[2] The station was assigned the call letters KBIA by the FCC on October 7, 1954,[3] and began broadcasting in April 1955.

Owner Cecil W. Roberts was a former newspaper publisher from Farmington, Mo., who eventually built a chain of a dozen radio stations in six states, all jointly owned by Roberts and his wife, Jane A.

[4] KBIA became the third radio station in Columbia, joining KFRU (1925) and KOWS 1240 (1937).

[6] The station was sold in April 1961 to Barrington Broadcasting Co. for $90,000 (principals were Aubrey D. Reid and his wife, who owned WEW-AM in St. Louis, Mo., and WKYB-AM and WKYB-FM in Paducah, Ky.) In June 1961, the call letters were changed to KCGM.

In November 1966, a subsequent owner, Tiger Broadcasting Co., changed the call letters to KTGR.