Help with KRBE History

[rageradio]

I know this has been posted in the past but now is nowhere to be found and I am working on something that requires a fairly accurate account of KRBE's history from the year they signed on and a timeline of it's formats, monikers, even passed jocks if possible.
Oh, when did they move their xmitter to Mo City?
Thanks!

 

[jras20]

KRBE was AC in the early 80's then returned to top 40 "power 104" in the mid 80s, I think it was back in 91 when they came back on as 104krbe top 40.
not sure what date they acually signed on in.
<P ID="signature">______________
jras20</P>

 

[sportzguy]

>
> Oh, when did they move their xmitter to Mo City?
> Thanks!
>
October 1983.
The first station to transmit from the Senior Road Tower was KIKK. Here's Houston FM Radio from Senior Road in'83...............

KYND - 92.9
KLEF - 94.5
KIKK - 95.7
KSRR - 96.5
KFMK - 97.9
KODA - 99.1
KILT - 100.3
KLOL - 101.1
KRBE - 104.1

 

[rageradio]

> KRBE was AC in the early 80's then returned to top 40 "power
> 104" in the mid 80s, I think it was back in 91 when they
> came back on as 104krbe top 40.
> not sure what date they acually signed on in.
>
Hey that's pretty good! This part I know but I'm trying to find KRBE's earlier incarnations through the 70s. I've seen somewhere that KRBE signed on in 1975. Is that true? Anyone?
Thanks jras!

 

[Mediafrog]

> I've seen somewhere that KRBE signed on in 1975. Is that true? Anyone?

1958 I believe. Was classical in the early years. Flip to Top 40 was in the very late 60's, IIRC.

 

[Cybelesown2]

KYND flip to KKBQ-FM (and, btw, KFMK and KAUM/KSRR fact-checks)

I wondered about the list below, in that easy listening KYND flipped to CHR in late 1982 and (subsequently?) adopted the calls KKBQ-FM. The signal (which moved to 92.9 from 92.5) was then CHR until 1991; the call letters have remained with us ever since.

(Side comment: I have long wondered when someone will post the wonderfully dramatic, IMHO, KYND/KKBQ format change to the Format Change Archive. I know there are recordings out there of this format flip. Is anyone listening?)

According to the website http://www.radioemporium.net/h_hou.html ("call letter history Houston/Galveston") KYND changed to KKBQ-FM on Feb. 2, 1983. It claims the station moved to 92.9 FM from 92.5 FM in October 1983.

Of course, this website could be mistaken. Quickly scanning the list, I spotted an apparent error: It claims the KFMK calls originated in 1980. Perhaps KFMK flipped formats in 1980 (anyone care to jog my memory there?) but those call letters had already been in existence for a number of years. (Since 1969? Any old-timers want to reminisce? I seem to recall hearing that KFMK was once a free-wheeling rock station before some sort of legal trouble caused it to morph into religion. Then, in the late 1970s or so -- 1980??? -- it flipped to adult contemporary. As I recall, it alternated between AC and oldies until 1991 when it changed formats and became KBXX "The Box," which is still with us.)

Looking more closely at the website, I see it claims KRBE, KRLY (now KKRW), KLEF (now KTBZ), KLOL, KMJQ, KQUE, KHCB and KAUM (now KHMX) all originated in 1980, when every single set of call letters listed predated that year. The website seems to be using 1980 as some kind of starting point. (That said, it lists KIKK-FM as originating on July 24, 1978!)

And it claims KAUM changed to KSRR in 1982; I distinctly recall the change actually occurred in the summer of 1980. (Initially after the change it was some sort of pop/country hybrid as "Star 96" or the like, quite possibly because "Urban Cowboy" was hip at that time; the station later changed to album rock.)

Also, what's this KUFO listed at 106.5? (I think I'll make a separate post about that.)

> >
> > Oh, when did they move their xmitter to Mo City?
> > Thanks!
> >
> October 1983.
> The first station to transmit from the Senior Road Tower
> was KIKK. Here's Houston FM Radio from Senior Road
> in'83...............
>
> KYND - 92.9
> KLEF - 94.5
> KIKK - 95.7
> KSRR - 96.5
> KFMK - 97.9
> KODA - 99.1
> KILT - 100.3
> KLOL - 101.1
> KRBE - 104.1
>

 

[Cybelesown2]

> > I've seen somewhere that KRBE signed on in 1975. Is that
> true? Anyone?
>
> 1958 I believe. Was classical in the early years. Flip to
> Top 40 was in the very late 60's, IIRC.
>

These posts are correct (aside from the 1975 comment -- did KRBE have a format change or format tweak in that year, though?), although I'm too young to remember KRBE as a classical station (and I didn't remember the exact year KRBE signed on or first flipped to top 40). At one point in the 1990s, I did spot a program guide or something from the classical-era KRBE, circa 1963 or something like that.

