Historic Houston Radio Stations

[enviromain]

During the 80's, I used to listen to 97Rock with Moby & Matthews in the morning. Was it KSSR or KSRR?

KLOL 101 was always good in the evenings. I still have a lighter somewhere with 97Rock on it. It's probably not worth anything. I still have a 97Rock sticker on my guitar case.

In the 70's KRBE was a rock-n-roll station. I remember listening to Don McClean's "Bye, Bye Miss American Pie." They played a lot of Jackson Brown, Elton John, ABBA, Alice Cooper, Eagles, Joe Cocker, Fleetwood Mac, Elvis, KC & the Sunshine Band, David Bowie, The Doobies, KISS, etc. Those were the days!

Peace Man!

[gonzo1976]

During the 80's, I used to listen to 97Rock with Moby & Matthews in the morning. Was it KSSR or KSRR?

KLOL 101 was always good in the evenings. I still have a lighter somewhere with 97Rock on it. It's probably not worth anything. I still have a 97Rock sticker on my guitar case.

In the 70's KRBE was a rock-n-roll station. I remember listening to Don McClean's "Bye, Bye Miss American Pie." They played a lot of Jackson Brown, Elton John, ABBA, Alice Cooper, Eagles, Joe Cocker, Fleetwood Mac, Elvis, KC & the Sunshine Band, David Bowie, The Doobies, KISS, etc. Those were the days!

Peace Man!

There's a link on my blog (under "Houston Radio History") where this guy recorded hours worth of broadcasts from KRBE, KLOL and KILT. KRBE sounded pretty progressive in the late '60s.

[enviromain]

There's a link on my blog (under "Houston Radio History") where this guy recorded hours worth of broadcasts from KRBE, KLOL and KILT. KRBE sounded pretty progressive in the late '60s.

Cool. Thanks! And I had forgotten about KILT.

[Mark F. Barnes]

KILT with DJ Captain Jack and the after the "Original" Hudson and Harrigon (Irving Harrigan & Mac Hudson) left, Mark Stevens and Jim Pruett, took over as the clowns of Houston Radio for many years.

Stevens and Pruett left KILT and then popped back up on KULF, then later on KLOL.

Jim Pruett has returned to Houston radio on KFNC-FM (News Channel 97-5), along with former Stevens and Pruett sidekick Brian Shannon (Eddie 'The Boner' Sanchez); doing a live call-in show called Back Talk with Pruett, Shannon and the Boner that debuted 5/31/05." Jim also owns/runs Jim Pruett's Guns and Ammo, Houston, Texas.

Moby (James Carney) is now in Roswell, Georgia, (semi-retired) just outside Atlanta, and doing very well.

Jon Mathews is a registered pedophile.

How about Col St. James or Outlaw Dave Andrews,

But you cannot, and I repeat CANNOT talk radio without paying hommage to the Godfather of radio. On XERF-AM "The Texas X" Del Rio Texas 250,000 watts nation wide radio broadcast. The Original Rock 'n' Roll Animal, "Have Mercy" Wolfman Jack aka Robert Weston Smith. Wolfman Jack--indisputably the world's most famous DJ--was the master of ceremonies for the rock 'n' roll generation of the '60s on radio, and later on television during the '70s. In the early 1960s, when much of the airwaves were segregated, Bob Smith created his shadowy wild man alter ego so that he could DJ on the radio the "rhythm and blues" race records n he loved so much. As the enigmatic Wolfman Jack, the young white man from one of Brooklyn New York's toughest neighborhoods, could easily hide behind a voice that masked his true ethnic roots. Many teens first discovered The Wolfman while scanning the AM radio band as they cruised Main Street U.S.A. Out of the night came a howling, guttural, ethereal voice amid a collection of rock 'n' roll, inner-city ethnic rhythm, and deep south blues records that wouldn't be found on any "legal" radio station. People speculated he was black, or hispanic, they really didn't know. The "Guess Who" wrote a song about him. He turned on the girls and spun the wax. You youngsters who don't know him, go to your local Blockbuster Video and check out "American Graffiti" and you can get a taste of the Wolfman. Way back in the fifties, you could drive all the way across this country, all the way from New York to L.A. and never lose the Wolfman. For eight years from 1958 to 1966, Wolfman Jack howled nightly on XERF, a 250,000 watt Mexican station just north of Del Rio, Texas. That was back in the days when the kids wore d.a. haircut, peg pants and cruised around the Boulevard in customized cars with the radio blasting, drinking beer and looking for chicks.

