KOMA Oklahoma City?

[ol skool]

Wondering if anyone else here grew up in the West listening to the Power House KOMA at night from Oklahoma City.

I remember doing my homework in the late '60's listening to my little transistor radio picking up KOMA when the sun went down in Cheyenne. First heard Cream, BB King, Joe Cocker, Aretha, Smokie, Hendrix, Doors, and on, from KOMA.

My fathers day present was a Blue Ray player and the 2005 Cream get together DVD from The Royal Albert Hall. Brings tears to my old tired eyes. I always wanted to play bass after hearing Jack Bruce thump out fitting, rhythmic lead and back up for Cream. Currently in the process of studying how to to build my own acoustic bass just for kicks after seeing (RIP) Jack Bruce enjoying his early times again...

KOMA broaden anyone else music horizons back in the day?

[rush1886]

In the mid to late 70's, my hunting buddies and I would run the rural roads of the west, late night into the wee hours of the morning, en route to our weekend hunting destinations. Between school and flippin burgers, if we wished to hunt, the darkness was our only travel option.

The only radio station we could tune in, consistently, was KOMA. Can't say it broadened my musical horizons. Will say, it was nice to have a reliable companion, when any number of said buddies, nodded off to sleep, at 2AM, MST.

Then, along came the 8 Track player...................! And Woofers!

[square butte]

I used to listen to KOMA in the early and mid 70's when on the road at night almost anywhere out west. Also used to pick it up at night on the east side of the Sierra's in CA when I worked for the USFS back in mid 70's. Always made me feel a little closer to home.

[Huskerguy]

Blast from the past. I grew up in rural SW Nebraska and late at night KOMA was the only station you could get. It was a constant companion while dating my now wife of 42 years who lived 50 miles away. As I recall, didn't they change to country at one time?

[Bad Water Bill]

MEMORIES

Back in my day it was WCKY Cincinnati 1 Ohio.:bigsmyl2:

From Va Beach,Gitmo and most of a Med cruise.

What memories.

[rockrat]

Listened to KOMA a bunch. Got it one time coming down from Big Bear Lake, in SoCal. Otherwise, it was only 25 ish miles away from my Grandparents and I would get to listen to it (and WKY) all the time when we were visiting.

[chsparkman]

I would pick it up occasionally from the So. Cal. desert in the early 70's.

[OldFogey]

Having grown up in the Missouri Ozarks, reception was always a hit and miss affair. On some nights, I could get KOMA, on others, WLS (Chicago). If you could receive one, you could not get the other. Bringing back a LOT of memories.

[edler7]

I spent many an hour listening to KOMA growing up in SE Colorado during the 60's and early 70's. I started listening about 1959. I was only 5, but had a sister 9 years older than me and that was the station she listened to. We could only get it after sundown, but at my grandparent's farm 50 miles south, we could get it during the day.

I spent a lot of summer nights cruising the back roads with a couple 6 packs of 3.2 Coors (3.2 was legal at 18, and at least one of us was kind of close to 18) and several buddies listening to Cream, Jefferson Airplane, Led Zeplin, Hendrix, Creedence.....oh man- those WERE the days!

The last time I listened to KOMA they had gone country.





Mighty pretty, in Oklahoma City!!! Thanks for some excellent nostalgia of simpler times.

[leeggen]

Can't say I ever did but do remember Wolfman Jack out of Chicago.
CD

[Reg]

Can't say I ever did but do remember Wolfman Jack out of Chicago.
CD


KOMA was THE number one station in NE Colorado in the late 60's and early 70's but only at night and yes, a couple of six packs of 3.2 Uncle Adolf's Mind Tenderizer and a cold winter night helped keep the rabbit population in complete control.
Also didn't Wolf Man Jack operate from XERA out of Del Rio ? I think he did bounce around a bit. If you never heard him on a good night when he really got wound up you really missed one of lifes treasurers !!!

[MaryB]

KOMA and WSM were listened to a lot on my crystal radio and a longwire antenna...

[DoubleAdobe]

Yep, KOMA and WBAP out of Ft. Worth came in strong at night in Arizona. Also XROK 80 out of Juarez, day and night in this area. All AM in those days.

