Flashback - 1952
What's the frequency, Kenneth?
Photograph by the Missouri History Museum Photographs
and Prints Collection
Sixty years before The Principia glee club donned argyle and starchy detachable collars to sing "My Blue Heaven" for KWK's high school talent contest, Nikola Tesla stood before the National Electric Light Association of St. Louis, demonstrating the world's first public radio broadcast. Six years after The Principia glee club stared into blank blue heaven, singing, "Shine, little glow-worm," KWK made national news; the switchblade chords of Link Wray's "Rumble" and Elvis' jiggling inspired the station to stage "Record Breaking Week," wherein deejays culled rock records, gave them one last spin, then smashed them in the streets. Of course, they don't call them power chords for nothing—rock prevailed, and KWK lost its license in 1966 after rigging a promotional contest. After two years of silence, KWK briefly shone as "the Soul of the City," blinked off the air again in the early '70s, then returned with a rock format in 1986—the same year metal band Tesla debuted. Their biggest release? The Great Radio Controversy. Synchronicity: It's not just an album by The Police.
