Black gospel radio icon goes Catholic
By Bernie Hayes
For the St. Louis American
KIRL-AM 1460, the St. Charles radio station that popularized gospel and religious music, delivered its final broadcast Saturday, April 30. The station recently was sold to Covenant Network of St. Louis for a reported $730,000.
Covenant Network, a non-profit corporation, is part of Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), the Global Catholic Network. It was launched on August 15, 1981. Now in its 24th year, EWTN has become the largest religious media network in the world, transmitting programming 24 hours a day to more than 105 million homes in 110 countries and 16 territories.
Tony Holman, general manager of Covenant, said his organization will officially take over KIRL on May 13 and begin operations soon thereafter. “We plan to continue family and religious programming from a Catholic point of view,” he said.
With the sale of KIRL, many black churches and syndicated shows will have to find new outlets for their broadcasts. Other local stations programming black gospel music are KATZ-AM 1600, KXEN 1010 AM Christian Contemporary and KSTL 690 AM Gospel.
KIRL, which was owned by Bronco Broadcasting Company, was one of only two African-American-owned radio stations in the St. Louis area. The other is Foxy 95, owned by Kathy Hughes’ Radio One. Bronco was owned by Bill and Virginia White, Johnny Roland and other minor investors.
KIRL goes back more than a quarter of a century. After purchasing the station from Mike Rice in 1977, KIRL began broadcasting gospel and traditional black religious music from their studios on Highway 94 in St. Charles.
The station brought the infectious music to thousands of listeners in the metropolitan area, covering cities in Missouri and reaching to several counties in the Metro East and Southern Illinois. It influenced a whole generation of African-American singers and carried many of the area’s religious broadcasts. At one time, it had a captive audience and a virtually untapped market, with no other full-time gospel station directed to the African-American community.
Some of the area’s most prominent gospel announcers were on staff at KIRL. Columbus Gregory, who was among the original deejays, said, “KIRL was one of the most original and imaginative religious facilities in the country. It will be missed.”
Steve Love, who started with KIRL in 1985, said, “It is a bittersweet feeling. I will cherish the many fond memories that I have, and I am proud to have been a part of such an historic station.”
Other celebrated announcers who worked at KIRL include Zella Jackson Price, Ruby Summerville Dickson, Mel and Thel, Deacon Earnest Greenlee and Elder Mitchell Thorton.
The music was always a mix of traditional gospel recordings along with newer religious artists. A normal day’s programming would feature the Rev. Cleophus Robinson, The O’Neal Twins, Rev. Shirley Caesar, Martha Bass and the Caravans, John P. Kee, CeCe Winans, Al Green, Tramaine Hawkins and TD Jakes.
Virginia White said she and her husband spent decades working on what she described as a “labor of love.”
“We remain hopeful and positive in the journey that follows,” White said. “When one door of happiness closes, another opens.”