Dee B. Crouch was a pioneering Pueblo broadcaster, founder and longtime driving force behind KDZA 1230, and an early Southern Colorado television operator.
Crouch led the group that formed Pueblo Radio Company and put KDZA on the air December 29, 1947. Mid-century Broadcasting Yearbook listings show him wearing numerous hats at the station—president, general manager, programming and promotion executive, chief engineer and commercial manager.
Crouch also brought Pueblo its first television station. KDZA-TV began regular programming in March 1953. A damaged relay tower and the financial burden of operating without its network connection contributed to the station going dark in April 1954, and its authorization was later deleted.
Under Crouch, KDZA made its famous 1964 move toward rock and roll after disc jockey Steve Scott persuaded him to change formats. Vintage KDZA history credits Crouch with owning the station from its 1947 beginning through 1966, encompassing the birth of the “Rock of Pueblo” era.
A 1992 Pueblo Chieftain family notice identified Dee and his wife Edith Crouch as KDZA’s first owners and gave their residences as Rye, Colorado, and San Diego. Death-index records for Dee B. Crouch of San Diego record his death on October 12, 1995, at age 89. Because the death date comes from an index rather than a full obituary, the archive notes that source distinction.
Southern Colorado station: KDZA.
Sources: Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado, “KDZA-TV Pueblo”; Broadcasting Yearbook archive, 1950s–1960s editions; Vintage KDZA, “Dee Crouch” biography and historical gallery; Pueblo Chieftain newspaper archive (October 20, 1992 print issue; no public article permalink located); Social Security Death Index-derived entry for Dee B. Crouch.
Stations They Worked At
FROM THE TIMELINE
Career Moments
Future KDZA begins broadcasting on 1230
The Pueblo station that became KDZA began broadcasting on 1230 kHz. Pueblo radio historian material dates the station to December 1947 and identifies Dee Crouch with its ownership from 1947 to 1966.
KDZA and KFEL 1964 Pueblo technical snapshot
Contemporary Radio Annual listings show KDZA 1230 at 1,000 watts daytime/250 watts nighttime under Pueblo Radio Co., with Dee B. Crouch simultaneously listed as president, general manager and chief engineer. KFEL 970 remained a 1,000-watt independent station at 4411 Goodnight Avenue under Joseph M. Clifton.
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