Radio This Week Back Then: Week Ending February 10
What was on the radio this week…back then: KQLZ, KDGE, KHTK, WKBQ, KBAT
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This week’s trip back in time revisits rock 40 KQLZ “Pirate Radio” Los Angeles, modern rock KDGE “94.5 The Edge” Dallas/Fort Worth, the top 40 format battle of KHTK “Hot 97” and WKBQ “Q106.5” St Louis, and small market rocker KBAT “Pure Rock 93 KBAT, the Bat” Midland/Odessa TX.
Aircheck: KQLZ 100.3 Los Angeles “Pirate Radio” February 9 1990
Although there were some rock-leaning top 40s in a few markets, the new owners of AC KIQQ “K-Lite” made industry waves when it launched a “rock 40” format in 1989 as KQLZ “Pirate Radio.” Although pretty well executed, it never took off with listeners, and it shifted completely to AOR two years later.
Here is an aircheck from the midway point of its existence with DJ Fast Bobby. There are not many stations today that would run a promo like the one in the audio with a listener saying “Hi, I’m Dick and I listen to Kiss FM [competitor KIIS-FM 102.7]" followed by the voiceover “Whatever you do, don’t be a Dick.”
Midnight Oil/“Blue Sky Mine”
Faster Pussycat/“House Of Pain”
Legal ID: KQLZ 100.3 Los Angeles
The Cure/“Just Like Heaven”
McAuley Schenker Group/“Anytime”
AC/DC/“Back In Black”
Kiss/“Forever”
Talking Heads/“Stay Up Late”
Def Leppard/“Love And Affection”
The Cult/“Fire Woman”
Belinda Carlisle/“Summer Rain”
Autograph/“Turn Up The Radio”
Motley Crue/“Without You”
Current format: contemporary Christian KKLQ, the Los Angeles market relayer of current owner Educational Media Foundation’s national “K-Love” format
Aircheck: KDGE 94.5 Dallas/Fort Worth “94.5 The Edge” February 6 1999
The 94.5 facility was the first real rimshot to Dallas/Fort Worth. Originally birthed as country KDNT-FM, it then targeted Dallas/Fort Worth as an affiliate of the then-Satellite Music Network’s Z-Rock hard rock satellite format before the flip to KDGE in June 1989. All the longtime FM players were licensed using one of the tall towers in Cedar Hill, about 15 miles southwest of downtown Dallas, to provide full coverage to the sprawling Dallas/Fort Worth metro — which from the west side to the east side is the same distance as the width of the state of Connecticut. As Cedar Hill was home to stations at 94.1 and 94.9, KDNT-FM was second adjacent to both on the FM dial at 94.5 and FCC rules dictate the transmitters, for second adjacent full class C outlets, have to be at least 65 miles apart. So, the new facilities to target Dallas/Fort Worth was built in southwest Grayson County near the town of Collinsville, about 50 miles north of downtown Dallas. Now, 4 other stations, broadcast from that area to target D/FW due to the same restrictions.
This aircheck with Josh Venable comes from the first Saturday of February 1999, almost 10 years into the Edge’s existence. When KDGE’s owner was bought by Clear Channel (now iHeart), Clear Channel would have too many stations in the market to fit under FCC local ownership caps. So, Clear Channel divested the weak 94.5 facility, but kept the KDGE intellectual property…moving it in November 2000 to rhythmic oldies KTXQ 102.1 Fort Worth-Dallas in a format swap, giving KDGE full market access from a Cedar Hill facility.
The Edge lived there until November 2016, when it became AC “Star 102.1,” but keeping the KDGE calls.
Lenny Kravitz/“Fly Away”
Green Day/“When I Come Around”
Marvelous 3/“Freak Of The Week”
Bush/“Little Things”
Stabbing Westward/“Save Yourself”
Legal ID: KDGE 94.5 Gainesville-Dallas-Fort Worth
Stone Temple Pilots/“Vasoline”
The Goo Goo Dolls/“Slide”
Primitive Radio Gods/‘Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand”
Placebo/“Pure Morning”
The Smashing Pumpkins/“Perfect”
Beastie Boys/“No Sleep Till Brooklyn”
Current format: adult R&B KZMJ “Majic 94.5” on 94.5
Aircheck: KHTK 97.1 St Louis “Hot 97” February 9 1991
In last week’s edition, we got audio from 1991 for the top 40 combatants in Chattanooga (WKXJ vs WSKZ). This week, we have another top 40 battle from 1991 on the same day in the same market with audio from KHTK and WKBQ-FM St Louis.
