KFMK

[CTHank]

I remember back in the late 60s when KFMK was Mother Earth Radio in Houston, I was at KUHF and we went to their studio for what would be called an 'opening night party' and it was well, it was something and now it's the call sign for a Christian format in Austin, my, my have times changed.....

 

[fredcantu]

The KFMK calls predate Crista's format and have been used by the Round Rock licensed station since it signed on as a Jammin Oldies station.

 

[willdav713]

and Johnny Goyen a Houston DJ for KFMK, came here during the first few years as a jock for Austin's KFMK.

 

[CTHank]

The KFMK calls predate Crista's format and have been used by the Round Rock licensed station since it signed on as a Jammin Oldies station.

Oh Fred, as usual you totally missed my point. I don't care that it predates anything, I was simply commenting on the fact that 40 years ago in a very early incarnation it was the complete opposite of what it is now and how with time all things change. You have got to stop being so fussy about everything.

 

[grantchester]

Dusty Black came to Austin from Houston, to take over the KVET/KASE cluster. He knew of the KFMK calls, and chose them when Steve Hicks accquired 105.7.
(The original filer opened the frequency for Round Rock, but competing filers wouldn't settle, and left the channel unused for more than a decade. When he learned of this Steve Hicks bought them all out, and got the station on the air. It was seperate from the rest of Gulfstar, but run as part of the cluster. )
I had prepared a proposal for a ridiculous music format that violated every rule and consultant's advice for a music station, for a station that might have gone into Houston at 97. I used the calls KFMK in that presentation. I shared the presentation with Dusty, and saw how shocked he was. The calls he had chosen for 105.7 were supposed to be a big secret.

TLdr: Dusty knew the calls from Houston, and chose them for the Round Rock station when Hicks accquired the license.

 

[fredcantu]

What can I say, CTHank? I'm a compulsive fact checker. It's a good problem to have when you're in the news business. BTW-- KFMK originally went on the air in Feb. 1958. It was the first Houston FM not be started by a sister AM station. It's rock days of 69-70 were just a small part of a long history for the calls. KFMK 105.9 signed on in the Austin market in 1998.

http://houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com/2009/10/1950s-part-ii-kfmk-fm-khgm-fm-khul-fm.html

 

[rbrucecarter5]

For a time, the call letters were advertised as K - For My Kingdom. When the station sale in Houston became a reality, there was a backlash "Keep For My Kingdom". When the sale closed, the frequency went blank for a week, during which time KZEW Dallas was a frequent - and welcome visitor. After that, the oldies format, and Johnny's 8 year old daughter being a protege.

I have no idea was the original "mother earth" format was like - you got a playlist you could share?

 

[bturner]

Learning more about KFMK's Mother Earth Radio format specifics would be great. Please share with us. I'm guessing 'Progressive Rock' but that meant you could hear almost anything.