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106.9 Yakima flips from rock to Crusin' Oldies

J

Jay F

Stephens Media Group switched formats on 106.9 from active rock the X to Crusin' 106.9 KTCR... 50s 60s oldies.

Here is a sample of what they are playing

4 Tops-Reach Out I'll Be There
Stevie Wonder-For Once In My Life
Chuck Berry-Johnny B Goode
Merrilee Rush-Angel Of The Morning
Buddy Holly-Peggy Sue
Monkeys-I'm A Believer
Les Paul and Mery Ford-How High The Moon (I actually had to Shazam that one...never heard it before)
Merrilee Rush-Angel Of The Morning (yes they repeated it that soon)
Danny and The Juniors-At The Hop
Mama's and Papa's-California Dreaming
Isley Brothers-This Old Heart Of Mine

I knew they blew out the PD Sean Knight a few days ago but the format flip surprises me for some reason. Personally I wasn't a fan of the old format, the music mostly sounded horrible to me but I'm well out of the active rock demo. The one thing I will miss is David Lee's voiceover talent...he has such a cool voice. I remember him from Wisconsin radio in the 1980s.

Crusin' doesn't overlap with sister classic hits CHERRY FM which is all 70s-80s. The older demographics the new format will appeal to are starving for music they like on Yakima radio. It's not an advertising friendly demographic but this is a translator station so you might as well do a specialty format like this.

There is a slight possibility something is up at sister station classic rock 105.7 the HAWK as well (fired PD Sean Knight also programmed that station)I heard something really hard and new sounding that didn't sound like classic rock but my guess is it was some type of Sunday night speciality show??? They don't stream and I no longer own a home radio so I quit monitoring when I got home. I will check them out tomorrow.
 
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The same song playing twice in less than half an hour? This has to be a stunt.

Active rock may be more niche than mainstream at this point, but this mix of moldy oldies would have sounded hopelessly dated and stale 25 years ago.
 
Yes it could be a stunt. If it is I would guess they will eventually land on AC...the one major format that doesn't exist in Yakima. Stephens owns a Hot AC so if they go AC it would probably be on the softer side.

I am personally a huge oldies fan but I agree these songs are stale. It's like they picked the exact oldies I never want to hear again.
 
ESPN Deportes shutting down on 9/8...now we know what they are doing with 980 khz. That will pi$$ off my neighbor that has a '106.9 the X' sticker on his truck...

I'd love for any of the four:
'60s and early '70s Oldies to compete with KARY (but won't happen because target audience is mostly 60+)
A return to Classic Country as 'The Tractor', or even a localized Hank FM. (bout damn time)
Adult Contemporary as Jay pointed out, perhaps as Sunny, The River or Mix. We haven't had one since KQMY flipped to KIT-FM and eventually KMGW.
Doubtful, but a Soft AC ala KSWD?
 
So according to the article this is the final format. I thought it was a little too produced sounding to be a stunt. Monitoring today I heard mostly the songs I posted yesterday.I would guess their library will expand. I hope they end up sounding similar to KAZG/Phoenix,an oldies station that I enjoy listening to on line. They have a superb selection of music.

The article says they will also play 70s but I haven't heard any so far. They even play sweepers about the 70s live here going into songs from the early 60s. I take it the whole thing is a work in progress.
 
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Jay F said:
Stephens Media Group switched formats on 106.9 from active rock the X to Crusin' 106.9 KTCR... 50s 60s oldies.

Here is a sample of what they are playing

4 Tops-Reach Out I'll Be There
Stevie Wonder-For Once In My Life
Chuck Berry-Johnny B Goode
Merrilee Rush-Angel Of The Morning
Buddy Holly-Peggy Sue
Monkeys-I'm A Believer
Les Paul and Mery Ford-How High The Moon (I actually had to Shazam that one...never heard it before)
Merrilee Rush-Angel Of The Morning (yes they repeated it that soon)
Danny and The Juniors-At The Hop
Mama's and Papa's-California Dreaming
Isley Brothers-This Old Heart Of Mine

I knew they blew out the PD Sean Knight a few days ago but the format flip surprises me for some reason. Personally I wasn't a fan of the old format, the music mostly sounded horrible to me but I'm well out of the active rock demo. The one thing I will miss is David Lee's voiceover talent...he has such a cool voice. I remember him from Wisconsin radio in the 1980s.