[popper]

KOMA, WLS, WHB, that mexican (don't remember the call sign but it was in english, just located in mexico) all interfered with each other, due to changing the beam pattern at different times of the day.

[rockshooter]

also used to pick up WCCO in Minneapolis at night in south Idaho with a long wire antenna
rockshooter

[DoubleAdobe]

I also recall KVOO out of Tulsa was a strong country presence at night in my neck of the woods.
As I thought about the OP, I recalled a Christmas Eve, probably in 1968, my brother and I were listening to our little radio in our bedroom in S. Arizona, late at night. I distinctly remember, for some reason Judy in Disguise playing on KOMA. I didn't know then and barely know now what the lyrics mean, but it was the epitome of cool to an 11 year old boy waiting for Christmas morning, haha
Edited for clarification

[Harter66]

I remember it as a kid in Kernville and Ridgecrest Ca but the Mighty 690 and KFI were more reliable 60 milemiles from Reno Nv. My Dad and I went to Calgary to look at an airplane and KOMA was all there was all the way across Idaho.

I caught it on the FM side from just west of El Reno almost to McCalister . I knew I was lost in the bible belt when they played a radio edit of Hotel California in July of 13.

Wolfman Jack was a staple on the Mighty 690 but I think was syndicated all over .

[DLCTEX]

KOMA was king with teenagers in West Texas in the early sixties. Everybody I knew in Jr high and high school listened to it.

[MaryB]

I miss the days of individual radio stations! Now everything is the same top 20 **** on all stations... except one local I get. They play anything from jazz, 1940's country to new country, old rock... they are not a part of the new internet radio age http://www.935kscr.com/

[oksmle]

Now this is weird.... I have lived under the KOMA transmitting towers for many years. There were three of them until they were taken out by the May 20, 2013, tornado that walked up 4th Street here in Moore. Same one that totaled my house. See, the towers were actually in Moore, not OKC. They stood side by side by side with the top lights flashing at night. I used those three flashing lights as guidance on many night flights to my home airport here in Moore. Since they were the only three towers that flashed like that for many miles in central Oklahoma, I would first home in on their LF which would guide me until I could identify the towers visually. I've picked up the LF many times out of Pampa or Amarillo, TX, only at night, & tried to navigate a straight line to Moore. It was kinda' neat listening to country music which would get louder as I flew closer. Now the towers are gone and so is my small home airport.

[Kent Fowler]

KOMA and WSM were listened to a lot on my crystal radio and a longwire antenna...

When I was growing up the Amarillo stations would shut down at night and KOMA and WLS were the only ones I could get on my crystal. Didn't have a long wire, but I could clip the ground on the screw that held the electrical outlet faceplate on, behind my bed. Spent a many nights listening to rock and roll. Don't know if my mother ever knew I was doing that, instead of getting sleep for school the next day, but she never said anything. On KOMA, I can remember them always advertising the Jack Tar hotel on Galveston Island. Years later, went to Galveston to visit the wife's parents and told FIL to drive by the Jack Tar and he looked at me like I was crazy. Biggest dump I ever saw. The whole motel was painted black.

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

Yes. It was a change from what the local stations put out in western KS in the 60's and 70's. When I came back from the navy in 1978, I was shocked to find it had gone CW. But then, I eventually did too. Still like classic rock.

[jmsj]

KOMA! what a blast from the past.
We could get it here in the foothills of the Sangre de Christo range here in northern NM. It would start coming in late at night but fade out about daylight.

[Bad Water Bill]

Am I the only one that used their BOX SPRINGS for the antenna?

[rondog]

I remember KOMA, but only vaguely. I grew up in Enid, OK, born in '56. Typically listened to WKY, I think it was, for AM. Preferred FM.

[oldscool]

KAAY Little Rock for their Beaker Street late night program. Sure miss em. Lots of fond memories of '60s '70s with KOMA and Beaker Street in the background.