The Wolfamn is on Xm Radio - on the 60's on 6

Monday - Friday 11PM - Midnight ET

Sundays 7PM - Midnight ET

Rest in Peace Wolfman, there will NEVER Ever be another even close.

[ricco67]

MOBY!

OMG, that was a rockin' dude! He was totally insane, though, at least that's what it seemed like on his show.

"Get your lazy asses out of bed!"

[Mark F. Barnes]

MOBY!

OMG, that was a rockin' dude! He was totally insane, though, at least that's what it seemed like on his show.

"Get your lazy asses out of bed!"

Country DJ Too Southern for Station

Wednesday, October 23, 2002

by Jonathan Serrie

ATLANTA

[jmancuso]

moby was awesome.

[enviromain]

The Wolfamn is on Xm Radio - on the 60's on 6

Monday - Friday 11PM - Midnight ET

Sundays 7PM - Midnight ET

Rest in Peace Wolfman, there will NEVER Ever be another even close.

And don't forget his Midnight Special on Friday nights during the seventies! Had the best live music around! And the best host of music, as well!

[Firebird65]

Noticed several topics on radio, but none about the chronology of Houston's stations (when they came into being). So...

I've got some information, but it's spotty. Hopefully, between what I've got and some of the knowledgeable people on this board, we came come up with a fair approximation.

I'll start with the beginning and just go to the end of World War II then fill in more when I get home. By all means, if you can add to this list or correct any errors, please do.

1922 - WEV (frequency unknown) - Have heard this was the first radio station in Houston, although it was quite primitive and low-powered by today's standards. Have heard WEV really consisted of nothing more than someone reading speeches or giving impromptu commentary. As there were only several hundred radio stations in the city at the time, it wasn't a moneymaker (if it even could be considered a commercial station) and didn't last long. Apparently there were several stations like this in the early days, but from what I've read on this board and in a book, this was the first.

1925 - KRPC (920 AM) - Later switched to 950 AM sometime in the late 1930s or early 1940s after it boosted power. This is the oldest surviving commercial station in Houston, as opposed to WEV, which probably was more experimental. This was often referred to as the "Post station" because of its association with the Houston Post newspaper.

1930 - KTRH (1290 AM) - Like KPRC, it later switched frequencies to 740 AM. KTRH was often called the "Chronicle station" because of its association with the Houston Chronicle newspaper.

1930 - KXYZ (1440 AM) - Later switched frequencies to 1320 AM. At one time owned by Glen McCarthy of Shamrock Hotel fame.

1944 - KTHT (1230 AM) - Later switched frequencies to 790 AM. KNUZ took over the 1230 AM slot.

I've got more, but didn't want a post a mile long, and from here my info skips around alot. (Came up with this while I was researching my high school's history and would stop on the entertainment page of the paper and noticed how the stations changed over the years).

Please feel free to add!

[gonzo1976]

Please feel free to add!

You should check out "Kotton, Port, Rail Center" by Christopher Varela. He goes into the the early days of Houston radio, starting with amateur radio operators. I've only seen it for sale at the city's visitors center, but it might be available elsewhere.

According to his book, WEV was given two frequencies to broadcast from:

360 meters (833 kHz) for entertainment

485 meters (619 kHz) for weather reports, road conditions, crop reports, etc.

This was in 1922.

Others were WCAK, WEAY, WGAB, WPAN, WFAL (also a Chronicle station, but it didn't last beyond 1922).

I could be wrong, but I think all of the above began in 1922.

[Firebird65]

You should check out "Kotton, Port, Rail Center" by Christopher Varela. He goes into the the early days of Houston radio, starting with amateur radio operators. I've only seen it for sale at the city's visitors center, but it might be available elsewhere.

According to his book, WEV was given two frequencies to broadcast from:

360 meters (833 kHz) for entertainment

485 meters (619 kHz) for weather reports, road conditions, crop reports, etc.

