AT40 on KJR

[placebo1969]

All I can say in response is, thankfully we have 3 hours a week on commercial radio that we DO get to hear some of the forgotten oldies. I wonder what kind of ratings AT40 - the 70's is getting? Is it a big turn off for the average listener when a song like You Light Up My Life or Feelings is in the countdown? "Quick, Martha, change the station! I'll never listen to KJR again!" I can remember some years back Steve Slaton boasting that his station, Classic Rock KZOK, would never play ANYTHING by the group Bread. Too mellow for a ROCK station like KZOK. Sure, Steve, and while you're at it, take the Beatles off your playlist, they did wimpy ballads like And I Love Her, Something, and The Long and Winding Road. And dump Fleetwood Mac, they've got - gasp - girl singers! Not enough testosterone in that band! I always wondered why KZOK, or especially KISW didn't just go all out metal. There's an audience for a metal format, the true metalheads don't mess around with soft rockers like The Who or the Rolling Stones, just give them hard headbanging metal rock 24/7!

I thought the issue with Steve and Bread was that he got into an argument with the lead singer which lead to fists being thrown.

 

[Mack Daddy]

All I can say in response is, thankfully we have 3 hours a week on commercial radio that we DO get to hear some of the forgotten oldies. I wonder what kind of ratings AT40 - the 70's is getting? Is it a big turn off for the average listener when a song like You Light Up My Life or Feelings is in the countdown? "Quick, Martha, change the station! I'll never listen to KJR again!" I can remember some years back Steve Slaton boasting that his station, Classic Rock KZOK, would never play ANYTHING by the group Bread. Too mellow for a ROCK station like KZOK. Sure, Steve, and while you're at it, take the Beatles off your playlist, they did wimpy ballads like And I Love Her, Something, and The Long and Winding Road. And dump Fleetwood Mac, they've got - gasp - girl singers! Not enough testosterone in that band! I always wondered why KZOK, or especially KISW didn't just go all out metal. There's an audience for a metal format, the true metalheads don't mess around with soft rockers like The Who or the Rolling Stones, just give them hard headbanging metal rock 24/7!

I thought the issue with Steve and Bread was that he got into an argument with the lead singer which lead to fists being thrown.

I don't know about the fist-throwing, so I wont comment on that, but I would like to further comment on lonelysummers observations. During much of the late 70's and early 80's KISW and KZOK had almost exactly the same format. It was dominated by the "macho" hard rock. I always felt like KISW listeners wanted them to be even more metal. Then in about 1985 KZOK changed to the classic rock format. Then in about 1986 or 1987 KXRX came out, with a format similar to KISW. It wasn't quite as much the macho testosterine format but it was close. It always seemed like one of these stations could have really capitalized on so many listeners wanting a true metal format. There was Z-Rock for a while on 1590 AM, but metal listeners don't wanna listen to AM.

 

[IndigoCoyote]

If you were to listen to KISW in late 83 and much of 84, you would have heard a metal station. A friend of mine at the time joked about which Krokus song we would hear the next time we came over the pass and first picked up 99.9. It was nice to come back to a regular AOR when I next hit Seattle in September 84. And I supposedly was exactly the demo that KISW was looking for by going hair metal in the first place. KZOK in that era rocked about as much as the Mountain does today...occasionally.

 

[Mack Daddy]

If you were to listen to KISW in late 83 and much of 84, you would have heard a metal station. A friend of mine at the time joked about which Krokus song we would hear the next time we came over the pass and first picked up 99.9. It was nice to come back to a regular AOR when I next hit Seattle in September 84. And I supposedly was exactly the demo that KISW was looking for by going hair metal in the first place. KZOK in that era rocked about as much as the Mountain does today...occasionally.

I don't recall KZOK ever being as "Starbucksy" as the Mountain! And I listened to KZOK alot in that time frame. Then when KXRX came along I was dedicated to that station!

 

[Grindlfan]

If you were to listen to KISW in late 83 and much of 84, you would have heard a metal station. A friend of mine at the time joked about which Krokus song we would hear the next time we came over the pass and first picked up 99.9. It was nice to come back to a regular AOR when I next hit Seattle in September 84. And I supposedly was exactly the demo that KISW was looking for by going hair metal in the first place. KZOK in that era rocked about as much as the Mountain does today...occasionally.

I don't recall KZOK ever being as "Starbucksy" as the Mountain! And I listened to KZOK alot in that time frame. Then when KXRX came along I was dedicated to that station!

I agree. I would never compare KZOK over the years to KMTT. KXRX was closer to the Mountain than KZOK ever was and that is even stretching it. KXRX was just a lot more bluesy than KZOK.

 

[Lonely Summer]

The X was a great station. Too good to last. I also enjoyed KZOK in the early years of their classic rock format, before it became stagnant and predictable. I had never heard about Steve Slaton having a fistfight with a member of Bread, but I guess that would explain his 'tude toward the band. They played in the NW early in their career, and were big fans of the NW country rock band Bluebird. Too bad Bluebird's career never took off. They later morphed into the heavy rock spoof band Grand Theft Auto - their signature song being a spoof of Grand Funk Railroad's "Closer to Home" titled "Closer to Herfy's"..."I can see the yellow cow now"...

