Krth 101 personality changes - weekends purged?

[johndavis]

That's my point, and I think people in their 30s and 40s today are the same way. They know their parents music, and know it for that reason. But it's not something they connect with in a real way. So the real question is are they likely to be listening to a station that plays their parents music all the time? Probably not.

My parents refused most things contemporary. Mom likes big bands. Dad likes classical, but will listen to classic country when he doesn't think anyone is around.

I was exposed to all of these things as a kid. I appreciate them. But other than the occasional spin to the classical station when I'm at work, I have no urge to listen to them today. The stuff I listen to most is from the 70's, 80's, & 90's with a smattering of current stuff here and there. Many of the songs maligned in this thread are in my personal collection. I suspect that I am not unique for people my age.

The legacy of something from the 1960's doesn't mean too much to you when you were born in the 1970's. It just doesn't.

 

[LKellerIII]

That's my point, and I think people in their 30s and 40s today are the same way. They know their parents music, and know it for that reason. But it's not something they connect with in a real way. So the real question is are they likely to be listening to a station that plays their parents music all the time? Probably not.

Then why are so many 60s hits still being played on Classic Hits radio? I realize they are now way in the minority, and the 70s and 80s
rule - that's how it should be. But I was actually surprised how many 60s hits were still being played on Big 103.7 - an "iHeart" station. And I don't detect many, if any 90s hits yet. Shouldn't they be appearing given that a listener who was 20 years old in 1994 is now 40?

 

[CTListener]

Then why are so many 60s hits still being played on Classic Hits radio? I realize they are now way in the minority, and the 70s and 80s
rule - that's how it should be. But I was actually surprised how many 60s hits were still being played on Big 103.7 - an "iHeart" station. And I don't detect many, if any 90s hits yet. Shouldn't they be appearing given that a listener who was 20 years old in 1994 is now 40?

I think what we're finding is that most '90s hits are incompatible with hits of the '70s and even the early/mid '80s. There was a cataclysmic change in the sound of popular music in the late '80s -- grunge and hip-hop -- that the next decade's music became something that most people whose peak music discovery years were the '70s and '80s could not stomach. It's similar to the effect mid/late '60s music had on fans of '50s music. On the other hand, people who got into top 40 radio in the late '60s could easily keep listening to it (maybe finding an alternative during the disco fad) right through around 1987, and earlier sounds aren't nearly as foreign to those who were teens and 20-somethings in the '80s as they are to people who were teens/20s in the '90s and '00s. I'm sure classic hits stations would love to bring in more 30-35 listeners, but adding grunge and rap would drive off even the 40-somethings for whom the early years of MTV hit the bull's eye.

 

[LKellerIII]

I think what we're finding is that most '90s hits are incompatible with hits of the '70s and even the early/mid '80s. There was a cataclysmic change in the sound of popular music in the late '80s -- grunge and hip-hop -- that the next decade's music became something that most people whose peak music discovery years were the '70s and '80s could not stomach. It's similar to the effect mid/late '60s music had on fans of '50s music. On the other hand, people who got into top 40 radio in the late '60s could easily keep listening to it (maybe finding an alternative during the disco fad) right through around 1987, and earlier sounds aren't nearly as foreign to those who were teens and 20-somethings in the '80s as they are to people who were teens/20s in the '90s and '00s. I'm sure classic hits stations would love to bring in more 30-35 listeners, but adding grunge and rap would drive off even the 40-somethings for whom the early years of MTV hit the bull's eye.

I'm not sure I agree. Just off the top of my head, I can think of hits in the 90s from Bruce Springstein, Boys II Men, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Gloria Estefan, Back Street Boys, Will Smith, TLC, John Mellencamp...it seems like you could build a fairly respectable play list of Classic Hits without resorting to grunge or the more serious hip-hop tracks.

Two of the highest rated radio stations in the Bay Area in the 90s were KOIT (light rock), and K-101 (CHR). Rock and roll purists listened to KFOG. None of those 3 stations played grunge or hip-hop.

 

[TheBigA]

Then why are so many 60s hits still being played on Classic Hits radio?

I think it depends on the station. Because as you've seen in this thread, KRTH in LA is playing less than ten songs from the 60s.

