KLOL

101 KLOL

In 1970, "I'm Free" by The Who ushered in a new format and callsign to the 101.1 frequency and "The KLOL Legend" was born. In the early days, KLOL was known as "Mother's Family" and later "K101" and utilized what would be termed a "free form format". The "Mother's Family" name was a reference to KFMK-FM (97.9, now KBXX), Houston's original Progressive Rock radio station, known as "Mother Radio."

A major contributor to the early and ongoing success of KLOL was the laid back perennial DJ Maurice "Crash" Collins. KLOL played a good dose of Rock in the early years, but it was also possible to hear Jazz, Blues, and R&B.

In the mid-1970s the main competition to 101 KLOL was the smaller 96.5 KAUM. KAUM eventually went top 40, leaving KLOL and KILT to battle it out. By the late 1970s KLOL had transformed into a full-fledged AOR (Album-Oriented Rock) station and changed its moniker to 101 KLOL.

KLOL achieved victory in early 1981 against format rival KILT-FM (who changed format to country and remains so to this day). Shortly thereafter, KLOL would have another rival in 97ROCK (KSRR) and one of the fiercest AOR battles of the 1980s commenced. KLOL once again won the battle as KSRR flipped to Top 40 as KKHT in 1986 (now KHMX).

KLOL mellowed somewhat in the 1980s (as did many AORs), but their playlist remained quite wide.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, KLOL was one of the top rated AOR station in the United States. KLOL featured legendary morning men Mark Stevens and Jim Pruett and their "Stevens and Pruett Show," chalking up both high ratings and numerous fines from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Dayna Steele anchored mid-days, and the "Steele-workers" were numerous. And in the evenings it was "Outlaw Radio", an Active Rock show with "a lot of attitude." KLOL was regularly in the Top 3 in that time frame.

Non-Houston based ownership bought KLOL and the station began to change. KLOL started relying heavily on either Classic Rock product (KLOL would be almost all Classic Rock from 1996–1998) or current product from artists who were not selling high amounts of CDs. KLOL virtually ignored the exploding grunge rock and new rock bands from 1995 on.

In late 1998, KLOL's Program director announced that KLOL would become decidedly more current. Many thought Active Rock was finally coming to Houston. Alternative-rock formatted KTBZ-FM had been neutered due to ownership that wanted to target (the now defunct) KKPN listeners, so the hole for a harder edged Active Rock station was there. Instead, decidedly more current meant songs that were almost a year old began to receive 40 plays a week.

Clear Channel became the owner of KLOL in 2000, and at the time, Clear Channel retained the rock format. Many thought Clear Channel would bring back the classic sound of the station during the previous decades. Instead, KLOL carried on in the same vein for another 4 years.

KLOL Goes Spanish

Rumors of a KLOL format change had been heard since at least 1999; urban oldies or Top 40 as "KISS 101" were supposed to be the result. However, the November 10, 2004 edition of The Walton & Johnson Show on KLOL informed listeners that if they wanted to keep listening, they had better learn Spanish.

On November 12, 2004, after a rerun of the Walton & Johnson Show, KLOL segued into the "10 O'Clock Rock Block" as normal. Then, at 10:11 a.m., the station changed its format to Hurban (Spanish-language hip hop).^[1][2][3][4]

The final six songs that KLOL played as a Rock station were:

• Hells Bells - AC/DC
• Rooster - Alice in Chains
• Aqualung - Jethro Tull
• Who Are You - The Who
• Sad But True - Metallica
• I'm Free - The Who (also the first song played on Rock 101 KLOL)

In the fall of 2007, KLOL redesigned their entire look, changing their format to more contemporary latin pop music under the direction of Clear Channel's Senior VP Alfredo Alonso. This design was made to better compete with other Spanish-speaking stations that also had the same format. The name MEGA 101 was kept, however the logo changed. The website was also redesigned.

CBS Acquisition

On December 15, 2008, Clear Channel and CBS Radio announced a multi-station swap: KLOL and sister station KHMX would go to CBS Radio, while CBS Radio-owned stations WQSR in Baltimore, Maryland, KBKS-FM in Seattle, Washington, KLTH and KXJM in Portland, Oregon and KQJK in Sacramento, California would go to Clear Channel. The sale was approved on March 31, 2009 and was consummated on April 1.

Entercom Acquisition

On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom.^[5] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on the 17th.^[6][7]

Partnership with KTMD

On September 25, 2018, Entercom struck a new content deal with NBCUniversal-owned-and-operated station KTMD (Telemundo). The latter will partner with this station to bring enhanced Spanish-language news, weather and entertainment information to its listeners, in addition to the current Spanish Pop format. ^[8]

Online Return of Rock 101

On November 12, 2012, after 8 years of absence, Rock 101 KLOL returned as an Internet Radio format.^[9][10] The online-only iteration plays Classic, Progressive and some Contemporary rock as well as Blues-Rock, often commercial free using a listener supported business model.

The station has several syndicated shows as well as original programming. Classic station imaging is played and classic clips of Stevens & Pruett's "Uncle Waldo" are aired on Friday mornings. Former "On Air" personalities such as Jim Pruett, Dayna Steele and Scotty Phillips have contributed with sweepers and station drops, along with other material.