Historic Houston Radio Stations

[Vertigo58]

KQUE

Yeaaaa! You win the grand prize!

[gnu]

Yeaaaa! You win the grand prize!

Paul Berlin's false teeth?

or a dr pepper from the former tenneco station on san jacinto & blodgett (ala Ronnie Renfrow)

BTW...Ronnie Renfrow was doing a big band show on KIKK 650am on weekends last year. Not sure if it is still on.

[Subdude]

I thought KQUE was a victim of the franchising of standardized radio formats. It just didn't fit into a box that advertisers liked.

[Vertigo58]

I thought KQUE was a victim of the franchising of standardized radio formats. It just didn't fit into a box that advertisers liked.

It was several factors I'm sure. The majority of listeners fall into the 'unheard voices' category as far as revenue is concerned. Seniors and retirees made up majority of fans for the station. Paul Berlin would always do plugs for local banquet, charity events and fund raisers, plus great plugs for restaurants where many of these seniors had been going to since youth. Same story the older folks pass away so all of that rich history slowly vanishes and so does the music they grew up with (sort of). As I mentioned, I remember my mom setting the radio to these guys since I was a kid so I learned to really appreciate where they were coming from. In fact now that you remind me the best thing about this station was The News was done in the format you just dont hear any more. Like they did back in the 40's and 50's.

Who was the famous news DJ that would always say...

"And now for the rest of the story" at the beginning of the newscast on KQUE???

He would always be broadcast on this station. Getting back to what I was recalling was that Paul Berlin would always jog memories of historical events around the world and Houston. Where else do we get that on a regular basis? He also would ask listeners questions like what year did the Shamrock Hilton Hotel open? and can you name any famous quests present at the grand opening. 1st or 3rd caller would win tickets to dinner at "famous" upscale restaurants around town or tickets to events at The River Oaks Country Club, I mean fancy places not junky places like a fast food joint. Real class.

I miss this station big time another bygone era.

[brucesw]

I thought KQUE was a victim of the franchising of standardized radio formats. It just didn't fit into a box that advertisers liked.

The Telecomm Act of 1996 drastically changed the landscape of broadcasting, making it possible for a broadcaster to own more stations in one city than they used to be able to own in the whole country. It introduced the possibility of assembly line principles in radio, voice-tracking, satellite delivery of programming, computer generated announcers. It changed broadcasting from an entertainment medium into an investment instrument.

There had been problems of timid and unimaginative programmers for years and tightly controlled formats which stifled creativity on the part of the on-air person, but this was a much bigger change. Many people may not realize that some djs heard on Houston radio stations do not live here or have even visited here - they cut their shows -voice tracks only - at other radio stations in other cities where they are on the air and they are inserted by computer in the programming on the local signal. There are several Houston-based djs who are heard in other cities, too. It's a great cost cutting benefit for owners since they can pay someone for voice-tracking a fraction of what it would cost to have live, local djs in every city.

Some advertisers absolutely loved a station like KQUE because it delivered results. The listeners were loyal but the ratings varied greatly from book to book. Every now and then, KQUE would have a dynamite rating book and show up as one of the top 5 stations, but most of the time, the sales staff at a station like KQUE actually had to sell, they couldn't just schmooze the advertising agencies with printouts of great demographics. In a city the size of Houston, a sales staff finds it easier to develop a good relationship with an ad agency that makes a lot of decisions affecting big advertising buys rather than visiting lots of mom and pop operations trying to convince them to buy a few spots.

I think it was when Dave Morris decided to retire and sell KNUZ-AM and KQUE-FM that the big changes took place on K-Q 'Effervescent one-oh-two-point-nine.'

[Vertigo58]

It was several factors I'm sure. The majority of listeners fall into the 'unheard voices' category as far as revenue is concerned. Seniors and retirees made up majority of fans for the station. Paul Berlin would always do plugs for local banquet, charity events and fund raisers, plus great plugs for restaurants where many of these seniors had been going to since youth. Same story the older folks pass away so all of that rich history slowly vanishes and so does the music they grew up with (sort of). As I mentioned, I remember my mom setting the radio to these guys since I was a kid so I learned to really appreciate where they were coming from. In fact now that you remind me the best thing about this station was The News was done in the format you just dont hear any more. Like they did back in the 40's and 50's.

Who was the famous news DJ that would always say...

