It was a relatively short and uneventful life for KGRV. The station came to life from the ashes of KACO, which was destroyed by fire. Operations of KACO were officially suspended by the FCC on January 5, 1970. The station returned to the air March 16 of that year with new call letters.
The 107.7 frequency had not been used to its fullest extent by the old owner, Apollo Broadcasting. They were on the air 36 hours a week, which resulted in a fine of $1,000 levied by the FCC. Music had been straight line middle-of-the-road, but in its KGRV identity, the music was termed “contemporary middle-of-the-road.”
Broadcast hours were 6:00 AM to midnight, and management boasted that 18-20 songs were played each hour. It was “music for groovy adults,” and there was even a female announcer who called herself Kay Groove. Studios were at 1215 Cole and the transmitter was at 532 DeBaliviere.
On November 25, 1970, Apollo finally found a buyer for the property, Kansas City-based Intermedia, which paid $250,000 for the station. On July 3, 1973, Amaturo Group paid $4.677,500 for KGRV and two other Missouri stations. The call letters KGRV were changed to KKSS effective January 1, 1974.