Lake Charles Radio History: We Found LA99’s Super Roving Radio

[KNGT-FM] -- If you grew up in Lake Charles or Southwest Louisiana in the late 80s and early 90s, then you will remember the radio station LA99. The station was an adult contemporary station playing music from the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

The station and studios were located off Shady Lane in Westlake, Louisiana. The station's frequency was 99.5, and the call letters were KHLA, which has been a staple frequency in Southwest Louisiana for decades. After LA99, 99.5 became KBIG 99 (KBXG) and is now known as Gator 99.5 (KNGT). The old call letters of KHLA are now the call letters for 92.9 FM, which is 92.9 The Lake in Lake Charles. Got all that LOL?

One of the things that the old LA99 was known for was its remote vehicle. It was a white van with the LA99 logo on the side of it. You may be thinking, What is so special about that? Well, nothing. It was what the van was towing behind it that made the station stand out. They had an enormous jam box, a radio trailer that they would pull behind for events, and it doubled as a mobile studio.

The jam box or boom box, as some called it, of course, was what most people had in that era to listen to music when they weren't in the car listening on the car stereo.

I worked at LA99 from 1990 until 1995 part-time while going to college, and I remember having to tow this massive thing around to events. It demanded attention and was a cool thing to have at concerts, festivals, and events in the lake area.

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I often think, whatever happened to the Super Roving Radio? I don't know where the real thing is, but this week, I got a blast from the past when I went and ate dinner at Mr. Gatti's on Ryan Street in Lake Charles and came face to face with a picture of it. Mr. Gatti's was the sponsor of the super roving radio, so it makes sense that they have a picture of it in the restaurant.

Let me tell you, it brought back memories for me, seeing that I worked in that thing for years. I just thought it would be cool to share with all of you the pictures I took of it and see if you remember this cool piece of Lake Charles radio history.