KAKC
Encyclopedia
KAKC is a sports talk radio
station in Tulsa, Oklahoma
. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications
.
.
In the mid-1950s, the station got new ownership and hired Vic Lundberg and Greg Chancellor as announcers. From the late 1950s to the mid-1970s, KAKC 970 AM was a Top 40 station in Tulsa, Oklahoma
. Known first as "The Big 97" and later "The Rockin' 97", the station was owned (along with KAKC-FM 92.9) by S. Carl Mark. Both stations used consultant Bill Drake for their programming, with KAKC (AM) being the dominant music station for many years until the mid-1970s when long-time Top 40 competitor KELI (now known as KTBZ-AM) and FM upstart KTFX "The Superfox 103" (now KJSR "Star 103.3") cut into their audience.
KAKC-FM 92.9 FM in the 1970s used a Drake-Chenault programmed automated oldies format during the day. From 6 p.m. to midnight, the FM simulcasted with KAKC 970 to make up for the AM's weak 250 watt nighttime signal. In the summer of 1977 KAKC-FM flipped to the then-popular "Beautiful Music" format and changed the call letters to KBEZ-FM.
In January 1979, KAKC shocked the Tulsa radio market by dropping Top 40 programming after 21 years for adult standards
, with rapidly declining ratings as the result. A year later the station was purchased by the owners of KCFO-FM (now KVOO-FM) which changed the format to Southern Gospel
music and Christian talk programming. In 1984 the legendary 970 call letters were changed to KCFO-AM
.
In 1985 KBBJ 1300 picked up the KAKC call letters and flipped from a MOR/Standards format to a satellite-based Oldies
format. 1300 over the years has been a country music
, R&B-disco, album rock, adult contemporary, news-talk, Spanish music, sports, and business news station. The station has had little success in the Tulsa radio market due to a limited night signal or little if any promotion by Clear Channel over the decades. Former call letters for 1300 AM include KOME, KCNW, KXXO, and KMOD-AM.
John Henry and Spencer Rhodes had an early morning show that featured county/ western and swing in the early morning hours and early rock and roll later in the day. They featured many artists from the 1930s and the 1940s with a lot of focus on Hank Williams and Bob Wills
who did a radio show from the Cain's Ballroom originating from Tulsa, Oklahoma. This show was on everyday for many years and John Henry and Spencer Rhodes did a daily show on the old country music featuring their own personal record collections. They also concentrated on the early years of Rock and Roll and had many of the original artists in studio who gave interviews and spoke of their own upbringings. These artists included the Shirelles, Chubby Checker
, Chuck Berry
, Hank Williams backup musicians and driver of their tour bus, Roy Orbison
, Bo Diddley
who in an interview with Spencer Rhodes spoke of days of picking cotton as a child. There were many other artists from the 1940s and 1950s that played the state fair circuits later in life that came to Tulsa, Oklahoma that stopped by the studio and gave interviews to John Henry and Spencer Rhodes early morning Country Swing and Rock and Roll show known as the Hillbilly Hit Parade. Spencer Rhodes children recorded almost all of the shows and still have them on recordings. Spencer Rhodes maintained relationships with many of the artists he admired as a teenager and many of the records played on the Rock and Roll part of show were the records he bought as a teenager and to his appreciation he had many of the artists from that era autograph the records he bought in the 1950s.
On April 16, 2007 KAKC changed their format to sports, with programming from ESPN Radio
.
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
station in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
.
History
KAKC 970 first signed on the air in 1946 and was founded by Sam AveySam Avey
Sam Avey was an American businessman and sports promoter. Best known as the wrestling promoter of little big men, he is also credited for helping to create the Tulsa wrestling territory later used by the National Wrestling Alliance.-Early life:Sam Avey was born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma on February...
.
In the mid-1950s, the station got new ownership and hired Vic Lundberg and Greg Chancellor as announcers. From the late 1950s to the mid-1970s, KAKC 970 AM was a Top 40 station in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
. Known first as "The Big 97" and later "The Rockin' 97", the station was owned (along with KAKC-FM 92.9) by S. Carl Mark. Both stations used consultant Bill Drake for their programming, with KAKC (AM) being the dominant music station for many years until the mid-1970s when long-time Top 40 competitor KELI (now known as KTBZ-AM) and FM upstart KTFX "The Superfox 103" (now KJSR "Star 103.3") cut into their audience.
KAKC-FM 92.9 FM in the 1970s used a Drake-Chenault programmed automated oldies format during the day. From 6 p.m. to midnight, the FM simulcasted with KAKC 970 to make up for the AM's weak 250 watt nighttime signal. In the summer of 1977 KAKC-FM flipped to the then-popular "Beautiful Music" format and changed the call letters to KBEZ-FM.
In January 1979, KAKC shocked the Tulsa radio market by dropping Top 40 programming after 21 years for adult standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
, with rapidly declining ratings as the result. A year later the station was purchased by the owners of KCFO-FM (now KVOO-FM) which changed the format to Southern Gospel
Southern Gospel
Southern Gospel music—at one time also known as "quartet music"—is music whose lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music...
music and Christian talk programming. In 1984 the legendary 970 call letters were changed to KCFO-AM
KCFO
KCFO is a Tulsa, Oklahoma, area Christian radio station. KCFO airs national shows such as Dave Ramsey, J. Vernon McGee, David Jeremiah, Dennis Rainey, and Albert Mohler....
.
In 1985 KBBJ 1300 picked up the KAKC call letters and flipped from a MOR/Standards format to a satellite-based Oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
format. 1300 over the years has been a country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, R&B-disco, album rock, adult contemporary, news-talk, Spanish music, sports, and business news station. The station has had little success in the Tulsa radio market due to a limited night signal or little if any promotion by Clear Channel over the decades. Former call letters for 1300 AM include KOME, KCNW, KXXO, and KMOD-AM.
John Henry and Spencer Rhodes had an early morning show that featured county/ western and swing in the early morning hours and early rock and roll later in the day. They featured many artists from the 1930s and the 1940s with a lot of focus on Hank Williams and Bob Wills
Bob Wills
James Robert Wills , better known as Bob Wills, was an American Western Swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader, considered by music authorities as the co-founder of Western Swing and universally known as the pioneering King of Western Swing.Bob Wills' name will forever be associated with...
who did a radio show from the Cain's Ballroom originating from Tulsa, Oklahoma. This show was on everyday for many years and John Henry and Spencer Rhodes did a daily show on the old country music featuring their own personal record collections. They also concentrated on the early years of Rock and Roll and had many of the original artists in studio who gave interviews and spoke of their own upbringings. These artists included the Shirelles, Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for popularizing the twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist"...
, Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
, Hank Williams backup musicians and driver of their tour bus, Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
, Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
who in an interview with Spencer Rhodes spoke of days of picking cotton as a child. There were many other artists from the 1940s and 1950s that played the state fair circuits later in life that came to Tulsa, Oklahoma that stopped by the studio and gave interviews to John Henry and Spencer Rhodes early morning Country Swing and Rock and Roll show known as the Hillbilly Hit Parade. Spencer Rhodes children recorded almost all of the shows and still have them on recordings. Spencer Rhodes maintained relationships with many of the artists he admired as a teenager and many of the records played on the Rock and Roll part of show were the records he bought as a teenager and to his appreciation he had many of the artists from that era autograph the records he bought in the 1950s.
On April 16, 2007 KAKC changed their format to sports, with programming from ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
.