This was in 1922.

Others were WCAK, WEAY, WGAB, WPAN, WFAL (also a Chronicle station, but it didn't last beyond 1922).

I could be wrong, but I think all of the above began in 1922.

I vaguely remember reading what you've posted in another thread someone on this board, but I couldn't find it and the details were too foggy for me to recall.

Seems to me that in that same post (maybe in was under the Houston Media section?) that the post writer said the letters KPRC had nothing to do with Kotton, Port, Rail Center as is commonly believed. Actually, the writer said, the call sign doesn't stand for anything... it just became a conveniet way for folks to remember it.

Maybe I just not searching for that post correctly, and it's been awhile since I read that post. Maybe if I tried something different I could find it again... but I'm sure boss is already thrilled with the amount of time I spend here as it is!

[editor]

Seems to me that in that same post (maybe in was under the Houston Media section?) that the post writer said the letters KPRC had nothing to do with Kotton, Port, Rail Center as is commonly believed. Actually, the writer said, the call sign doesn't stand for anything... it just became a conveniet way for folks to remember it.

That's usually the case with the very old stations. For a long time the Department of Commerce (and later the FCC) didn't allow custom call signs, so people made up slogans to fit their stations. I found this out while doing some research on Pennsylvania radio history. Unless the call signs managed to spell out an offending word, they were issued sequentially. Even today, they're issued sequentially unless the applicant requests specific letters, which is how a college in western Pennsylvania ended up (briefly) with WFUC. The students fought tooth-and-nail to keep it, but the administration had it changed.

[Firebird65]

Even today, they're issued sequentially unless the applicant requests specific letters, which is how a college in western Pennsylvania ended up (briefly) with WFUC. The students fought tooth-and-nail to keep it, but the administration had it changed.

College students wanting to keep those call letters? Can't imagine why. LOL!

[gonzo1976]

Just remembered TRH - The Rice Hotel - I guess K didn't stand for anything....

I always heard:

Kome(Come) To the Rice Hotel

[nm5k]

That's usually the case with the very old stations. For a long time the Department of Commerce (and later the FCC) didn't allow custom call signs, so people made up slogans to fit their stations. I found this out while doing some research on Pennsylvania radio history. Unless the call signs managed to spell out an offending word, they were issued sequentially. Even today, they're issued sequentially unless the applicant requests specific letters, which is how a college in western Pennsylvania ended up (briefly) with WFUC. The students fought tooth-and-nail to keep it, but the administration had it changed.

In the wee early days before the government took it over, they often were made up.

Often with initials, etc.. Many of the first amateur calls were that way. Then the gov

took over and started issuing the calls. The first ham calls were usually just a couple of

letters. IE: a ham in early Houston might have been "AB", or whatever. Then they

started adding district or "area" numbers, and it might have been "5AB" fer instance.

Then the gov started adding a prefix to the calls, with a "country" ident. In the USA, those

were either W,K, A, or N. Course, most known commercial stations used W, and K. There

used to be some thing about a Mississippi river split on those, but I think they did away with

that a long time ago. But all the calls since the earliest K, W, etc calls have been sequential.

This includes the hams, and commercials. You can tell appx how long a ham has had a

ticket if they still have their original callsign. IE: in the 30s, 40s, most hams had a "W" 1 x2,

or 1 x3 call. In the 50's, usually a "K" call as they ran out of W's. In the late 50's, early 60's,

they had to go to a "WA" 2x3 call. In the late 60's, early 70's, a "WB" 1x3 call.

I got my original license in 1977, and got "WD5CJL". But for my 20th year, I decided to

get a new call, and got "NM5K" , which uses my two initials for the M, and K. Note the

"N" prefix... That says I'm in the USA.. There is also a WM5K, a KM5K, and AM5K, unless

still open. "It was still open when I got NM5K". I was going to change again about 3 years

ago, and get W5MK, but I forgot about it, and someone else grabbed it up.. %#&@@....

Anyway, W5MK was a very old call, and was owned by a guy in Bellaire until he died

about 4 years ago. It's possible that that call was originally one of the "5MK" three letter

calls in the beginning, but I'm not sure.. BTW, the "5" in all those calls means you are

in the 5th call district. Which is TX, NM, OK, LA, AR, and MS. But now, there is no requirement

to use a correct district number like it used to be years ago.. IE: I could move to AK, and keep

my 5 land call. But in the old days, I would have had to change it.

