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KAEZ history?

F

frequency_modulation

I know there are bits and pieces floating around here and other places, but does anyone have any history or information on KAEZ (EZ 107)? It was a station I remember well. Introduced to it by friends at Northeast High School in the 1980s, I always enjoyed the mix of R&B with a little jazz as well as the local personalities (none of whom I remember now). I also won my first radio contest on KAEZ and that was the reason for my only visit to the station. I got to pick out a record from a box of promos next to the reception desk.

This is really just for my own personal interest, and a small part of a personal research project I am working on. As well, if there is more info out there, the Wikipedia page needs to be updated too.

Thanks!
 
Here's what I know about the demise of EZ 107. Appearently there was a fire and the place burned. They were finacially pretty much hanging by a thread anyway. I'm guessing it was about 82-83. The assets (what was left of them) were then sold to Price Communications for around 3.5M. The way I heard it, the guys from Price, the "owner" of KAEZ, and his creditor was at the meeting. The check went right through the hands of the KAEZ owner right over to the guy he owed. Sadly, there was no FM black-oriented station until fairly recently when the Perrys were able to build the 2000 foot stick out west and put the "Anadarko" signal on it (103.5). 107.7 first was "My1077" for a couple of years then Classic Rock Songs 1077 KRXO. (current format) Does anyone recall the antenna arrangement for EZ 107? LOL! I understand the lowest bay of the antenna was almost on the ground. LOL! I used to listen to EZ 107 from time to time back when they were on. The thing I remember about them the most was the wierd audio processing (turns out I think they were still using a CBS Volumax/Audimax). It had a pretty unique sound to it, complete with a ton of multipath compared to other stations, probably because of the low altitude and high gain antenna they were using.
 
OKCRadioGuy said:
107.7 first was "My1077" for a couple of years then Classic Rock Songs 1077 KRXO. (current format)
Click to expand...

I remember those bumper stickers for KIMY, "No punk, no funk, no elevator junk!"

Does anyone recall the antenna arrangement for EZ 107? LOL! I understand the lowest bay of the antenna was almost on the ground. LOL!
Click to expand...

You know, just this past weekend, I saw either a 6 or 8-bay antenna that was like that! It was really weird to be driving by and seeing FM bays up close! I think it was 89.5 KOPN in Columbia, MO.
 
OKCRadioGuy said:
Does anyone recall the antenna arrangement for EZ 107? LOL! I understand the lowest bay of the antenna was almost on the ground. LOL! I used to listen to EZ 107 from time to time back when they were on. The thing I remember about them the most was the wierd audio processing (turns out I think they were still using a CBS Volumax/Audimax). It had a pretty unique sound to it, complete with a ton of multipath compared to other stations, probably because of the low altitude and high gain antenna they were using.
Click to expand...

I remember driving by the studios and remembering it had such a tiny tower for a 100k station. I remember asking someone at KCSC about the station, and one of my DJ freinds who had visited the station called it a "Junk Pile". The audio was horrible, with no bass at all. And sundays were reserved for scream and shout preaching.

The only other tower I saw that had cranked much power on a little stick was KJMZ in Lawton when they used to run 100k at 98.1 off one of KKRX-AM's towers which are around 200ft. A huge waste of power. Perry downgraded KJMZ to a 6K two years ago and moved it to a new 320ft tower.
 
I can't recall seeing KAEZ, but I remember people talking about the "phone-pole" tower. Seems like someone said the studios were originally a gas station.

Lot's of stations have jumped up from humble beginnings. Where was the original KWHP (Edmond)? Was it really in the owner's garage?

KATT grew up in a burned out transmitter building on S.E. 79th.
 
stacker said:
Lot's of stations have jumped up from humble beginnings. Where was the original KWHP (Edmond)? Was it really in the owner's garage?
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Yes it was in Edmond. The transmitter was in the garage but I believe the studio was in a bedroom.
 
Lot's of stations have jumped up from humble beginnings. Where was the original KWHP (Edmond)? Was it really in the owner's garage?

A house on Kelly I think.

KATT grew up in a burned out transmitter building on S.E. 79th.

Yup. Pretty humble indeed. It's an amazing history that katt came from Sossen's little insurance grabbing firedrills. Without Sossen's crooked ways there would have been no opportunity for Lacy and the gang to have been given the chance to create the legendary katt.
 