Crusin' doesn't overlap with sister classic hits CHERRY FM which is all 70s-80s. The older demographics the new format will appeal to are starving for music they like on Yakima radio. It's not an advertising friendly demographic but this is a translator station so you might as well do a specialty format like this.

There is a slight possibility something is up at sister station classic rock 105.7 the HAWK as well (fired PD Sean Knight also programmed that station)I heard something really hard and new sounding that didn't sound like classic rock but my guess is it was some type of Sunday night speciality show??? They don't stream and I no longer own a home radio so I quit monitoring when I got home. I will check them out tomorrow.
Click to expand...
"How High the Moon" is a big 50s adult pop song. If they're playing that, they probably also play, "Singin' the Blues". Les Paul virtually invented electronic amplification. If it weren't for him, I doubt if rock would've caught on to the extent it did!
 
The problem is - advertising dollars? How? Who? Living Care Retirement Community? Ponderosa Retirement? Funeral plots? St. Joe's Bingo Parlor in Union Gap? No doubt 99% of their listeners will be 65+. How do they get normal advertisers - like car dealers, restaurants, Spectrum, etc on 106.9's commercials? If they can't get the advertising, I'd bet on a flip around the new year. To what it should have been...either Classic Country or ADULT CONTEMPORARY for gosh sakes. Not everyone is interested in listening to Styx's 'Renegade' while they work. Don't know what SMG was thinking when they thought up the X flip.
 
crainbebo said:
The problem is - advertising dollars? How? Who? Living Care Retirement Community? Ponderosa Retirement? Funeral plots? St. Joe's Bingo Parlor in Union Gap? No doubt 99% of their listeners will be 65+. How do they get normal advertisers - like car dealers, restaurants, Spectrum, etc on 106.9's commercials? If they can't get the advertising, I'd bet on a flip around the new year. To what it should have been...either Classic Country or ADULT CONTEMPORARY for gosh sakes. Not everyone is interested in listening to Styx's 'Renegade' while they work. Don't know what SMG was thinking when they thought up the X flip.
Click to expand...

Some of that stuff is old enough for only those over 75 to enjoy. Les Paul and Mary Ford? Really? Those are songs even I only know because I have heard them in documentaries or period movies and the like.
 
Last 3 songs played:
Bing Crosby-Young At Heart
Wilson Pickett-Midnight Hour
Cream-White Room

They certainly play a wide variety of old music. I have to admit the Bing Crosby song shocked me. Wow are they going for an old audience!

While I have no doubt that Seniors (or as David said the 75+) would enjoy this station I wonder how they will ever learn that it exists? I guarantee the X was not on their presets.
 
Does KIXI even play Bing Crosby anymore (except for perhaps White Xmas during the holidays?)
 
I don't think KIXI does play him anymore. It's sad but true, most anyone who enjoyed Bing Crosby is in no radio target audience because they are in the cold, cold ground.

I heard 106.9 play "Sincerely" by the McGuire Sisters and I laughed out loud about something. There is a 1968 documentary of WLS/Chicago on YouTube. They played "Sincerely" on the morning show and listeners were shocked at hearing something so old. If it created shock value for being old over 50 years ago just imagine how old it is now! That being said I admit I personally enjoyed it.

Despite songs from Bing Crosby and the McGuire Sisters I would say this station is closer to oldies than adult standards. They seem to have a standards category that comes up once an hour or so as well as a categories for rock, country, soul etc.

As you can tell by how much I write about it I admit I like this station more than I expected. Hearing them play Johnny Horton "North To Alaska" into the Stones "Paint It Black" is what won me over. Sure I understand all the arguments that it's a bad business decision. Maybe that's part of the appeal to me. I feel like I'm listening to something forbidden that absolutely should not be launched in 2019. Listening to them gives me a Twilight Zone sensation...like is this really happening or am I tapping into some other dimension? I'm not sure who their voice guy is but I have to say his voice goes along perfect with this format and sort of spooky vibe I'm trying to describe...he sounds like he's coming from some other time and space.

