Classic Hits: Evolution or Revolution?

[Oldbones]

... only because the term used today is "Old School". It means the same thing; to most under-30's, your "oldies" are old school too. Just not their old school.

I seem to hear the term "throwbacks" used lately to describe 90s/00s gold. "Old School" seems to have become, well, old school.

And yes, no future era will ever top all those great songs, including the two David had to mention.

I dunno about that. I doubt many members of the generation that came of age during the Depression or WWII would agree that the the rock era was any cultural pinnacle. Most of themviewed the Beatles or Elvis the same way you see Lady Gaga or Pitbull. "Kids these days, why can't they listen to good music with a melody?".
Likewise most teens today likely see 60s music as a quaint relic of their (grand)parents' generation.

 

[landtuna]

I doubt many members of the generation that came of age during the Depression or WWII would agree that the the rock era was any cultural pinnacle.

I hesitate to use 'never' because it is a very long time and who knows....but, based upon all of recorded history to date I think the "Rock Era", complete with all the variations within it, expanded the quality of popular music moreso than at any time previously. And given the way popular music has gone since the early 80's I would say the chances are very good that the era won't be topped any time in the near future.

And I don't think anyone has stated that we reached any sort of "cultural pinnacle" from the 50's through the early 80's. What was said was that the music of those days had an impact on our culture (and that of a major part of the world) previously unknown. Cultural changes were also prevalent but perhaps not to the extent of those caused by the Great Depression.

Aside from war activities and the baby boom afterwards, music itself did very little to change our culture. What did change it was the disruption of the male population going off to war and the FHA programs upon their return which allowed an entire generation to become middle class home owners for the first time. My family was part of that. The culture of those post-war families began to change considerably during the mid to late 50's and wholesale changes were extant in the 60's.

Most of them viewed the Beatles or Elvis the same way you see Lady Gaga or Pitbull. "Kids these days, why can't they listen to good music with a melody?".

Elvis burst on the stage not unlike other flashy country performers of the day. His major difference was the notoriety he got by the dance moves which was unusual for the time. I don't remember my grandparents commenting on Elvis but I do remember my father doing a bad imitation with his guitar. Both my parents thought Elvis was just 'Hollywood' and didn't have too much to say one way or the other.

The Beatles were a foreign oddity with long hair, thin lapels and pegged pants and they captivated the teen girls. Their early stuff was basic but they quickly improved and put out some great music. Again, they were teen idols but they were not alone. My sisters went wacky over the group but I don't remember my folks saying much, if anything. I do remember some negative comments when a photo of the Rolling Stones appeared in the local paper.

Likewise most teens today likely see 60s music as a quaint relic of their (grand)parents' generation.

I really doubt most modern teens know what "quaint relics" are. I do know from personal experience that teens are more familiar with those Oldies than we suspect because a lot of them have been used in movies and commercials. My 20-something daughter constantly surprises me by knowing the lyrics to some of those Oldies and she was raised in Romania until the age of 15.

 

[Thomps2525]

Songs are forever ruined for me the first time I hear them used in an idiotic tv commercial. Very seldom does the song have anything to do with the product being advertised. I now associate That Lady with a fershlugginer dust mop and Viva Las Vegas with Viagra. And who is the dummy who decided to use Get Ready ("Start makin' love to you...") in a JC Penney commercial showing schoolkids in new fashions?

Michael made a good point about oldies stations in the 1980s not wanting to play songs more recent than 1973. I remember being surprised when KRTH in Los Angeles finally started playing Bad Bad Leroy Brown, Love Train, Let's Get It On, Midnight Train To Georgia and You Are The Sunshine Of My Life. I complain about stations now starting to play hits of the 1990s but I realize that such change is inevitable, just as it was inevitable 25 years ago that stations would start playing '70s. And it's likewise inevitable that "classic hits" stations in the year 2030 will be playing 1990s-2000s-2010s. Just don't expect me to be listening!

