KOOV (103.1 FM was a popular Central Texas radio station in the late 1970s-80s and 90s. The station was licensed to Copperas Cove, Texas and broadcast at 103.1 FM from a studio in downtown Copperas Cove and a transmitter site on the north side of Copperas Cove on Hogg Mountain. In late 2000, the station was sold to Cumulus Broadcasting and the format changed from Country to R&B Urban. The call letters were changed to KSSM.
The FCC assigned 103.1 FM to Copperas Cove in the mid 1970s. Local businessman Ted Connell and radio personality Gaylon Christie were awarded the license. Christie was a local musician in Central Texas and was well known from his days at KTON-AM/FM in Belton, where he was general manager.
The station signed on the air in early November 1977 from a studio in the Cove State Bank Building on Main Street in Copperas Cove. The station initially was known at "Cove Radio" and the "only station that really cares about Copperas Cove". Within a few years, the station developed more of a regional appeal serving the Killeen/Fort Hood area. KOOV was always challenged by a poor signal in the hills of Central Texas. The station was limited to a Class A status due to other nearby stations on the same or nearby frequencies. The original power was 3,000 watts, but lowered to 980 watts as the station's antenna was raised from 300 feet to 500 feet. In the early 1990s, the station finally was upgraded to 8,000 watts with an antenna 500 feet above average terrain and developed a solid signal over the fast-growing region from Lampasas on the west to Temple on the east. KOOV had to move from the Hogg Mountain transmitter site (were the second tower still stands almost 500 feet high on the north side of Copperas Cove) to a self-supporting tower on the far west side of Copperas Cove near the Lampasas/Coryell County line.
For much of its early years, KOOV was programmed with a personality-driven country music format. Sales were good and the station managed good ratings with a very high spot load. KOOV was a local full service station with news, weather, local sports, many local "remotes", and a tightly controlled playlist of country music hits of the day.
The original staff included owner/general manager Gaylon Christie as the first morning personality. He continued with the "Get Outta Bed" morning show from 1977 until 1984. Jim Jones, the station's first chief engineer was the original midday DJ. Alan Reynolds held down the afternoon drive shift. "Cousin" Chris Michaels was the first night DJ and Doug North the first overnight DJ. KOOV was always live and local 24/7.
Clint Bond was the station's first news director, he only stayed with the station a year then moved to television news. Several of the station's most important personalities joined shortly after launch in 1977. Joe Lombardi had been a popular midday DJ on KTON in Belton. He left to go to Sonora, TX. at a small AM station for a few years, then returned to Central Texas and KOOV in the winter of 1977/78. Lombardi became the newsman on Gaylon Christie's morning show, and hosted his own midday country music show. Lombardi started calling Copperas Cove Bulldog football games on KOOV in the fall of 1978 and continues to be the voice of the Dawgs to this day on Q102 in Lampasas.
In 1978, another ex-KTON DJ joined the KOOV staff, James Harrison. Harrison served as program director, operations director, and midday/afternoon DJ on KOOV throughout the 1970s and 1980s. In the early 1990s, Harrison moved across the hall to do the morning program on KOOC 106.3 Belton, which was operated by KOOV owner Centroplex Broadcasting as Mix 106. More recently, Harrison was again on KTON-AM in Belton as the morning DJ and station manager. He is currently heard by Cumulus Broadcastings KTEM-AM Temple in the afternoon news.
In July 1978, local Copperas Cove High School student, Mike Clay, joined KOOV as a weekend DJ. Clay continued with KOOV through 1986 as a midday DJ and the station's engineer. Clay also called Bulldog Football with Joe Lombardi for many years. He left KOOV in 1986 to become the weekday weathercaster on KCEN-TV Channel 6 in Temple. However, Clay continued to provide weather reports on KOOV through 2000. Clay is currently Chief Meteorologist for Bay News 9 in Tampa Bay.
Other early KOOV Personalities: Mike Mayfield (currently a firefighter/EMT in Copperas Cove), Jack O'Brian (night DJ, former KTON), Becky Collins (overnight DJ), Chuck Kelly (former KTON Program Director, become news director at KOOV and served almost 20 years until 2000, retired in Lometa, TX.), Gary Pearcy (news and sports), Callene Ramfield (PM then AM news, went on to many other stations in the market, and is currently in the Dallas/Fort Worth market), Yvonne Ankarberg (news), Bill West (1980-1982) hosted the weekend Dedication Night Program, now retired, Don Fife (overnights for many years in the 1980s), Billy Ray (middays and afternoon drive), Uncle Ben Bradshaw (middays and afternoon drive), Mike Young (news and sports), Chris Erickson (early '90s evenings) and Dave "In The Cave" Macrae (The Nightclub 1997-2000).
KOOV continued to be a highly rated local station throughout the 1990s but began to see a decline in the late 90s. Waco country station WACO-FM 99.9 was upgraded to high power and moved its tower to Moody, TX. WACO began to greatly cut into KOOV's ratings by the end of the 90s.
Cumulus purchased KOOV and KOOC in 2000 and most of the staff was released. New programmers were brought in and the station was switched to KSSM (Kiss 103) which has become a successful R&B station, still located in the KOOV building in downtown Copperas Cove. The era of locally programmed country music radio came to an end with years of great memories for residents of Copperas Cove, Killeen, Lampasas, and Fort Hood.