Houston Radio Gets Classic Cool

Houston's mics are open Houstonist's AM radio dial has been missing something ever since KBME (The Best Music Ever) went syndicated Animal on us. K-Hits is great if you consider Rod Stewart's music to be "oldies" but for a few years now we've longed for the sounds of Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett and Nat King Cole. And we've never been happy about the homogenization of our airwaves thanks to Clear Channel's omnipresence.

Today, long-time Houston radio disc jockey Ronnie Renfrow will save the day, just in time for your drive home, by launching Classic Cool Radio, 650 AM. The station will go live today at 4 p.m. and will initially brodcast only during the afternoon drive time, Monday through Friday.

The station will feature both old crooners and the new artists who follow in their footsteps, including Diana Krall and Harry Connick, Jr., according to a press release:

"This is by far the biggest programming void in radio. The artists of Classic Cool are selling millions of CD's annually, but listeners have had nowhere to go on the dial — until now," Renfrow said. "This is definitely not a nostalgia format. Classic Cool is far removed from that approach in that we will feature new music from contemporary artists who are all over the Billboard charts."

Classic Cool will present a blend of singers, classic jazz, Latin, and blues. Stars of the show include Frank Sinatra, Michael Buble, Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Connick Jr., Gloria Estefan, Tony Bennett, Diana Krall, and B.B. King, to name a few.

Photo: flickr user fensterbme