KMET (FM)

KMET was a Los Angeles FM radio station owned by Metromedia (hence the "MET" in its call sign) that broadcast at 94.7 MHz beginning on May 2, 1966.

After leaving KROQ AM/FM, Shadoe Stevens was hired by General Manager L. David Moorhead in 1974 to create something new for the struggling format KMET had put in place.

[citation needed] At the time, the studios of KMET and its local AM counterpart, country-western KLAC, were located across the street from the La Brea Tar Pits on Wilshire Blvd.

They voiced their opinions on controversial topics, such as the killing of whales, the spraying of marijuana with the toxic chemical Paraquat, the Vietnam War and civil rights, and most importantly they chose the music that they played on the air.

Emblematic of this approach was longtime KMET late-night host Jim Ladd (fired October 25, 2011 by one-time rival KLOS-FM, later hosting his own show on SiriusXM, now deceased), whose laid-back philosophical ruminations usually led into a song, from artists such as Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Pink Floyd, The Doors or Led Zeppelin—that underscored his point.

David Bowie's show at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on 20 October 1972 during the Ziggy Stardust Tour was aired by KMET.

[citation needed] KMET was a member of a group of progressive-rock stations that emerged across the country in the late 1960s and early 1970s, along with KSAN, WNEW-FM in New York City, WMMR in Philadelphia, WBCN in Boston, WMMS in Cleveland, and KQRS-FM in Minneapolis.

[citation needed] But changing trends in music, culture and society, and the advent of strict formatting in radio eventually turned KMET into a relic.

The station experienced staff turnover, radio consultants, tight playlists and an increasingly-impersonal approach typical of the more mainstream album oriented rock format.

[citation needed] KMET is also notable for broadcasting the program The Mighty METal Hour, which was hosted by Jim Ladd on Friday nights from 10PM to midnight,[6] and showcased the music of many then-up-and-coming hard rock and heavy metal bands, including Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, Iron Maiden, Queensrÿche, Mötley Crüe, Motörhead, Y&T, Metal Church, Great White, Armored Saint, Dio, W.A.S.P., Ratt, Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister, Saxon, Riot, Loudness, Warrior and Agent Steel.

[7] Today, "The Wave" has evolved into a Smooth Jazz format, though now plays Urban Adult Contemporary and is owned by Entercom, which merged with CBS Radio in 2017.