I gotta renew my licence at the end of this year.. Have to pay a small fee cuz I have a

"vanity" call. If I refused to pay, they would yank my vanity call, and issue me a new

sequential call, which would be something like AD5AA, etc... Needless to say, I'll

be keeping my 2x1 call. I can't get my old call back unless I filed for it as a new vanity

call.

MK

[HoustonianInColorado]

More recently: Keep Tuned Right Here.

Ever since Clear Channel has owned it, it might as well stand for: Keep The Republicans Happy.

Kiss The Republicans' Hineys

[foxmulder]

Even better! Ha!

I used to listen to KTRH all the time. Now... not so much.

Who even bothers with AM/FM radio anymore!? > XM

[enviromain]

The Wolfamn is on Xm Radio - on the 60's on 6

Ran across this website and thought about what you said. Hope you like it!

http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/Home.aspx

[FreakyDude]

During the 80's, I used to listen to 97Rock with Moby & Matthews in the morning. Was it KSSR or KSRR?

KLOL 101 was always good in the evenings. I still have a lighter somewhere with 97Rock on it. It's probably not worth anything. I still have a 97Rock sticker on my guitar case.

Oh man, I loved that radio station. I was mad when it dissolved. Moby & Matthews Rocked! I still have a sticker on one of my cars. I used to have those stickers everywhere!

You rock enviroman!

[FilioScotia]

Oh man, I loved that radio station. I was mad when it dissolved. Moby & Matthews Rocked! I still have a sticker on one of my cars. I used to have those stickers everywhere!

You rock enviroman!

So you ride around town with the name of a convicted pedophile pasted on your car? hmmm

[FreakyDude]

So you ride around town with the name of a convicted pedophile pasted on your car? hmmm

You know what? I did not ride around town with the name of a convicted pedophile pasted on my car! I rode around with a 97Rocks sticker on my car and proud of it! You twisted my words and are trying to stir up trouble. I don't appreciate that FilioScotia.

I went to college in 1983 in the Texas panhandle and did not know until recently Matthews was a pedifile. When I left Houston in '83, they were still laughing together in the morning.

I will reiterate the fact that I enjoyed listening to the Houston humor of that morning duo and Moby is still fun to listen to. They as a team took the edge off of the traffic and work and all, but obviously you didn't know that. I am not condoning pedophiles or the crimes Matthews was convicted of. I just like rock-n-roll and good humor!

Calm down FilioScotia! Take a chill.....

[enviromain]

You know what? I did not ride around town with the name of a convicted pedophile pasted on my car! I rode around with a 97Rocks sticker on my car and proud of it! You twisted my words and are trying to stir up trouble. I don't appreciate that FilioScotia.

I did not know until recently Matthews was a pedifile.

I will reiterate the fact that I enjoyed listening to the Houston humor of that morning duo and Moby is still fun to listen to. They as a team took the edge off of the traffic and work and all, but obviously you didn't know that. I am not condoning pedophiles or the crimes Matthews was convicted of. I just like rock-n-roll and good humor!

Yeah, what he said!

[Gary]

"But you cannot, and I repeat CANNOT talk radio without paying hommage to the Godfather of radio. On XERF-AM "The Texas X" Del Rio Texas 250,000 watts nation wide radio broadcast. The Original Rock 'n' Roll Animal, "Have Mercy" Wolfman Jack aka Robert Weston Smith. Wolfman Jack--indisputably the world's most famous DJ--was the master of ceremonies for the rock 'n' roll generation of the '60s on radio, and later on television during the '70s. In the early 1960s, when much of the airwaves were segregated, Bob Smith created his shadowy wild man alter ego so that he could DJ on the radio the "rhythm and blues" race records n he loved so much. As the enigmatic Wolfman Jack, the young white man from one of Brooklyn New York's toughest neighborhoods, could easily hide behind a voice that masked his true ethnic roots. Many teens first discovered The Wolfman while scanning the AM radio band as they cruised Main Street U.S.A. Out of the night came a howling, guttural, ethereal voice amid a collection of rock 'n' roll, inner-city ethnic rhythm, and deep south blues records that wouldn't be found on any "legal" radio station. People speculated he was black, or hispanic, they really didn't know. The "Guess Who" wrote a song about him. He turned on the girls and spun the wax. You youngsters who don't know him, go to your local Blockbuster Video and check out "American Graffiti" and you can get a taste of the Wolfman. Way back in the fifties, you could drive all the way across this country, all the way from New York to L.A. and never lose the Wolfman. For eight years from 1958 to 1966, Wolfman Jack howled nightly on XERF, a 250,000 watt Mexican station just north of Del Rio, Texas. That was back in the days when the kids wore d.a. haircut, peg pants and cruised around the Boulevard in customized cars with the radio blasting, drinking beer and looking for chicks".

