Do you recall what year McLendon sold KLIF, b-turner ?
Reason I asked was, *if* it was discernibly before 1972 then the decision certainly adds to his reputation as someone with vision -- as if any additional credits were needed in the first place, lol.
The Solid Gold format began that year, 1972, at a number of stations. Perhaps those programmers also saw the red light of that terminal bumper getting brighter and closer. Just from experience at the time -- a change in career from A/C to AoR -- plus hindsight, it became evident even to someone as dense as I that 1973 might have been the last recent, steadily usable year for a Solid Gold library. After that, of course, the stations could cherry pick among the current hits to add sonically compatible tunes to freshen up the presentation, but that's all. Besides, anything beyond those 2 or so songs an hour would be defeating the stations' own premise.
Thing is, this creation of a new full-time format occurred virtually simultaneous with the ascent of Progressive's own, newer approach.
In 1972 our AoR wasn't called that yet, as you point out. If it was called anything on the air, which was rarely, the term was 'Progressive' as we and other stations began loading the playlist with more pop-leaning cuts. But those tracks were by acts who wrote their own stuff, just so the 'heavy' or 'more- substantial-than-Top 40' premise stayed intact. That softer stuff (especially the female acts like Simon, Mitchell, Carole King) was bringing aboard the female listeners. In our market we had four colleges so there already was a nice base. But we were getting callers as young as 14 -- barely high school -- who had determined the music we played was suddenly 'their' generation's music.
By Spring 1973 our little sister/across-the-hall FM had reached either #1 or #2 ratings in every daypart, stunning the legacy AM top 40 station in town. In less than a year we had come out of nowhere.
The AM competitor responded in a reactive way -- they started mixing in album cuts.
Not crossover singles but outright album cuts ! That was a true sign that some holes in the hull were spotted. When that tweak (and others) caused even more division and confusion in their ranks, they eventually settled on a more A/C approach to the whole day rather than the rah-rah presentation. I had two friends who worked there, who told me that their front office was enraged and bewildered about 'that bunch of (darned) hippies doing this to us!'
That said:
That long, awkward, somewhat politically- and personally-impacting bloodline of a format, which went from Heavy Underground to Progressive to Pop Progressive to AoR, somehow morphed into the last 'generational' mass appeal pop format now on the radio.
Other fads came and went ..... Punk Rock ..... Disco ..... the original Rap ...... the MTV fling. If there were true niches, they were the ones, lol.
But Classic Rock, despite its demo creakiness in recent years, remained the last nostalgia music format standing which is closest to being 'young' in any sense of the word.
So since we're talking about radio being ice cold here (a good way to pass some time in Cabin Fever Season) .... and about possible ways to alleviate the conditions ..... the only thing I see is for radio and marketing to begin regarding the 50+ or 55+ with a bit more respect. The supply line to the younger ones has snapped. I don't have the numbers here, of course, but I doubt that any Classic Rock P1 over the age of 30 or 35 grew to enjoy the format in spite of today's touriquet playlists, the commercial cluster avalanches and the digital sweeper glitz. Certainly, the older end of that Classic Rock demo ..... the 'undesirable' bunch that soon might start looking prettier ..... did not form an affection for AoR in their teens listening to that stuff, either.
Not my money, but regarding Classic Rock alone: If and when radio feels they need that demo, act like the only game in town. Open the playlist, for example. Cut back on those inane sweepers. Daypart like crazy. Primarily, start looking into methods of selling an older audience (there HAVE to've been studies done on it .... you know, some 'rainy day'/use-in-case-of-fire-only theories on file).
Strictly in the case of AoR/Classic Rock, suggested remedies like those, and others, obviously are not considered a priority yet. But with acts like Tom Petty and AC/DC issuing just their annual single for use as a current, Classic Rock just might vanish from the dials before Oldies/Classic Hits will.
Oldies and Classic Rock have good-sized audiences at the upper end. Why these only-games- in-town continue to treat these listeners like unscrubbed spare dinner dishes piled in the sink is a condition that everyone is tired of hearing -- yet it's a reality for business reasons and strategies.
Vis-a-vis radio in general, and music radio in particular, another reality might be the question of which is more 'set-in-their-ways' -- the AARPers or the programming & marketing people who are jettisoning an audience they very well might eventually need.
