- KKBQ-FM
Infobox Radio station
name = KKBQ
city =Pasadena, Texas
area =Greater Houston
branding = The New 93Q
frequency = 92.9MHz HD Radio
92.9 HD-2 - Texas Country
92.9 HD-3 - simulcast ofKTHT
format = Country
erp = 93,700watt s
haat = 585 m
class = C
owner =Cox Enterprises
callsign_meaning = The Q in KKBQ is used in 93Q branding
former_callsigns = KYND (1969-8/13/82)
KLVL (1962-1969)
sister_stations =KHPT ,KHTC ,KTHT
webcast = [http://uni6.cox.streamaudio.com/KKBQ_FM Listen Live]
website = [http://www.kkbq.com/ www.kkbq.com]KKBQ, "The New 93Q", is a
Houston -basedRadio station with acountry music format. Its transmitter is located inMissouri City, Texas . The station is owned by Cox Radio, Inc and is part of the Houston Radio cluster includingKHPT ,KHTC , &KTHT . KKBQ has been nominated twice forCountry Music Association awards for Best Radio Station in a Large Market, winning once. The station has also won the Billboard/Airplay Monitor Radio Awards award for Best Country Station three times.History
Origination
Signed on at 92.5 FM in the summer of 1962 as KLVL-FM, Houston's first Spanish language FM station, "La Voz Latina". Sold in 1969 and flipped to beautiful music KYND, KIND 92.
On
July 2 ,1982 , The New 79Q, launched on 790AM KULF with a Top 40 format. The morning show was composed of John Lander and the Q-Morning Zoo and proved to be an instant success. The station acquired the KKBQ callsign onAugust 13 ,1982 .The station's owners decided to move the format to KYND (92.5 FM). The station was starting to flounder as many
baby boomers who were eventually being phased into the workforce could not tolerate "elevator music " while they worked.On
December 29 ,1982 , at 6:00 A.M. CST, "Houston's Stereo Combination" was born (a term coined by morning host John Lander) as KYND became "The New 93KBQ",simulcast ing on KKBQ-AM . The FM acquired the KKBQ-FM call letters two months later in February 1983 and in October was moved to 92.9 FM, to make room for a new station signing on at 92.1 FM.For a time the AM would run the morning show live from the FM and the rest of the dayparts would run the same playlist but slightly delayed and would run identical IDs, promos, jock announcements customized for the AM. This continued until the late 1980s when it became a full-time simulcast.Growth
The Q Morning Zoo gained increased exposure in 1985. The show incorporated comedy bits with a Top-40 playlist. On
October 5 ,1985 , John Lander and the Morning Zoo began broadcasting a syndicated weekend show on 100 radio stations around the country. [citation|last=Grace|first=Bob|title=Short Notes|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|date=September 7 ,1985 |url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1985_36407|accessdate=2007-11-19|page=Section 4, p. 7.] The show was also selected as one ofContinental Airlines 's inflight music channels.citation|last=Grace|first=Bob|title=Lander, Q-Zoo aiming for live national show|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|date=June 22 ,1985 |page=Section 4, p. 1.|url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1985_17151|accessdate=2007-11-19] In fall 1985, theArbitron ratings listed KKBQ as the number two station in the Houston market. [citation|title=Magic 102 stays on top of radio ratings; KODA moves up|last=Grace|first=Bob|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|date=January 11 ,1986 |url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1986_211871|accessdate=2007-11-19|page=Section 4, p. 1.]The following year radio personality John Carillo (known on-air as John Rio), left the Q Morning Zoo and moved to Houston station KSRR. KKBQ sued Carillo to prevent him from using his character, Mr. Leonard. Carillo countersued the station, and the lawsuit ended in a settlement allowing Carillo to use the character on air, and allowing KKBQ deejays to also use the character. [citation|last=Byars|first=Carlos|title=Is Houston radio ready for two Mr. Leonards?|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|date=
May 25 ,1986 |url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1986_241138|accessdate=2007-11-19|page=Section 3, p. 8.]In 1987, KKBQ won the Houston Association of Radio Broadcasters' Award for Local/Retail Station Promotion. [citation|title=Radio advertising awards presented|newspaper=
Houston Chronicle |date=June 11 ,1987 |url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1987_468492|accessdate=2007-11-19|page=Business, p. 2.]Rivalry with KRBE
In late 1984, 104.1
KRBE dropped its Adult Contemporary format and flipped back to top 40/CHR as "Power 104" and went head to head with KKBQ throughout the remainder of the 1980s.In mid-1987,
KRBE -FM took a lean towards dance and began weekend mixshows called "The Friday and Saturday Night Power Mix". To counter, KKBQ began its own weekend mixshow, Club 93Q. In January of 1988, KRBE retaliated by going on location with The Saturday Night Power Mix to a nightclub with the house DJ mixing live on the air. KKBQ scrambled for the next five months to find a club to host a live mixshow. On May 29, 1988, KKBQ launched its first ever weekly live broadcast. It was called "93Q Live On the Cutting Edge fromClub 6400 ." The music skewed towards an 18+ crowd and eschewed Top 40 hits; true to the show's name, it was a mix of industrial, EBM, new wave, goth,synth-pop andHi-NRG dance. Ironically, a good amount of the music on 93Q Live On The Cutting Edge had actually been heard previously on KRBE's Saturday Night Power Mix.KKBQ beat KRBE at its own game, and the Club 6400 shows set the standard for future mixshows on radio stations throughout Houston. The Club 6400 shows became so popular among Houston's youthful set that the term "6400 music" became a collective reference for the types of music played at the club and the reference, to this day, is still understood by many Houstonians in their late 20's to early 40's.