[FISH4BUGS]

Not only did I listen to the powerhouse KOMA, I was on the road with a band (The Stepping Stones out of Manhattan Kansas - a bunch of Kansas State 1Y and 4F dropouts) in 1967 and 1968 playing a Hammond B3 organ. We advertised on KOMA and WLS out of Chicago. Those were the powerhouse stations in the midwest at that time. I think we even advertised on KBOX out of DelRio Texas - the WolfMan's station.
We played in armories, auditoriums, colleges, high schools and many other venues. We were an 8 piece soul band. 7 white guys and great black singer. KOMA was great. I can still hear our ads in my head.
COME SEE THE STEPPING STONES
SALINA KS NATIONAL GUARD ARMORY
JUNE 7TH
ADMISSION $3.00
8 PM TO MIDNIGHT
DON'T MISS THEM!
We played a number of gigs with the Fabulous Flippers and the Cerfs from KU (Mike Finnegan's group)
Man I miss those days......but I still have the B3 in the office!
Sometimes I get the urge like the Blues Brothers: "....hey man, we are getting the band back together". There are lots of guys like me in their 60's that played in bands in their teens and 20's and would dearly LOVE to do it again....then reality sets in.
But it is fun to think about.

[Hogtamer]

In the east it was WOWO Ft. Wayne Ind on a little Zenith transistor...remember "This Magic Moment," by Jay and the Americans, thought that was the greatest. And WSB for the Braves. AM all the way!

[TXGunNut]

Grew up listening to KRLD, a Dallas talk/news radio station. I hated it but my parents controlled the radio in those days. Nowadays I listen to WBAP, a conservative news/talk radio show. They took over my favorite oldies FM station one morning on my clock radio and I hated it but it got me out of bed.
I do recall listening to Wolfman Jack late at night, part of Americana.
We made many trips to NE in my childhood years but I don't recall KOMA. Are they still on the air?

[TCLouis]

Used to be cool to listen to KOMA or less so KQEO local station out on a date in ABQ back in the 60s.

Amarillo drag races were a big sponsor back then I think.

Don't forget XERF 250 KW out of Del Rio TX and some unspellible named town in Mexico.

So hard to spell one has to use a nonexistent word to describe it.

[popper]

Wolfman's story
http://www.ominous-valve.com/xerf.html
Got to go back and read Dad's memoirs, seems like he mentioned a relative that went to Del Rio to start a radio station. Edit: Grandad was the Doc's CPA, not a relative.
fish4bugs - how did you get to the east? Stepping Stones out of Manhattan Kansas, I did some recording for the Fabulous Flippers (Kite's?), don't remember the Cerfs. Don't remember Crow's band name, they did most of the KS campus gigs. Trying to remember the club name out on K10 where the drummer was killed in auto accident. Never did like the electric light farm. We mostly played the TC in Marysville and some HS stuff.

[pjames32]

Mid 60's in Western Iowa after 9PM.
PJ

[FISH4BUGS]

Wolfman's story
http://www.ominous-valve.com/xerf.html
Got to go back and read Dad's memoirs, seems like he mentioned a relative that went to Del Rio to start a radio station. Edit: Grandad was the Doc's CPA, not a relative.
fish4bugs - how did you get to the east? Stepping Stones out of Manhattan Kansas, I did some recording for the Fabulous Flippers (Kite's?), don't remember the Cerfs. Don't remember Crow's band name, they did most of the KS campus gigs. Trying to remember the club name out on K10 where the drummer was killed in auto accident. Never did like the electric light farm. We mostly played the TC in Marysville and some HS stuff.
I came in off the road after two years. Don't let anybody kid you - being on the road was the hardest work I ever did. You were always traveling, setting up, rehearsing, playing, breaking down, traveling, etc. No wonder professional musicians are into drugs and alcohol so heavily. Since the statute of limitations is long gone past, i can admit to many activities that guys on the road were into. I burned out, and got the scare of my life when we lost a band member to an overdose.
I had never been to New Hampshire and my mother had moved here from Kansas, and I decided that I would clear my brain out and go to the woods of New Hampshire. The rest, as they say, is history.
The Flippers were my idols, and we modeled ourselves after them. We were the SECOND band in Kansas to have horns....after the Flippers.
Mike Finnigan and the Cerfs were out of KU in Lawrence. Go to you tube and search Mike Finnigan. He was the guy that got me into Hammond organs. He now is with Bonnie Raitt's band and is a very sought after studio musician. A wonderful guy and one of the best B3 players alive.
God those were great times. Thanks to the OP for starting this thread. It brought back great memories. KOMA......mid to late 60's. All that wonderful music.
Somehere in the back of my brain I recall the Lamplighter in Salina KS as the club you mention. I could be wrong....or it might have been in Junction City KS....too long ago to remember.

