KBEZ (92.9

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

, "92.9 The Drive") is a commercial FM

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

, United States. It is owned by

Griffin Communications Griffin Media is an American media company based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The company began as a subsidiary of Muskogee, Oklahoma, Muskogee-based Griffin Foods, which produces a line of pancake and waffle syrups and other foods. ...

and airs a

classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980s ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

. Its studios are located in Downtown Tulsa and the

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...

is in the Osage Reservation north of

Sand Springs, Oklahoma Sand Springs is a city in Osage, Creek and Tulsa counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. A western suburb of Tulsa, it is located predominantly in Tulsa County. The population was 19,874 in the 2020 U. S. Census, an increase of 5.1 percent fro ...

, broadcasting at 100,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

History

KBEZ first

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...

the air in March of

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

as KAKC-FM, the

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

AM 970 The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 970 kHz: 970 AM is a regional broadcast frequency. In Argentina * LRA43 Neuquén, Neuquén * LT25 in Curuzú Cuatiá, Corrientes In Mexico * XECJ-AM in Apatzingán, Michoacán * X ...

KAKC (now

KCFO KCFO (970 AM) is a Tulsa, Oklahoma, area Christian radio station. KCFO airs national shows such as Dave Ramsey, J. Vernon McGee, David Jeremiah, Dennis Rainey, and Albert Mohler. The station has been assigned the KCFO call letters by the Federal ...

). At first, it

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...

the AM station's programming but by the Summer of 1977, it was airing an

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

format, taking the

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

KBEZ, with the last two call letters signifying "Easy." Over time, the number of instrumental easy songs decreased and the soft vocals increased, moving the station to a soft

adult contemporary music Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

format. At noon on June 10,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, KBEZ dropped its longtime adult contemporary format and adopted an adult hits format. Along with the flip, KBEZ also changed its moniker from "92.9 KBEZ" to "92.9 BOB FM", using the

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan, political slogan, political, Advertising slogan, commercial, religious, and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the publi ...

"We Play Anything!". The last song played on KBEZ before the flip was "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John. KBEZ 929 Bob FM

At about noon on September 9, 2013, KBEZ changed from its former "We Play Anything" genre to Classic Hits of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, moving the station from adult hits to classic hits. The station later dropped most music from the 1960s to concentrate on 1970s, 1980s and some 1990s hits, using the slogan "Tulsa's Greatest Hits." On August 1, 2017, KBEZ rebranded as "92.9 The Drive - Tulsa's Classic Hits!".

Ownership changes

On March 8, 2012, Renda announced that it was selling KHTT and KBEZ to

Journal Communications Journal Media Group (formerly Journal Communications) was a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based newspaper publishing company. The company's roots were first established in 1882 as the owner of its namesake, the ''Milwaukee Journal'', and expanded into br ...

for $11.8 million. The deal closed on June 25, 2012. Both KHTT and its sister KBEZ moved into the Journal Communications facility at 29th and Yale Avenue adjacent to the Broken Arrow Expressway joining the existing Journal stations KVOO,

KXBL KXBL (99.5 FM) is a classic country radio station known as "Big Country 99.5" ("Big Country" was a slogan 1170 KVOO now KTSB used during its country music heyday). Located in Henryetta, Oklahoma, it broadcasts to the Tulsa, Oklahoma area. The st ...

, and KFAQ. Journal Communications (KBEZ's former owner) and the

E. W. Scripps Company The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...

(owner of Tulsa's

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

network affiliate In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...

KJRH-TV KJRH-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Okmulgee, Oklahoma, Okmulgee-licensed Ion Television outlet KTPX-TV (channel 44). KJRH-TV's stu ...

) announced on July 30, 2014 that the two companies would merge to create a new broadcast company under the E. W. Scripps Company name that would own the two companies' broadcast properties, including KBEZ. On June 26, 2018, parent company E. W. Scripps announced that it would sell KBEZ - along with its sister stations, KFAQ,

KHTT KHTT (106.9 FM, "106.9 K-HITS") is a top 40 mainstream (CHR) radio station licensed to Muskogee, Oklahoma, and serving the Tulsa metropolitan area. It is owned by Griffin Communications. The radio studios are located in Downtown Tulsa and th ...

, KVOO, and

. Griffin began operating the stations under a

local marketing agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it is a sort of lease or tim ...

on July 30, and completed the purchase on October 1, at a price of $12.5 million; the company already owned

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

affiliate

KOTV-DT KOTV-DT (channel 6) is a television station in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Griffin Media alongside Muskogee-licensed CW affiliate KQCW-DT (channel 19) and radio stations KTSB (1170 AM), KBEZ (92.9 FM), ...

and CW affiliate

KQCW-DT KQCW-DT (channel 19) is a television station licensed to Muskogee, Oklahoma, United States, serving the Tulsa area as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by Griffin Media alongside CBS affiliate KOTV-DT (channel 6) and radio stations KTSB (1170 ...

Gunman

On January 13, 2010 just after 1 PM, 58-year-old Barry Styles came to KBEZ's offices and studios, and walked up and down the hallways demanding to speak to morning show co-host Carly Rush. When the receptionist informed the man she had left for the day, he walked out of the office, then immediately returned brandishing a pistol. The receptionist escaped to the back of the office and called the

Tulsa Police Department The Tulsa Police Department (TPD) is the principal law enforcement agency for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. It is nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies It is the second largest municipa ...

. The gunman trapped several employees inside the office and guarded the exit. After approximately ten minutes, police arrived on scene. When the gunman refused to drop his weapon, police fired shots hitting him in the waist. Shortly after, the police handcuffed the man and he was taken to a hospital where he was listed as being in serious condition. No employees were hurt.

Larry Hoefling

Larry Hoefling served as the voice-over talent for the

Prevue Guide The American cable television, cable and satellite television network Pop (American TV channel), Pop was originally launched in 1981 as a barker channel service providing a display of localized electronic program guide, channel and program listings ...

from 1989 to 1993. Former DJ.

Previous logo

References

External links

KBEZ station website
{{Griffin Communications BEZ Griffin Media Classic hits radio stations in the United States