About KXOK Saint Louis, Missouri

The legendary KXOK call letters originally made their debut in Saint Louis September 19, 1938 on AM 630 kHz.  On January 17, 2022 the KXOK call letters were returned to Saint Louis when FM 102.9 MHz call letters changed from KYGV to KXOK.  

In an effort to carry on and expand the mission of the original founders, in December of 2021 ownership was transferred from the International Institute of Saint Louis to Radio St. Louis, a non-profit group of major market broadcasters with many years of experience in radio station ownership as well as commercial, public and community radio.   

For more on the history of KXOK, see the "St. Louis Public Library Archives" section below.

Our mission is to continue expanding the vision and commitment of the original founders, while finding new and exciting opportunities that give a voice to our diverse community.

For more information about the work of the International Institute of Saint Louis please click on the link below.

The KXOK audience, once confined to a single city, now stretches around the globe.  Our mission and values of independence, integrity, curiosity, respect, collaboration, and excellence remain as the cornerstone of our daily mission.  Our work has never been more essential or more exciting.  We are finding new ways everyday to tell compelling stories, educate and inform our listeners.  

KXOK covers 5 counties in Missouri and Illionis and has an On-The-Air, Total Available Audience (TAA) of 694,277 listeners. 

(Note: The KXOK TAA does not include online listeners)

KXOK is a proud affiliate of the US Radio Network.  Everyday  USRN partners with great radio stations across the United States providing listeners with the news, information, entertainment, and sports that informs and impacts our daily lives.    

Radio STL is a proud affiliate partner of KXOK, the US Radio Network and KWRH.   Everyday  Radio STL and our partners are providing listeners with the news, information, entertainment, and sports that informs and impacts our daily lives.    

KWRH is a proud affiliate partner of KXOK, the US Radio Network and Radio STL.  Everyday  KWRH and our partners are providing listeners with the news, information, entertainment, and sports that informs and impacts our daily lives.    

KXOK is a member of the Missouri Broadcasters Association.  The MBA encourages the highest standards in broadcasting by recognizing and sharing examples of excellence and achievement.   

KXOK carries national and world news so you can stay informed on the important events of the day .  

KXOK first broadcasted in September 1938 after three years of legal battles to become a St. Louis radio station.   KXOK became one of the highest-rated radio stations in the nation because of its quality programs and star radio personalities that included Bill Addison, Ed Bonner, Louise Harrison Caldwell (The Beatles' George Harrison's sister), Delcia Devon (later Corlew), Ron Elz aka Johnny Rabbitt, Richard Ward Fatherley, Bob Hille, Kay Morton (born Jane Foster), Ray Otis, Don Pietromonaco aka Johnny Rabbit, Don Shafer, and Bob Shannon. KXOK was one of the lead pioneers of the Top 40 radio format.  The station was highly popular with St. Louis teens the 1960s and 1970s. KXOK was changed to KJSL when ownership changed from Storz Communications to Crawford Broadcasting in June 1994.

KXOK-FM first signed on the air in 1948, broadcasting much of the programming of its sister station KXOK-AM and remained in operation until March 31, 1953. Around twenty years later, another radio station that broadcasted at 97.1 FM took the call letters KXOK. The station originally signed on the air in the mid-1970s as KSCF and went through a variety of call letters and formats throughout the 1980s and 1990s before becoming KXOK “Mix 97” in November of 1992. KXOK changed its format from urban to classic rock in 1998, and sometime in 2000 current owners, Emmis Communications, changed the station’s call letters to KFTK.   

In early 2022 non-profit corporation, Radio St. Louis, owners of then KYGV, decided to bring the heritage call letters of KXOK back to the St. Louis market and changed the call letters to KXOK.  Today KXOK is again back on-the-air in St. Louis at 102.9 FM and streaming online at KXOK.org | KXOK.com.