KCFO

KAKC 970 first signed on the air on December 24, 1946;[2] it was founded by Sam Avey.[3] Avey was a local businessman and sports promoter, who owned the Tulsa Coliseum.[4] When KAKC first went on the air, it was a day-time only station, called "The Hometown Station," with a focus on serving the Tulsa community, broadcasting local sports, local news, and some music. It began at 1570 on the AM dial.[5] In April 1948, the station got permission to move to 970 AM, and it also received permission to broadcast in the evenings as well as during the day.[6]

In the mid-1950s, the station got new ownership and hired Vic Lundberg and Greg Chancellor as announcers.[7] From the late 1950s to the mid-1970s, KAKC 970 AM was a Top 40 station in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Known first as "The Big 97" and later "The Rockin' 97", the station was owned (along with KAKC-FM 92.9) by S. Carl Mark. Both stations used consultant Bill Drake for their programming, with KAKC (AM) being the dominant music station for many years until the mid-1970s when long-time Top 40 competitor KELI (now known as KTBZ) and FM upstart KTFX "The Superfox 103" (now KJSR "Star 103.3") cut into their audience.

KAKC-FM 92.9 FM in the 1970s used a Drake-Chenault programmed automated oldies format during the day. From 6 p.m. to midnight, the FM simulcasted with KAKC 970 to make up for the AM's weak 250-watt nighttime signal. In the summer of 1977 KAKC-FM flipped to the then-popular "Beautiful Music" format and changed the call letters to KBEZ-FM.

In January 1979, KAKC shocked the Tulsa radio market by dropping Top 40 programming after 21 years for adult standards, with rapidly declining ratings as the result. A year later the station was purchased by the owners of KCFO-FM (now KVOO-FM) which changed the format to Southern Gospel music and Christian talk programming. In 1984 the legendary 970 call letters were changed to KCFO.