Classic Hits 80s

[oldies76]

Any idea when WOGL will do what KHITS 104.3 in Chicago, Sunny 105.9 in Orlando, WRBQ in Tampa, WCBS 101 in NY and KRTH in Los Angeles are doing...which is focusing on the 80s. I know Philadelphia tends to lean older...but they are playing songs from 1964 by the Supremes and Beatles. That is 50 years old...meaning a person would be pushing 70, if not 70. This is way out of the 35-54. It does not make sense. I think they should have an HD2 signal playing 50s, 60s and early 70s and then on their fm dial playing late 70s, 80s and early 90s with any an 80s focus.

Why eliminate something, if it's working? 50 year old songs are old, but according to the Philadelphia residents, they're ok with them as of Spring 2014.


http://ratings.****************/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb007

Only WBEB is ranked higher, but WOGL is closing in on #1.

 

[davideduardo]

Only WBEB is ranked higher, but WOGL is closing in on #1.

In 25-54, WOGL is a point and a half and 4 rank positions behind WBEB based on the 3 books of what used to be called Spring. And that is what matters to station managers and owners.

 

[semoochie]

Hey David. Any idea when WOGL will do what KHITS 104.3 in Chicago, Sunny 105.9 in Orlando, WRBQ in Tampa, WCBS 101 in NY and KRTH in Los Angeles are doing...which is focusing on the 80s. I know Philadelphia tends to lean older...but they are playing songs from 1964 by the Supremes and Beatles. That is 50 years old...meaning a person would be pushing 70, if not 70. This is way out of the 35-54. It does not make sense. I think they should have an HD2 signal playing 50s, 60s and early 70s and then on their fm dial playing late 70s, 80s and early 90s with any an 80s focus.

"70" seems high to me. I'm almost 61 and was a big Beatles fan when I was ten. I once dated a girl, two years younger, who felt the same way. The Beatles wouldn't have been nearly as popular, if they were limited to listeners over the age of 20! That said, the only reason that these songs are still played is because 40 year-olds like them.

 

[CTListener]

"70" seems high to me. I'm almost 61 and was a big Beatles fan when I was ten. I once dated a girl, two years younger, who felt the same way. The Beatles wouldn't have been nearly as popular, if they were limited to listeners over the age of 20! That said, the only reason that these songs are still played is because 40 year-olds like them.

How did older (20-plus) listeners, the ones who loved Elvis as kids, react to the British Invasion, anyway? Was Top 40 radio strictly for kids and teens back then? Did most people start listening to MOR in their early 20s? Or did they just adjust to the sea change in popular music -- and subsequent ones -- and keep listening into their 30s? I was 8 when the Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan, and started listening to Top 40 radio pretty heavily in 1966. I kept listening through psychedelia, mellow singer/songwriters, disco, New Wave, and MTV. Rap was the change that finally ended the love affair; I was in my mid-30s then. Did the listeners who were in their early 20s in 1964 continue to listen into the '70s or did many of them not accept the new British sounds at all?

 

[TheBigA]

How did older (20-plus) listeners, the ones who loved Elvis as kids, react to the British Invasion, anyway?

In listening to radio coverage from the time, The Beatles were viewed as strictly a teen phenomenon by 20-plusers.

 

[firepoint525]

Hey David. Any idea when WOGL will do what KHITS 104.3 in Chicago, Sunny 105.9 in Orlando, WRBQ in Tampa, WCBS 101 in NY and KRTH in Los Angeles are doing...which is focusing on the 80s. I know Philadelphia tends to lean older...but they are playing songs from 1964 by the Supremes and Beatles. That is 50 years old...meaning a person would be pushing 70, if not 70. This is way out of the 35-54. It does not make sense. I think they should have an HD2 signal playing 50s, 60s and early 70s and then on their fm dial playing late 70s, 80s and early 90s with any an 80s focus.

You are SERIOUSLY overthinking this. If we followed this logic, then Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms would have NO fans because their music is 200 years old, and all their fans would have long since died right along with them.

This past February 9th, on the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' first appearance on Sullivan, the Wannabeatles (a Nashville-area Beatles tribute band) PACKED the bar at the Omni hotel in downtown Nashville. We only got in because we know the Wannabeatles personally. For everyone who got in, there were probably two people who had to watch the show from adjoining rooms on big screen TVs. And people were there from ALL walks of life, all ages! No one cared how old or young anyone was. We were all there to enjoy the music, and to celebrate the anniversary of one of those great moments in music history. A shared event for all those who were there the first time and are old enough to remember it, and a great recreation for those of us who were not. There was no checking of IDs there (except if anyone there wanted to buy adult beverages).

The Beatles' music truly is timeless. To a lesser extent, so is Elvis Presley's. The candlelight vigil outside of Graceland gets bigger every year! Even I could not have ever predicted that!

