Radio This Week Back Then #70: May 25-31
Coming: KRBV "Wild 100" D/FW first day. Going: KKPN "102.9 the Planet" Houston sign off. Plus audio from country WKHX-FM "Kicks 101.5" Atlanta and KRBE Houston's top 40/modern rock hybrid days.
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: Radio audio, history, and musings from radio this week back then…
Dallas/Fort Worth | rhythmic top 40 KRBV “Wild 100” first day (2001)
Houston | modern AC KKPN “102.9 the Planet” sign off and flip to regional Mexican “Estereo Latino” (1998), top 40-modern rock KRBE-FM (1995)
Atlanta | country WKHX-FM “Kicks 101.5” (2001)
Happy reading and listening!
Related: Dallas/Fort Worth, 100.3 Dallas/Fort Worth, KRBV
Presently adult hits KJKK “100.3 Jack FM,” this aircheck comes from its proceeding top 40 format days.
Aircheck
Back this week in 2001 over the Memorial Day weekend, top 40 KRBV “Hot 100” began stunting at noon Friday and relaunched on Memorial Day as rhythmic-leaning “Wild 100.” This aircheck comes from that Memorial Day afternoon on its first day. Hot 100 only had a two year run — it’s first day from 15 March 1999 is in RTWBT #59. Wild 100 fared only slightly better as it had a three year run before flipping to KJKK in 2004.
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Aircheck Log
Related: Houston, 102.9 Houston, KKPN
For much of its history, the 102.9 Houston facility was standards/MOR KQUE. After it was sold in 1997 to SFX, the longtime KQUE calls and format were moved to its AM sister, KNUZ 1230, and 102.9 flipped to modern AC KKPN “102.9 the Planet, Houston’s Modern Hits.” KKPN was short-lived as, in the following year, SFX would be sold with its large market stations going to Chancellor Media and SFX’s other stations to Capstar. Because of market caps, KKPN had to be divested, and it was spun off to Heftel, giving it a full-market signal to move its regional Mexican “Estereo Latino” format off a group of rimshot signals.
Aircheck
This aircheck is the final hour of KKPN and its modern AC format and flip to regional Mexican “Estereo Latino.”
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Aircheck Log
Related: Houston, 104.1 Houston, KRBE
These two airchecks come from one my favorite sounds of KRBE over the year — its mid-1990s top 40/modern rock hybrid days. The first one is from PM drive from the Friday going into the Memorial Day 1995 weekend. The second comes from its then-Sunday morning “Resurrection Sunday” 80s retro block. Another 1995 aircheck from its top 40/modern rock days is available in RTWBT #5.
Aircheck: 26 May 1995
This is PM drive from Friday ahead of the Memorial Day weekend. The big happening was the Houston Rockets playing the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA’s Western Conference Finals. The Rockets were up 2-0 in the series with the goal of advancing to the NBA Finals for the second year in a row — which is the “Two-ston” references throughout the airhceck.
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Aircheck: 28 May 1995
This is an aircheck from KRBE’s local “Resurrection Sunday” 80s throwbacks show.
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Related: Atlanta
The country format on 101.5 dates back to February 1968, when then-WBIE-FM flipped from simulcasting MOR/“popular music” WBIE 1080 to country, becoming the first only FM country station in the market. The WKHX calls and “Kicks” rebrand came in 1981. WKHX rebranded to its current “New Country 101.Five” brand in 2019.
Aircheck
I was flying back to Dallas on Memorial Day 2001, with a layover at Atlanta, where I rolled this tape of WKHX. When I got home to Dallas, I recorded the KRBV aircheck above on the other side of the tape.
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Aircheck Log
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.