1995 in radio

The year 1995 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting.

List of years in radio (table)
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Events

• January 1 – KAEV in Lake Arrowhead, California changes to KCXX with an alternative rock format.
• January 28 - The final original American Top 40 airs internationally only. The final Long Distance Dedication is "Move On" by James Brown, from host Shadoe Stevens to the show's listeners.
• February 15 – After nine years as a "Pure Rock" station, Long Beach's 105.5 KNAC flips to a Mexican music format as KBUE (Que Buena). KNAC was, however, resurrected in 1998 as the internet-based radio station knac.com.
• March – After several years of playing contemporary Christian music, KQCS (93.5 FM) in Bettendorf, Iowa switches to an active rock format and adopts the call letters KORB.
• March – After 22 years as KRVR (106.5 FM), under a format that had evolved from beautiful music to a hybrid of beautiful, easy listening and adult contemporary and had been known to locals as "K-River," the call letters and format are changed for this Davenport, Iowa station. The new call sign is KCQQ and – known as Q106 and Q106.5 – the format is switched to classic hits, eventually evolving to classic rock.
• March 4- Partners For Christian Media signs Contemporary Christian station J103 on the air in Chattanooga TN.
• March 28 – KJJO in Minneapolis, Minnesota flips to smooth jazz as KMJZ.
• May 12- Mora, Minnesota gets its first radio outlet, as new FM station KBEK signs on with 25 kW of power on 95.5 MHz.
• June: WUAE/Providence signs on for the first time.
• July - Evergreen Media acquires Pyramid Broadcasting's 12 station group for $306.5 million; the sale closes the following January.
• August - Chancellor Broadcasting announces it will acquire Shamrock Broadcasting's 19 station group for $365 million.
• September 27 – The BBC in the United Kingdom and Sveriges Radio in Sweden both begin Digital Audio Broadcasting.
• September 30 – "SoundWave" (now known as 96.4FM The Wave) – sister network to Wales's first local commercial radio station Swansea Sound – goes on air.

Debuts

• July – Cigar Dave hosts the first broadcast of Smoke This!
• August - 95.1 RW begins broadcast in San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines.

Closings

• January 28 – Final broadcast of the original American Top 40.
• October 6 — Ken Beatrice's last show on WMAL in Washington, DC.
• December 1 – Final broadcast of Chippie, a German program on computer topics, produced by the Hessischer Rundfunk (Hessian Broadcasting).

Deaths

• Tom Clay, 66, American radio personality and disc jockey.
• Bob Cruz, 42, American Disc Jockey hired to replace Jay Reynolds at WABC (AM) in 1976.
• Gary Dee, 60, pioneer in controversial talk radio, mostly in Cleveland, Ohio.
• Gerald Durrell, 70, British naturalist, zookeeper, author, and radio and television presenter
• Simon Gellar, 75, owner of WVCA: Gloucester, Ma. (now WNKC) on July 11.
• J. P. McCarthy, 62, American radio personality
• Vivian Stanshall, 51, English comedian, writer, artist, broadcaster, and musician (born 1943)
• 1 June, Dallas Townsend, 76, an American broadcast journalist who worked for CBS Radio and television for over 40 years.
• 2 February, Willard Waterman, 80, a character actor in films, TV and on radio, remembered best for succeeding Harold Peary as the title character of The Great Gildersleeve at the height of that show's popularity.
• Wolfman Jack, 57, American disc jockey

See also

• Radio broadcasting