WKCW, better known as "Big K Radio" at 1420 AM, once sat headquartered on a grassy knoll about 45 minutes southeast of Washington, D.C. Their programming was traditional C&W.

A 1987 Washington Post feature article proclaimed Big K, even if it lay in the path of suburbia's bulldozer, intended to retain its proud identity. So, Big K went on playing the marvelous Charlie Pride, Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty...well, you get the idea.

Then on January 18, 2004, Big K switched to a Spanish broadcast. Just like that. The reason? Simple: money. The old programming wasn't generating enough revenue to run a radio station.

I grew up listening to Big K. The temptation is to cry over how things don't remain the same. But I don't like to cling to nostalgia. What's happening today is what counts unless my novel is set in a previous time (for instance, Lake Charles occurs in 1979).

Plus which, I can enjoy all of the old timey C&W tunes as MP3 audio files.

By Ed Lynskey
@edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles
"Satisfying."
The Rap Sheet/Kirkus Reviews