Vladimir Kryuchkov diplomatic service, stationed in Hungary until 1959. He then worked for the Communist Party Central Committee for eight years, before joining the KGB in 1967 together with his patron Yuri Andropov. He was appointed head of the First Chief Directorate (FCD) in the summer of 1971 (upon the order of Andropov)(See Vladimir Kryuchkov, 1996) (the KGB Foreign Operations) and Deputy Chairman in 1978. In 1988, he was promoted to the rank of General of the Army and became KGB Chairman. In 1989–1990, he was a member of the Politburo. A political hard-liner, Kryuchkov was among the members of the Soviet
KGB-FM the station. The songwriting contest is the brainchild of KGB-FM program director Ron Jacobs, who first held such an event at KHJ (AM) in Los Angeles. The "Homegrown" album series was introduced in response to the cancellation of the popular "Charity Ball" event at San Diego Stadium (now Qualcomm Stadium), a venue for which the station was not granted usage in 1973 after holding it the previous year. Proceeds from sale of the albums were donated to local charities. The contest ran through 1978, yielding seven albums named "Homegrown" through "Homegrown VII" with copyrights from 1973 to 1979. There were