Personally, the problem with that "peace oldies" format playlist snippet is that you take the same stale protest songs (which are really good songs, just aired ALL THE TIME by oldies stations) and give them MORE AIR TIME!
Whomever is programming this thing should branch out a little more, IMO. Have your core hits that everyone knows and loves, but once you get that up and running, start digging. Dig through the stacks (and if you don't have stacks, find some somewhere). The 60s and 70s had a lot more "peace" music than just Cat Stevens, Simon & Garfunkel, Jefferson Airplane, Three Dog Night, and Buffalo Springfield. Don't be afraid to branch off into the lighter side of psychedellia. Give Zappa a spin every now and then. And for pete's sake, please limit the "American Pie" spins to 2 per week. Oldies 93 got to the point where I'd turn them on during the 3:00 hour, and sure enough, hear American Pie. Every day. See: "Good Song but Overplayed."
Granted, the triad is a pretty conservative market in terms of radio - they want to hear stuff that brings back memories. But I think that if well done, slipping in a few songs every now and then from outside the oldies core could definately cement a place for this station, not just with the baby boomers, but a lot of the indie/liberal college types, as well as people who simply like the music of the time. For example: "Ziggie Stardust" era David Bowie: Starman & Five Years would be right at home on an oldies station. A lot of boomers have (in my experience) heard a lot of these artists, but not in decades. Bring back something to the air that makes the listener stop what they're doing, point to the radio, and smile. Then you'll have a great station. Every decade had its monster hits, and its minor hits. Radio seems to have forgotten about everything but the Monster Chart Toppers.
And that's just the music side. The personalities need to be tight, on-point, and every time they talk, it should be something worthwile. Noting angers listeners more than idle babble. Sure, people say they want "less talk, more rock." But a well-placed comment trumps idle chatter before a commercial any day. Find an airstaff that loves to be there (and loves the music), and you've got part two of a 3 part combo.
Then all you have to do is market the hell out of the station and you should be set.
My 2 Cents (which seems to be more like $3.50).
