Greg at Lefty Limbo wrote the go-to post about these stickers years ago. KLOS is a radio station in Los Angeles that was, in the late ’70s and early ’80s, the premiere rock station and a youth culture landmark. The distinctive “rainbow” design still hits me hard in the fond memory zone—they even smelled beautiful.
As Greg notes, virtually every kid at the time sent multiple SASEs to KLOS requesting as many stickers as he/she could get. If I’m remembering correctly, the station kept a log of requester addresses, so after the first request you had to use the address of otherwise uninterested family/friends. A few days later, there they were in the mail. (The giddy anticipation of waiting for an envelope or a package filled with free prizes is yet another feeling my kids won’t have in a technological age that abhors delays of any kind.) The stickers with the band names were sold exclusively at concerts, and often had coupons on the paper backing (“Save $1.00 on any Rush album/tape at any Licorice Pizza including their newest `Moving Pictures’ with this coupon“).
The stickers were known collectively as “Too Hip” stickers, a phrase that came from KLOS DJ Frazer Smith, who would close out his show by saying, “Too hip. Gotta go.” The stickers achieved their iconic popularity during his first stint at KLOS, from 1979 to 1984. There was also a Too Hip Fan Club, and I signed up for it. The only thing I remember about it is the ID card below.
When we moved out of our condo in the early ’80s, I stuck this card—signed by me, of course—in the inside molding of my bedroom closet door. I’m not sure why. Maybe I wanted the place to remember me, or maybe I wanted to make sure I remembered the place. For many years I’ve wondered if the card is still there.
(Images via eBay and the San Diego Reader)
2 Warps to Neptune 
Great finds! Thanks for the link back.
Interesting how the font began to evolve and get more creative as time went by. I mean, Journey is even busting out of the rainbow! I still prefer the classic bold font though, myself.
Speaking of bold font, there’s someone on Ebay that’s selling 36 of the original stickers with that bold font…um yeah, for just $1000.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KLOS-95-5-VINTAGE-RAINBOW-BUMPER-STICKER-ORIGINAL-COMPLETE-SET-NEW-/121745282331?nma=true&si=sBuM2PuOv3AJBJzRAlELv%252F2gjsk%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
The listing’s ended, but I took screen caps of the pictures for a keepsake. I’ve never seen a whole lot of KLOS stickers like that in one bundle! Look, there’s even that blank one and the “TREE RUN” sticker that I saw a few people have back in the day.
I had never heard of KLOS keeping a log of their requesters…I remember ordering stickers quite a few times with no problems whatsoever—especially in the beginning when I found out they were FREE!
Now that I think about it, how did KLOS get to have “PO Box 95 1/2”? I guess they made a deal with the USPS. Maybe it’s really 95 and they were just able to get away with the novelty of it.
Could you get the band stickers in the very beginning? When they were all in the big fat letters? I could be wrong about the log. Maybe I’m thinking of something else.
That’s a good question, although as far as I and all my friends knew back then (in ’80–’82), one could only get the band ones by going to the concerts. I remember all of us so eagerly awaiting the opportunity to ask someone to “score us some stickers” if they ever went with their parents or older siblings to a show. In the meantime, we all had the standard ones. It’s almost like, you had to have at least one, or else you just weren’t “cool.”
I have an original Journey rainbow sticker. Grew up in Torrance and Redondo Beach. I love these stickers and still do. We had so many cool things growing up in the 70s and 80s in So-Cal. There was KMET at 94.7 and KLOS at 95.5 The 7th Day was so cool. Loved it.
Such fond memories I have, KLOS was more of a lifestyle than just a radio station. I still have my Frazier Smith “Too Hip” membership card which came with a whole bunch of various stickers at that time. I recently saw one of those cards along with one (singular) KLOS rainbow sticker on eBay with a price tag of $118.00… Wow, unbelievable! For me personally, I couldn’t part with this memorabilia. I don’t think there was a day in my teen years that I didn’t have a radio or stereo playing and of course I was always tuned into KLOS. 🙂
Same here. It was a great station and a wild time.
