Radio This Week Back Then #42: November 3-9
What was on the radio this week…back then. This is a weekly visit of radio audio from this week in past years for those that enjoy radio history, those working in radio looking for promotional ideas, or stations looking to re-find lost audio of their heritage. If you enjoy these weekly audio rewinds, they take a lot of time to put together, so please do me a favor, subscribe, and share and pass it on. Thank you! A searchable and sortable index of all the audio is located on the Aircheck Index page.
This week:
Austin | classic hits KLTD 98.9 “Kool 99”
Abilene TX | classic rock/country KCWS 102.7 “Rockin’ Country West 102”
Santa Fe | AAA KVSF-FM 101.5 “Project 101.5”
For KLTD, the aircheck is from the first day on its present day 98.9 frequency as it had moved from 99.1 a few hours before to remedy interference problems from co-channel KODA 99.1 Houston and KRYS-FM 99.1 Corpus Christi. Plus, it comes from a time when the format’s playlist was still 1960s-centered. From there to the Texas Big Country, next up is KCWS’ attempt at a classic rock/country hybrid. The aircheck is two weeks into the new format. Then, the last aircheck is AAA-ish KVSF-FM 101.5 Santa Fe, as something representative from the US Southwest’s quirky arts and culture capital.
Happy reading and listening!
Related: Austin, 98.9 Austin
In late 1986, top 40 KIXS 93.3 Killeen abandoned its city of license and the Killeen/Temple radio market by moving to a big stick to the south in order to target the much larger and faster growing Austin market as KBTS “B93.” In January 1989, nearby KLTD 99.3 Lampasas followed the same path and upgraded from a class A to a C1 on 99.1 to target Austin as oldies “Kool 99.”
Citing problems with ducting creating co-channel interference from KODA 99.1 Houston and KRYS-FM 99.1 Corpus Christi, the FCC approved substituting 98.9C1 for the 99.1C1 allocation. On the morning of 8 November 1990, KLTD made the move and this aircheck comes from later in the day….as I could now receive KLTD as it had been previously blocked by KODA where I lived at the time when its was on 99.1.
Oldies stations in 1990 were still primarily fun, pop hits from the 1960s-1970s, with a smattering of the 1950s. The ‘50s were soon gone, and 1970s-heavy classic hits stations would soon emerge — as would be the case in Austin when 93.3 flipped to 70s KHHT “Hits 93.3” in 1994 (featured back in RTWBT #33). Outside maybe “Long Train Runnin’,” most of these tunes have long aged out and disappeared off most classic hits outlets in the format today.
Presently, the station is owned by the University of Texas as AAA KUTX, sister to NPR KUT 90.5 and student-run alternative/indie/college KVRX 91.7.
Related: Abilene
In August 1992, CHR KFQX-FM “Fox 102.7” flipped to country KCWS “West 102, Abilene’s Hottest Country.” The initial flip was successful — the station ranked 3rd overall in the market in its first book, though far back from country incumbent KEAN-FM/AM 105.1/1280, which had a massive 27.5 in that book, which was actually down from a share in the 30s the previous book. A short year later, KCWS’ format was adjusted.
A few weeks before this aircheck, on 22 October 1993, KCWS shifted to a classic rock/hybrid as “Rockin’ Country West 102.” As profiled in the local paper below, the format was about a 3:1 classic rock:country ratio with country basically the only new music. The approach was patterned off classic rock/country KCDQ 102.1 “Texas 102” in the Midland/Odessa market further west on Interstate 20.
From a profile on the new sound in the local Abilene Reporter-Times newspaper from 31 October 1993…
The format debuted to perked ears on Oct. 22. Word spread quickly. Imaginations raced. What is this stuff, Van Waylon? Chris LeDoobie Brothers? Crosby, Stills, Nash and Ville?
“It’s really obscure, it’s odd,” says KCWS operations manager George Chambers. “But what’s country today is really rock ‘n’ roll 10 years ago. It does blend pretty good.”
The format change was overnight, as was the agreement by Chambers and Jim Christoferson, co-owners of dialmate [top 40] KCDD (103.7), to operate the former hot country station for Ovation Broadcasting. Chambers is doing the same format with an AM station he owns in Oklahoma. It’s also the format of choice for KCDQ [102.1 “Texas 102”] of Odessa.
Brad Holcomb, KCDQ program director, said his station did some research and discovered many Baby Boomer radio listeners would tune in to rock until a metal band came on, then switch to country. And listen that until Porter Waggoner warbled, and go back. Why not, then, get two, two audiences in one?
“Texas 102” for a year has been playing a 70 (rock)-30 (country) percent mix. The only new music the station plays is country, except for new music by legendary artists like Eric Clapton.” No one passed up on “Unplugged.”
“But you can’t go from Garth Brooks to Pink Floyd,” he said.
But KCWS had. Some early programming mistakes were made, Christoferson says. But he isn’t sure these music slams are all bad. When people describe the format, he reasons, they’ll probably tell someone, “They’re playing Garth Books and then Jethro Tull!”
Still, the station is trying to separate the music with transition artists like the Eagles, the Allman Brothers, CSN&Y and Creedence. KCWS is playing one country song to three classic rockers.
The hybrid format lasted only a year — the country was dropped for just rock oldies on 13 September 1994. West 102 returned to country on 18 March 1996. In October 1997, it flipped back to CHR KFQX-FM “Fox 102.7.” The return lasted less than a year; in the summer of 1998, KFQX-FM picked up the classic rock format, handle, and calls of new sister KHXS 106.3 “106.3 the Bear.” The KFQX-FM calls went to 106.3, but as AC “Mix 106.” Presently, the station is still classic rock KHXS “102 the Bear.”
Back this week in 2009, I was in Santa Fe for a short trip. At this point, KVSF-FM was about two years into its run as AAA-ish “Project 101-5.” Prior to that, it was KWRP “Indie 101-5” and running a much more eclectic indie/AAA/Americana playlist. Although a bit more traditional than KWRP, KVSF-FM here still had some eclectic music choices, which is why I picked it this week out of the airchecks I recorded that weekend.
Presently, KVSF-FM is running a jazz format as “101.5 the Cat.” AAA is still in the market via clustermate KBAC 98.1 “Radio Free Santa Fe.”
As always, the logos and other intellectual property belong to the stations. The recordings were made from over the air broadcasts.