1520 koma

[skyrick]

I cut and pasted the comment below from a post I just made on the Facebook group Remember in OKC When... I thought I might get more responses here.

I threw newspapers for The Oklahoma Journal in 1965-66. Sometimes I carried my transistor radio on my route, 1520 KOMA was my station. Does anyone else remember the ads they would have, late at night and overnight, for dances and sock-hops in places like Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska? I now know this is because KOMA was a clear-channel station, licensed to broadcast at 50,000 watts 24 hours a day, while many other, smaller stations either went off the air or reduced their power output after sundown. What really sticks in my memory is the name of some of these bands playing dances and sock-hops in VFW halls and National Guard Armories across the Great Plains. Does anyone else remember The Blue Things, The Golden Pharaohs, or my favorite, Spider and the Crabs?

[5alive]

I don't remember the names of the bands but I remember the commercials...fun times!

[SOONER8693]

I cut and pasted the comment below from a post I just made on the Facebook group Remember in OKC When... I thought I might get more responses here.

I threw newspapers for The Oklahoma Journal in 1965-66. Sometimes I carried my transistor radio on my route, 1520 KOMA was my station. Does anyone else remember the ads they would have, late at night and overnight, for dances and sock-hops in places like Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska? I now know this is because KOMA was a clear-channel station, licensed to broadcast at 50,000 watts 24 hours a day, while many other, smaller stations either went off the air or reduced their power output after sundown. What really sticks in my memory is the name of some of these bands playing dances and sock-hops in VFW halls and National Guard Armories across the Great Plains. Does anyone else remember The Blue Things, The Golden Pharaohs, or my favorite, Spider and the Crabs?

I grew up in Kansas in the 60's and night we could only get 2 stations with a powerful signal. KOMA in OKC and WLS out of Chicago. I went to sleep every night through jr high and high school with my transistor radio tuned to KOMA. I remember some of those groups. I also remember, and I could be wrong on this, but, I believe they always advertised Saturday night dances at the Townhouse Roller Rink in Marlow, Oklahoma. In the summer of 1962 my family was driving to the Seattle Worlds Fair. One night we stopped for the night somewhere in Idaho. My older brother was driving and he asked a service station guy what was a good radio station to listen to there. Guy says, at night we only get one station, KOMA from Oklahoma City. Also, just remembered, they also advertised all the time for The Roaring Red Dogs at the Red Dog Inn in Lawrence, Kansas.

[ljbab728]

I grew up in Kansas in the 60's and night we could only get 2 stations with a powerful signal. KOMA in OKC and WLS out of Chicago. I went to sleep every night through jr high and high school with my transistor radio tuned to KOMA. I remember some of those groups. I also remember, and I could be wrong on this, but, I believe they always advertised Saturday night dances at the Townhouse Roller Rink in Marlow, Oklahoma. In the summer of 1962 my family was driving to the Seattle Worlds Fair. One night we stopped for the night somewhere in Idaho. My older brother was driving and he asked a service station guy what was a good radio station to listen to there. Guy says, at night we only get one station, KOMA from Oklahoma City. Also, just remembered, they also advertised all the time for The Roaring Red Dogs at the Red Dog Inn in Lawrence, Kansas.

I absolutely believe what the man from Idaho said. I remember very well, many years ago when driving in Wyoming late at night, listening to KOMA very clearly. It gave me great comfort when being so far from home.

[ctchandler]

I was going through U. S. Navy basic training (boot camp) in San Diego, Ca. in 1960 and was amazed that my little transistor radio could pick up “KOMA in Oklahoma”. It was good to hear from home.
C. T.

[mugofbeer]

As Ive seen the recent passing of my parents, the sale of my childhood home, changes to the city and my own accellerating aging, I am glad to see I am not the only one who spends a lot of time thinking about my childhood. KOMA and WKY were a huge part of it. Danny Williams, Dale Wehba and Johnny Dark. K-O-M-A, Oklahoma City! Just like you all, I recall being able to pick it up easily in New Mexico and Colorado. Oklahoma City is growing and improving by leaps and bounds but I do miss growing up there.

[jmpokc1957]

I well remember KOMA and it's rival WKY in the 60's and 70's and many were the times my mother would tell me that she came in and turned off the "transistor radio" that I had fallen asleep listening to. There was at one time a sense of wonder at radio and the process of tuning in to a station. It was like you were pulling it out of the dark. The static and the particular distortion that came with night time AM stations was always fascinating to me. It still is and I think we have lost something with this digital age.