For those out of the market who are curious about this station they do stream. They are on TuneIn.
 
The signal is weak so I only got to listen for about an hour driving through. My thought is this is someone playing his favorites with no strategic plan. Very odd format and yes is definitely aimed at 60 plus. Good luck with that though I am intrigued with a station that goes against the grain.
 
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They hardly make it into Ellensburg, so I don't even bother. Often the Positive Life Radio translator in Moses Lake slops all over them. Manastash Ridge is a great Faraday shield for Yakima FMs. Only a few are relatively clear (107.3, 105.7, 104.1 and albeit Spanish, 91.9), the rest are weak.
Albeit I was listening to Little Richard's Tutti Frutti last time I was in town! Also Fats Domino's 'Blueberry Hill' and something from Elton John (might have been Goodbye Yellow Brick Road).
 
crainbebo said:
They hardly make it into Ellensburg, so I don't even bother. Often the Positive Life Radio translator in Moses Lake slops all over them. Manastash Ridge is a great Faraday shield for Yakima FMs. Only a few are relatively clear (107.3, 105.7, 104.1 and albeit Spanish, 91.9), the rest are weak.
Albeit I was listening to Little Richard's Tutti Frutti last time I was in town! Also Fats Domino's 'Blueberry Hill' and something from Elton John (might have been Goodbye Yellow Brick Road).
Click to expand...

An hour of listening is too short, but what I noted was basically a 60's pop format, with a couple of early 70's and atleast one 50's???. I agree with others, this is too "produced" to be a stunt. So the Yakima market now has three classic hits stations, and Tri-Cities has zero.
 
Jay F said:
I don't think KIXI does play him anymore. It's sad but true, most anyone who enjoyed Bing Crosby is in no radio target audience because they are in the cold, cold ground.

I heard 106.9 play "Sincerely" by the McGuire Sisters and I laughed out loud about something. There is a 1968 documentary of WLS/Chicago on YouTube. They played "Sincerely" on the morning show and listeners were shocked at hearing something so old. If it created shock value for being old over 50 years ago just imagine how old it is now! That being said I admit I personally enjoyed it.

Despite songs from Bing Crosby and the McGuire Sisters I would say this station is closer to oldies than adult standards. They seem to have a standards category that comes up once an hour or so as well as a categories for rock, country, soul etc.

As you can tell by how much I write about it I admit I like this station more than I expected. Hearing them play Johnny Horton "North To Alaska" into the Stones "Paint It Black" is what won me over. Sure I understand all the arguments that it's a bad business decision. Maybe that's part of the appeal to me. I feel like I'm listening to something forbidden that absolutely should not be launched in 2019. Listening to them gives me a Twilight Zone sensation...like is this really happening or am I tapping into some other dimension? I'm not sure who their voice guy is but I have to say his voice goes along perfect with this format and sort of spooky vibe I'm trying to describe...he sounds like he's coming from some other time and space.

For those out of the market who are curious about this station they do stream. They are on TuneIn.
Click to expand...

I think you may be referring to this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MbprXsdL6k

WLS was a union station back then and part of that was the talent didn't operate the board. Clearly seen here. Fascinating look at 1968 radio!
 
My impression is they recently become more of a mainstream oldies station. Less standards and oddball records and more hits.
 
My Dad is 90. He'd love the Bing Crosby but once White Room started he'd hit the next preset so fast all a human eye could see if a blur.
 
seatownmedia said:
An hour of listening is too short, but what I noted was basically a 60's pop format, with a couple of early 70's and atleast one 50's???. I agree with others, this is too "produced" to be a stunt. So the Yakima market now has three classic hits stations, and Tri-Cities has zero.
Click to expand...

I like the radio choices better in Yakima than the Tri-Cities. Like you mention 3 vs 0 classic hits stations. Also Yakima has a Top 40 Rhythmic and Tri Cities doesn't.
 
I guess 106.9 was playing around to see what the listeners wanted - then started going with a mainstream sound. Oh well. I don't even get them hardly at all here in Ellensburg. The 250 watters very weakly make it over Manastash. I guess to the online stream!
 
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