Hey, I found this page while doing some research on the band Rockpile (I was looking for a picture of their KLOS sticker so I wouldn’t have to post one of my own!). That said, I can certainly help fill in any gaps regarding these stickers. I have been collecting them for 36 years, and I also work at KLOS (where I helped them with some historical background in the archiving of their remaining stash). First off, the stickers started in 1980. The only ones in the very early “day-glow” days (1980-1981) that were available through the self-addressed stamped envelopes were “Zeppelin,” “Doors,” “Tree Run,” “LA 200,” “Too Hip,” and the “KLOS 95 1/2.” These mail away freebies were what helped propel this immensely popular and decades-long promotional campaign for the station. There were a couple of dozen more “day-glow” band stickers made and handed out only at concerts for free during 1980, but more primarily during 1981. After 1981, the die-cut, day-glow variants were replaced by the non die-cut darker colored rainbow stickers, which also often contained the little stickers on the ends. During this variation’s life cycle there were a few that were special mail-away freebies, but most of this variant were handed out at concerts in the 80’s and early 90’s. Throughout its entire promotional history, however, the “Rainbow” stickers, as they were known, that were distributed at LA concerts by the KLOS Cool Patrol (street team), were always free, and never sold at concerts by KLOS. And I’m not sure if the early KLOS promotions Department kept logs on listeners addresses for equitable distribution. As a teenager I used to send in 5-10 envelopes at a time with no problem, but I could definitely see kids of that day using multiple addresses to increase their quantity even more with no questions asked!! I totally related to your narrative in describing the anticipation of receiving these great artifacts in the mail….I would run out to the mailbox every day to check!! It helped fuel a passion for radio that hasn’t stopped to this day. One of these days I will upload my collection online (maybe the KLOS website). My collection contains well over 200 different KLOS stickers, and is even bigger than the station’s own collection!! Lastly, Frazer Smith is still on the KLOS airwaves…..check him out every Sunday night from 10pm-2am!! I even join him on air each week to do concert reviews. Keep rockin’!!
Hey Dave!
Thank you so much for giving us the full scoop. I find it fascinating, especially being from So Cal and growing up with KLOS. I’d actually like to do a comprehensive article about the stickers on my new site, We Are the Mutants (https://wearethemutants.com/), featuring the different kinds of stickers and the history of the campaign.
Have you written all this down somewhere at KLOS? Do you know who came up with the rainbow design?
Listening to Frazer now from the KLOS site. That voice really brings me back!
Thanks again,
Kelly
Hey Kelly,
Apologies for the much delayed response….I just recently received some notifications of new posts here, and just now (in Dec. 2021) am seeing your response to my 2016 post!!
Anyway, I’d be more than happy to speak with you about the history of the KLOS stickers for an article or interview. As mentioned in my original post, I have one of the most comprehensive collections of the stickers (well over 200 different band variations), and serve as the unofficial archivist at the station….in addition to my engineering duties on Breakfast with the Beatles!!
I can also help you with some background facts regarding who started the promotion campaign and dates and eras of the different sticker variations etc….
Contact me at askthemaestro@gmail.com if you’d like any further info.
Kind regards,
Dave Kaplan
I was going to say that the first stickers. I don’t have any of my old stickers anymore but if I remember correctly they were thinner and I think a clear sticker with the colors printed on top. Then they changed to the thicker stickers and the shades of the colors also changed. That kind of bummed me out because I thought that the colors looked better on the original stickers but the new ones were definitely better quality.
I grew up in Westchester just 10 minutes from The Forum and I was really lucky as a kid and teenager because the company that my mom worked for owned senate seats at The Forum and many times nobody else used them and so I was able to get all these free tickets for events including concerts. I was in the 6th and 7th grades in 80-82 and that’s when I started going to concerts at The Forum. My friends and I would always arrive early to look for the KLOS “Cool Patrol” in the parking lot so that we could get the rainbow stickers with the band’s name on them. Good times.
I was going to say that the first stickers were different. I don’t have any of my old stickers anymore but if I remember correctly they were thinner and I think a clear sticker with the colors printed on top. Then they changed to the thicker stickers and the shades of the colors also changed. That kind of bummed me out because I thought that the colors looked better on the original stickers but the new ones were definitely better quality.
I grew up in Westchester just 10 minutes from The Forum and I was really lucky as a kid and teenager because the company that my mom worked for owned senate seats at The Forum and many times nobody else used them and so I was able to get all these free tickets for events including concerts. I was in the 6th and 7th grades in 80-82 and that’s when I started going to concerts at The Forum. My friends and I would always arrive early to look for the KLOS “Cool Patrol” in the parking lot so that we could get the rainbow stickers with the band’s name on them. Good times.
Hey Peter,
Your memory serves you quite well!! The original first-generation KLOS rainbow stickers from 1980-81, were in fact printed in brighter day-glow colors on a clear, thinner backing….and they were die- cut in the actual racetrack shape of the sticker. Beginning in late 1981, KLOS changed to a thicker vinyl sticker that was encased in a rectangular backing, and also contained two extra little KLOS stickers on the sides.
Cool that you got those Senate seats back in the day….I also was the lucky recipient of some of those Senate tickets back in the early 80s. Got to see Queen, Rush, Sammy Hagar, and a couple of others from those killer seats!! 🤘😎
–Engineer Dave
Breakfast with the Beatles
Very cool!
I have some KLOS rainbow racetrack stickers.. please visit: https://radiostickers.blogspot.com/2016/11/955-klos-los-angeles-usa.html
also, some “band” on KLOS rainbow racetrack stickers and postcard
I had a too hip membership card, personalized license plate, and many stickers.