 

[Jay F]

Here's a neat little story. On this weeks AT40-70s from January 1978 Casey answered a trivia question asked by Paul Carter Jr from Maryland about artists who had #1 hits in two different groups. Just on a fluke I googled Paul Carter Jr and found a guy with that name from Maryland who is very active on music trivia web sites. I e-mailed him and asked if it's the same guy, sure enough it is..

There are two things I like about this story. First,it goes to show those chart trivia questons Casey always answered were real questions asked by real people. Also, I like to hear about people with lifelong passions and interests. This same man who was fascinated by music chart trivia in 1978 still has the same interest in 2009.

 

[Grindlfan]

Here's a neat little story. On this weeks AT40-70s from January 1978 Casey answered a trivia question asked by Paul Carter Jr from Maryland about artists who had #1 hits in two different groups. Just on a fluke I googled Paul Carter Jr and found a guy with that name from Maryland who is very active on music trivia web sites. I e-mailed him and asked if it's the same guy, sure enough it is..

There are two things I like about this story. First,it goes to show those chart trivia questons Casey always answered were real questions asked by real people. Also, I like to hear about people with lifelong passions and interests. This same man who was fascinated by music chart trivia in 1978 still has the same interest in 2009.

I love this story. Thanks for sharing it. Classic AT-40 is the only thing on radio I listen to these days, well, other than AM 1090 on my way to work.

 

[dlm1129]

Here's a neat little story. On this weeks AT40-70s from January 1978 Casey answered a trivia question asked by Paul Carter Jr from Maryland about artists who had #1 hits in two different groups. Just on a fluke I googled Paul Carter Jr and found a guy with that name from Maryland who is very active on music trivia web sites. I e-mailed him and asked if it's the same guy, sure enough it is..

There are two things I like about this story. First,it goes to show those chart trivia questons Casey always answered were real questions asked by real people. Also, I like to hear about people with lifelong passions and interests. This same man who was fascinated by music chart trivia in 1978 still has the same interest in 2009.

I love this story. Thanks for sharing it. Classic AT-40 is the only thing on radio I listen to these days, well, other than AM 1090 on my way to work.

Yeah I agree -- that's a very cool little story. Nicely done research and it reminds me a little of myself! I listened to AT40 religiously from early 1971 through early 1978. That was about the point at which I changed my full-time allegiance to FM100 (KISW) and OK102-1/2 (KZOK) and pretty much gave up on AM radio. Now I'm a loyal listener to KJR-FM every Sunday morning, though even at the age of 48 I haven't lost my zest for brand new music. I don't seem to like radio nearly as much as I used to...but I guess the fact that I still frequent this site is considered evidence to the contrary!!

 

[Mack Daddy]

If you were to listen to KISW in late 83 and much of 84, you would have heard a metal station. A friend of mine at the time joked about which Krokus song we would hear the next time we came over the pass and first picked up 99.9. It was nice to come back to a regular AOR when I next hit Seattle in September 84. And I supposedly was exactly the demo that KISW was looking for by going hair metal in the first place. KZOK in that era rocked about as much as the Mountain does today...occasionally.

I don't recall KZOK ever being as "Starbucksy" as the Mountain! And I listened to KZOK alot in that time frame. Then when KXRX came along I was dedicated to that station!

I agree. I would never compare KZOK over the years to KMTT. KXRX was closer to the Mountain than KZOK ever was and that is even stretching it. KXRX was just a lot more bluesy than KZOK.

I don't hear any resemblance of KMTT to KXRX. You are correct that KXRX had a real bluesy leaning to it. They also used to play an entire CD every night at midnight. And Sunday nights they played 2 hours of local music.

 

[Lonely Summer]

Here's a neat little story. On this weeks AT40-70s from January 1978 Casey answered a trivia question asked by Paul Carter Jr from Maryland about artists who had #1 hits in two different groups. Just on a fluke I googled Paul Carter Jr and found a guy with that name from Maryland who is very active on music trivia web sites. I e-mailed him and asked if it's the same guy, sure enough it is..

There are two things I like about this story. First,it goes to show those chart trivia questons Casey always answered were real questions asked by real people. Also, I like to hear about people with lifelong passions and interests. This same man who was fascinated by music chart trivia in 1978 still has the same interest in 2009.

I love this story. Thanks for sharing it. Classic AT-40 is the only thing on radio I listen to these days, well, other than AM 1090 on my way to work.

That's me, too - although I do surf the radio dial when I'm driving on the weekends. None of 1090's weekend programming has hooked me yet. Ring of Fire can be interesting, but I find it hard to listen to Bobby Kennedy, Jr. It's fun to surf the AM dial at night - sometimes I tune in stations from Boise or San Francisco. My guesses on that AT40 trivia question were partly correct - Paul McCartney and Randy Bachman (or Backman, as Casey called him), but the other two never crossed my mind (Rick Derringer and ....now I don't remember the other one).

