KXXT

Harold Lampel and Dawkins Espy received the construction permit for KINK in 1958. Dawkins Espy was involuntarily removed from the license in 1961, at which time the KCAC calls were adopted; the station was sold to KCAC Broadcasting, Inc. in 1962. Construction of the facility began on July 19, 1962.{{Cite news |url=http://www.newspapers.com/clip/31371310/new_radio_station_18th_for_valley/ |title=New Radio Station 18th For Valley |date=1962-07-20 |work=The Arizona Republic |access-date=2019-05-08 |language=en}}

KCAC's studios were located at 20 E. Broadway, in Phoenix.{{cite book|last=Dean|first=David R. and Jean A. Reynolds|title=African American Historic Property Survey|year=2004|publisher=Athenaeum Public History Group|location=Mesa, AZ|url=http://phoenix.gov/webcms/groups/internet/@inter/@dept/@dsd/documents/web_content/pdd_hp_pdf_00082.pdf|access-date=4 November 2013|archive-date=6 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206085247/http://phoenix.gov/webcms/groups/internet/@inter/@dept/@dsd/documents/web_content/pdd_hp_pdf_00082.pdf|url-status=dead}} It was one of the few radio stations in Arizona that were African American-owned and -operated. Among its DJs were Jim Titus, who, while at KRIZ radio in 1958, had become Phoenix's first African-American radio announcer.{{cite web|last=D'Andrea|first=Niki|title=Jazz & Blues|url=http://www.phoenixmag.com/lifestyle/valley-news/201309/jazz---blues/|work=Phoenix Magazine|access-date=4 November 2013|date=September 2013}}

KCAC's management decided to change to a Spanish-language format four years later, putting it in competition with KIFN, the original Spanish-language station in Phoenix, but the station was not a success.{{cite news|last=Heath|first=Eward W.|title=It's A Big Switch KCAC Has Made|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31371423/|access-date=4 November 2013|newspaper=Arizona Republic|date=April 10, 1966}}

KCAC switched to a free-form format when William Edward Compton became its station manager in 1969. He served in that capacity and as a DJ until 1971. In an attempt to describe its free-form format in 1970, a guest columnist in The Arizona Republic described it thus:

Free-form programming as used by KCAC allows the individual announcer complete discretion. This allows some of the innovations in rock air time denied under Top 40 programming, as well as opening the door to other musical forms. A typical show on KCAC will include elements of jazz, blues, folk, classical, hillbilly, country, soul and, of course rock. The absence of prescheduled news programs allows occasional hour-and-a-half collages of uninterrupted music.{{cite news|last=Davis|first=Mark|title=Differences Between Rock and Rut|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31372064/|access-date=4 November 2013|newspaper=Arizona Republic|date=August 3, 1970}}

In November 1970, KCAC went bankrupt, and it was involuntarily assigned to a receiver. On August 14, 1971, the station went silent. When KCAC went bankrupt in 1971, Compton collaborated with KDKB co-owner Dwight Tindle to "invent" KDKB and its air sound.{{cite web

| last = Tindle

| first = C. Dwight

| year = 2011

| url = http://www.dwighttindle.com/KDKB/birthpangs.html

| title = Birth Pangs

| access-date = September 26, 2013

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130928123705/http://www.dwighttindle.com/KDKB/birthpangs.html

| archive-date = September 28, 2013

| url-status = dead

}} Several KCAC DJs made the move with Compton to KDKB—including Gary Kinsey (on-air name, Toad Hall) and Hank Cookenboo.{{cite news|last=Walker|first=Dave|title=KDKB at 20|url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1991-11-13/news/kdkb-at-20in-the-hands-of-bill-compton-the-station-shaped-a-generation-then-fell-victim-to-its-own-success/full/|access-date=4 November 2013|newspaper=Phoenix NewTimes|date=November 13, 1991}}