[scarry scarney]

I really don't remember KOMA out of OK City, but I do remember trying to listen to a rock station out of the City. I grew up working the oil fields with my Grandpa, working from Wichita Falls East to Macalister, and from OK City in the north to the Gulf in the south. His truck only had one station, WBAP. I can still remember that cow bell on the radio. Now when I get to town, I listen to a small local Low Power FM radio station, its range is only about 12 miles, but its local and plays some decent music.

[popper]

Our keyboard guy was from Marysville, used a Baldwin with Leslie. Only stayed with them for ~ 6 mo., couldn't make any money. Hung out with most of the guys in the Silvertones (KC sock hop). Music is a tough way to make a living.

[FISH4BUGS]

Our keyboard guy was from Marysville, used a Baldwin with Leslie. Only stayed with them for ~ 6 mo., couldn't make any money. Hung out with most of the guys in the Silvertones (KC sock hop). Music is a tough way to make a living.
I had a B3 with twin 147 Leslies. The sound of a Hammond is beyond compare. Those that know......know.
My time on the road was lucky in the money department. I really did well, but at a price. I spent every penny but lived like a king for two years.
I don't think i could have lasted much longer, so that little guardian angel on my shoulder said to stop. I came to NH to clean out my system....it took a number of years to clear up.
Here is a link to Mike Finnigan, my hero. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=SejZFPhM5sk Just one of his gigs with Bonnie Raitt.

[scarry scarney]

Popper
- Is that Marysville in Northern CA? If so, that's where the Low Power FM station is. 93.5 FM

Everyday, I am reminded how small the world really is.

[MaryB]

Thanks for the link! Brought back memories of mom and dad telling me to turn that stuff off so I plugged in one of those little ear plugs that came with the $5 transistor radios. I had hacked the bar antenna with a loop to feed signals from a long wire(300+ feet that went down the block in the trees, neighbors never did ask what the wire was for...) and picked up a lot of lng distance stuff after I upgraded form the crystal radio I built at 5 years old. That was my introduction to electronics that turned into a 30 year career.


Wolfman's story
http://www.ominous-valve.com/xerf.html
Got to go back and read Dad's memoirs, seems like he mentioned a relative that went to Del Rio to start a radio station. Edit: Grandad was the Doc's CPA, not a relative.
fish4bugs - how did you get to the east? Stepping Stones out of Manhattan Kansas, I did some recording for the Fabulous Flippers (Kite's?), don't remember the Cerfs. Don't remember Crow's band name, they did most of the KS campus gigs. Trying to remember the club name out on K10 where the drummer was killed in auto accident. Never did like the electric light farm. We mostly played the TC in Marysville and some HS stuff.

[ol skool]

FM? What was that! I was home sick from school and watched the local TV station roll commercials (on film) backwards in Cheyenne.

[Budzilla 19]

WLS out of Chicago, only late at night, gone in the daylight, not too bad to be in South Louisiana!
i guess I wasn't the only one to hook my antenna wire to the screen on the window! Haven't thought about WLS in years. Thanks guys.

[Uncle Jimbo]

Yes I listened to KOMA at night in Northern Utah when the conditions were right. Lots of fun things and memories associated with that radio station.

[popper]

Scarry - no, kansas, just a few miles from state line. Ne was 21 yrs to drink, Ks had 3/2 at 18, so all the HS kids would go there to drink. Trying to put a dual showman in the back seat of the Falcon was fun. I laughed when the bar would card me as I was 24. We did one gig, don't remember the town, were told to set-up, play, then get out FAST. There was a wire mesh in front of the stage to keep beer bottles away from us. I used to go to the Long Beach Pike to watch Buck Owens and others.

[scarry scarney]

Sounds like the original blues brother movie county western bar scene, where they played both kinds of music!