TexasCHLforum.com

On a tangentially related piece of radio history from south of the Texas border, does anyone remember the ZZ Top song
"I heard it on the X"?

What this song refers to is the Mexican radio stations (first prefix = X) in the 1950's which were unfettered by a
Mexican FCC (Federal Communications Commission) and could power their station with much higher wattage than US stations.
They could broadcast strongly into Texas and other states.

The appeal of the Mexican stations to US listeners was that they would play "race music" (black artists) which the white-controlled
stations in the US refused to play. US teenagers who wanted to hear the latest black artists "heard it on the X."

One or more of these stations was across the border from Del Rio, Texas.

Another type of programming that "the X" offered was an outrageous radio preacher that would send you pieces of Jesus' cross,
or somesuch, in exchange for financial donations. Lots of scammin' going on.

SIA