Country Music
By the winter of 1990, Arbitron ratings showed that KKBQ had lost market share in Houston, falling to ninth (from second in fall 1988). The drop continued, as in spring 1991, the station was 13th in the Arbitron ratings. In an attempt to stem the ratings drop, the station declined to renew John Lander's contract as lead morning show personality. On
March 11 ,1991 , KKBQ introduced its new Morning Zoo, starring veteran deejay Cleveland Wheeler, who had pioneered the Zoo format while working for WRBQ-FM inTampa Bay, Florida . Along with his cohosts Nancy Alexander and T.R. Benker, Wheeler planned to introduce a more positive and energetic show, focusing on local comedy routines rather than nationally syndicated comedy, and he vowed to stop playing rap music. [citation|last=Laird|first=Cheryl|title=Animal house: KKBQ's morning Zoo crew is out to rattle some cages|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|date=March 12 ,1991 |url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1991_769977|accessdate=2007-11-19|page=Houston section, p. 1.] The Morning Zoo was cancelled onAugust 17 ,1991 , KKBQ quietly dropped its nine-year old format and replaced it with a rock-only lineup. Featuring music by artists such asTom Petty andBryan Adams , the new format was designed to appeal to older listeners.citation|title=KKBQ drops its "Zoo": Sliding ratings prompt change at radio station|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|date=August 20 ,1991 |page=Houston section, p. 1.|url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1991_804530|accessdate=2007-11-19|last=Laird|first=Cheryl] Citation|last=Westbrook|first=Bruce|title=Another switch for KKBQ: Former king of Top 40 hunts upscale audience with country format|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|date=September 19 ,1991 |page=Houston section, p. 3.|url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1991_810816|accessdate=2007-11-19]By this time, country music had become the most popular radio format in the United States, reaching almost 40% of the US adult population each week. Between 1990 and 1992, country record and concert revenues had doubled.citation|last=Mitchell|first=Rick|title=Country Crossroads: Nashville has arrived, but it's got to keep on moving|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|date=
February 13 ,1994 |page=Zest, p. 8.|url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1994_1183752|accessdate=2007-11-19] To take advantage of the rising genre, KKBQ switched formats again one month later, introducing a new "easy country" format at 8:40 a.m. onSeptember 19 . The "easy country" format was a country music version of adult contemporary, aimed at an older audience. The first song played in its entirety on this new version of the station wasGeorge Strait 's "You Look So Good in Love". [citation|last=Westbrook|first=Bruce|title=KKBQ starts country format|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|date=September 20 ,1991 |url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1991_810816|accessdate=2007-11-19|page=Houston section, p. 9.] With the exception of Danny Garcia, all of the other deejays were let go, as the station though they were more "young, contemporary-hit type jocks".The format change did not help their ratings, as KKBQ sank to 17th in the Houston market in 1992. Later that year, the station moved away from the easy country format to target a younger audience.citation|last=Parks|first=Louis B.|title=Q Country draws closer to the top gun|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|date=
January 22 ,1994 |url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1994_1179134|accessdate=2007-11-19|page=Houston section, p. 1.] Now known as 93Q Country, the station became "surprisingly successful playing youthful country acts and adopting an on-air personality that is up-tempo and more like Top 40 radio". [citation|last=Hassell|first=Greg|title=Making Waves/New station-ownership rules are sending ripples through the radio industry|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|date=December 4 ,1994 |page=Business, p. 1.|url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1994_1242710|accessdate=2007-11-19] Despite the new format, 93Q recycled some of the jingles, laser sound effects, stingers, and music beds from the CHR days. The new morning show team was Dave E. Crockett (Steven Craig, formerly of Z95 (WYTZ-FM) Chicago) and Nancy Alexander, a hold-over from the CHR days. Harley Colt handled middays while afternoon drive time was taken over by "Cactus Jack" Tally (Formerly Jack Da-Wack of Z100 New York). "Shotgun" Charlie Walker handled nights.By 1994, the station had become the number one country station in Houston in the coveted 18–34 age group and was the number two station overall in the area. Later that year, they were named the Country Music Radio Station of the Year by
Billboard Magazine and Airplay Monitor. [citation|title=Snippets|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|date=September 23 ,1994 |url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1994_1227922|accessdate=2007-11-19|page=Section Houston, p. 2.<] In spring 1995, KKBQ pulled ahead of local rivalKILT-FM in the Arbitron ratings for the first time. That year, they were again named Country Station of the Year by Billboard Magazine, and their program director Dene Hallam was named program director of the year. The following year, the station was named Major Market Radio Station of the Year by theCountry Music Association , beating out KILT. [citation|last=Mitchell|first=Rick|title=CMA names KKBQ radio as major market station of year|date=August 31 ,1996 |newspaper=Houston Chronicle|url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1996_1363316|accessdate=2007-11-19|page=Houston section, p. 5.] They repeated their win as Best Station of the Year at the Billboard/Airplay Monitor Radio Awards in 1997, again beating local rival KILT. [citation|last=Parks|first=Louis B.|title=KRBE's Sam Malone nominated for local air personality of the year|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|date=July 17 ,1997 |page=Houston section, p. 5.|url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1997_1424877|accessdate=2007-11-19]
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