KTHT (97.1 FM "Country Legends 97.1") is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

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 ...

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

Cleveland, Texas Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area and Liberty County. The population was 7,471 at the 2020 census. History In 1854, a church and convent were built by Father Pet ...

, and serves the northern section of

Greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States, encompassing nine counties along the Gulf Co ...

. The station airs a

classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...

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, ...

and is owned by Cox Radio, along with

KGLK KGLK (107.5 FM broadcasting, FM, "The Eagle @ 106.9 & 107.5") is a classic rock-formatted radio station licensed to Lake Jackson, Texas, and simulcast on KHPT in Conroe, Texas, Conroe. The facility is owned by Cox Media Group, and is part of a fo ...

KHPT KHPT (106.9 FM, "Houston's Eagle @ 106.9 & 107.5") is a classic rock-formatted radio station licensed to Conroe, Texas, which simulcasts on KGLK (107.5 FM). It is owned by Cox Media Group, and is part of the Houston cluster that also includes KK ...

and

KKBQ KKBQ (92.9 FM), branded as "The New 93Q", is a commercial FM radio station with a country music format. KKBQ is licensed to Pasadena, Texas, serving the Greater Houston area. The station is owned by Cox Radio and is part of its Houston radio ...

. The

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

s and offices are in 3 Post Oak Central in the

Uptown Houston Uptown (more commonly called The Galleria Area) is a business district in Houston, located west of Downtown and is centered along Post Oak Boulevard and Westheimer Road ( Farm to Market Road 1093). The Uptown District is roughly bounded by ...

district. KTHT has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would hav ...

(ERP) of 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 ...

s. 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 ...

site is off Route 222 at Bob McGowan Road in

Shepherd, Texas Shepherd is a city in San Jacinto County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,105 at the 2020 census. General Information With 2,319 people, Shepherd is the 642nd most populated city in the state of Texas out of 1,752 cities. In 2010, th ...

, near

Sam Houston National Forest The Sam Houston National Forest, one of four National Forests in Texas, is located 50 miles north of Houston. The forest is administered together with the other three United States National Forests and two National Grasslands located entirely in ...

. That puts it about halfway between

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

and

Lufkin, Texas Lufkin is the largest city in Angelina County, Texas and the county seat. The city is situated in Deep East Texas and about 60 miles west of the Texas-Louisiana border. Its estimated population is 35,021 as of July 1, 2019. Lufkin was founded ...

Station history

Classical KRTK

On January 17, 1993, the station

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 ...

as KRTK, and was owned by Texas Classical Radio, Inc.. KRTK originally

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

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

programming on

KRTS Marfa Public Radio is a network of public radio stations serving the Big Bend (Texas), Big Bend region of Far West Texas. Headquartered in Marfa, Texas, it is a member of National Public Radio. Marfa Public Radio broadcasts on four frequencies i ...

in Seabrook, to increase that station's coverage in northern sections of the Houston

radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

. It was sold four years later after KRTS' request to increase power was approved by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

(FCC).

Regional Mexican KEYH-FM

In September 1995, 97.1 began simulcasting

Regional Mexican Regional Mexican is a Latin music radio format encompassing the musical genres from the different parts of rural Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Genres include banda, country en español, Duranguense, grupero, mariachi, New Mexico ...

-formatted

KEYH KEYH (850 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Houston, Houston, Texas, under Special Temporary Authority from the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast at 100 watts from a temporary longwire antenna, on ...

as KEYH-FM. The simulcast ended a short time later, as KEYH-FM began to air its own Regional Mexican format as "Estereo 97", which later became "Que Onda 97" in March 1996. In January 1997, the station was bought by AMFM, Inc. for $10 million.

Talk, Alternative and Oldies

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 ...

switched to KKTL and flipped to news/talk as "Houston's Talk FM, 97 Talk," in September 1997. The following year, Jacor bought KKTL for $14.7 million. In March 1999, after the talk format floundered, the station switched to a simulcast of

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

-formatted

KTBZ-FM KTBZ-FM (94.5 MHz) is a commercial active/alternative rock radio station licensed to Houston, Texas. Owned by iHeartMedia, the station serves Greater Houston. The KTBZ-FM studios are located in Uptown Houston, while the station transmitter is ...

"107-5 The Buzz". KKTL continued simulcasting 107.5 after KTBZ and KLDE ("Oldies 94.5") swapped frequencies in July 2000, making 97.1 an

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...

outlet. The swap was the result of an ownership trade-off in the AMFM/Jacor/Clear Channel merger.

Hot 97.1

In August 2000, Cox acquired KKTL. On November 4, 2000, the station began stunting with a robotic text-to-speech countdown to Noon. At that time, KKTL split from the simulcast and flipped to

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and upbeat R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses ...

as KTHT, "Hot 97.1". The first song on "Hot" was " Party Up" by DMX.

Country Legends

On January 2, 2003, at Noon, after playing " Back That Thang Up" by Juvenile, KTHT flipped to a

format as "Country Legends 97.1". The first song on "Country Legends" was "

You Never Even Called Me by My Name "You Never Even Called Me by My Name" is a song written by Steve Goodman and John Prine. Prine requested to be uncredited on the song, as he thought it was a "goofy, novelty song" and did not want to "offend the country music community". Goodm ...

" by

David Allan Coe David Allan Coe (born September 6, 1939) is an American singer and songwriter. Coe took up music after spending much of his early life in reform schools and prisons, and first became notable for busking in Nashville. He initially played mostly i ...

.Hot 97.1 KTHT Becomes Classic Country
/ref> Core artists include

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

and

Ronnie Milsap Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, ...

Station Personalities

Dan Gallo and Chuck Akers hosted mornings until September 2021, when both were let go due to budget cuts. Jake Stewart, weekday middays. Christi Brooks, weekdays afternoon

Call Sign History

*KRTK - 05/03/1991 (K-Arts) *KEYH-FM - 09/18/1995 *KOHD - 03/11/1996 *KRTK - 02/10/1997 (K-Arts again) *KKTL - 09/22/1997 (97 Talk) *KKTL-FM - 03/19/1999 (simulcast of 107-5 The Buzz, Oldies 107.5) *KTHT - 11/13/2000 (Hot 97-1, Country Legends 97.1)

References

External links

* * {{COXMG Radio stations in Texas, THT Cox Media Group Radio stations established in 1991 1991 establishments in Texas