Stone, Pappy Dave: The Founder Country Music Radio
Dave Stone Pinkston (Nov. 11, 1913 ~ Feb. 18, 2004) was born in Post, Texas (TX), but spent most of his life in Lubbock, TX. He started out as a bookkeeper at KSEL in Lubbock, but when the disc jockey (DJ) walked out Stone took his place. Because he was so good at his work, he moved up to general manager within the year. Stone is well remembered as being the first station owner to play country music full-time in 1953. Pappy Dave Stone put KDAV in Lubbock, TX on-the-air in 1953, followed by KPEP (San Angelo, TX), KZIP (Amarillo, TX) and KPIK in Colorado Springs, Colorado (CO).
Pappy Dave Stone Pinkston was the founder of full-time country music radio. In 1946 he went to work for KSEL radio station in Lubbock, TX, as a bookkeeper and became a DJ the next year when the host of the Western Roundup Show, who hated country music, walked out. Within two years, the Western Roundup had become the station's most popular show and he moved up to station manager.
In 1953, Pappy Dave Stone and Leroy Elmore got together and decided to put a new station on the air in Lubbock. That station, KDAV, went on the air in September and became the first all-country music station in the USA. This was when most outlets were setting aside a restricted amount of time for our music; back when block-programming was the general format. That is, one hour might be pop music, one hour might be big band and another hour might be country music. Usually, country music was allotted only a small amount of time on most stations, especially in major markets. In 1959, Waylon Jennings was also a DJ at KDAV, as was Arlie Duff, the great DJ, songwriter (Y'All Come). Within the next four years stations were added in Amarillo, TX (KZIP), San Angelo, TX (KPEP) and in Colorado Springs, CO (KPIK).
Country music legends of the 1950s, 60's and 70s made his stations regular stops. Pappy Dave Stone would tell stories about booking Elvis Presley for shows at $75 per night, or the Chinese dinners he enjoyed with Jim Reeves, or not being able to find anyone who would let Jerry Lee Lewis use their piano for a show. One of more popular stories was about a kid from Lubbock High School who played such an impressive guitar that Pappy Pinkston introduced him to his friend, Bill Haley of the Comets. Haley liked the kid and had Pinkston contact his friend at MCA Records, who also liked the young man's sound signed him to a contract. That youngster turned out to be Buddy Holly. Waylon Jennings and Roger Miller both worked as DJ's for Pinkston, and Jennings recognized him in the audience of one of his Las Vegas shows several years ago and invited him up on stage.
In 1999 Pappy Pinkston was inducted into the Country Music DJ Hall of Fame, located in Nashville, Tennessee in recognition of all of his contributions to country music. Pappy Dave Stone died in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