"And now for the rest of the story" at the beginning of the newscast on KQUE???

He would always be broadcast on this station. Getting back to what I was recalling was that Paul Berlin would always jog memories of historical events around the world and Houston. Where else do we get that on a regular basis? He also would ask listeners questions like what year did the Shamrock Hilton Hotel open? and can you name any famous quests present at the grand opening. 1st or 3rd caller would win tickets to dinner at "famous" upscale restaurants around town or tickets to events at The River Oaks Country Club, I mean fancy places not junky places like a fast food joint. Real class.

I miss this station big time another bygone era.

Light bulb just came on. The famous Newsman was Paul Harvey!

[isuredid]

[brucesw]

Well, let's see....

WCAK wasn't licensed until May, 1922, so it wasn't on the air in 1920; KTUE wasn't licensed until August, 1926, not quite 'about the same time.' KTLC went silent in 1932, not 1934. KATL took to the air in May, 1947, and hadn't even been conceived of in 1945. It flipped to KYOK 7 years later, in 1954, not 1956. KLEE signed on just 2 weeks before KNUZ, not a year.

Other than that, the article is jam-packed with helpful information I'd say.

It's from the 50th anniversary edition of the Houston Press, by the way; there were several pages of similar articles about Houston's past, probably all as well researched as that one .

[chrisngrod]

I didn't like the loss of KKPN 102.9 The Planet. My presets use to include that 107.5 The Buzz (now 94.5 of course) and 104.1. I don't like 104 as much now. Don't visit Houston as much either.

First I had heard someone said something over the radio that was inappropriate and they had to shut down the station. Seems like after reading articles today that the parent company had owned too many stations in the market and violated FCC regulations.

Anyways only 2 minutes left on my computer (Kuwait internet cafe).

[Don Julio]

When did KILT go on the air? I know it was the mid-1950s, but I'd to get a more exacting date.

[Guest Marty]

When did KILT go on the air? I know it was the mid-1950s, but I'd to get a more exacting date.

Here's a wiki of 610 KILT AM thay change to a sports format in 1996. 610 KILT wikipedia

[northbeaumont]

KYOK "1590 Raps"

Back in the 1970s there was a radio station in Houston that played a comedy show called Dr. Demento. A part of the show was a guy reciting: "Her name was Bertha. Bertha Butt. Head of the Butt Sisters."

Does anyone remember that radio station and/or that record?

[texianjoe]

Back in the 1970s there was a radio station in Houston that played a comedy show called Dr. Demento. A part of the show was a guy reciting: "Her name was Bertha. Bertha Butt. Head of the Butt Sisters."

Does anyone remember that radio station and/or that record?

I remember somthing like that. Now I'm just guessing but it could have been either "I don't wanna bump with no big fat woman" or The You can have her, I don't want her, she's to fat for me Polka.

joe

[memememe]

I remember somthing like that. Now I'm just guessing but it could have been either "I don't wanna bump with no big fat woman" or The You can have her, I don't want her, she's to fat for me Polka.

joe

Here is the song:

<H3 class=post-title>Her Name was Bertha, Bertha Butt, one of the Butt sisters </H3>a blast from the past. More specifically, a song from 1972 or so:

"Troglodyte"

(As recorded by Jimmy Castor Bunch)

JIMMY CASTOR BUNCH

What we're gonna do right here is go back

Way back into time

When the only people that existed were Troglodytes

Cave men, cave woman, Neadrothol, Troglodytes

Imagine the average cave man at home

Listening to his stereo

Sometimes he'd get up and dance

He'd move something like this "dance dance"

He'd get tired of dancing alone and look in the mirror

And say "gotta find a woman"

"Gotta find a woman, gotta find a woman, gotta find a woman"

Then he'd go down to the lake where all the girls

Would be swimming or washing clothes or something

And he'd grab one by the hair

You can't do that today fellas

'Cause it might come off

You have a hand full of hair

And she'd be swimming away from you

This was a big woman, big

Her name was Bertha, Bertha Butt -- one of the Butt sisters

She looked down on him

And started to crush him

Then she began to play him

He looked up at her and said "sock it to me"

"Sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me"

She looked down on him

And said "I'll sock it to you daddy"

And you know what he said

He started it all way back then

I ain't gonna lie to you

He said "right on, right on"

Hot pants, hot pants

Uh uh uh.