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More country fun from Nancy Wilson. K99online.com
This year, St. Patrick’s Day has an extra special meaning for those of us here at K99.1FM: It’s also our 25th birthday.
It’s hard to believe it’s been two and a half decades since we played our first country song, “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” by Barbara Mandrell. Back then, Alabama and The Judds dominated the airwaves, and some newcomers named Randy Travis, Clint Black, Alan Jackson and Garth Brooks were making a splash.
Taylor Swift and Cassadee Pope were born later that year. Scotty McCreery was four years from birth and “The Heart of Dixie” and Voice winner Danielle Bradbery? We wouldn’t see her for seven more years!
In the year 1989, Luke Bryan was asking his fellow seventh-graders to “shake it” and a 12 year old Blake Shelton was hopefully only dreaming about adult beverages! His wife, Miranda Lambert? At age 5, I’m sure her parents were strictly monitoring her exposure to “Gunpowder and Lead” and “Kerosene.” For 2-year-old Tyler Hubbard and 3-year-old Brian Kelley of Florida Georgia Line, in 1989, “Cruise” meant tooling around on their tricycles.
Some things definitely have changed in the 25 years we’ve been around. We used to play our music on things called “carts,” kind of like single song eight-track tapes. Now, everything is on computer. Phone calls and commercials were recorded on reel-to-reel tapes and edited with razor blades and “splice tape.” Now, everything is digital. Making requests meant calling the radio station and asking the deejay to play your favorite song. Now you can ask through email, on Facebook and Twitter or on our new app on your phone.
But while some things have changed, other things stay the same. We will continue to play the best country music, have great contests for tickets and money, support local causes such as Dayton Children's Hospital, and appreciates you, the folks who listen to us and make us who we are. There's nothing better than hearing someone says, "I used to listen to you on the school bus" and now they are a parent. Or, "I've grown up with you!" Thanks, Miami Valley for an amazing 25-years and many more, as your country music radio station, K99.1FM.
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