Conroe, Texas, is known for producing several Major League Baseball players. The city due north of Houston is also famous for a radio personality who has been on the air for, incredibly, nearly 70 years.
She’s a 2010 Texas Radio Hall of Fame inductee, and Mary McCoy is still behind the mic, entertaining listeners who tune in to her radio show.
McCoy has been at it for 68 years.
Now, she’s getting renewed attention for her longevity, courtesy of KTRK-13 in Houston, an ABC O&O which profiled McCoy on Monday’s newscasts.
McCoy’s current on-air home is KVST-FM 99.7, “K-Star Country,” owned by New Wavo Communications.
With co-host Larry Galla, McCoy can be heard weekdays from 10am-Noon.
At other points in the day, she’s busy serving as a KVST account executive.
“At the age of 3, I knew I wanted to sing,” says McCoy. “When neighbors came to visit my mom and dad, I would get my little rocking chair and put it in the middle of the room and yodel throughout their visit. When I was 6 and 7 years old, mom and dad belonged to the Odd Fellows and Rebeccah Lodge and I would sing for them.”
At age 11, she won her first talent contest. At age 12, she got her first taste of radio, as KMCO came on the air in 1951; she started with it, on a talent show.
McCoy recalls, “That day I was asked to record a 15-minute program in which I played my guitar and sang, after which, I followed up with my own record show. In 1955, I appeared on the Louisiana Hayride sharing the stage with Elvis Presley, Jim Reeves, The Browns and others. My dreams were to sing, have my own DJ show and make records. In 1960, I did make my first record ‘Deep Elem Blues’ and followed with others on the Jin label. I signed a contract in 1967 with Gabe Tucker and recorded many singles and duets with Jimmy Copeland.”
McCoy is still recording, and a gospel CD Through the Storm was a recent release.
Yet for many locals, they — and their parents — have grown up listening to the sound of McCoy’s voice.
Today, she’s 81 years old. And, McCoy swears she’s never leaving Montgomery County, Texas.