I remember one time in 1976 when I was driving down Portland Ave( I think ) to get to the then named OSU Technical Institute. I was passing the WKY mobile studio when the DJ happened to say that the first person to knock on the door would get a free T-shirt. I u-turned right in the middle of the road( No police around thank goodness! ) and drove up to the door. I got my T-Shirt.

Everyone has their time but, in my opinion, it's hard to beat the 70's.

Coming out of a tough winter here in NE Oregon.

Mike

[Doug Loudenback]

In the summer of 1960, when returning from a high school debate trip to San Diego (I was going to high school at Lawton at the time) I recall hearing koma-am in the Arizona desert. Amazing, I remember thinking. After that, when at college at osu, when returning to Stillwater from debate trips (circa1961-1965), same thing. Other powerful a.m. radio signals that I recall hearing as we drove back to Stillwater were the Chicago station that someone mentioned, but mostly important, the powerful signal coming from Del Rio, Texas. Some of those broadcasts were a hoot, black preachers back east (Philly, I think) describing how other black preachers (the competition) were trying to take them down. I am not meaning to be racially insensitive in the slightest, but some of those Del Rio broadcasts were priceless and certainly kept us awake late after midnight. That includes the black member of our team, I am pretty sure.

Oh, for the good ol days. Now, we turn on the telly just to see what our president has said in the early hours of daily tweetdom for daily entertainment.

Sorry.... The devil made me do it. Mea culpa. I will do 3 hail Mary's and 1 Our Father. Done.

[billokc]

I grew up in Kansas in the 60's and night we could only get 2 stations with a powerful signal. KOMA in OKC and WLS out of Chicago. I went to sleep every night through jr high and high school with my transistor radio tuned to KOMA. I remember some of those groups. I also remember, and I could be wrong on this, but, I believe they always advertised Saturday night dances at the Townhouse Roller Rink in Marlow, Oklahoma. In the summer of 1962 my family was driving to the Seattle Worlds Fair. One night we stopped for the night somewhere in Idaho. My older brother was driving and he asked a service station guy what was a good radio station to listen to there. Guy says, at night we only get one station, KOMA from Oklahoma City. Also, just remembered, they also advertised all the time for The Roaring Red Dogs at the Red Dog Inn in Lawrence, Kansas.

Like so many others, I grew up listening to WKY and KOMA. In July 1965 when I was just ten years old, my grandparents took me and my younger brother to Red River, NM for the first time. I was fascinated by radio then, but had no idea what took place at night. So, our first night there we turned on the radio and there was KOMA sounding like it was right there in town, and here we were 500 miles away. I was amazed! Number one tune during that time was "Satisfaction" by the Stones. Even today, when I hear that tune, I flashback on that week. The first post in this thread mentioned the bands they would promote. I remember the names Squatty and the Botties, and the Midnight Rebels, but I think they played only locally or just in-state. Ahh, the memories. If only we could return to those times.

[SOONER8693]

Like so many others, I grew up listening to WKY and KOMA. In July 1965 when I was just ten years old, my grandparents took me and my younger brother to Red River, NM for the first time. I was fascinated by radio then, but had no idea what took place at night. So, our first night there we turned on the radio and there was KOMA sounding like it was right there in town, and here we were 500 miles away. I was amazed! Number one tune during that time was "Satisfaction" by the Stones. Even today, when I hear that tune, I flashback on that week. The first post in this thread mentioned the bands they would promote. I remember the names Squatty and the Botties, and the Midnight Rebels, but I think they played only locally or just in-state. Ahh, the memories. If only we could return to those times.

Amen. I now listen to nothing but the 60's on 6 on satellite radio. So, I return to those times everyday, in my mind. It was a wonderful time, music wise, to grow up and be young.

[Bunty]

While KOMA's signal was rock solid during the day in Stillwater, the signal was about unbearable to listen to at night, because Stillwater was just barely outside the directional night time high quality signal area. So the signal probably sounded better in Los Angeles than in Stillwater.

Interesting that KOMA was fined $10,000 1961 for broadcasting higher than the authorized 50,000 watts and failure to switch to its directional signal at night.

https://books.google.com/books?id=fQ...page&q&f=false