The 1010 AM frequency was subsequently bought by Golden West Christian School and reemerged as KHCS, with religious programming, in January 1972.{{cite news|title=Phoenix Radio Station Burglarized 2nd Time|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31371551/|access-date=4 November 2013|newspaper=Arizona Republic|date=August 17, 1971}}{{cite news|title=KHCS radio has KCAC frequency|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31371499/|access-date=4 November 2013|newspaper=Arizona Republic|date=February 4, 1972}} The station fell back into bankruptcy with Golden West in December 1973, and nearly two years into receivership, the station was finally sold to Harold S. Schwartz and Associates, owners and operators of religious stations. In June 1976, Schwartz put a new, all-solid-state transmitter into service—believed to be the first in the world.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31371661/|first=Clarence W.|last=Bailey|work=Arizona Republic|title=AM station steps ahead|date=August 29, 1976|access-date=May 8, 2019}} ([https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31371720/ Continued])

That August, KHCS relocated from Phoenix to Tolleson and increased its power to 1,000 watts; it also began broadcasting at night with 250 watts. KHCS became KXEG on April 13, 1978.{{Cite news |url=http://www.newspapers.com/clip/31371798/1000watt_radio_station_beams_from/ |title=1,000-watt radio station beams from Tolleson |last=John J. |first=Harrigan |date=1978-09-05 |work=Arizona Republic |access-date=2019-05-08 |language=en}}

KXEG was primarily a religious station, but it also carried overflow coverage of Arizona State University sports in the late 1980s and 1990s when KTAR had other sports events to carry{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31371911/|title=ASU games to be aired on KXEG|first=Bob|last=Cohn|work=Arizona Republic|date=May 25, 1989|access-date=May 8, 2019}} as well as Grand Canyon University basketball.

KXEG became news-talk KXEM on July 11, 2001 (on the same day, sister station KTKP retained the Christian format and KXEG call letters). On September 7, 2004, the station changed its call sign to the current KXXT, which was accompanied by a format change to Air America progressive talk radio under the name 1010 Talk. In October 2005, owner James Crystal Enterprises sold three stations, including KXXT and KXEG, to Communicom, which mostly owned stations with religious formats.{{Cite web|url=http://archive.azplace.net/index.php?itemid=731|title=AZplace | Format changes could be in the offing for KXXT|access-date=August 26, 2013|archive-date=November 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110160251/http://archive.azplace.net/index.php?itemid=731|url-status=dead}} The format change occurred on February 1, 2006;{{cite news| url=http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2006/01/23/story3.html?page=all | title=Radio station sale forces Air America to seek new home}} Air America programs would move to KPHX 1480 AM by the end of March.

In January 2011, after the assassination attempt against then-Arizona Representative Gabby Giffords, KXXT national talk show host Steve Sanchez of The Steve Sanchez Show offered 30 minutes of airtime to Westboro Baptist Church in exchange for the Church agreeing not to protest at the funeral of 9-year-old Christina Green who was killed during the assassination attempt.{{cite news |url=http://articles.cnn.com/2011-01-12/us/arizona.shooting.victims_1_president-barack-obama-giffords-memorial-event?_s=PM:US |title=Obama: 'The hopes of a nation are here tonight' |work=CNN January 12, 2011 |date=January 27, 2011 |access-date=July 8, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811035024/http://articles.cnn.com/2011-01-12/us/arizona.shooting.victims_1_president-barack-obama-giffords-memorial-event?_s=PM:US |archive-date=August 11, 2011 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}

In June 2014, Salem Communications, a national radio broadcaster focusing on Christian and conservative values programming, purchased KXXT in a bankruptcy auction for $575,000.[https://web.archive.org/web/20141019001032/https://licensing.fcc.gov/cdbs/CDBS_Attachment/getattachment.jsp?appn=101639861&qnum=5040©num=1&exhcnum=1 licensing.fcc.gov] {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2022}} Salem took full control of the station on October 1.{{Cite web|url=https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101653593&formid=905&fac_num=54742|title = CDBS Print}}

{{Reflist}}

{{AM station data|54742|KXXT}}

• [https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=45598 FCC History Cards for KXXT]
• [http://kcaclives.blogspot.com/ KCAC lives!]—a blog devoted to the memory of KCAC
• [https://archive.org/search.php?query=subject%3A%22KCAC%22 KCAC recordings] available on the Internet Archive

{{Phoenix Radio}}

{{Religious Radio Stations in Arizona}}

{{Salem Communications}}

Category:Radio stations established in 1962

XXT

Category:1962 establishments in Arizona

Category:Salem Media Group radio stations