KHEV
Encyclopedia
KVDU is a Retro-themed Adult Top 40 outlet serving the New Orleans
area. The Clear Channel Communications
station is licensed to Houma, Louisiana
and broadcasts at 104.1 MHz with an ERP of 100 kW.
) tower in Vacherie, Louisiana, allowing the signal to penetrate into the New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas, as well as the Lafayette area and many counties in Mississippi. The station remained licensed to Houma, but dropped the MOR
format for Oldies
, which is how it remained until late 1994 when B-97 (WEZB-FM) abandoned their Top 40 programming in favor of News/Hot Talk. The owner, Raymond A. Saadi, decided to leave the suffering oldies format and fill the vacant Top 40 slot as "Mix 104.1." The station kept the heritage KHOM calls for a period of time, then eventually changed them to KUMX to reflect the "Mix" format. The station was later bought by Clear Channel Communications
, who also owned/acquired four other FM's; WQUE
, WYLD-FM, WNOE, and KMEZ
, which was KKND (Alternative rock) at the time, and located at 106.7 on the FM dial. Because Clear Channel owned other stations in the market, they tightened Mix 104.1's playlist in order to avoid crossing into their other stations' audience.
The move to Top 40 paid off ratings-wise until 2000 when WEZB-FM returned as the original Top 40 outlet in New Orleans. At this point, the playlist on Mix 104.1 had been extremely small for some time. People in the New Orleans area responded to the tight playlist and the heritage Top 40's return by making the switch back to WEZB-FM. The ratings fell and continued to slowly fall, then on Friday, June 29, 2001, it played its last song as "Mix"; "When It's Over" by Sugar Ray. It then spent the day getting people ready for a change by making repeated announcements over construction site sound effects. It told people to listen in at 5pm to hear the debut of a brand new radio station. It flipped to Classic Rock as "104-1 The Fox" (under new calls KFXN-FM) and debuted with an "All Beatles Weekend." The first song played was "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Unfortunately, the new format quickly turned out to be a dismal failure. In 2002 it returned to Top 40 as the adult-leaning "104.1 KISS-FM" (under new calls KSTE-FM) but wasn't getting the audience it needed to stay afloat. By November 2003, it shifted to Rhythmic Top 40, but the writing was already on the wall. In July 2005, it flipped to a Gospel format as "Hallelujah 104.1", under new calls KHEV.
After 13 months in the Gospel format, Clear Channel decided to replace it with Active Rock on November 13, 2006, and in the process inherited "The Rock of New Orleans" slogan from sister station WRNO-FM
, who on the same day dropped Classic Rock for All-Talk.
On November 20, 2006, Clear Channel decided to keep the WRNO calls at 99.5 and replace the KHEV calls with the new calls KYRK.
On July 1, 2010, KYRK changed their format to classic rock, branded as "104.1 The Brew". It has also applied for the new call letters KOBW to match the "Brew" handle. The station's former format was moved to their HD2 signal at that time. On July 19, 2010, KYRK changed their call letters to KOBW to go with the "The Brew" branding. Unfortunately, the ratings for "The Brew" were not as promising.
On June 30, 2011, KOBW changed their format to a "GenX"-type Adult Top 40 format as "Voodoo 104", with emphasis on retro-themed hits from the late 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, along with current hits, using the slogan "Retro, Rock, Dance, & Everything In Between". The Brew's final song was "It's The End of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
" by R.E.M.
, while Voodoo's first song was "Let's Get It Started
" by The Black Eyed Peas
. On July 1, 2011 KOBW changed their call letters to KVDU to go with the "Voodoo 104" branding.
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
area. The Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
station is licensed to Houma, Louisiana
Houma, Louisiana
Houma is a city in and the parish seat of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, and the largest principal city of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's powers of government have been absorbed by the parish, which is now run by the Terrebonne Parish...
and broadcasts at 104.1 MHz with an ERP of 100 kW.
History
When 104.1 originally signed on the air November 15, 1968, it was KHOM-FM. It was licensed to Houma, Louisiana and only targeted that area, but in 1989, it moved its transmitter atop the 2,000 foot 92.3 (WCKW-FMWDVW
WRKN, also known as "Rock 92-3", is a modern rock/active rock station owned by Cumulus Media. The station, whose frequency is 92.3 MHz with an effective radiated power of 100 kW, is licensed to Laplace, Louisiana and serves the greater New Orleans metropolitan area. Its transmitter is located...