 

[Avid Listener]

How did older (20-plus) listeners, the ones who loved Elvis as kids, react to the British Invasion, anyway? Was Top 40 radio strictly for kids and teens back then? Did most people start listening to MOR in their early 20s? Or did they just adjust to the sea change in popular music -- and subsequent ones -- and keep listening into their 30s? I was 8 when the Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan, and started listening to Top 40 radio pretty heavily in 1966. I kept listening through psychedelia, mellow singer/songwriters, disco, New Wave, and MTV. Rap was the change that finally ended the love affair; I was in my mid-30s then. Did the listeners who were in their early 20s in 1964 continue to listen into the '70s or did many of them not accept the new British sounds at all?

We shouldn't forget that lots of people over the past four or five decades listened to radio stations that played vintage music. The idea that people only like the music that was brand new while they were in high school is ridiculous. Even back in the 1960's when the only stations available to listen to were Top 40 outlets on the AM band, "Oldies weekends" were common. Those of us who were in high school in the late 60's still heard the hits from the 50's and early 60's on the radio, and often we liked them. At almost any high school dance where they had a DJ instead of a garage band, there were lots of "oldies" played, usually by request. Through the subsequent decades, classic rock stations exposed teenagers to music of prior decades. I've said this before, and it's still true. I find large numbers of tenagers today in 2014 who prefer Jimi Hendrix to Justin Bieber. One of the TV commercials I half-ignore about some sort of "modern" music product includes a quick flash image of Deborah Harry from around 1980, because kids today still like Blondie.

One other point no one is mentioning. It's not just when music was recorded, it's what genre it was and what it sounded like. It seems like late 70s punk rock, which was simply late 60s garage rock with a different wardrobe, still resonates with younger people today but early 80's synth-pop doesn't. The synth-pop is newer, but hasn't stood the test of time. The older punk rock / garage rock did.

 

[oldies76]

Firepoint and Avid, you both have excellent and valid points!! Totally agree.

 

[davideduardo]

Even back in the 1960's when the only stations available to listen to were Top 40 outlets on the AM band, "Oldies weekends" were common.

No, they were not. It was not until the mid-60's when stations like KHJ started playing "goldens" that some oldies came into the format. By the end of the 60's, gold play on Top 40's was more common, but a "solid gold weekend" generally meant that every couple of songs a flashback would be played.

I agree that young people were exposed to older music and have often posted that it is this exposure that keeps some of the 60's cuts alive on Classic Hits stations. But you are off on the amount and the era when oldies became part of Top 40 station airplay.

 

[frankberry]

I'm wondering whether 'Solid Gold Weekends' were started in the 60's as a means of attracting listeners while the weekday Jocks were enjoying their days off.
In many cases, the weekend Jocks were not that great. They were hired to keep the music going. I know that many stations had a difficult time selling weekend spots.
I'm thinking that the stations created 'Solid Gold Weekends' in an attempt to draw listeners and advertisers to their 'weekend wasteland.'

 

[CTListener]

No, they were not. It was not until the mid-60's when stations like KHJ started playing "goldens" that some oldies came into the format. By the end of the 60's, gold play on Top 40's was more common, but a "solid gold weekend" generally meant that every couple of songs a flashback would be played.

That's how I remember them on WRKO. The standard current playlist, but every few songs something like "Duke of Earl" or "Mother-in-Law" would be played -- and 13-year-old me would zip off to WMEX for the next three minutes!

 

[davideduardo]

That's how I remember them on WRKO. The standard current playlist, but every few songs something like "Duke of Earl" or "Mother-in-Law" would be played -- and 13-year-old me would zip off to WMEX for the next three minutes!

At my Top 40, HCRM, in the 60's, I was a slave of sorts to what American Top 40 stations did. I emulated or adapted the trends and changes in stations ranging from WABC and KHJ to WQAM and WIXY. I did not start featuring "memories" until about 1968, in reaction to the greater inclusion of oldies on US Top 40 stations that I followed.

 

[davideduardo]

I'm wondering whether 'Solid Gold Weekends' were started in the 60's as a means of attracting listeners while the weekday Jocks were enjoying their days off.
In many cases, the weekend Jocks were not that great. They were hired to keep the music going. I know that many stations had a difficult time selling weekend spots.
I'm thinking that the stations created 'Solid Gold Weekends' in an attempt to draw listeners and advertisers to their 'weekend wasteland.'

Top 40's in major markets had pretty good weekenders as a rule. In some cases, they were even featured in the photos on the station charts that you could find at record stores. And in most non-union stations, most of the staff worked 6 days a week, so the key weekend dayparts were covered by weekday jocks.

I think that it was only the smaller markets were the weekend talent was less skilled that there was any kind of a "bad jock" problem.

