KATT-FM
Encyclopedia
KATT-FM known as "Rock 100.5 The KATT", is an active rock
radio station
serving the Oklahoma City area and is owned by Cumulus Media
.
when it went by the call letters KJAK from 1960-1976. Another callsign of the station was KIOO or K-100 which transmitted from the top of the Oklahoma Biltmore Hotel in downtown OKC, KIOO was started by the two brothers from Northern Kentucky, Steve and Ted Bushelman around 1957. The station began broadcasting as KATT on September 16, 1976 with a Rock
format. The station's transmitter site (KLPR-KCNN-KPRW-KVSP 1140 tower) is located near I-240 and I-35. The station received the official telegram from the FCC at Christmas 1976 authorizing the call sign change to KATT-FM when KATT-AM (now KRMP-AM
) was established to simulcast the station.
KATT was named by Ira "Eye" Lipson, who also was the programming consultant to KATT, while serving as program director of KZEW The ZOO in Dallas. Barbara Marullo was the original program director. Air personalities in the early days included Stan Tacker, Traver Hulse, Jim Stafford (Jimbob), Linda (Gabby) Goldfarb, John Michael Scott (now deceased), David Bell (now deceased), Charlie Parker, and Danny Hopper. Stan, Traver, and Jim rotated AM drive duty until Gabby came on board. Then it was Jim & Gabby for about one year. John Michael Scott handled middays, David Bell was on in the evenings. Hopper was the first overnight man later followed by Parker.
KLPR was a daytime AM country station in Oklahoma City that was owned at the time by Jack Beasley. Jack, being a musician himself, had MANY ties to the industry. KLPR helped a number of country artists get their start, including Wanda Jackson and Conway Twitty. KLPR also owned KLPR TV on channel 14 at one point. KJAK was Jack's FM station at 100.5 FM which much later on became KATT-FM.
Beasley later sold the station to Ed Sossen. Due to financial issues, the station was later subject to a bank takeover . The property and license was soon sold to Bill Lacey and his friends, who began the KATT radio station. The KATT started right out at the AM tower in a small room in the transmitter building and became a nearly overnight success. The KATT now plays a wide range of rock music, both new rock and classic rock. In March 2008 KATT downgraded from a C at 100,000 watts ERP to a C1 at 30,000 watts ERP for the upgrade of WWLS-FM to 98.1 fm.
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
serving the Oklahoma City area and is owned by Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
.
History
The earliest known format of the station is country musicCountry 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...
when it went by the call letters KJAK from 1960-1976. Another callsign of the station was KIOO or K-100 which transmitted from the top of the Oklahoma Biltmore Hotel in downtown OKC, KIOO was started by the two brothers from Northern Kentucky, Steve and Ted Bushelman around 1957. The station began broadcasting as KATT on September 16, 1976 with a Rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
format. The station's transmitter site (KLPR-KCNN-KPRW-KVSP 1140 tower) is located near I-240 and I-35. The station received the official telegram from the FCC at Christmas 1976 authorizing the call sign change to KATT-FM when KATT-AM (now KRMP-AM
KRMP
KRMP is a Urban Adult Contemporary/Talk radio station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The station is owned by The Perry Broadcasting Company.-History:...
) was established to simulcast the station.
KATT was named by Ira "Eye" Lipson, who also was the programming consultant to KATT, while serving as program director of KZEW The ZOO in Dallas. Barbara Marullo was the original program director. Air personalities in the early days included Stan Tacker, Traver Hulse, Jim Stafford (Jimbob), Linda (Gabby) Goldfarb, John Michael Scott (now deceased), David Bell (now deceased), Charlie Parker, and Danny Hopper. Stan, Traver, and Jim rotated AM drive duty until Gabby came on board. Then it was Jim & Gabby for about one year. John Michael Scott handled middays, David Bell was on in the evenings. Hopper was the first overnight man later followed by Parker.
KLPR was a daytime AM country station in Oklahoma City that was owned at the time by Jack Beasley. Jack, being a musician himself, had MANY ties to the industry. KLPR helped a number of country artists get their start, including Wanda Jackson and Conway Twitty. KLPR also owned KLPR TV on channel 14 at one point. KJAK was Jack's FM station at 100.5 FM which much later on became KATT-FM.
Beasley later sold the station to Ed Sossen. Due to financial issues, the station was later subject to a bank takeover . The property and license was soon sold to Bill Lacey and his friends, who began the KATT radio station. The KATT started right out at the AM tower in a small room in the transmitter building and became a nearly overnight success. The KATT now plays a wide range of rock music, both new rock and classic rock. In March 2008 KATT downgraded from a C at 100,000 watts ERP to a C1 at 30,000 watts ERP for the upgrade of WWLS-FM to 98.1 fm.