04/28/2026
Legacy Trail is about past, present and future generations of Apples; rich, poor, young, old, bald, hairy…
TK and those crazy cans!
Friday Hilltop House Trivia: KAVR Radio (placed in AV Inn Archive Media- 11-15-12)
Living and growing up in the High Desert meant listening to KAVR Radio to find the heartbeat of all things Apple Valley. It proudly broadcast from the Apple Valley Inn and was the ‘Twitter’ of its day as it not only reflected, but created our cultural trends.
Between 1970 and 1981, our own Terry Kurtz hosted KAVR
Radio's Kaleidoscope of Contemporary Music; giving voice to the the backdrop of our lives at a time when radio was king. Terry continues today as his media company spotlights uplifting activities and those who strive to make them happen. In the process, showcasing some of the best the Victor Valley has to offer. Asked whether it's of greater importance to inform or entertain the viewer, he responds, "I'm determined to do both."
Recently, Terry shared with us:
“Radio, and popular music, was so different back in the '70s.
An artist from any genre could have a #1 hit, and everybody knew
the song. KAVR played an MOR (middle-of-the-road) format…
C&W artists were as popular as mainstream pop artists (Elvis, Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Ray Conniff Singers, Barbara Streisand, Englebert Humperdinck, Steve Lawrence). But in 1971, a breakthrough: the radio audience began wanting to
hear songwriters sing their own music, rather than have
established artists cover them. Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could
Read My Mind," a prime example. Neil Diamond emerged a top
recording artist instead of just a successful song-writer. The best
example of this, 'though: Carole King. Her "Tapestry" was
groundbreaking, with her performing some of her earlier songwriter hits ("Will You Love Me Tomorrow") as well as taking "It's Too Late," and "So Far Away" to #1. In my way of thinking, the days of the Kaleidoscope of Contemporary Music on KAVR were the golden years of popular music on the airwaves. Despite the disco era. “
Terry Kurtz
