KOYL

KOYL (1310 AM) was a radio station in Odessa, Texas, that served the Midland–Odessa metropolitan area. It was the first country music station in the area. KOYL's air staff as a country music station has included Bill Myrick. It went silent in March 1991.

The Mid-Cities Broadcasting Co., owned by Edward and Lowell Roskelley, received the construction permit for KPBX on September 19, 1956. Before going on the air September 7, 1957,^[1] the station was given call letters KOYL, a nod to the importance of oil in the Permian Basin economy. A 1981 Book of Texas Lists would feature KOYL and fellow Odessa station KRIG, both named for the oil industry.^[2]

KOYL became the first country music station in the area,^[3] broadcasting with 500 watts (later increased to 1,000). It also was the first new radio station in Odessa in a decade.^[4]

KOYL's air staff as a country music station over the years included Bill Myrick,^[4] and guest disc jockeys Waylon Jennings and Johnny Dollar.^[5] Jennings and Dollar would continue to appear on KOYL after leaving the station as part of its regular "Voice of the Past" feature, hosted by former station DJs.^[5] Edward Roskelley also hosted the station's morning show as "Ross the Boss" for the 22 years he owned the station.^[3] On April 5, 1966, KOYL-FM signed on the air, offering separate programming and country music at night when KOYL was off the air.^[6]

In 1979, Roskelley sold KOYL-AM-FM to Stream Broadcasting of Texas, Inc.^[7] Stream added nighttime service to KOYL, broadcasting with 79 watts. In March 1980, Stream split the FM station off as contemporary outlet KUFO-FM; it is now KODM.^[8]

The second—and final—sale of KOYL occurred in 1985, to Pete C. Rodriquez, as Stream sold the AM and FM stations separately. Rodriquez, the owner of Odessa's Pan American Ballroom,^[9] immediately changed KOYL to a Spanish-language format.^[10] One of the reasons Rodriquez bought KOYL was because the existing Spanish-language station in town, KJJT, was co-owned with a competing venue and tended to ignore entertainers performing at the Pan American.^[11] KOYL also relocated its studios after the sale.^[11] The sale, however, prompted a concern from the Associated Press, which in 1989 sued Stream Broadcasting for terminating its AP wire service contract for KOYL right before selling the station without notifying Rodriquez; the AP sought $23,525 in back payments.^[12] KOYL's license was eventually canceled in 1992 after the station was reported silent in March 1991^[13] and its silent status was reaffirmed by the National Association of Broadcasters in a May 29, 1992 letter to the FCC on media ownership rules.^[14]

• FCC History Cards for KOYL

31°52′34″N 102°24′18″W / 31.87611°N 102.40500°W / 31.87611; -102.40500