San Diego Radio: Sam Bass Retires From KYXY

Sam Bass

After a 44-year radio broadcasting career, Sam Bass, 69, has decided to hang-up the headphones, according to the Times of San Diego.

“One of my heroes is (the late TV legend) Johnny Carson who walked away from The Tonight Show after 20 years (1962-1992) and never looked back. Now, I’m doing the same thing,” said Bass, who has worked for the past 40 years at KYXY 96.5-FM.

For the foreseeable future, Bass is likely to retain the longevity record for longest continuous employment at a single radio station in the San Diego market.

Bass’ first radio job was in 1973 in Miami. “The music format was something called ‘Beautiful Music,’ we played a lot of songs by the 101 Strings Orchestra,” Bass said. In 1977, he then moved to San Diego to work for after about eight months at KyXy. “It was the same format as Miami and our ratings were terrible. I was making $650 a month and the general manager wanted my air name to be Alan Jones,” recalled Bass.

Bass then moved to Providence, RI, only to return to KyXy on March 24, 1978, the first day for the station’s format switch from “beautiful music” to “soft rock.” “There was a blizzard in Providence and I got a phone call from San Diego and they said it was 85 degrees and the palm trees were swaying. So, I moved out two weeks later and I’ve never left,” Bass said.

“I arrived in San Diego at the right time, at the right radio station. It was a perfect fit. Sometimes in broadcasting, luck is more important than talent and I consider myself a very lucky man.”

Last year, Bass stepped away from his weekday midday show at KyXy to host only on Saturdays and Sundays. “KyXy has been really good to me, and I’m really grateful for all their support over the years,” he said.