
Antelope Valley
The Antelope Valley is a valley primarily located in northern Los Angeles County, California, United States and the southeast portion of Kern County, California, Kern County, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert. It is situated ...
. In the 1970s, KUTY flipped to a
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
format known as "Cutie Country".
With the advent of competing country outlet
KTPI on the
FM dial in the mid-1980s, the station began to lose market share. However, station management saw a new opportunity with the area's growing
Latino population. On April 7, 1993, KUTY became the Antelope Valley's first Spanish-language station when it flipped to
regional Mexican
Regional Mexican music refers collectively to the regional subgenres of the country music of Mexico and its derivatives from the Southwestern United States. Each subgenre is representative of a certain region and its popularity also varies by ...
music with the branding "Fiesta Latina".
High Desert Broadcasting purchased KUTY in the 1990s. In 1997, the station flipped to Spanish
talk as part of the Radio Unica network, later changing to the Radio Lazer network. In 2004, Radio Lazer was moved to High Desert Broadcasting's newly acquired station
KCEL; KUTY switched to an English talk format as "NewsTalk 1470" under guidance by Ray Cuneff.
In September 2007, KUTY and
KWJL swapped formats. Local programming on NewsTalk 1470 was discontinued with the move to 1380 AM. Meanwhile, the regional Mexican format on Joyas 1380 relocated to KUTY as "La Mera Mera 1470".
During the 2010s, KUTY adjusted its format to a Mexican
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 ...
emphasis; the station was rebranded "Hermosa 1470".
Notable personalities
Several prominent
disc jockey
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...
s began their careers at KUTY, particularly during the station's top 40 era. These personalities include:
*Pat Garrett
*
Bob Kingsley
*
Don Imus
*Rog Martin
*Gary Marshall
*Albert "Stone-Cold Al" Nelson
*Billy Pearl
*
Bob Shannon
References
External links
FCC History Cards for KUTY*
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UTY
Radio stations established in 1957
1957 establishments in California
{{California-radio-station-stub