Houston music fans still begging for a true rock station Memories of KLOL linger among older radio listeners

SPIRIT OF RADIO: Looking back at Houston FM radio's lost formats

Houstonians always say that they want a true hard rock station in the city that caters to their heavy roots, like the dearly departed Rock 101 KLOL.

Click through to see what other stations and formats in Houston have gone to the radio graveyard... less SPIRIT OF RADIO: Looking back at Houston FM radio's lost formats

Houstonians always say that they want a true hard rock station in the city that caters to their heavy roots, like the dearly departed Rock 101 ... more Image 1 of / 29 Caption Close Houston music fans still begging for a true rock station 1 / 29 Back to Gallery

Last week we told you about Houston Top 40 station Hot 95-7’s switch to the new 95.7 The Spot, featuring everything from Prince, Madonna, ZZ Top, Green Day, and even the Black Crowes.

The DJ-free station (for now at least) was what the market was asking for, according to a CBS Radio press release.

"We worked exhaustively to understand what Houston listeners were missing in the market from their local radio stations," said Sarah Frazier, SVP/Market Manager for CBS Radio in Houston in a press release last Friday.

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You can hear what The Spot is dishing out here. They've played more classic rock than some industry insiders had anticipated.

After we posted the story on Chron.com's Facebook page it seemed like dozens of commenters chimed in with their displeasure that Houston didn’t have a true rock station, with many mentioning the old Rock 101 KLOL-FM numerous times.

We can only assume that stations like 94.5 The Buzz (modern alternative) and the Eagle 107.5 (classic rock) aren’t cutting it for some people still craving “Mandatory Metallica” and heavier, groovier rock and roll offerings.

Is there a place on the dial for groups like Ghost or The Sword? Older acts like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden?

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Rock 101 KLOL left the Houston airwaves on November 12, 2004 when the Clear Channel station went from hard rock to Spanish-language reggaeton with the flip of switch.

KLOL debuted in 1970 and the first song (and later the last song) ever played over its airwaves was “I'm Free” by The Who.

You will still hear grumblings about the demise of KLOL from rockers in Houston who say on that day they lost a virtual rallying point on the FM radio dial. Their own table in the Houston radio cafeteria if you will.

Last year when word of the death of KLOL jock Jim Pruett began to spread it seemed like the wound of losing the station was reopened for some listeners.

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Rock fans in Houston of a certain breed still demand a rock station in the fourth-largest city in America. For some listeners what the Buzz offers up daily isn’t hard enough and the Eagle’s variety leaves something to be desired.

(A reasonable facsimile of Rock 101 exists online here, offering up the kind of musical mix that gave Rock 101 a dedicating following.)

There seems to be a mythical sweet spot that listeners are looking for. They seem to want familiar music but they also want to discover new bands. They don’t want anything too strange, but they still want to be challenged. It’s a tough equation for programmers and ad reps alike.

How to make a radio unicorn like that profitable in 2017 in Houston with increasing competition from streaming services, internet radio, the nearly endless options on satellite, and even compact discs is the real challenge.

When Houstonians look at other cities with multiple rock stations it’s easy to feel jealous. The complaining is nothing new.

There are other options for rockers in Houston, like 89.7 KACC-FM in Alvin, 90.1 KPFT-FM, and KTRU’s new home at 96.1 FM (streaming on the iHeartRadio app) but while those stations do rock out moderately at times they won’t satisfy those that miss Rock 101.

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What really made Rock 101 an icon for generations here in Houston wasn’t so much the music as it were the jocks like the cast of the Stevens & Pruett morning show, plus Outlaw Dave, Grego, Colonel St. James, Dayna Steele, Moby, Wendy Miller, and others throughout the day.

They were involved in the community, be it at charity functions or nightly parties and concerts. They were a part of the scene itself they helped foster.

Simply put, Houstonians felt an ownership in KLOL and they would like to feel that same way again.

One of those jocks, Outlaw Dave Andrews, feels the pain of Houston rockers. After KLOL’s demise he shifted towards talk radio himself and can now be heard six nights a week on KPRC-AM here in Houston.

LESS TALK, MORE ROCK: Looking back at Houston FM radio's lost formats

“Since the demise of KLOL there have been about five radio stations that have flipped formats in this town that could have flipped to something like KLOL and each time people ask why they haven’t,” Andrews says. Not all of those changes have been so successful.

He points to 99.5 KISS-FM in San Antonio as a rock station that is serving its audience correctly, mixing in AC/DC and Nine Inch Nails with Tool and Blur.

“There is a hungry audience out there that is craving a mainstream rock station but yet these stations always turn to something else,” Andrews says. “The rock audience, ages 35 and over, isn’t being served while the younger audience is. It’s frustrating.”

Those listeners have likely turned to NPR, political talk radio, or sports talk, but they still very much want to rock out on the way to work or on the drive home. It's up to an adventurous programmer to make it happen.