KVOO Big Country 99.5 100 Year Anniversary
For 100 years, KVOO has been the soundtrack of Oklahoma. It’s connected generations through the music, the stories, and the voices that shaped our state. From the days of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys playing live at high noon to Billy Parker keeping truckers company through the night, KVOO has been the heartbeat of Oklahoma country music. Today that legacy lives on stronger than ever on Big Country 99.5 KVOO - the Voice of Oklahoma.
Stick with us this year to hear all ways we’ll be celebrating 100 years, including bringing back veteran KVOO players, big giveaways and more!
BIG COUNTRY HISTORICAL TIMELINE
1924
Construction began in Bristow for KFRU
1925
KFRU begins broadcasting on 760 AM
1926
License granted for KFRU to switch call letters to KVOO
1927
W.G. Skelly of Skelly Oil buys the station and moves it to Tulsa
1927
Gene Autry begins broadcasting on KVOO
1929
KVOO begins broadcasting on 1140 AM
1931
Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys being broadcasting live on KVOO
1933
Paul Harvey begins broadcasting on KVOO
1934
KVOO moves studios into the Philtower Building in downtown Tulsa
1941
KVOO moves to broadcasting on 1170 AM
1956
KVOO moves studios to 37th & Peoria
1971
KVOO becomes the first station in Tulsa to play country music 24 hours a day
1971
Billy Parker begins broadcasting on KVOO
1979
KVOO wins Radio Station of the Year at the ACM Awards
1984
Merle Haggard reenacts Bob Wills noontime show with a live show from Cain's Ballroom on KVOO
1985
KVOO moves studios to 29th & Yale
1987
KVOO-FM signs on the air on 98.5 as "Country 98"
1992
Billy Parker is inducted into the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame
1999
KVOO is inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame
2002
KVOO-AM signs off, 1170 AM switches to talk radio format
2003
Big Country 99.5 signs on the air
2005
Billy Parker is inducted to the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame
2013
The VOO Crew (Rowdy, Sunny, and Carly) wins Personality of the Year at the ACM Awards
2015
Billy Parker retires after 44 years on the air at KVOO
2020
KVOO moves studio to 3rd & Boston
2026