In 1980, KRBE billed itself as "Houston's Super Rock."

As I recall, KRBE flipped to AC in 1981 but flipped back to CHR in 1985 or 1986. In the summer of 1986, drivers along Houston freeways were treated to billboards with the cryptic slogan, "Escape from the zoo" or some such, which turned out to be a playful KRBE jab at then-CHR competitor KKBQ's "Q Morning Zoo."

Of course, years later in the mid-1990s, KRBE developed a pronounced alternative lean, a distinction it shared for a time with sister CHR Z100 WHTZ/New York. As we know, both stations later evolved back towards a more mainstream CHR approach.

I still fondly remember KRBE's "New Music Zone," a nightly (7 PM to midnight) alternative music show that ran from early 1992 to early 1994, with Ryan Chase (later half of the Roula & Ryan duo) as DJ. (I seem to vaguelly recall someone on this board once claiming another DJ did the New Music Zone in the beginning of that show. Was that correct or incorrect?)

This'll date me, but I remember being a kid in the early part of 1975 -- winter or spring, perhaps -- and clandestinely listening in bed to KRBE with an earphone when I was supposed to be sleeping. (Funny, what goes around comes around, I now do pretty much the same thing with Sirius and headphones!) My knowledge of radio formats was obviously not as refined then as now, but I do recall it was some kind of rock format. (From the same time period, by the way, I also vaguely remember "Hudson and Harrigan" on "The Big 610" KILT, which then was still top 40.)

One strange aural memory I have of my surreptitious late-night listening back then is of a whacked-out and possibly drunk or delirious male voice exclaiming, "Bathsheba!," probably over some wild electric guitars or the like. Out of sheer curiosity, I'd like to figure out who the artist was. My two wild guesses at the moment come from opposite ends of respectability amongst rock critics: Uriah Heep and Jimi Hendrix. But I could be totally off there.

Anyone have any clue as to the identity of the artist I might be talking about?

 

[Mediafrog]

Re: KYND flip to KKBQ-FM (and, btw, KFMK and KAUM/KSRR fact-checks)

> Of course, this website could be mistaken.

It seems to be missing most info prior to 1980. Many of the calls were around long before then. Some of us should e-mail the site and fill in a few blanks, I suppose...!

 

[dsadof]

Robert O'Quinn, a class-mate of mine at Sam Houston State University,
was Music Director at KRBE during the time of the New Music Zone and
was also the host of the show.

KRBE was known as Super Rock 104 in the late 70's or early 80's.
I used to have a softball-style shirt with red sleeves that I had
won from Super Rock 104. I also won copies of the LP's "Frampton
Comes Alive" and Ted Nugent's "Double Live Gonzo" from Super Rock
104.

 

[Cybelesown2]

> Robert O'Quinn, a class-mate of mine at Sam Houston State
> University,
> was Music Director at KRBE during the time of the New Music
> Zone and
> was also the host of the show.
>
<snip>

Come to think of it, that's who I vaguelly recall someone was saying was host in the beginning.

Sorry to respectfully disagree with you, though, but I do remember Ryan Chase was host for the lion's share of the program's existence.

So, when did Robert O'Quinn pass the torch, as it were?

 

[txcodytx]

Re: KYND flip to KKBQ-FM (and, btw, KFMK and KAUM/KSRR fact-checks)

