KIKK-in' It Again In Houston
The KIKK-FM calls are returning this week in Houston, so let's hear from their first 35 year run in Houston.
For more than 40 years, the KIKK calls in Houston meant country music radio. Country KRCT 650 Houston took the KIKK calls on 01 May 1961. The owners later acquired easy listening/jazz KHUL 95.7 in 1961 and relaunched it as country KIKK-FM. Country and the KIKK-FM calls then had a 35 year run, ending when the station flipped to smooth jazz KHJZ-FM “95.7 the Wave” in November 2002. KHJZ-FM would become top 40 KKHH “Hot 95.7” in March 2008 and then to adult hits “95.7 the Spot” at the end of 2016.
The KIKK-FM calls are coming back home to 95.7 this week on August 13. The country format is not — instead the sports programming of co-owned KILT 610 will add 95.7 as a simulcast and rebrand as “95.7 the Fan.”
In honor of the return of the calls, here are some airchecks from the previous run of KIKK-FM and its various country incarnations.
12 May 1991
For most of its time, the country format was branded as “Kick 96 KIKK,” as it still was on Mother’s Day 1991. At this time, KIKK-FM competed against cross-town KILT-FM 100.3 “FM100.” KIKK-FM and KILT-FM would get a new rival with KKBQ-FM 92.9 “93Q” flipping from top 40 to country a few months after this aircheck in September as “92.9 Easy Country.” That wasn’t a winner, but a relaunch as hit country “93Q Country, Houston’s Fresh Country Hits” the following year created a much more formable challenger. Another change would be KIKK-FM and KILT-FM coming under common ownership.
20 November 1994
On 6 September 1994, KIKK-FM shifted to more currents-based as “Kick Country 95.7” as the “hot country” format spread across the country in the early and mid-1990s. The shift differentiated them from now-sister KILT-FM and targeted KKBQ-FM more directly.
08 May 1997
The evolution to hot country peaked in 1997 with a rebrand to “Young Country 95-7,” following the imaging and branding of sister KYNG 105.3 Dallas. It would be short-lived, with the “Young Country” brand gone three years later.
10 July 2001
In 2001, KIKK-FM tried something unique — a mix of country, Texas country, Americana, and some classic rock as “95-7 Kick FM, Houston’s Country Alternative”. I personally liked it — but ratings showed few others did and this was short-lived.
This aircheck is from the morning show back then. I put up a more music-intensive aircheck from middays way back in “Radio This Week Back Then #9.”
12 July 2002
Back to mainstream country music a year later — only the “95-7 Kick FM” handle survived.
Related: Houston, KIKK-FM, 95.7 Houston
As always, the logos and other intellectual property belong to the stations. The recordings were made from over the air broadcasts. Similarly, other data (charts, ratings, etc.) belong to their respective owners.