CBS ever so slowly scaling back on the 60s

[michael hagerty]

It is commonly assumed that in the 60s cultural structure of things, parents listened to parents' radio, and kids listened to kid's radio, mamas weren't supposed to dance and daddies weren't supposed to rock & roll, etc.

In that context, how did we see, during most of the 60's, Top 40 stations accounting for over half the total listening in many markets?

Bingo! Top 40 was all-inclusive. There was room for Sinatra on WABC if he sold enough singles. The same could not be said for the Stones on WNEW-AM.

 

[michael hagerty]

Which meant adults were more likely to listen to Top 40 than teens were to MOR.

 

[adma]

But there's still a question of whether said teens, once older, are going to define themselves in "oldies terms" through such fare, the way they once might have.

I'm 26, and I like both Nirvana and The Beach Boys. I don't think "Kokomo" is one of their best, but it's still a fun party/summer song. Of course, admittedly my musical tastes are broader than those of most people my age, especially the ones that are more inclined to listen to radio.

Well, your tastes sound more like a cheesy-wedding/karaoke-DJ form of "broader".

I mean, of course, there's plenty of hardcore Nirvana types historically who'd be into the Beach Boys. But they'd be more into "Smile" than "Kokomo", I reckon...

 

[radioguy39nj]

Which meant adults were more likely to listen to Top 40 than teens were to MOR.

During the 60s, WMCA and WABC had the good sense to have their morning shows be able to appeal both to teens and adults. Joe O'Brien on WMCA and Herb Oscar Anderson on WABC did just that. JOB and HOA made top 40 safe for adults.

Both stations were far more teen-oriented at night, BMR and later Gary Stevens on WMCA and of course, Cousin Brucie on WABC.

 

[lalumia]

the youth quake of the 60's was also in progress, we were changing the world, the teen take over, and
the 'grown ups' wanted so much to be hip, they went along with anything; it was a very magical time
to be young and determining the shape of pop culture,that shift of 'control' over pop culture had a lot
to do with everything, obviously,and we've never seen anything like it since;
but Top 40's 'each record is an event' approach made the music seem more important and radio,
as a result, became more important as well...

 

[adma]

And--in defence of the commonality of youth and adult taste, you gotta remember. It isn't so much that "Kokomo" would be absolutely invalid to younger demos; more that it wouldn't necessarily be at the expense of older Beach Boys fare. And a lot of that is the consequence of the fact that...even in the 80s, it was pretty hard to escape "I Get Around" or "Good Vibrations" or whatever else, the death grip of boomer nostalgia and the gravity of mass awareness of rock history being what it was. And even if "Kokomo" was a current hit, it wasn't much of a stretch to reach back to, or be exposed to earlier phases of the Beach Boys. And all the more so now that those youthful pop listeners are 20 odd years older and (presumably) wiser. And as for those who'd bluntly reject such earlier BB fare on "dated" or "before their time" or "parent's music" grounds...in practice, they'd be the sort to reject "Kokomo" as well.

So, for better or worse, when it comes to oldies, you won't find the strict "age stratification" of taste there once was. Or if there is, it works against commercial radio in general.