Maggie's Favorite - 99.5 The Wolf

The Wolf is what Maggie has with her morning coffee and listens to while workin' away at all this computery stuff. I thank the Good Lord for the internet, otherwise I'd be missing out on one of life's free pleasures down here next door to A&M.

For a commercial radio station, The Wolf has a great blend of old favorites and new chart toppin' country. Maybe the older tunes aren't as old, and as many as my Pa would like, but when I can hear George Strait, Charlie Daniels and Johnny Cash alongside The Eagles and Bon Jovi, this gal's happy. Life is so very good!

Maggie got hooked on The Wolf back in 1998 while drivin' through Dallas. I'd been making another one of my seasonal trips up north of the Red River to tote the youngin's up to the Yankee-ex for visitation, in what I'll call the parlor of the Leavenworth Arms. A gated, full-service, studio apartment community for a select clientele near Kansas City. He was fortunate to get an invitation for an all expense stay by Uncle Sam himself, because he was so clever as to invent the Thirty Dollar Bill. But that's a whole 'nother story.

Anyways, while headin' up 45 I'd have my regular radio stations I'd tune to as soon as I got out of range from the last one. Somewhere just north of Madisonville I could pick up 99.5 K-PLEX for country music out of the Dallas area, and that would stick with me till Durant, OK. On one particular day back in '98, instead of country music, the only thing I recall hearing was the soundtrack from Saving Private Ryan. Nothing but the soundtrack. No commercials. No news. No station call letters. No apologies. No nothing, but Private Ryan. Don't get me wrong, I think it's lovely music. But from Madisonville to Dallas? I'm a patient gal so I stuck with it. But, I was a little confused as to what made radio folks think this was even close to a smart idea. So, I figured that I'd stop at the first RaceTrac in Dallas to fill the tank and my 52 ounce thermal cup, then let all seven kids and a large shedding dog run in the grass for a while. That's when I'd start messin' with the dial to find a station with more musical variety.

Right after filling the tank I got back in the car to move it over to the grassy spot. The radio was still on, only this time I heard a wolf howl and a soothing-rumbly voice announcing the Credo of the Wolf and new changes to provideTexas Country music. After a quick few minutes of this fella talkin', they started in with some great Texas music that I hadn't heard in quite a long while. From that moment on I've been a fan. All the kids eventually learned it was best to be quiet while momma was drivin' through Wolf country. Anyway, that's my story of how I started listening to The Wolf.

Now I'm up to speed and get the pleasure of listening everyday online, not only while passing through DFW. Although The Wolf has tamed down since the early days, (What a shame, suits must've stuck their noses in.) it's still my favorite commercial station for country music. There can be a lot of repeats through the day, cause the station now uses a play list. But there's still more variety with the peppering of old stuff and classic artists than can be found elsewhere, without too many commercials. Although, just now thinkin' about it, Maggie can't recall havin' heard Chris LeDoux for a long while. God rest his soul. I should give them a holler 'bout that.

The morning show is fun without having the questionable content and antics that would make a parent cringe when the kids are around. The real gem for my ears over at The Wolf is Justin Frazell. There's no mistakin' that voice for somebody just passin' through till they can get to a station in NY or LA. Justin's a true Texan with a sweet good 'ol boy attitude. You can find Justin on the weekday morning show. I've always loved listening to the way he delivers the traffic reports. It's a hoot!

Justin also hosts the Front Porch show on Sundays (live 7-9pm Texas time) for some Texas Red Dirt Music where rising stars stop in to chew the fat and perform. It's a pleasure to hear true talent that can play on the spot. Some of the songs they choose are just too funny to ever make regular radio play. The Front Porch is normally a very family friendly show, but it's LIVE. Which means, there are times the humor may not be for those of a more sophisticated nature. Nothing over PG. Maybe it's just more of my own naughty thoughts workin' around in my noggin that I seem to hear. Judge fer yourself.

At 99.5 The Wolf, the DJ's actually respect your desire to listen to music and don't spend time talkin' over the songs. Any fool that would talk over King George while he's singin' should be shot on the spot!

Y'all know that handsome Marine lookin' fella Barry Corbin? I first remember seein' him on that oddball show Northern Exposure, but he's done more TV and movies than I could begin to name off. It turns out, that he's that soothing-rumbly voice who first introduced me to The Wolf back in '98. Today, Barry continues to remind me what time it is at the top of every hour. Right now he's tellin' me, "It's seven o'clock in Texas."
Time to get this thing up on the internet (where ever that really is) 'fore they start fixin' to shut things down for the evenin'.