TEXAS
BILL STRENGTH
Texas
Bill Strength (born August 28, 1928) was a performer
and songwriter who made the transition as one of Country
radio’s first important dee jays when live music
on the radio was replaced by records. Strength started
at KTHKT Houston TX (1944) then moved to KSOO Sioux
Falls SD In 1946 he was heard on KFEQ St. Joseph MO
then WHHD and KMYR Denver CO and back to KSOO, followed
by KMA Shenandoah IA and KRLD Dallas TX. In September
of 1949 he did daily programs at WRBC, which were also
aired on a network of 37 stations throughout Alabama.
In 1950, he was heard on radio transcriptions syndicated
by the CIO labor organization. By 1951 he had a daily
disc jockey show on KTAL Houston TX. He also broadcast
on KLEE and KNUZ also Houston stations. Strength appeared
on KWKH’s Louisiana Hayride and five times on
the Grand Ole Opry with his friend Ernest Tubb. He
was making records for Capitol at this time. He moved
to Georgia, where he was seen on WAGA-TV Atlanta and
by 1954 had a daily show on WEAS Decatur and worked
at KWEM Memphis TN before returning to KEVE. In the
December 1956 issue of Country & Western Jamboree,
Strength finish third (behind Don Larkin and T. Tommy
Cutrer) as “Favorite Local Disc Jockey” He
then worked at KFOX Long Beach CA (1958) and KTCR Minneapolis
MN (1962). Strength died October 1, 1973 from injuries
received in a car accident two months earlier while
on a promotional tour. Texas Bill Strength was inducted
into the Country Music D J hall of Fame in 1990. |
