Saturday, July 16, 2016

KRBE













Houston, Texas' 104.1 KRBE signed on the air as a Classical station in November, 1959.  By the late 1960s they had flipped to Top-40, a format that would continue, in one style or another, up to the present day.  There is some contention about what the call letters originally stood for.  Some say it refers to the original owner and his wife (K) Roland Baker Edith while others, including one of Mr. Baker's sons, says it stood for Key to Radio Broadcasting Excellence.

At one point (in the mid-1980s?) sister station KRBE 1070 AM carried a Classic Rock format and at other times simulcast KRBE FM.
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10 comments:

  1. Vaughn B.July 19, 2016 at 9:49 PM

    Actually, the call letters was named after "Kirby Dr." one of Houston's streets.

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    Replies
    1. RageJuly 2, 2017 at 2:45 PM

      No it wasn't name after Kirby Dr, however I can remember a time in the 70s when people called it "Kirby". The call letters were derived from the stations original owners Roland and Edith Baker. On air it was said the calls stood for Key to Radio Broadcast Excellence

      Delete
    2. Vaughn B.July 2, 2017 at 2:48 PM

      Nope, it was named after "Kirby Dr.", but the call letters is short for "Kids Of Roland and Edith Baker".

      Hence the name of the station KRBE.

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    3. RageMarch 26, 2018 at 8:30 PM

      Sorry no it was not. The station didn't have studios there on Kirby Dr until the mid 60s.

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    4. Vaughn B.March 27, 2018 at 10:20 AM

      Rage, you even check Wikipedia on KRBE's history?

      Because as far as me and Greg conserned the call letters was short for station owners Roland and Edith Baker and their kids.

      Don't believe me? Ask Greg.

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    5. GregMarch 28, 2018 at 4:48 PM

      Hey, I'm no expert on this. All I know is what Wikipedia says which is that they were "coincidentally" on Kirby Drive at some point. I take that to mean that the call letters had nothing to do with the street name which is the exact opposite of what Vaughn originally said.

      Delete
  2. GregJuly 21, 2016 at 7:13 PM

    I read that somewhere too but a Houston radio history website claims that KRBE was originally located at 1400 Hermann starting in 1959 and didn't move to the Kirby address until 1966.
    http://houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com/2007/11/november-anniversaries.html

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  3. RageJuly 2, 2017 at 2:53 PM

    Classic Rock 1070 AM KRBE was on air from 1984 to 1987. In mid 1988 became Satellite Music Network's "Z-Rock 1070AM"

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  4. AnonymousNovember 13, 2024 at 10:42 PM

    EVERYBODY knows that Wikipedia gets it right 100% of the time. Right?

    ReplyDelete