 

[Thomps2525]

My mom liked to read...and still does. I don't remember her ever listening to the radio. My father listened to news and talk. For me, "my parents' music" is non-existent, but I enjoy hearing the big-band hits on Sirius XM's '40s On 4 channel. The songs have actual melodies and the words are easy to understand because the singers aren't drowned out by percussion and synthesizers. I've bought several CDs of music from that era, including several 1920s compilations, Glenn Miller, the Andrews Sisters, and Ozzie Nelson, who had 38 top-20 hits between 1930 and 1940 and wound up marrying Harriet Hilliard, one of his vocalists. Ol' Oz had a really good orchestra and he should have performed more often on the Ozzie & Harriet tv series, but of course he had a son named Ricky who wanted to become a singer, so.....

 

[Thomps2525]

BigA, I'm in the process of compiling an updated playlist for KRTH. Very few r&b songs are played now and KRTH is sounding more and more like a classic-rock station. In the past two days they've played these '60s hits: Lady Madonna, Touch Me, Jumpin' Jack Flash (twice), Do Wah Diddy Diddy, Oh Pretty Woman, Lady Madonna, Dock Of The Bay, Time Of The Season and Where Did Our Love Go. Oh wait, I forgot one. They also played Brown Eyed Girl. Fifty years from now, they'll probably still be playing Brown Eyed Girl and a 119-year-old Van Morrison will still be collecting royalties!

 

[michael hagerty]

Fifty years from now, they'll probably still be playing Brown Eyed Girl and a 119-year-old Van Morrison will still be collecting royalties!

The first half of that sentence...maybe. People still love the song.

The second half....probably not. Van doesn't get royalties for it now. Never has, in fact, Bert Berns of Bang Records stiffed him on that one and Van says he's never seen a single penny from it.

 

[johndavis]

I think what we're finding is that most '90s hits are incompatible with hits of the '70s and even the early/mid '80s. There was a cataclysmic change in the sound of popular music in the late '80s -- grunge and hip-hop -- that the next decade's music became something that most people whose peak music discovery years were the '70s and '80s could not stomach. It's similar to the effect mid/late '60s music had on fans of '50s music. On the other hand, people who got into top 40 radio in the late '60s could easily keep listening to it (maybe finding an alternative during the disco fad) right through around 1987, and earlier sounds aren't nearly as foreign to those who were teens and 20-somethings in the '80s as they are to people who were teens/20s in the '90s and '00s. I'm sure classic hits stations would love to bring in more 30-35 listeners, but adding grunge and rap would drive off even the 40-somethings for whom the early years of MTV hit the bull's eye.

Grunge didn't bother me that much, but after grunge, alternative lost me for several years - and I was an alternative fan dating back to the new wave phase. I like some rap records (and really got into it for a time in the late 80's/early 90's), but somewhere in the 90's a lot of hip-hop and rap didn't speak to me either. In other words, I avoided the extremes, but I stuck to what was in the middle back when that was all new. [for a good part of that decade, radio stations branded themselves as much for what they didn't play as for what they did.] The stuff that was on the fringes back then is mostly forgotten now. And some of the pop that passed for mainstream in the 90's has also been left behind. But there's hits to mine from that decade. As with any decade, the songs that rise to the top today might not necessarily have been the ones that were huge back then.

If you're CBS and you already have Jack in your cluster, the natural progression is to program Jack for the 30 year olds and KRTH for the 40 year olds. You'll have spillover on either end, but you'll keep a classic hits fan in the family one way or another.

 

[TheBigA]

If you're CBS and you already have Jack in your cluster, the natural progression is to program Jack for the 30 year olds and KRTH for the 40 year olds. You'll have spillover on either end, but you'll keep a classic hits fan in the family one way or another.

I don't know. My take on Jack is it's aiming at the same age as KRTH, just different taste.

 

[ChannelFlipper]

BigA, I'm in the process of compiling an updated playlist for KRTH. Very few r&b songs are played now and KRTH is sounding more and more like a classic-rock station. In the past two days they've played these '60s hits: Lady Madonna, Touch Me, Jumpin' Jack Flash (twice), Do Wah Diddy Diddy, Oh Pretty Woman, Lady Madonna, Dock Of The Bay, Time Of The Season and Where Did Our Love Go. Oh wait, I forgot one. They also played Brown Eyed Girl. Fifty years from now, they'll probably still be playing Brown Eyed Girl and a 119-year-old Van Morrison will still be collecting royalties!