) tower in Vacherie, Louisiana, allowing the signal to penetrate into the New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas, as well as the Lafayette area and many counties in Mississippi. The station remained licensed to Houma, but dropped the MOR
MOR
Mor or MOR may refer to:In publications:* Mathematics of Operations Research, a quarterly publication on the mathematics of operations research.In mechanics:...
format for Oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
, which is how it remained until late 1994 when B-97 (WEZB-FM) abandoned their Top 40 programming in favor of News/Hot Talk. The owner, Raymond A. Saadi, decided to leave the suffering oldies format and fill the vacant Top 40 slot as "Mix 104.1." The station kept the heritage KHOM calls for a period of time, then eventually changed them to KUMX to reflect the "Mix" format. The station was later bought by Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
, who also owned/acquired four other FM's; WQUE
WQUE
WQUE-FM, aka, Q93, is a top-rated Mainstream Urban outlet in New Orleans, Louisiana. The station, which is owned by Clear Channel Communications, operates at 93.3 MHz with an ERP of 100 kW. Its current slogan is "#1 For Hip-Hop & R&B." Its transmitter is located in New Orleans...
, WYLD-FM, WNOE, and KMEZ
KMEZ
KMEZ, is a radio station serving the New Orleans area. The Cumulus Media station is licensed to Port Sulphur, Louisiana and broadcasts at 106.7 MHz with an ERP of 98 kW...
, which was KKND (Alternative rock) at the time, and located at 106.7 on the FM dial. Because Clear Channel owned other stations in the market, they tightened Mix 104.1's playlist in order to avoid crossing into their other stations' audience.
The move to Top 40 paid off ratings-wise until 2000 when WEZB-FM returned as the original Top 40 outlet in New Orleans. At this point, the playlist on Mix 104.1 had been extremely small for some time. People in the New Orleans area responded to the tight playlist and the heritage Top 40's return by making the switch back to WEZB-FM. The ratings fell and continued to slowly fall, then on Friday, June 29, 2001, it played its last song as "Mix"; "When It's Over" by Sugar Ray. It then spent the day getting people ready for a change by making repeated announcements over construction site sound effects. It told people to listen in at 5pm to hear the debut of a brand new radio station. It flipped to Classic Rock as "104-1 The Fox" (under new calls KFXN-FM) and debuted with an "All Beatles Weekend." The first song played was "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Unfortunately, the new format quickly turned out to be a dismal failure. In 2002 it returned to Top 40 as the adult-leaning "104.1 KISS-FM" (under new calls KSTE-FM) but wasn't getting the audience it needed to stay afloat. By November 2003, it shifted to Rhythmic Top 40, but the writing was already on the wall. In July 2005, it flipped to a Gospel format as "Hallelujah 104.1", under new calls KHEV.
After 13 months in the Gospel format, Clear Channel decided to replace it with Active Rock on November 13, 2006, and in the process inherited "The Rock of New Orleans" slogan from sister station WRNO-FM
WRNO-FM
WRNO-FM is an Interactive Talk formatted radio station serving New Orleans, Louisiana. The Clear Channel Communications station broadcasts at 99.5 MHz with an effective radiated power of 100 kilowatts.-History:...
, who on the same day dropped Classic Rock for All-Talk.
On November 20, 2006, Clear Channel decided to keep the WRNO calls at 99.5 and replace the KHEV calls with the new calls KYRK.
On July 1, 2010, KYRK changed their format to classic rock, branded as "104.1 The Brew". It has also applied for the new call letters KOBW to match the "Brew" handle. The station's former format was moved to their HD2 signal at that time. On July 19, 2010, KYRK changed their call letters to KOBW to go with the "The Brew" branding. Unfortunately, the ratings for "The Brew" were not as promising.
On June 30, 2011, KOBW changed their format to a "GenX"-type Adult Top 40 format as "Voodoo 104", with emphasis on retro-themed hits from the late 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, along with current hits, using the slogan "Retro, Rock, Dance, & Everything In Between". The Brew's final song was "It's The End of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
"It's the End of the World as We Know It " is a song by the rock band R.E.M., which appeared on their 1987 album Document, the 1988 compilation Eponymous, and the 2006 compilation And I Feel Fine... The Best of the I.R.S Years 1982–1987...
" by R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
, while Voodoo's first song was "Let's Get It Started
Let's Get It Started
"Let's Get It Started", , appears on The Black Eyed Peas' 2003 album Elephunk. It is the fourth single from the album...
" by The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
. On July 1, 2011 KOBW changed their call letters to KVDU to go with the "Voodoo 104" branding.