 

[Grindlfan]

Did anyone else listen to AT-40 on Sunday morning 2/1/09? The countdown this week was from the week ending 1/27/73. I don't remember hearing Harry Hippie by Bobby Womack which I think was right around #35 on the chart that week. Did I fall asleep and miss it? It really isn't that important. I am just curious. One of the things I enjoy most about these classic AT-40 shows is hearing the hits that sadly, we never hear on the radio anymore.

 

[Lonely Summer]

I don't know what Harry Hippie is, but I did hear a emergency test tone right in the middle of Last Song by Edward Bear. Kind of ruined the song. Other than that, it was a great show. Interesting to hear that the song the AT40 staff predicted to be #1 - You're So Vain - wasn't. Lost out to Superstition.

 

[Grindlfan]

Exactly. I think they were correct about the following week though. Stevie held on to the #1 spot with Superstition. I heard that stupid EBS alert during Edward Bear too. Annoying, especially since that it the only time we will hear that song on KJR. Casey's anecdotes about songs and artists were so interesting and informative. I either never knew that they took their name from Winnie The Pooh, or I had forgotten it. I was very young when that record was a hit. Heck, I didn't even know they were Canadian.

 

[dlm1129]

Did anyone else listen to AT-40 on Sunday morning 2/1/09? The countdown this week was from the week ending 1/27/73. I don't remember hearing Harry Hippie by Bobby Womack which I think was right around #35 on the chart that week. Did I fall asleep and miss it? It really isn't that important. I am just curious. One of the things I enjoy most about these classic AT-40 shows is hearing the hits that sadly, we never hear on the radio anymore.

Yep - it was on there. I hadn't heard that one in...errr...36 years, I guess. This countdown seemed to have more songs that never get played anymore than most weeks. Then again, some huge classics toward the top. Cracked up hearing Casey Kasem introduce Bette Midler as being a "girl that's new to the charts". She was 27 at the time. The term "girl" would not be used these days!

 

[Jay F]

Here's some more Edward Bear trivia I heard on another week's countdown. Terry Jack's #1 hit "Seasons In The Sun" was originally pitched to Edward Bear but they turned it down,

There was some excellent soul music this week, my favorite was War-The World Is A Ghetto. I am in awe of how good that song is. Also Timmy Thomas-Why Can't We Live Together, Curtis Mayfield-Superfly, and Billy Paul-Me and Mrs Jones.

For some reasons songs that stll get played today sound better surrounded by songs never heard today. For example, Jethro Tull-Living In The Past sounded amazing to me.

I wonder if there is anything on the radio today that anyone would want to hear 36 years from now? Somehow I doubt it.

 

[Grindlfan]

I wonder if there is anything on the radio today that anyone would want to hear 36 years from now? Somehow I doubt it.

There haven't been many top 40 hits since the late 80s that have any longevity as far as remembering them 30+ years later. Ever since Billboard starting using soundscan to determine chart rankings it seems that flash-in-the-pan hits comprise the carts (mostly forgettable urban/hip hop crap). They're here and then they're gone and nobody remembers them. It was just better before.

I was incorrect in my earlier post. Stevie Wonder did not hold on to the #1 postion the following week as I had thought. It was taken over by Elton John and Crocodile Rock the next week. I had to dig out my Joel Whitburn book od Billboard charts of the 70s to make sure.

 

[Lonely Summer]

Edward Bear were quite popular in Canada, had a string of hits up there. Also one of the few band's whose lead singer was the drummer (Larry Evoy). As noted above, some great soul sides on the charts. Timmy Thomas' "Why Can't We Live Together" has long been a personal favorite - and amazing, there's only two instruments on the record - Timmy's organ, and the conga drums.

 

[Mack Daddy]

Here's some more Edward Bear trivia I heard on another week's countdown. Terry Jack's #1 hit "Seasons In The Sun" was originally pitched to Edward Bear but they turned it down,

There was some excellent soul music this week, my favorite was War-The World Is A Ghetto. I am in awe of how good that song is. Also Timmy Thomas-Why Can't We Live Together, Curtis Mayfield-Superfly, and Billy Paul-Me and Mrs Jones.

For some reasons songs that stll get played today sound better surrounded by songs never heard today. For example, Jethro Tull-Living In The Past sounded amazing to me.

I wonder if there is anything on the radio today that anyone would want to hear 36 years from now? Somehow I doubt it.

There is some good music on the radio today, but not a whole lot is in the top 40. I don't even know if a "top 40" exists today. Radio has gotten so specialized and fragmented. I think the closest thing that approaches like the format of how KJR was back in the 60's and 70's would be KRXY 94.5 in Olympia. They are a hit oriented station that isn't just dance music and R and B. They play rock too!

 

[Lonely Summer]

Listening to Sunday's countdown from February 1975 reminded me of listening to KOL-FM - kind of the precursor to today's KCMQ. All music, no personality. "That was 'Lovin' You', Minnie Riperton. Before that, the Bachman-Turner Overdrive, 'Roll on Down That Highway'". "KOL has the sound". A lot of the songs on this countdown were songs I heard on KOL.