Has K-Earth ceded the R&B stuff to KHHT and gone for a less ethnically diverse audience as a result? I don't monitor the station like some people around here do, so my recollection is subject to error, but it does seem like they play a lot of Michael Jackson, Earth Wind and Fire and Commodores ("Brick House"). So maybe just the ones that have only mass cross-over appeal?

 

[davideduardo]

Has K-Earth ceded the R&B stuff to KHHT and gone for a less ethnically diverse audience as a result? I don't monitor the station like some people around here do, so my recollection is subject to error, but it does seem like they play a lot of Michael Jackson, Earth Wind and Fire and Commodores ("Brick House"). So maybe just the ones that have only mass cross-over appeal?

KRTH historically has had its audience made up of between 2.5% and 3% African Americans, and that has not changed.

Since January, when the percentage of Hispanics was around 43% it has increased to September's 50%.

 

[Thomps2525]

CTListener, I hasten to point out---and you know I'm not the hastener I used to be---that there are hundreds of early 1990s hits which are not rap or grunge and which would fit well with the 1970s-80s songs on KRTH's playlist. The station is sounding too much like a classic rock station and/or Jack-FM. KRTH could sound more unique by playing the pop-sounding '90s hits. Yes, I know that's a pretty vague term...but how about Mariah Carey, Madonna, Calloway, Mr. Big, Boyz II Men, *NSYNC, Color Me Badd, Wilson Phillips, Hi-Five, Ace Of Base and New Kids On The Block? KRTH wants to attract a younger audience and I think playing those artists would accomplish that without alienating the fans of '70s music.

 

[Thomps2525]

Mister ChannelFlipper, let's see if all of this will fit in a single post. Here is a sample of what's been played on KRTH in the past four days. I did not include the few 1960s songs that were played. I could be wrong but I'm guessing that eventually they will all be off the playlist. This is not a complete list; it's only a sample. To steal and adapt a line from an Oldsmobile commercial, I can emphatically state that this is not your father's KRTH:

KRTH - October 2014 partial playlist

Always Something There To Remind Me - Naked Eyes (8/1983)
American Pie - Don McLean (1/1971)
Another Brick In The Wall - Pink Floyd (1/1980)
Another One Bites The Dust - Queen (1/1980)
Any Way You Want It - Journey (23/1980)
Babe - Styx (1/1979)
Baby Hold On - Eddie Money (11/1978)
Baby I Love Your Way - Peter Frampton (12/1976)
Back On The Chain Gang - Pretenders (5/1982)
Baker Street - Gerry Rafferty (2/1978)
Band On The Run - Paul McCartney/Wings (1/1974)
Beast Of Burden - Rolling Stones (8/1978)
Beat It - Michael Jackson (1/1983)
Bennie & The Jets - Elton John (1/1974)
Best Of My Love - Emotions (1/1977)
Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes (1/1981)
Billie Jean - Michael Jackson (1/1983)
Black Or White - Michael Jackson (1/1991)
Black Magic Woman - Santana (4/1970)
Blinded By The Light - Manfred Mann's Earth Band (1/1976)
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen (9/1976, 2/1992)
Brass In Pocket - Pretenders (14/1980)
Brick House - Commodores (5/1977)
Broken Wings - Mr Mister (1/1985)
Call Me - Blondie (1/1980)
Carry On Wayward Son - Kansas (11/1976)
Centerfold - J Geils Band (1/1981)
Cold As Ice - Foreigner (6/1977)
Come On Eileen - Dexys Midnight Runners (1/1983)
Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen (1/1979)
Dancing In The Dark - Bruce Springsteen (2/1984)
Dancing With Myself - Billy Idol (--/1981, 102/1983)
Daniel - Elton John (2/1973)
De Do Do Do De Da Da Da - Police (10/1980)
December 1963 - Four Seasons (1/1975, 14/1994)
Don't Bring Me Down - Electric Light Orchestra (4/1979)
Don’t Go Breaking My Heart - Elton John/Kiki Dee (1/1976)
Don’t Stand So Close To Me - Police (10/1981)
Don't Stop - Fleetwood Mac (3/1977)
Don't Stop Believin' - Journey (9/1981)
Don't Stop Til You Get Enough - Michael Jackson (1/1979)
Don’t You Forget About Me - Simple Minds (1/1985)
Don’t You Want Me - Human League (1/1982)
Dream On - Aerosmith (59/1973, 6/1976)
Dreams - Fleetwood Mac (1/1977)
Drift Away - Dobie Gray (5/1973)
Dust In The Wind - Kansas (6/1978)
Easy Lover - Philip Bailey/Phil Collins (2/1984)
Everlasting Love - Carl Carlton (6/1974)
Every Breath You Take - Police (1/1983)
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic - Police (3/1981)
Everybody Wants To Rule The World - Tears For Fears (1/1985)
Evil Ways - Santana (9/1970)
Faithfully - Journey (12/1983)
Fantasy - Earth Wind & Fire (32/1978)
Funkytown - Lipps Inc (1/1980)
Get Down Tonight - KC/Sunshine Band (1/1975)
Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper (2/1983)
Give A Little Bit - Supertramp (15/1977)
Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac (10/1977)
Goodbye Stranger - Supertramp (15/1979)
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John (2/1973)
Got To Be Real - Cheryl Lynn (12/1978)
Grease - Frankie Valli (1/1978)
Gypsy - Fleetwood Mac (12/1982)
Have You Seen Her - Chi-Lites (3/1971)
Heart Of Glass - Blondie (1/1979)
Heartbreaker - Pat Benatar (23/1979)
Heaven Is A Place On Earth - Belinda Carlisle (1/1987)
Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel - Tavares (15/1976)
Here I Go Again - Whitesnake (1/1987)
Hold The Line - Toto (5/1978)
Honky Cat - Elton John (8/1972)
Hotel California - Eagles (1/1977)
How Deep Is Your Love - Bee Gees (1/1977)
Hungry Like The Wolf - Duran Duran (3/1982)
Hurts So Good - John Cougar (2/1982)
I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash (1/1972)
I Just Died In Your Arms - Cutting Crew (1/1987)
I Love Rock 'N Roll - Joan Jett/Blackhearts (1/1982)
I Melt With You - Modern English (78/1983)
I Ran - A Flock Of Seagulls (9/1982)
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For - U2 (1/1987)
I Want To Know What Love Is - Foreigner (1/1984)
Imagine - John Lennon (3/1971)
It’s Still Rock & Roll To Me - Billy Joel (1/1980)
Jessie’s Girl - Rick Springfield (1/1981)
Just What I Needed - Cars (27/1978)
Keep On Loving You - REO Speedwagon (1/1980)
Killer Queen - Queen (12/1975)
Kiss - Prince (1/1986)
La Bamba - Los Lobos (1/1987)
Ladies Night - Kool & The Gang (8/1979)
Let’s Dance - David Bowie (1/1983)
Like A Prayer - Madonna (1/1989)
Little Red Corvette - Prince (6/1983)
Live & Let Die - Wings (2/1973)
Living On A Prayer - Bon Jovi (1/1986)
Love Is A Battlefield - Pat Benatar (5/1983)
Low Rider - War (7/1975)
Lyin’ Eyes - Eagles (2/1975)
Magic Man - Heart (9/1976)
Major Tom - Peter Schilling (14/1983)
Maneater - Hall & Oates (1/1982)
Manic Monday - Bangles (2/1986)
