May is National Radio Month and each year during National Radio Month, our friend Dave Clarke likes to delve into the history of Kewanee radio. This month, Dave takes us back to 1966 and the sign on of WKEI FM which would, in 1974, become WJRE. The first song to play in the history of WJRE, after leaving behind the big bands and crooners in 1974, was none other than California Girls by The Beach Boys touching off years of the Hit Parade on WJRE. It would not become the WJRE we know today until the 1990s when the boom of the country music scene caused another seismic shift in the local radio market. But that’s a story for another day. On this edition of Kewanee Back When it’s 1966 to 1974, WKEI FM becomes WJRE.