More than anything, the idea was always to do something on weekends that would enhance listening and make it more memorable. Remember, ratings at the time were 24-hour recall (Hooper, Pulse) or the diary (Arbitron) and to get credit for weekend listening, people had to remember what they heard. Doing feature shows or formatic twists was a way to get better recall.

 

[Avid Listener]

No, they were not. It was not until the mid-60's when stations like KHJ started playing "goldens" that some oldies came into the format. By the end of the 60's, gold play on Top 40's was more common, but a "solid gold weekend" generally meant that every couple of songs a flashback would be played.

I agree that young people were exposed to older music and have often posted that it is this exposure that keeps some of the 60's cuts alive on Classic Hits stations. But you are off on the amount and the era when oldies became part of Top 40 station airplay.

In the market I lived in, oldies were common throughout the 60s. Two of the main Top 40 stations were legendary (within the market) for their DJs who specialized in oldies. Both Porky Chedwick (WAMO) and Terry Lee (WMCK) built their reputations and following by featuring mostly oldies. The more established stations, KQV and KDKA followed suit. I remember oldies being a major part of programming from the time I started paying close attention to what was on the radio back in 1960.

True, I'd often switch from KQV to KDKA when KQV would play some old doo-wop song. But I became a Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis fan in the early 60s from hearing their music played as oldies on KQV and KDKA in the early 60s.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

But I became a Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis fan in the early 60s from hearing their music played as oldies on KQV and KDKA in the early 60s.

Help my failing memory. When were Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis CURRENT? How long of a time span does it take from being current to being an OLDIE.... in the 50s and 60s?

Some of the dates in my dusty memories are "scratching my head for me".

 

[CTListener]

Help my failing memory. When were Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis CURRENT? How long of a time span does it take from being current to being an OLDIE.... in the 50s and 60s?

Some of the dates in my dusty memories are "scratching my head for me".

I'm thinking that AL may have mistyped. Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis would have been played as oldies in the LATE '60s, not the early '60s.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

I'm thinking that AL may have mistyped. Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis would have been played as oldies in the LATE '60s, not the early '60s.

I composed too many posts too strongly worded lately so I purposely tread lightly on this one. I know where I was working when both of these guys hit the scene "big time".

It's hard to already be an oldie almost before you come off the Billboard Charts of that era. The Internet machine indicates Buddy Holly was in "the Big Time" for about a year and a half before he died in the plane wreck in February 1959. (1959 was a noteworthy year in MY life. However, I didn't die that year.)

Jerry Lee Lewis had his career hit a tail spin just a bit before that. He had married his much too young cousin and the record buying public just walked away from him for awhile. (Society was very unforgiving in that era if you stepped on the cracks in the sidewalk as defined by the church folks who could be rather forceful in expressing their opinions.) Remember the bonfires where church leaders were out burning rock-n-roll records? My how times change! The music in many churches today would have resulted in a hasty exit from town involving tar and feathers back then.

 

[CTListener]

Jerry Lee Lewis had his career hit a tail spin just a bit before that. He had married his much too young cousin and the record buying public just walked away from him for awhile. (Society was very unforgiving in that era if you stepped on the cracks in the sidewalk as defined by the church folks who could be rather forceful in expressing their opinions.) Remember the bonfires where church leaders were out burning rock-n-roll records? My how times change! The music in many churches today would have resulted in a hasty exit from town involving tar and feathers back then.

Lewis was never a major pop star again. He reinvented himself as a country singer and was a consistent presence on that chart from the late '60s to around 1980.

 

[Avid Listener]

Help my failing memory. When were Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis CURRENT? How long of a time span does it take from being current to being an OLDIE.... in the 50s and 60s?

Some of the dates in my dusty memories are "scratching my head for me".

Buddy Holly died in 1959. The radio stations I listened to in the early 60's played "That'll Be The Day", "Peggy Sue" and other Buddy Holly songs from at least 1961 onward, and the DJ referred to them as "oldies". Jerry Lee Lewis had Rock ' Roll hits in the 50's, then his career went into the toilet after the scandal of him marrying his underage cousin. He eventually came back as a country artist, but songs like "Great Balls of Fire" and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" were current at around the same time that Buddy Holly was having hits. And, the Top 40 stations I listened to also played those songs in the early 60's.

And when the DJs played anything from the past, even if it was only one year old, they called them "oldies". Now, maybe that wasn't what the Official Disc Jockey Manual of Musical Nomenclature said were supposed to be referred to as "oldies". But that's what the DJ's called 'em. That's what we teenagers called 'em. And as far as I'm concerned, when I heard songs from the 1950's in the early 1960's, I was hearing oldies.

 

[TheBigA]

Lewis was never a major pop star again. He reinvented himself as a country singer and was a consistent presence on that chart from the late '60s to around 1980.

Helped by his other cousin Mickey Gilley. The Million Dollar Quartet is revered in country. Once Elvis left Hollywood, he started having country hits too.

I highly recommend making the trip to Memphis to visit Sun Studios.