Lou Roney

Lou Roney came to San Antonio from Pennsylvania in the mid-1960s and began his storied radio career as a disc jockey on country-western station K-B-E-R.

Lou left San Antonio for a larger country station in Ohio, but returned to San Antonio in 1968, where he began work as Program Director, jock and later salesman at KMAC, then a religious station. He was given six hours to program, so from noon to six he stepped away from the station’s regular programming to play R&B music.

Soon Lou began taking a chance on unknown bands that were playing a new kind of rock sound. His decision would ultimately reshape the face of rock music and leave a lasting imprint on the industry. Lou also helped mold the career of disc jockey Joe Anthony, known across the rock music world as "The Godfather."

During the 1970s, the creative genius of the Roney and Anthony led to the discovery and break out of numerous heavy metal artists such as Rush, Triumph, Judas Priest, Ted Nugent and Meatloaf. From an unassuming studio in a downtrodden neighborhood, their programming of KMAC and its sister station KISS-FM captured the attention of major record labels and concert promoters across the nation.

It was their pioneering efforts and dedication to the hard rock music scene that lead to San Antonio being known as the Heavy Metal Capital of the World for the next two decades. Roney, Anthony, and KMAC/KISS are acknowledged on countless album covers and liner notes from some of rock's biggest acts.

The last station Lou Roney programmed was KESI in the 1980's. In 2018, he sat on a panel at the Institute of Texan Cultures discussing the story of San Antonio as the Heavy Metal Capital of the World.