The station was founded in 1963 by Phil Crenshaw and Gaylon O. Gilbert. The original power of that station was 1,000 watts, with power being raised to 5,000 watts non-critical hours (two hours after sunrise and two hours before sunset) in 1968. Because it shared the same frequency as clear-channel station WCKY in Cincinnati, Ohio, KCLR operated only during the daytime hours. The station sought the letters KCLR, for "K-Clear", because of its placement on a clear channel.
The original owners sold the station to F.T. Wilson in 1969, who then sold the station to Pete C. Rodriguez in 1978. Rodriguez himself later sold the station to Paulino Bernal, in 1990. Bernal surrendered the license for KCLR and five other stations to the Federal Communications Commission on November 7, 2013.
