Phoenix Radio: iHM's KNIX Birthday Bash Features Tim McGraw

It's been 50 years since KNIX 102.5 FM left progressive rock behind, switching formats to country, and never looked back, reports azcentral.com.

On Monday, July 15, the station plans to celebrate that anniversary at its annual birthday bash festivities, with Tim McGraw topping a bill at Comerica Theatre that also features Jon Pardi and Midland.

As Barrel Boy, the station's mascot, says of securing McGraw for the concert, "He’s the most played artist in the history of KNIX. The guy isn't just a musician. He's also a Hollywood star. He is as A-list as it gets. So having Tim McGraw play? It's a mic drop. It's like 'Hello, BOOM!' Are you kidding me? Shut the front door."

Tim Hattrick, who hosted the KNIX morning show with Willy D. Loon for an Emmy-winning 10-year run from 1997-2007, was at the Valley's other major country station, KMLE-FM, when he first experienced the power of McGraw.

It was late October 1994 and McGraw had just turned in an opening set for Little Texas at the Arizona State Fair.

"Our phones rang all morning long with ‘Oh my God, who was that cowboy in the big black hat who sang the song about the little girl?'" Hattrick recalls with a laugh. "It was ‘Don't Take the Girl.’ I'll never forget that. People went crazy. That's the first time I heard of Tim McGraw. And all these years later, he's still doing it."