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KLOL (101.1 MHz, "italic=no") is a commercial FM radio station in Houston, Texas. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs a Spanish-language Latin pop format. KLOL serves as the Spanish-language flagship station for the Houston Texans NFL team.
The studios and offices are in Greenway Plaza in Houston. The transmitter is located off McHard Road in Missouri City, Texas.
In the 1950s, as network programming moved from radio to TV, KTRH-AM-FM switched to a full-service middle of the road (MOR) format. On September 1965, KTRH-AM-FM were acquired by the Rusk Corporation. Under Rusk ownership, KTRH-FM experimented with progressive rock programs at night while simulcasting AM 740 in the daytime.
A major contributor to the early and ongoing success of KLOL was the late laid-back DJ Maurice "Crash" Collins. KLOL played cuts from mostly rock albums in the early years, but it was also possible to hear jazz, blues, folk music and R&B. In the mid-1970s the main rock competition to 101 KLOL was ABC-owned 96.5 KAUM. KAUM eventually switched to Top 40 hits. In addition, 100.3 KILT-FM was another competitor for KLOL also playing rock music,
KLOL mellowed somewhat in the 1980s, as did many AORs, but the playlist remained quite wide. The station's core artists were The Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac, Van Halen, The Rolling Stones, Billy Joel, Led Zeppelin, Boston, The Police and Tom Petty.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, KLOL was one of the top-rated AOR stations in the United States. KLOL featured legendary morning hosts Mark Stevens and Jim Pruett and their cleverly titled "Stevens and Pruett Show", chalking up both high ratings and several fines from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for "offensive content". Dayna Steele anchored mid-days with her audience of "Steele Workers". 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.
In late 1998, KLOL began playing more current material. Some thought active rock was finally coming to Houston on KLOL. Alternative rock-formatted KTBZ-FM had moved to a more pop-alternative sound to target listeners who had previously tuned in the now defunct 102.9 KKPN, a modern AC station that is now KLTN. So the opportunity for a harder-edged station was there. But the station stopped short of going to an active rock sound.
Clear Channel Communications became the owner of KLOL in 2000. For several years, 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 four years.
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 10:11am, the station changed its format to Hurban (Spanish-language hip hop music).Clifford Pugh, "KLOL suddenly speaking Spanish; Venerable rock station switches to a new format", The Houston Chronicle, November 13, 2004.Carol Christian, "The day a music icon died; Houstonians mourn the loss of KLOL and its 34 on-air years", The Houston Chronicle, November 15, 2004. "I'm Free" by The Who would bookend the 34-year history of KLOL as a rock station.
In the fall of 2007, KLOL redesigned the station's entire look, changing the format to a more contemporary Latin pop sound under the direction of Clear Channel's Senior VP Alfredo Alonso. This design was made to better compete with other Spanish-language stations on the Houston radio dial. The name MEGA 101 was kept, while the logo was changed. The website was also redesigned. Dayna Steele began to learn Spanish while she prepared for a career in politics.
On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom. CBS Radio to Merge with Entercom The merger was approved on November 9, and was consummated on the November 17.
The station has several syndicated shows as well as original programming. Classic station imaging is played and old clips of Stevens & Pruett's "Uncle Waldo" are aired on Friday mornings. Former "on air" personalities such as the late Jim Pruett, Dayna Steele and Scotty Phillips have contributed with sweepers and station drops, along with other material.
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