"I heard it, I heard it, I heard it on the X", one of my favorite ZZ Top songs. Interesting info on a station I had heard of, but knew very little about.

[FilioScotia]

You know what? I did not ride around town with the name of a convicted pedophile pasted on my car! I rode around with a 97Rocks sticker on my car and proud of it! You twisted my words and are trying to stir up trouble. I don't appreciate that FilioScotia.

I went to college in 1983 in the Texas panhandle and did not know until recently Matthews was a pedifile. When I left Houston in '83, they were still laughing together in the morning.

I will reiterate the fact that I enjoyed listening to the Houston humor of that morning duo and Moby is still fun to listen to. They as a team took the edge off of the traffic and work and all, but obviously you didn't know that. I am not condoning pedophiles or the crimes Matthews was convicted of. I just like rock-n-roll and good humor!

Calm down FilioScotia! Take a chill.....

Seems to me you're the one who needs to chill. You're the one who said you still have stickers promoting Moby and Matthews on your car, but let's put that aside. I was just kidding, and it's not worth arguing about.

Let's be serious for a moment. I have known Matthews for a very long time, and I can tell you he has always been a self absorbed jerk with an over-inflated opinion of himself. I have to say I was not completely surprised when I read about his troubles in Sugarland.

I would be interested in getting your thoughts on where Matthews' life is now going to take him. I have zero sympathy for pedophiles, NONE, but it saddens me to observe that here is a guy in his sixties, who lost his career in the radio business when he got in trouble. The judge gave him probation and a chance to get his act together, but he blew that and now he's probably going to prison.

I have no idea how much time he'll do, but when he gets out he'll never get another job in radio or any part of the broadcasting business. His life is taking a very dark turn, and unless he has income or resources I don't know about, it's going to be very hard for him to make a living. I must say it appears to me that his life is probably over. I'm saying this because of what happened to a guy who was a living legend in Houston radio until his sad demise a few years ago.

Richard Dobbyn was the most creative, talented and funny radio genius this town has ever seen. He was also the most self-centered, self-absorbed, irresponsible, outrageous, racist, and amoral person in local radio history. He thought the world revolved around him, and he did and said whatever pleased him at the moment, with no regard for whether it was right or wrong. He got away with it for a long time because he was Richard Dobbyn.

He's the guy who, after a major riot at Texas Southern University in the late sixties, said on the air at KIKK that "the city needs to send some steamrollers over there and just blacktop Wheeler Street". He promoted altering KIKK's popular bumper sticker by razoring the letter "I" out of the logo, which left the letters "KKK", and which was used to adorn the bumpers of a lot of redneck pickup trucks.

He created KILT 20-20 News back in the early 60s, until Manager Dickie Rosenfeld got tired of his crap and fired him. Dobbyn then took that same news format to KIKK, and it made a lot of money for KIKK until KIKK's owner, Leroy Gloger, also got tired of his crap and fired him.

KILT and KIKK were the high points of Dobbyn's career, and after that he floated around Houston area radio for years, going downhill from job to job because he was also a famous drunk. A few years ago in the early 90s, he got a job working nights at KNUZ, probably with help from his old friend Arch Yancy, who worked with him at several stations years ago.

