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AM Only/America's Best Music airchecks

Weiserguy said:
The 2 pm kickoff song strikes me as a bit strange for that kind of a format:
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The timed records on satellite formats tend to be a little bit far afield, because the main criteria is that they are exactly 3:30 long (in this case), or maybe a few seconds shorter, padded with a liner. A secondary criteria is that they aren't power songs in your format, so you aren't robbing certain stations that use their optional breaks of power plays.

At one time, Glen Campbell's "Wichita Lineman" was playing on a bunch of satellite formats as a timed record. I think even including 'Timeless', the predecessor to ABM.
 
Weiserguy said:
The 2 pm kickoff song strikes me as a bit strange for that kind of a format:

That was a novelty song when it came out, and after disappearing from the charts it didn't make too many recurrent appearances. It was a one-hit wonder that occasionally showed up on oldies stations, but not very frequently. (Maybe it got more frequent spins on C&W stations that weren't "hit heavy".)
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I think that station may be programming its own top-hour cuts (that's done in some markets to bend the format a little more to managements preference. From my experience, it (at least in the past) usually leans more directly into standards or nostalgia.)

Some stations that are on the ABM feed will program their own cuts at top hour and/or for the local option slots.
 
Here's a look at the current ABM playlist built using playlist logs available from WILE-FM's website. I don't claim this to be complete, but it's accurate as of 2025.

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com www.dropbox.com
 
publisher said:
There is still a good bit of Sinatra on the list, including "Something Stupid," "Summer Wind," "Very Good Year," and "Cycles," among others.
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While there are fewer "standards" on ABM, it still plays songs that made the Top 20, even if they were recorded by a Standards artist. In the 1960s and 70s, Sinatra had several hits on Top 40 stations. Dean Martin, Engelbert Humperdinck and Andy Williams had a few. There were hits by Perry Como, Sammy Davis, Henry Mancini, Peggy Lee, Wayne Newton, Paul Mauriat, Shirley Bassey, Bert Kaempfert and Louis Armstrong that ABM wouldn't ignore.
 
publisher said:
Here's a look at the current ABM playlist built using playlist logs available from WILE-FM's website. I don't claim this to be complete, but it's accurate as of 2025.

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com www.dropbox.com
Click to expand...
Went through all 28 pages and didn' seet any song that would be questionable for the format. No Queen, Bananarama, etc. This playlist covers 2.2 days only, so its possible they might still pop up down the road.
 
I'm not sure which week I'll go to the beach. I just checked the forecast and it looks like rain next week. I wait for a week when it's absolutely going to be sunny. Like this week. I always go on Monday and come back on Thursday because that's what my father and I dd and it works better for a number of reasons than leaving on Tuesday after a holiday and coming home on Friday.

Anyway, I'll try to report back on what I hear.
 
I was on WIOZ once I could pick it up and stayed there until I got to a place I like to take a break and walk. There is a pretty lake in Hamlet. Well, it's a lake. I never heard anything that wouldn't have been on AC.

On the way home WRBK's Society Hill station wasn't working so I turned to WIOZ. I could hear well enough to identify songs but I know people wouldn't be happy with that kind of signal quality, especially when there were power lines. I did stop for gas, but I heard John Denver, Olivia Newton-John, Billy Joel, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Neil Diamond, Glen Campbell, Van Morrison, Carly Simon, Diana Ross, and other AC artists before the signal got too bad. I did hear one song that would likely be considered a standard, "Fools Rush In" by Brook Benton.

I sure wish Myrtle Beach had something like this. I don't think the artists I listed are played anywhere on radio there. "Easy" plays Billy Joel, Elton John and Stevie Wonder. But it's just a very different sound.
 
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Was listening to WNAM earlier, I’d be interested in seeing their research as to what songs/artists don’t test well. I heard many songs, including Superstsr by Carpenters and You Light Up My Life by Debby Boone that we are told test poorly in all (or almost all) other formats.
 
publisher said:
This may have been shared previously, but there is a Transtar Westwood One Dial Global Radio Refugees group on Facebook I keep a periodic eye on. There is a post on the page (which is very sleepy) that links to a Google Drive containing over 50 lengthy airchecks from the format from the 90s-2010s. There are many, many clips from the 90s and 00s that include the classic jocks like Ed Brand, Chick Watkins, Jeff Rollins, Jim Bain, Jim Heatherton, Bill Jones and more.

I downloaded them earlier this week and have been listening to them in my music player for the past couple of days. Absolute pot of gold for those of you who enjoy the classic days/sounds of the AM Only/ABM format.

Just search Transtar Westwood One Refugees on Facebook and it's the second post down on the page.
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For those that want nothing to do with Facebook, any other way to access that. Links would be appreciated.
 
Weiserguy said:
The 2 pm kickoff song strikes me as a bit strange for that kind of a format:

That was a novelty song when it came out, and after disappearing from the charts it didn't make too many recurrent appearances. It was a one-hit wonder that occasionally showed up on oldies stations, but not very frequently. (Maybe it got more frequent spins on C&W stations that weren't "hit heavy".)
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Jeannie C. Riley rerecorded "Harper Valley PTA" in 1981, for her From Harper Valley to the Mountain Top album.

But the rerecord also tied into NBC's short-lived "Harper Valley" series (1981-82).

 
That’s a great collection. I wonder who compiled it. The WKLN aircheck was actually recorded by me originally. All the others I’ve acquired from various aircheck trades over the last 25 years or so. Glad to see they are available for all.
 
I remembered the format changing drastically around 2000, but even the airchecks dated after 2000 sound about as traditional as the format sounded in the late 90s.
 
The local AM (1270 KXBX) was a MOYL affiliate in the mid 00's, and there were sung jingles with a light musical backup, one of which I somehow captured on tape.

I don't have the recording handy, or else I'd post it here. However, the jingle's copy is: "The Music of Your Life .... be some-place special."

c
 
PTBoardOp93 said:
I think even including 'Timeless', the predecessor to ABM.
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I didn't see this when it was first posted.

Timeless was a competitor, not a predecessor.

First on SMN, then on ABC, Citadel and Cumulus.

ABM was called AM Only on Transtar and was more AC-sounding with less big band. Then it was on Unistar and then Westwood One.

I'm amazed at how many older sounding songs are still on ABM in 1996. I was listening before then and remember it being much more AC than what the airchecks have.
 


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