I’m excited to share audio of a newly-digitized recording of legendary Little Rock R&B station KOKY-AM 1440 on August 8, 1975. The 90-minute cassette, recorded from the air signal, captures a strong presentation by midday disc jockey Harold Torrence. He was clearly very busy, talking between nearly every song and bringing together the many elements on the air.
A recording of Little Rock’s KOKY-AM 1440 on August 8, 1975.
The station was heavily promoting its summer “Stash the Cash” contest, which involved $250 being hidden somewhere in Little Rock. That’s the equivalent of about $1,500 today. 12 clues hinting at where the money was located were being broadcast and printed on KOKY’s Soul Express Music Survey, which could be picked up at businesses throughout central Arkansas.
There are lots of great jingles in between current and classic R&B hits. KOKY aired national newscasts from Mutual Black Network News, which was created in 1972 specifically for stations targeting Black audiences. The lead story in this recording was the death that day of jazz musician Julian “Cannonball” Adderly at age 46. There’s also part of a local newscast, but the recording doesn’t include the local anchor’s name. Side A of the cassette ran out midway through the newscast and perhaps he gave his name at the end. I’ve prepared a full index of what’s in the recording, including quotes of the DJ patter, which you can read here.
AUDIO: Little Rock radio station KOKY-AM 1440 on August 8, 1975 from 10:10 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. The music has been edited to only include the beginnings and ends of songs to avoid potential copyright violations.
KOKY was put on the air Oct. 8, 1956, initially calling itself the “Greater Little Rock’s Ebony Station,” with studios at 1604 West 14th Street. The FCC had awarded the license that year to John M. McLendon, who also owned three radio stations in Mississippi. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas has a detailed history of the station, which was the first in the state to have a Black staff and to be programming for a Black audience. Among KOKY’s early DJs was Central High School student Al Bell, who would later become co-owner of Stax Records in Memphis.
Nineteen years later in this recording, KOKY was calling itself “Soul Express Radio” and had moved eight blocks to 723 West 14th Street. After initially broadcasting a 1000-watt daytime-only signal, within a few years it was approved for a power upgrade to 5,000 watts, which more effectively covered central Arkansas.
KOKY had been sold several times over the years while retaining its format until 1979 when a new owner, Forus Communication of Arkansas, changed the programming to religious and the call letters to KITA. The studios remained in the building on 14th Street for decades.
The skinny building that housed studios for KOKY-AM 1440 in 1975 at 723 West 14th Street in Little Rock. The photo was taken on June 7, 2025, with the building currently housing a music production studio. Photo: Michael Hibblen
The building is now home to Braceface Music Studio, according to its website, with a banner on the outside that says BFM Studio. A tall radio microwave tower secured with guy wires still stands behind the building, which I assume is to relay programming for KLAL-FM, Alice 107.7, from Cumulus Media’s building in west Little Rock to the broadcast tower at Wrightsville. The FM station, which hit the air in March 1992 and also had studios in the building, was originally known as Heaven 107-7.
An FCC database shows the AM 1440 signal in Little Rock is, as of this writing, off the air. With the decline of AM radio, many companies are abandoning their licensed frequencies.
The KOKY call letters — after disappearing from the radio dial for years — were revived in the late 1990s by corporate radio chain Citadel Broadcasting when it was planning to put an urban adult contemporary station on the air at FM 102.1. The company’s Director of Programming “Broadway” Joe Booker told the Arkansas Times in a 2019 story that he felt the call letters “would be perfect” for the format. And indeed, KOKY-FM 102.1 consistently ranks near the top of Little Rock radio ratings. The heritage and history of KOKY was celebrated at a 2019 event organized by the Central Arkansas Library System’s John Miller, which included a panel discussion with many people who have been associated with the station.
The 1975 broadcast comes from a collection of tapes I’ve been digitizing that had belonged to longtime broadcaster Bob Gay. He worked at several Little Rock radio and TV stations, though not KOKY. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bob recorded this to monitor competing stations, though his writing “do not erase” on the label shows he knew it was worth saving. Bob Gay died last December at the age of 87. Thank you to his son Russell Gay for giving these tapes to me.
Veteran news reporter, editor and manager spanning more than 30 years at newspapers, radio and television stations. I’m also a photographer, historian and author, having written the 2017 book Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas and hosting a podcast of the same name.