Wonder what happened to Sossen? His mother used to show up at the AM. I think she had invested in KLPR/KJAK.

First time I saw what would later become the first FM-100 The Cat (KJAK) "studios", it was a pretty scary site. An old burned up raytheon AM transmitter was lying face down in front of the building. Inside, an ancient FM (think it was an RCA) with glass tubes was groaning away.

When the new fm-100 went on the air, it was an old Gates 10 kw transmitter driven by a new Rockwell Collins exciter. Into a 14 bay antenna (burned out de-icers) fed by leaky rigid line it produced an ERP way below the licensed 100 kW. Audio ran through a CCA stereo board that had mysteriously escaped the ravages to fire. Best gear in the place was a pair of Marantz phono pre-amps. I think they belonged to Bill.
 
Wow. Nice history fill-in. Btw.... The old Raytheon is still there in 1140s building. I got to see the old Collins Fm several years ago before cit. and Perry had the little fall-out.
 
Ahhhh. That would explain why it looks so good then. So the one currently setting there was from the mighty Klif? Wow. How neat! Klpr, katt, and klif history all in one building. Too cool!
 
OKCRadioGuy said:
Ahhhh. That would explain why it looks so good then. So the one currently setting there was from the mighty Klif? Wow. How neat! Klpr, katt, and klif history all in one building. Too cool!
Click to expand...

Did someone say all that is still there? How hard would it be for someone to get in to take some photos of those?
 
The air staff at KAEZ included some very good talent: "Big" Al Wiggins, who I believe is now deceased, in afternoons; Fred Elkins and another guy whom I knew well but whose name escapes me, both of whom worked with me when they were on KPRW and I was at KATT; a great-sounding lady whom I taught a lot about radio to when she was a student of mine at Elkins, whose name I can't quite recall but I think it was Latonya; and perhaps most notably, the late Ben Tipton, ex-PD and afternoon personality with Lady Cool Breeze at the market's first Soul station KBYE (I worked with him there), afternoon man at a major Soul station in Detroit, former newsman at WLS in Chicago, OKC's first African-American TV news anchor on KOCO-TV, and councilman, who did a KAEZ talk show. What I remember most is Al Wiggins' rich deep voice always saying, "K-A- Easy, Baby!"

The very talented J. Robert Dark, ex-KOMA morning personality and PD in the early '70s, did mornings on KIMY.
 
No, I don't remember George. I am not sure, but it seems there were some jocks at KAEZ who had been at 98.9 KFJL, KBYE's FM Soul station (now KYIS), owned by Jerry Lynch. Ron Williams worked there. Of the people I know, he might have the most knowledge of KAEZ's programming. I will bring this post to his attention.
 
Stan, when I worked at KBYE in 1967, I believe Lynch Broadcasting was owned by three brothers - Jerry, Tom and Mike. Seems I have some KBYE material somewhere that says it owned a property in Wichita, but I am not certain. Larry LaLiberte, who was PD of the paid religious segments of KBYE's programming and later a prominent KTOK newscaster, would probably know more. In recent years, Jerry owned KBHN-FM and KZKZ-FM in the Ft. Smith market.
 
I enjoyed listening to KAEZ when I would visit family in OKC, they had real obscure music mix of R&B and Jazz but they played some interesting music. Some of the jocks I remember over there were of course the late Ben Tipton, Fred Elkins, Chris Forte (Now Chris Reynolds PD and air talent at Urban WBLK/Buffalo, NY) Leon Hood, Jackie White, Janet G (who worked in Detroit radio for many years after leaving OKC at WJLB, WMXD, and WVMV. I believe she's on part-time at KRNB/Dallas-Fort Worth) Carl Leroy, DJ Foster and another jock name Alfredo (Can't remember the last name) but he would go way old school playing music from the 40's & 50's. And a couple of smooth sounding female jocks on the station. I wish a station like KAEZ would come back on the OKC airwaves.

I heard the former owner of KAEZ James Miller passed away in the late 90's and he was also from Wichita as well.
 
stacker said:
OKCRadioguy,

The Raytheon at the site is a different one. Purchased from KLIF as a backup.
Click to expand...

And a very nice transmitter...top of the line for its time. Came from the old KLIF night site, before that station went to the 12 tower array in Rockwall.

Texas Tuner (and former KATT CE a long, long time ago)
 
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