> I wondered about the list below, in that easy listening KYND
> flipped to CHR in late 1982 and (subsequently?) adopted the
> calls KKBQ-FM. The signal (which moved to 92.9 from 92.5)
> was then CHR until 1991; the call letters have remained with
> us ever since.
>
> (Side comment: I have long wondered when someone will post
> the wonderfully dramatic, IMHO, KYND/KKBQ format change to
> the Format Change Archive. I know there are recordings out
> there of this format flip. Is anyone listening?)
>
> According to the website
> http://www.radioemporium.net/h_hou.html ("call letter
> history Houston/Galveston") KYND changed to KKBQ-FM on Feb.
> 2, 1983. It claims the station moved to 92.9 FM from 92.5 FM
> in October 1983.
>
> Of course, this website could be mistaken. Quickly scanning
> the list, I spotted an apparent error: It claims the KFMK
> calls originated in 1980. Perhaps KFMK flipped formats in
> 1980 (anyone care to jog my memory there?) but those call
> letters had already been in existence for a number of years.
> (Since 1969? Any old-timers want to reminisce? I seem to
> recall hearing that KFMK was once a free-wheeling rock
> station before some sort of legal trouble caused it to morph
> into religion. Then, in the late 1970s or so -- 1980??? --
> it flipped to adult contemporary. As I recall, it alternated
> between AC and oldies until 1991 when it changed formats and
> became KBXX "The Box," which is still with us.)
>
> Looking more closely at the website, I see it claims KRBE,
> KRLY (now KKRW), KLEF (now KTBZ), KLOL, KMJQ, KQUE, KHCB and
> KAUM (now KHMX) all originated in 1980, when every single
> set of call letters listed predated that year. The website
> seems to be using 1980 as some kind of starting point. (That
> said, it lists KIKK-FM as originating on July 24, 1978!)
>
> And it claims KAUM changed to KSRR in 1982; I distinctly
> recall the change actually occurred in the summer of 1980.
> (Initially after the change it was some sort of pop/country
> hybrid as "Star 96" or the like, quite possibly because
> "Urban Cowboy" was hip at that time; the station later
> changed to album rock.)
>
> Also, what's this KUFO listed at 106.5? (I think I'll make a
> separate post about that.)
>
> > >
> > > Oh, when did they move their xmitter to Mo City?
> > > Thanks!
> > >
> > October 1983.
> > The first station to transmit from the Senior Road Tower
> > was KIKK. Here's Houston FM Radio from Senior Road
> > in'83...............
> >
> > KYND - 92.9
> > KLEF - 94.5
> > KIKK - 95.7
> > KSRR - 96.5
> > KFMK - 97.9
> > KODA - 99.1
> > KILT - 100.3
> > KLOL - 101.1
> > KRBE - 104.1
> >
>
Does nayone have Q-Zoo Air checks? I have been looking for some of those Great Shows of John Lander.
Thanks
TxCody

 

[osr]

KKBQ Airchecks/Question on 790 KKBQ-AM

> Does nayone have Q-Zoo Air checks? I have been looking for
> some of those Great Shows of John Lander.
> Thanks
> TxCody
>
I have several airchecks of KKBQ, including the format flip from 93Q from rock (Yes it was playing rock in 1991 after it dumped Top 40) to easy country 92.9. TxCody, I have several morning shows taped with John Lander and the Q morning zoo circa 1987-1988. I also have several minutes of KRBE poking fun at KKBQ for flipping to country. I would like to get my hands on the flip from 92.5 KYND to 92.9 KKBQ in 1982. Along those lines, anyone remember how it was presented on KKBQ-AM? Of course, moving frequencies on FM, would give you a moment of dead air, while recording. This wouldn't have happened on 790. Was 790 simulcasting the flip of 92.5/92.9?

 

[osr]

> KRBE was AC in the early 80's then returned to top 40 "power
> 104" in the mid 80s, I think it was back in 91 when they
> came back on as 104krbe top 40.
> not sure what date they acually signed on in.
>
If I'm not mistaken, KRBE was a rock station in the early 80's and not AC. At the same time, KRBE-AM 1070 was a classic rock station. This was before 1070 simulcasted the FM audio.

 

[Mediafrog]

> At the same time, KRBE-AM 1070 was a
> classic rock station.

1984-87. Much better than the current KKRW 93.7 or the old KZFX 107.5 ever was.

> This was before 1070 simulcasted the FM audio.

Which they did a number of times as filler in between other formats. When the classic rock got the axe in 1987, 1070 was a FM simulcast for a year, before flipping to Z-Rock KKZR. KKZR was dropped in 1991 and 1070 became a simulcast again under the KRBE calls. In early 1993, a youth oriented religious/positive format had a brief life on 1070 as KCRR "Community Rebuild Radio." This lasted only three months, then folded, so 1070 was back to the simulcast. The next year the station was sold to Salem and flipped to brokered KENR, which ended the KRBE-FM relationship.