Up first is top 40 “Hot 97,” which launched in 1989 and lasted until 1992. Sage Kelly is the DJ on this Saturday afternoon from 1991. KHTK skewed more dance and R&B product than WKBQ.
Damn Yankees/“High Enough”
Tevin Campbell/“Round And Round”
Soul II Soul/“Back To Life (However Do you Want Me)”
Stevie B/“Because I Love You (The Postman Song)”
Madonna/“Rescue Me”
Bell Biv DeVoe/“Poison”
Whitney Houston/“All The Man That I Need”
Legal ID: KHTK 97.1 Florissant MO-St Louis
After 7/“Can’t Stop”
LL Cool J/“Around The Way Girl”
Oleta Adams/“Get Here”
Stevie B/“I Wanna Be The One”
Current format: talk KFTK-FM “97.1 FM Talk”
Aircheck: WKBQ 106.5 St Louis “Q106.5” February 9 1991
Here is how competitor Q106.5 with DJ Kevin St John sounded on the same day against Hot 97. There are quite a few lesser, long forgotten songs on this one. You might be Billboard Hot 100 nerd if you remember the ones from Concrete Blonde, Heart, and The Outfield on this one.
Concrete Blonde/“Caroline”
Heart/“Stranded”
Londonbeat/“I’ve Been Thinking About You”
The Outfield/“For You”
Club Nouveau/“Lean On Me”
Nelson/“(Can’t Live Without Your) Love And Affection”
Mariah Carey/“Someday”
Michael Bolton/“How Can We Be Lovers”
REO Speedwagon/“Half Way”
Legal ID: WKBQ Granite City IL-St Louis
Timmy T/“One More Try”
Jon Bon Jovi/“Blaze Of Glory”
Current format: adult hits WARH “106-5 the Arch”
Aircheck: KBAT 93.3 Midland/Odessa “Pure Rock 93 KBAT” February 5 1997
KBAT signed on in the mid-1970s as with a country format and flipped to rock in the 1980s. The rock format lasted until 1998, when it flipped to rhythmic top 40 “B93.” This is audio from the year before on a Wednesday night in early February 1997. As it was locally owned at the time, it was live and local even in the evenings. These days, it is part of a cluster owned by Townsquare Media and the calls now belong to classic rock sister KBAT 99.9 Monahans. Unlike the KBAT at 93.3, today’s KBAT has no local DJs as all the shifts are voice-tracked from out of market or syndicated.
The Offspring/“All I Want”
Pantera/“Drag The Waters”
Legal ID: KBAT 93.3 Midland-Odessa
Metallica/“Nothing Else Matters”
Soundgarden/“Burden In My Hand”
Collective Soul/“Precious Declaration”
4 Non Blondes/“What’s Up?”
Van Halen/“Can’t Get This Stuff No More”
Stone Temple Pilots/“Unglued”
Legal ID: KBAT 93.3 Midland-Odessa
Top 9 At 9
9) Verve Pipe/“Photograph”
8) The Hazies/“Trip Free Life”
7) Dishwalla/“Counting Blue Cars (Tell Me All Your Thoughts On God”
6) The Black Crowes/“Good Friday”
5) Van Halen/“Me Wise Magic”
Current format: R&B KZBT “B93”
As always, the logos and other intellectual property belong to the stations. The recordings were made from over the air broadcasts.
Hello, I'm reaching you regarding an unedited crystal clear recording of 100.3 FM Los Angeles DJ Fast Bobby on KQLZ Pirate Radio
A scoped version of this recording was displayed on your syndicated "Radio This Week Back Then" blog. I was hoping you have the unscoped recording. I have an unscoped version of this recording in very poor quality, and I was hoping for an upgrade or trade. Thank you!