It was a snowy Christmas Eve in 1984 and all was quiet and then the airwaves took flight and the songs had wings. Or something
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like that. But it was truly on Christmas Day when KZYR took the Vail Valley by storm.
BRAVE NEW RADIO -
The Zephyr, appeared on the scene in 1984 as in "Brave New World " at 103.1 FM as a class A, FM station, the 4th radio station in the valley. Studios were located in Avon upstairs in the Benchmark building.
Created by Jerry Davis and programmed by Fred Moore, we created a new format that we called Adult Album Rock and later was recognized by the record companies as Adult Album Alternative (Rock). Playing songs much deeper on the album, based on what we thought was the good stuff.
We mostly had fun to say the least and Jerry's Kids did a great job of putting it out there. Some notable KZYR names of that era were Fred Moore, Don James, Larry Woodside,Tony Mauro, Joanie Williams, Don Joseph, Kent Gubbler, Kate Collins, Frank Johnson, Rick Halterman and Greg Wright to name but a few.
The DEAD AIR feature once drew a interesting letter from Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead on letterhead of his appreciation for the recognition.
THE MOUNTAIN
Things changed in the mid 90s as a few different owners fiddled with the format and relaunched the Zephyr as an Alternative Rock station known not so creatively as The Mountain. Well in the winter of 2001, the station's new owners, Cool Radio, (great name eh?) moved the station from 103.1 to its new home at 97.7 and relaunched the famous Zephyr.
Featuring a blend of today's best rock and roll with the songs that were popular when you were, the Zephyr now sits alone as TRUE.LOCAL.RADIO. for the Vail or as we like to say the Zephyr Valley.
Its at 97.7 that Eagle County turns to in the morning to hear the latest goings on in the valley. With true local Steve Leigh at the helm, residents are tuned in and turned on from the Vail Pass to the Glenwood Canyon. As we say, Morning has broken, but its ok because Steve can fix it.
Steve is a music aficionado who plays "only the good stuff."
The Zephyr features various programs like Fusion - a unique one of a kind show featuring music from around the world. Their website is also very cool. If you hear a song you dig , go to their site and download or buy it. Simple
KZYR also features programs highlighting the many talented artist of Colorado. The Colorado Wave and E-Town . The Wave is the orginal homegrown music showcase while E-Town explores a variety of issues and sounds from and about the great state of Colorado. E-Town is a lot like the Zephyr because its about music, ideas and community.
The Zephyr is extremely proud to present JAZZ AT ITS PEAK. A Sunday brunch kinda show that is hosted by the infamous TONY G. Vail's premiere music entertainer highlights Jazz old and new every Sunday starting at 10am.