 

[sportzguy]

Re: KYND flip to KKBQ-FM (and, btw, KFMK and KAUM/KSRR fact-checks)

> KYND changed frequencies (92.5 - 92.9), because of the new transmitter location, being Senior Road. KYND,KRLY,KIKK,KMJQ,KLOL and KRBE were all transmitting from One Shell Plaza in the 70's until the 2000 footers were built in the early 80's.
KYND - KKBQ
KBNO - KRLY
KHUL - KIKK
KAUM - KSRR


The Baker family owned KRBE in it's inception and in the later years they owned
KUFO (106.5) that had a "flying saucer studio" on the Flagship Hotel in Galveston.

KRBE was actually on Kirby at one point in time (don't know the address), moved to 7800 Westpark between Hilcroft and Fondren, moved to the Bank building on the NW corner of West Loop and Westheimer and then set up camp where they are now at 9801 Westheimer.

 

[rageradio]

Re: KYND flip to KKBQ-FM (and, btw, KFMK and KAUM/KSRR fact-checks)

I was the one who sent you the copy of the KYND/KKBQ flip, Cybelesown2. I have been meaning to send it in along with a few other flips.

> I wondered about the list below, in that easy listening KYND
> flipped to CHR in late 1982 and (subsequently?) adopted the
> calls KKBQ-FM. The signal (which moved to 92.9 from 92.5)
> was then CHR until 1991; the call letters have remained with
> us ever since.
>
> (Side comment: I have long wondered when someone will post
> the wonderfully dramatic, IMHO, KYND/KKBQ format change to
> the Format Change Archive. I know there are recordings out
> there of this format flip. Is anyone listening?)
>
> According to the website
> http://www.radioemporium.net/h_hou.html ("call letter
> history Houston/Galveston") KYND changed to KKBQ-FM on Feb.
> 2, 1983. It claims the station moved to 92.9 FM from 92.5 FM
> in October 1983.
>
> Of course, this website could be mistaken. Quickly scanning
> the list, I spotted an apparent error: It claims the KFMK
> calls originated in 1980. Perhaps KFMK flipped formats in
> 1980 (anyone care to jog my memory there?) but those call
> letters had already been in existence for a number of years.
> (Since 1969? Any old-timers want to reminisce? I seem to
> recall hearing that KFMK was once a free-wheeling rock
> station before some sort of legal trouble caused it to morph
> into religion. Then, in the late 1970s or so -- 1980??? --
> it flipped to adult contemporary. As I recall, it alternated
> between AC and oldies until 1991 when it changed formats and
> became KBXX "The Box," which is still with us.)
>
> Looking more closely at the website, I see it claims KRBE,
> KRLY (now KKRW), KLEF (now KTBZ), KLOL, KMJQ, KQUE, KHCB and
> KAUM (now KHMX) all originated in 1980, when every single
> set of call letters listed predated that year. The website
> seems to be using 1980 as some kind of starting point. (That
> said, it lists KIKK-FM as originating on July 24, 1978!)
>
> And it claims KAUM changed to KSRR in 1982; I distinctly
> recall the change actually occurred in the summer of 1980.
> (Initially after the change it was some sort of pop/country
> hybrid as "Star 96" or the like, quite possibly because
> "Urban Cowboy" was hip at that time; the station later
> changed to album rock.)
>
> Also, what's this KUFO listed at 106.5? (I think I'll make a
> separate post about that.)
>
> > >
> > > Oh, when did they move their xmitter to Mo City?
> > > Thanks!
> > >
> > October 1983.
> > The first station to transmit from the Senior Road Tower
> > was KIKK. Here's Houston FM Radio from Senior Road
> > in'83...............
> >
> > KYND - 92.9
> > KLEF - 94.5
> > KIKK - 95.7
> > KSRR - 96.5
> > KFMK - 97.9
> > KODA - 99.1
> > KILT - 100.3
> > KLOL - 101.1
> > KRBE - 104.1
> >
>

 

[dsadof]

> > Robert O'Quinn, a class-mate of mine at Sam Houston State
> > University,
> > was Music Director at KRBE during the time of the New
> Music
> > Zone and
> > was also the host of the show.
> >
>
>
> Come to think of it, that's who I vaguelly recall someone
> was saying was host in the beginning.>
> Sorry to respectfully disagree with you, though, but I do
> remember Ryan Chase was host for the lion's share of the
> program's existence.
>
> So, when did Robert O'Quinn pass the torch, as it were?
>

My memory from that time period is a bit fuzzy on this sort
of thing so it's quite likely that Ryan was the host for the
greater amount of the time. In fact, I think you're right.
I can't remember when it was that O'Quinn "passed the torch".