 

[landtuna]

I hear ya LARW. One of the great saving graces of the Internet is that we are no longer limited by geography to a piddling of radio stations. I have been an avid listener of KOOL-FM since I moved to the Valley in 1979. Then they got rid of several successive layers of airstaff including some of the most entertaining people I'd ever heard. Then they dropped the Golden Oldies, played less and less 60's and more and more 80's. They are heading down the wrong road for me as a fan. So, the only place they still exist is on a preset in my ancient truck which doesn't have any other choices. In my modern car I listen to KEZ-HD2 that specializes in the 70's and at home I'm either on KOY-AM (streaming) or KODS-FM (streaming). If these fizzle out there are hundreds more to chose from.

 

[deltas69]

I now associate That Lady with a fershlugginer dust mop and Viva Las Vegas with Viagra I always thought the perfect Viagra pitch song should be Three Dog Night... "Easy To Be Hard"

 

[radioman148]

I now associate That Lady with a fershlugginer dust mop and Viva Las Vegas with Viagra I always thought the perfect Viagra pitch song should be Three Dog Night... "Easy To Be Hard"

Another good viagra song would be "Just Keep It Up" (Dee Clark)

 

[semoochie]

"Shout, shout, shout that stain out. These are the stains I can do without, Come on, I'm talking to you, well come on." I was not trying to put a date on the start of the Oldies format, usually called "Gold" for awhile. The first one in my area, that I can recall, was in 1972 but it was more of an adult version and changed format in 1973, when I started working there. The next one was in 1974, almost entirely pre-Beatles but would occasionally go up to as late as 1967. It was mostly automated but had the right feel, for a younger person.

 

[desertv]

I hear ya LARW. One of the great saving graces of the Internet is that we are no longer limited by geography to a piddling of radio stations. I have been an avid listener of KOOL-FM since I moved to the Valley in 1979. Then they got rid of several successive layers of airstaff including some of the most entertaining people I'd ever heard. Then they dropped the Golden Oldies, played less and less 60's and more and more 80's. They are heading down the wrong road for me as a fan. So, the only place they still exist is on a preset in my ancient truck which doesn't have any other choices. In my modern car I listen to KEZ-HD2 that specializes in the 70's and at home I'm either on KOY-AM (streaming) or KODS-FM (streaming). If these fizzle out there are hundreds more to chose from.

Before the mid 80s KOOL-FM was a half pop/half oldies format.

 

[landtuna]

Before the mid 80s KOOL-FM was a half pop/half oldies format.

Yes, and if you remember, my Oldies timeline stops about 1984 so the music fits in nicely with my definition of Oldies. ;D

 

[deltas69]

My little toy internet station goes from'63 through '83..but I fudge a bit on either end according to my tastes..being selective on what I like..I started at '63 as that was when I became aware of rock and roll via Jan and Dean...and as a Live musician, Party DJ, as well a radio jock...just preferred that timeline...at age 62..I think of 'oldies" and I really hate that term, meaning the Elvis years through late 70's...but being that a song from '83 is now 30 years old...guess for some one 42..that is an oldie..seems to be subjective to ones own age span and what he or she grew up listening to...My sister is 75..graduated high school in '55..so she was right in the 'American Graffiti" bracket...her favorite group ?? Sons of the Pioneers..

 

[bigtom101]

To me, Rappers' Delight and Castles in the Sky are oldies just as much as Satisfaction and Jack and Dianne. Except that I'd rather hear the first two today...

For a second, I thought you meant the Bop Chords....

Just showing how out of step I am with most people - a doo wop from the 50's comes to mind before Stevie Wonder. And I'm 25...

As far as oldies...means different things to different people. To me, it means rock/pop/soul from 54 to the birth of disco. Why? 'Cause thats what played on oldies stations growing up as a kid (Manfred Mann's "Do Wah Diddy" is the first song I can ever remember hearing on the radio). Other non radio friends of mine in my age group (who are MUCH more normal than I) think of 80's songs as oldies.

What's an oldie to me or you may not be to someone else...who's to say what is right or wrong? All I know is that I could play Billy Joel's "Tell Her About It" or MJ's "PYT", call it oldies, and most would just go "yeah...old songs...got it." For me, oldies a feeling more than a specific era range, but YMMV.