Margaritaville - Jimmy Buffett (8/1977)
Maybe I’m Amazed - Paul McCartney (10/1977)
Miss You - Rolling Stones (1/1978)
Missing You - John Waite (1/1984)
Modern Love - David Bowie (14/1983)
Mony Mony - Billy Idol (1/1987)
More Than A Feeling - Boston (5/1976)
My Sharona - Knack (1/1979)
Need You Tonight - INXS (1/1987)
Night Moves - Bob Seger (4/1976)
Old Time Rock & Roll - Bob Seger (48/1983)
One Way Or Another - Blondie (24/1979)
Only The Good Die Young - Billy Joel (24/1978)
Ooh Child - Five Stairsteps (8/1970)
Out Of Touch - Hall & Oates (1/1984)
PYT - Michael Jackson (10/1983)
Peg - Steely Dan/Michael McDonald (11/1977)
Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard (2/1988)
Red Red Wine - UB40 (34/1984, 1/1988)
Rhiannon - Fleetwood Mac (11/1976)
Rich Girl - Hall & Oates (1/1977)
Rock Steady - Whispers (7/1987)
Rock The Casbah - Clash (8/1982)
Rock With You - Michael Jackson (1/1979)
Rocket Man - Elton John (6/1972)
Rock’n Me - Steve Miller Band (1/1976)
Say You Love Me - Fleetwood Mac (11/1976)
September - Earth Wind & Fire (8/1978)
Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye (3/1982)
Shattered - Rolling Stones (31/1978)
Shout - Tears For Fears (1/1985)
Sister Golden Hair - America (1/1975)
Smooth - Santana/Rob Thomas (1/1999)
Somebody To Love - Queen (13/1976)
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (3/1970)
Start Me Up - Rolling Stones (2/1981)
Stayin' Alive - Bee Gees (1/1976)
Super Freak - Rick James/Temptations (16/1981)
Sweet Dreams - Eurythmics (1/1983)
Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd (8/1974)
Tainted Love - Soft Cell (8/1982)
Take It To The Limit - Eagles (4/1975)
Take Me Home Tonight - Eddie Money/Ronnie Spector (4/1986)
Take My Breath Away - Berlin (1/1986)
Take On Me - a-ha (1/1985)
That’s All - Genesis (6/1983)
The Joker - Steve Miller Band (1/1973)
The Logical Song - Supertramp (6/1979)
The Long & Winding Road - Beatles (1/1970)
The Long Run - Eagles (8/1979)
The Longest Time - Billy Joel (14/1984)
The Promise - When In Rome (11/1988)
The Tide Is High - Blondie (1/1980)
Thriller - Michael Jackson (4/1984)
Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper (1/1984)
Tiny Dancer - Elton John (41/1972)
Two Tickets To Paradise - Eddie Money (22/1978)
Under Pressure - Queen/David Bowie (29/1981)
Uptown Girl - Billy Joel (3/1983)
Walk Like An Egyptian - Bangles (1/1986)
Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ - Michael Jackon (5/1983)
We Belong - Pat Benatar (5/1984)
West End Girls - Pet Shop Boys (1/1986)
When Doves Cry - Prince (1/1984)
White Wedding - Billy Idol (108/1982, 36/1983)
You Can't Hurry Love - Phil Collins (10/1982)
You Give Love A Bad Name - Bon Jovi (1/1986)
You Make Loving Fun - Fleetwood Mac (9/1977)
You’re My Best Friend - Queen (16/1976)
You're The One That I Want - John Travolta/Olivia Newton-John (1/1978)
Young Turks - Rod Stewart (5/1981)
99 Luftballons - Nena (2/1983)
1999 - Prince (44/1982, 12/1983, 40/1999)

 

[TheBigA]

You could find a lot of those songs on a typical Hot AC station in the day...except for Pink Floyd. That one sticks out like a sore thumb to me.

 

[Chantays]

Radio is dying a slow death and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

 

[TheBigA]

Radio is dying a slow death and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

Brilliant. Is that all you got?

 

[Chantays]

Playing the same new songs over and over is one thing. But you don't play the same old songs over and over for 25 years straight when there are so many songs from the 80's.

 

[TheBigA]

Playing the same new songs over and over is one thing. But you don't play the same old songs over and over for 25 years straight when there are so many songs from the 80's.

If the listeners didn't like them, radio would gladly play something else. As repetitious as it is to the listeners, imagine how repetitious it is to the employees. But this station that plays the same old songs is one of the most listened-to stations in the country. Same with its sister stations in other big cities.

 

[John Gallagher]

Didn't I read once on one of these boards that Clear Channel Classic Hits stations that display on-air playlists list everything on their respective hard drives, not necessarily what's in current rotation? Or, is that incorrect?

The SF station that someone mentioned, Big 103.7, lists "Superstar" by the Carpenters and "Southern Nights" by Glen Campbell for example. Does that station really play those 2 songs?