 

[rageradio]

Re: KYND flip to KKBQ-FM (and, btw, KFMK and KAUM/KSRR fact-checks)

> > KYND changed frequencies (92.5 - 92.9),
because of the new transmitter location, being Senior Road.

I thought the move to 92.9 was to coincide with the "93" moniker. That's what I heard.


> KYND,KRLY,KIKK,KMJQ,KLOL and KRBE were all transmitting from
> One Shell Plaza in the 70's until the 2000 footers were
> built in the early 80's.
> KYND - KKBQ
> KBNO - KRLY
> KHUL - KIKK
> KAUM - KSRR
>
>
> The Baker family owned KRBE in it's inception and in the
> later years they owned
> KUFO (106.5) that had a "flying saucer studio" on the
> Flagship Hotel in Galveston.

(They remained owners of 106.5 until 1996 when they sold to El Dorado Communications. I read in the paper that Edith Baker sold it under the promise that the station would continue to serve the Hispanic market... also because she didn't want to see the jocks out of work)
>
> KRBE was actually on Kirby at one point in time (don't know
> the address), moved to 7800 Westpark between Hilcroft and
> Fondren, moved to the Bank building on the NW corner of West
> Loop and Westheimer and then set up camp where they are now
> at 9801 Westheimer.
>

 

[rageradio]

Re: KKBQ Airchecks/Question on 790 KKBQ-AM

> > Does nayone have Q-Zoo Air checks? I have been looking for
>
> > some of those Great Shows of John Lander.
> > Thanks
> > TxCody
> >
> I have several airchecks of KKBQ, including the format flip
> from 93Q from rock (Yes it was playing rock in 1991 after it
> dumped Top 40) to easy country 92.9. TxCody, I have several
> morning shows taped with John Lander and the Q morning zoo
> circa 1987-1988. I also have several minutes of KRBE poking
> fun at KKBQ for flipping to country. I would like to get my
> hands on the flip from 92.5 KYND to 92.9 KKBQ in 1982. Along
> those lines, anyone remember how it was presented on
> KKBQ-AM? Of course, moving frequencies on FM, would give you
> a moment of dead air, while recording. This wouldn't have
> happened on 790. Was 790 simulcasting the flip of 92.5/92.9?
>
Yes the AM was carrying the flip. It happened at 6am with the start of the morning zoo. There was about 15-20 seconds of dead air, then John Lander cracks the mic with the legal ID's "KYND Pasadena Houston , KKBQ Houston. Easy listening music kicks in and you hear the sounds of the Q-Morning Zoo seemingly moving into the KYND studios. You hear them commenting on how nice the studio is, and others asking where to put the records, champagne pouring, you hear giggles of excitement, but speaking low because "we're not on yet". There's a commotion causing someone to back into the turntable causing the needle to scratch across the record followed by the sound of a machine gun, a funeral march plays, then we hear "The Q-Zoo in the morning, in the morning on KKBQ" jingle followed by Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" (the same song WHTZ Z-100 opened with in 1983). After the song, Lander jokes "Stick this in your elevator!". Again I have it on tape. I wish I could post it some where and link it here for you all.

 

[kirby]

> If I'm not mistaken, KRBE was a rock station in the early
> 80's and not AC. At the same time, KRBE-AM 1070 was a
> classic rock station. This was before 1070 simulcasted the
> FM audio.
>
Nope, In the fall of 81, KRBE became AC. And mighty boring, at that. They were AC until late 1984, when they became Top 40 again. During 1982-83, they also carried Astros baseball games. Prior to the flip to AC, they went through phases with being kind of a Rock/Top 40 station, but still managed to play the
top rhythmic hits.

I remember the Super Rock in the mid to late 70's. Roger WWWWWWW Garrett, C.C. McCartney, Barry "The Boogie Man" Kaye and Miles in the Morning were some of the jocks. I also remeber the Big 610. Captain Jack was the guy I remember the most. Who else was on there?