KDAV

KDAV
City of license Lubbock, Texas
Branding "KDAV 1590AM"
Frequency 1590 kHz
First air date 1953
Format Oldies
Power 1,000 watts (day)
1,000 watts (night)
Class B
Facility ID 36953
Transmitter coordinates 33°31′15″N 101°46′27″W / 33.52083°N 101.77417°W
Former callsigns KEND (?-1988)
KLLL (1988-1998)[1]
Owner Renaissance Broadcasting, Inc.
Webcast KDAV Webstream
Website KDAV Online

KDAV (1590 AM) is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Lubbock, Texas. The station's broadcast license is held by Renaissance Broadcasting, Inc.

KDAV broadcasts an oldies music format which focuses on 1950s and early 1960s pop, rockabilly, mild doo-wop, and country oldies.[2]

The ownership and format of KDAV changed as of 11am on March 30, 2015. The station is now part of the High Plains Radio Network, and will air their programming.

History

KDAV is called "the Buddy Holly Station" because young Buddy Holly performed in a country show there before he reached stardom. The station observes Buddy Holly's career the first weekend of February, which coincides with the time of his death in 1959 in a plane crash in Iowa.

In 1953, KDAV was a 500 watt daytimer on 580 kHz that began at 66th and Quirt Avenue (today known as 6602 Martin Luther King). That station was founded by Elmore, Worley and Pinkston. David Pinkston founded KDAV and sisters KZIP Amarillo (1310), KPEP San Angelo (1420) and KPIK Olorado Springs (1580). All four stations used a common floor plan. The Amarillo building was razed to make room for a highway, San Angelo building was vacated when 1420 returned its ticket to the FCC (building still stands at 4300 north Chardbourne).

KDAV 580 became KRLB in 1979. It added an FM at 99.5 (KWGO-FM, then KRLB-FM, then KCRM, now KQBR). 580 was spun off to Big Ed Wilkes.

1590 was activated after World War II by Caprock Broadcasting Company headed by Joe Bryant. A three-tower transmitter site was installed in southeast Lubbock along the old Slaton Highway. Power was 1,000 watts day and night, with each mode using a three-tower directional antenna system. The site was supervised by R. F. "Frank" Lee who worked at the station until its sale in 1971, and continued at sister KCBD-TV until his death in 1980.

KDAV is called the "Buddy Holly Station".

The studios were originally at 1803–1805 Broadway between Downtown Lubbock and Texas Tech University. The radio studios moved in 1953 when they were consolidated into the new KCBD-TV facilities at 5600 Avenue A. In 1971 KCBD radio was spun off to Lew Dee and 20 local businessmen. Calls changed to KEND. The format had been adult middle of the road. Lew Dee changed the format to a more contemporary "The Living End" as KEND (The End of the Dial). The station had business reversals. Management traded too many things in too many deals, and developed tax problems. The station was required in those days to use transmitter site operating engineers or update its equipment and procedures in order to permit remote control operation. Both were costly so neither was done.

The station was sold to the Ackers, an Abilene, Texas, family, who owned KENM Portales (Clovis) NM and part of KRBC AM/TV in Abilene, Texas. The format changed in 1975 to the "National News and Information Service" NIS from NBC. In 1977 the station went country and reached the top of the Lubbock ratings as "Country 16".

KLLL AM/FM tired of its daytime AM at 1460, sold that station to Terry Wynn in 1982 and bought KEND. In 1988, KEND changed calls to KLLL.[1] After a few more years, KLLL was sold to a local operator. Since 1995 Bill Clements has owned the station. He installed a new transmitter (the 1949 sign on Western Electric transmitter gave way to a 1971 Collins 820-D) in 1995 a "Gates 1" solid state transmitter.

The ownership and format of KDAV changed as of 11am on March 30, 2015. The station is now part of the High Plains Radio Network.

Deejays

Streaming

KDAV has a live stream so listeners around the world can tune in via their computers. As of September 2010, the feed which originally charged a listening fee, is once again streaming free through their website.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Call Sign History". CDBS Public Access Database. FCC Media Bureau. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Station Information Profile". Arbitron. Retrieved September 16, 2013.

External links