One night in the late 90s, Dobbyn fell in his apartment and hit his head on something. He was nearly dead by the time someone found him, and he was in the hospital for months. He ended up with brain damage, and when he got out of the hospital he lost the job and his apartment kicked him out because he had no money. It's believed that he also had a stroke, but whatever, the great Richard Dobbyn ended practically living on the streets. He finally died in September of 1999, and it just doesn't get any sadder than that.

Trust me, it's really true that nobody knows you when you're down and out, but no matter what he's done, I sincerely hope John Matthews doesn't end up the same way.

[WestUNative]

Filio,

Oh, guru of all things radio, who was Programming Manager at KILT in 1970? I can "see" him, but cannot come up with name. I was Secretary to a prominent Psychiatrist at the time and we did a radio show, actually 5 minute spots called "Ask The Doctor." We did all our recording via telephone once we'd set it up. I would be the shill who asked the question, as if someone wrote in (although, we made them all up) and my boss would then give a capsule answer/advice. This was long, long before "Frasier," guess we were ground breaking.

This was the same time frame when I did the KUHT/PBS Fine Arts Auction we talked about. My boss was pretty famous locally and his father and brothers had a big spread in LIFE magazine. He had a lot of connections.

More trivia. What station was Paul Berlin on? We listened avidly in the 1955 era, after all he was cute too. And on Saturdays, we'd hang out at his record shop on Holcombe in case he showed up, which he did from time to time. It was the coolest thing to hang out around DJ's, did you have groupies?

[Heights2Bastrop]

Wasn't Paul Berlin on KNUZ? He was on at least one other station, but I seem to remember him from KNUZ.

Does the name Jim Wood ring a bell? I think he was one of Houston's first "shock jocks", and he got fired from KILT for singing a little ditty about "Flies between my thighs".

[FilioScotia]

Filio,

Oh, guru of all things radio, who was Programming Manager at KILT in 1970? I can "see" him, but cannot come up with name. I was Secretary to a prominent Psychiatrist at the time and we did a radio show, actually 5 minute spots called "Ask The Doctor." We did all our recording via telephone once we'd set it up. I would be the shill who asked the question, as if someone wrote in (although, we made them all up) and my boss would then give a capsule answer/advice. This was long, long before "Frasier," guess we were ground breaking.

This was the same time frame when I did the KUHT/PBS Fine Arts Auction we talked about. My boss was pretty famous locally and his father and brothers had a big spread in LIFE magazine. He had a lot of connections.

More trivia. What station was Paul Berlin on? We listened avidly in the 1955 era, after all he was cute too. And on Saturdays, we'd hang out at his record shop on Holcombe in case he showed up, which he did from time to time. It was the coolest thing to hang out around DJ's, did you have groupies?

Oh you old flatterer you. Bill Young was Program Director at KILT in the 70s. He now owns Bill Young Productions, which produces radio and TV spots for stations and ad agencies all over the country. He also partnered recently with Mary Lou Retton to co-produce a children's TV show for Channel 8 and PBS stations all over the country. It's called -- what else? -- Mary Lou's Flip Flop Shop.

And yes Paul Berlin was at KNUZ for about 700 years. It felt like it was that long. He finally retired from KNUZ several years ago, and spent a few years playing records at another easy listening station, KBME. He left that one two years ago when it switched to an all sports format. I don't know what Berlin is doing now.

[Alpha]

And yes Paul Berlin was at KNUZ for about 700 years. It felt like it was that long. He finally retired from KNUZ several years ago, and spent a few years playing records at another easy listening station, KBME. He left that one two years ago when it switched to an all sports format. I don't know what Berlin is doing now.

Wasn't Paul Berlin also on KQUE? That was the 30s and 40s oldies station in the 70s through the 90s.

[FilioScotia]

Wasn't Paul Berlin also on KQUE? That was the 30s and 40s oldies station in the 70s through the 90s.

Yes he was. KQUE-FM and KNUZ-AM were owned by the same company and were in the same building at Caroline and Blodgett. When Berlin got "too old" for the "young" audience KNUZ was chasing, he just walked down the hall and played records on KQ, the easy listening FM station.

[57Tbird]

Wasn't Paul Berlin on KNUZ? He was on at least one other station, but I seem to remember him from KNUZ.

Paul and, I think, Justin Wilson of Cajun humor fame.