(Obscure) Country Music Radio Stations — 1969
by Paula Bosse
“Home of the Tall Texans” (click for larger image)
by Paula Bosse
Okay, maybe they’re not obscure to people who listened to country stations in Dallas in the 1960s, but to someone who grew up in the ’70s in a household in which country stalwarts KBOX and WBAP were always on, these three stations are unknown to me.
Of these, my favorite call letters are KYAL, as seen in the ad above — that’s right, “K-y’all.” Disc jockey “Johnny Dallas” was none other than local rockabilly fave, Groovey Joe Poovey.
KBUY was out of Fort Worth and had quite the daytime signal.
There was also KCWM (for “Country & Western Music”). This one was an FM station. Legendary DJ Bill Mack was hired by the station to get its country format going, and he even suggested the call letters.
I came across these ads in some sort of local country music publication called “Country and Western — The Sound That Goes Around the World” (1969). Sprinkled amongst bios and photos of country stars are lots of local ads. One of the (non-radio) ads that caught my attention was one for the Saturday night lineup of country music television shows on KTVT Channel 11. Some of these shows were still on in the ’70s when I used to watch them with my father. (I’m not sure I knew there was ever a live television broadcast from Panther Hall in Fort Worth — “Cowtown Jamboree” — that would have been cool to see.)
(click for larger image)
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The best source for the history of Dallas-Fort Worth radio is, without question, Mike Shannon’s DFWRetroplex.com site.
KBOX was the station that really started it all for country music radio in Dallas; read about its history here.
Info on KYAL 1600 AM is on this page.
Info on KBUY 1540 AM and KCWM 99.5 FM is on this page.
Read about Groovey Joe Poovey here and here and here. See a slideshow of photos of him while listening to his GREAT version of “Deep Ellum Blues,” here.
Click pictures for larger images.
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Copyright © 2015 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.
Flashback : Dallas 
Have watched plenty of Porter Waggoner and Wilburn Brothers on RFD channel. Never knew Buck Owens had his own show. Must have been before Hee Haw. Would love to see some Panther Hall footage, but I’ll bet the tapes were recycled and none survived.
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When I discovered the RFD channel a few years ago and found those old shows … I was in heaven! I definitely remember the Buck Owens show — I might not have known who David Bowie was as a child, but, damn it, because of that show I knew who DON RICH was! It would be FANTASTIC if any of those Panther Hall shows survived.
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Buck Owens was a big Country Music star long before HeeHaw.
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It’s shame he had to leave Texas to make it big in Bakersfield. I’ve found over the years that people who swear they hate country music generally seem to like the Bakersfield sound of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard.
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Totally aware he was a big country music star before Hee Haw, just didn’t know he had a tv show before then.
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Very interesting post Paula and I’ve got to admit I’ve never heard of KYAL before now, maybe because 1969 was the year I got drafted and was gone for two years for the most part. I do remember Johnny Dallas for some reason. I also remember listening to KBOX long before they went country. Used to switch between KLIF and KBOX in the early 1960’s for the Top 40 of the day, AM only of course.
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I actually learned only this past year that KBOX hadn’t ALWAYS been a country station!
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Wow
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Radio like T.V in Dallas, then film and fine art then opera, was a major event that would span decades, while today radio and for the past 20 years it has become lost in the competetion of other forms of technology that give images, and yet people listen too radio still today,County radio was never big in Dallas compared to popular music…….it had the show and tell to become but it could not create a big following……in the City, in the country it was well received, then again this is a great story on radio, and you should observe all kinds of radio events…..the Long horn Ball Room is one example of Country that came and went…….
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Actually, I think country radio has always been big in Dallas. It’s one of the top country markets in the US.
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My Dad Donnie Bowshier and the stone heart band fronted for a lot of singers in 1970 at panther hall after he was done there he would go to panther hall annex and do his own show he played at the annex Thursday Friday and Saturday night he always had stars stopping by Winn Stewart was there a lot if you have any information on how i could get copies of the tapes please let me know thanks
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This is amazing!! I was “James Day”, one of the “Country Americans” on KYAL from the time we opened the new station on Hwy 121 which was exactly one mile east of Hwy 289. I never imagined that part of North Texas would grow up to be what it is today. Tommy Hollingsworth’s store and filling station was across the highway from the station (a reference for anyone that knew the area) where they made the best summer sausage sandwich ever.
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Hi, James! Thanks for commenting! I love that there was a radio station called K-y’all!
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When I was a kid and we had one black and white tv, Saturday night the tv was my mom’s and we watched channel 11’s country music shows. Also remember Porter Waggoner and Dolly Parton and boxes of Breeze Detergent. You could get towels “only in boxes of Breeze”. Then later me and my brother got to watch wrestling
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