 

[michael hagerty]

But here's the key: Your use of the word "normal". It's all about numbers...the bigger the number the better. And if you're not "normal" in your generation when it comes to defining "oldies", then there are more people who see it the other way. And advertisers and broadcasters will always chase the larger group within the desired demo.

 

[bigtom101]

But here's the key: Your use of the word "normal". It's all about numbers...the bigger the number the better. And if you're not "normal" in your generation when it comes to defining "oldies", then there are more people who see it the other way. And advertisers and broadcasters will always chase the larger group within the desired demo.

My apologies - I was agreeing with you and David about the word and how it just means old songs. I wish more stations would use it, as it is a very powerful name for branding.

I'm able to set aside my personal biases when it comes to this...like I said, I realize that I am not a normal 25 year old

 

[CTListener]

But here's the key: Your use of the word "normal". It's all about numbers...the bigger the number the better. And if you're not "normal" in your generation when it comes to defining "oldies", then there are more people who see it the other way. And advertisers and broadcasters will always chase the larger group within the desired demo.

My apologies - I was agreeing with you and David about the word and how it just means old songs. I wish more stations would use it, as it is a very powerful name for branding.

So long as there's a sizable baby boom generation out there that still thinks of oldies as '50s, '60s and early '70s music, you're never going to hear stations using the term again, no matter what decades' music they're playing. We're not worth the advertisers' effort now, and we certainly aren't going to be in the coming years.

 

[semoochie]

There seem to be lots of Classic Hits stations using the term!

 

[michael hagerty]

But here's the key: Your use of the word "normal". It's all about numbers...the bigger the number the better. And if you're not "normal" in your generation when it comes to defining "oldies", then there are more people who see it the other way. And advertisers and broadcasters will always chase the larger group within the desired demo.

My apologies - I was agreeing with you and David about the word and how it just means old songs. I wish more stations would use it, as it is a very powerful name for branding.

So long as there's a sizable baby boom generation out there that still thinks of oldies as '50s, '60s and early '70s music, you're never going to hear stations using the term again, no matter what decades' music they're playing. We're not worth the advertisers' effort now, and we certainly aren't going to be in the coming years.

Actually, my point all along has been more like:

When a sufficiently large percentage of the desired demo no longer consider oldies to be 50s/60s/70s, but instead simply songs from their past, then the term may (maybe) see a resurgence in on-air use. Boomer perception will be largely irrelevant, since the youngest Boomers (born 1964) will age out of the demo six years from now.

 

[semoochie]

I wouldn't think someone born in 1964 would have a personal connection with the word, anyway. At this point, I'm not even sure of 55 year olds!

 

[PirateJohnny]

I wouldn't think someone born in 1964 would have a personal connection with the word, anyway. At this point, I'm not even sure of 55 year olds!

I'm 55 and I connect with oldies. I heard the term on the radio in the late 60s/early 70s describing anything back to the mid 50s. I do find it hard to label anything from about 1980 and newer as an oldie though. It's like calling a 1988 car (25 years old) an antique car.

 

[CTListener]

I wouldn't think someone born in 1964 would have a personal connection with the word, anyway. At this point, I'm not even sure of 55 year olds!

I'm 55 and I connect with oldies. I heard the term on the radio in the late 60s/early 70s describing anything back to the mid 50s. I do find it hard to label anything from about 1980 and newer as an oldie though. It's like calling a 1988 car (25 years old) an antique car.

How about a 1988 computer? Is that an antique? I'm 57 and I'd certainly call it that. Same for one of those military walkie-talkie-size phones you see Jerry Seinfeld toting around in 1992 episodes of his sitcom -- 21 years old but still an antique.

 

[deltas69]

Would you consider 'My Girl" an 'oldie'..sure..but would you call "Freebird' an oldie ?? The first associated with AM radio..hence tagged 'oldie"..however "Freebird" an FM anthem..never heard it described as "oldie'.. yet by age definition, both, qualify ..I think it's subjective to your on personal age and exposure in the time frame when you grew up..I grew up with both..I just call it the 'Good Stuff"..