COUNTRY RADIO ALIVE AND WELL

Last year, while I attended Tim and Faith's Soul2Soul concert at the Staples Center, Tim came out and looked around at the massive crowds, (three nights running, I might add) and said that they've got to get country radio back in L.A. He was met by an outstanding round of applause. Just two days prior, KZLA, our one and only, foremost country radio station suddenly, without any warning to the fans, just went off the air. I remember hitting the button in my car radio, turning the dial and saying "Something's wrong." I didn't get my daily dose of country music that day, or for months afterward!

Now for someone who loves westerns and writes western historical books, country music is a must have! I like other music, but I LOVE country music. I love it because it tells a story in just 3 or 4 minutes and often it inspires, rocks your emotions, shares innermost feelings and makes you think. The songs really have deep meaning, well, most of them. And some are just plain silly fun.

I remember emailing KZLA immediately when it went off the air, and apparently so had thousands of other fans. One of the disc jockeys, Shawn Parr, kept a constant vigil and communication with us, his fans, promising to try to get Country Radio back on the air waves. Over the months, he'd email us, the masses of frustrated country fans in Southern California, and finally, a new station was born. Country 540 and 1260 on the AM dial!
I can't tell you how happy I was that today. I smiled all day long, listening to the music from my favorites, Tim and Faith, Toby Keith, Rascal Flatts, Billy Currington, Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, Brooks and Dunn and a world of others. It's funny how we take things for granted in our everything life and it's only until they are taken away, that we realize how much they meant to us. I NEVER knew, just how much not having that radio station on the air affected me. I'd go around saying, "They can't do that! There's a radio full of pop and rap stations, and all we want is one country station. It's not fair." But the power of the people (loyal fans) prevailed this time. There's a whole growing market for country music and I'm only glad that LA recognized that fact. And, that Shawn Parr kept the fans informed and landed the AM Morning Show!