Gary West worked at KVOR and its FM sister KVOR-FM/KSPZ “Z-93” in Colorado Springs from 1973 to 1978, at the stations’ building at 615 E. Brookside Street.
At KVOR and Z-93
West’s years there fell under owner Eugene Powers and general manager James W. “Jim” Vinall, with Arthur “Bus” Oaks as assistant general manager and sales manager. KVOR was a CBS affiliate, and he recalls Lowell Thomas originating his nightly broadcasts from the building when he was in town. The building itself was unusually advanced for its day: the production side and the business and sales side were acoustically isolated from each other by a two-inch rubber gasket where the structures joined.
West was there for the switch from KVOR-FM to Z-93. Century 21 essentially trialed its “Z” format on the station. In his words, listeners “went to sleep listening to Mantovani on Sunday night and woke up to Beatles’ ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.’” The audience turned over almost completely and nearly every sponsor cancelled, so the station ran commercial-free for its first 90-plus days, then did very well in the next ratings book.
He and several co-workers moved on after the stations were put up for sale in the late 1970s.
Sources
- Gary West, first-person contribution to the Colorado Radio Archive, October 2026.
Stations They Worked At
FROM THE TIMELINE
Career Moments
1973: Gary West joins KVOR and KVOR-FM
1973 — Gary West joined KVOR and KVOR-FM at 615 E. Brookside Street. He stayed through 1978, long enough to see the FM side become Z-93.
KVOR-FM becomes KSPZ / Z93
KVOR-FM 92.9 became KSPZ, beginning the long-remembered Z93 identity.
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