Hell freezes over

[4CX1000A]

Country music is number one on Boston radio.

I never thought I'd live to see that day.

I remember a time when there wasn't any country music on the dial other than occasionally on college radio, and I was there when WBOS went country in 1983. Classical did better than country in this market.

When Greater Media paid $100 million for what was then WCRB seven years ago, I privately thought it would turn out to be an expensive mistake.

It wasn't.

Congratulations to Greater Media and WKLB.

 

[raccoonradio]

What was interesting was when Plough, owners of WCOP 1150/100.7 abandoned the format and a group of country fans sued to get it back on; eventually there was some kind of settlement in which country was programmed on the weekends on WDLW 1330 Waltham. It did OK and then they expanded to full time, and later WBOS tried it. The day 'BOS shifted from album rock to country was "the day the Boss became the Hoss" as Boston Rock magazine put it.

And I do remember the debut of the "Country Club". They scooped 96.9 which had planned to do it.
96.9 went country anyway--yes two stations in town--and after a sale, there was a short period when it was on BOTH stations, then finally it was only on one--which switched freqs from 105.7 to 96.9 to 99.5 to 102.5. 96.9 went to smooth jazz, then talk in '99. 12/1/06 was the KLB/CRB exchange, when Ricochet's version of the national anthem started on one station and ended on another and WCRB finished its run at 102.5 with the Hallelujah chorus followed by that song used in the "Beef. It's what's for dinner." ads. The new home of KLB at 102.5 debuted with "Life is a Highway" (after an announcer said 102.5 was a better signal: "There is a Santa Claus, and his name is Greater Media"...

They knew how to program country for this market

 

[4CX1000A]

The day 'BOS shifted from album rock to country was "the day the Boss became the Hoss" as Boston Rock magazine put it.

July 14, 1983, at three o'clock in the afternoon. The first song was "Ghost Riders in the Sky", but not a version I've heard since. It had a rock beat, and was meant as a transition to the new format. Country would run jockless for a month before jocks started appearing.

12/1/06 was the KLB/CRB exchange, when Ricochet's version of the national anthem started on one station and ended on another and WCRB finished its run at 102.5 with the Hallelujah chorus followed by that song used in the "Beef. It's what's for dinner." ads.

"Hoe-down", from the ballet suite "Rodeo" by Aaron Copland. It was the late Dave MacNeill's idea to play this as the last classical piece on 102.5.

The new home of KLB at 102.5 debuted with "Life is a Highway" (after an announcer said 102.5 was a better signal: "There is a Santa Claus, and his name is Greater Media"...

We groaned at that, but it was appropriate.

They knew how to program country for this market

They did and do. Greater Media is a class act.

 

[CTListener]

The day 'BOS shifted from album rock to country was "the day the Boss became the Hoss" as Boston Rock magazine put it.

July 14, 1983, at three o'clock in the afternoon. The first song was "Ghost Riders in the Sky", but not a version I've heard since. It had a rock beat, and was meant as a transition to the new format. Country would run jockless for a month before jocks started appearing.

That would have been the Outlaws' version, which never hit the country charts, probably why it was never played again. The last version of "Ghost Riders" to chart country was Johnny Cash's, in the late '70s.

 

[Time Traveler]

July 14, 1983 was a SAD day! That final Rock incarnation of WBOS that was launched earlier in 1983...was an awesome sounding Modern Rock (for 1983) format! They had initially flipped to Rock in January, 1982....going head to head with WCOZ at the time....but with no promotion....and it tanked. By late 1982...it had evolved to a more adventurous Rock format....and by mid 1983....it had been tweaked further. I think that they were really on to something....at that point...When it abruptly flipped to Country. Country remained until 1989...when it flipped back to Rock...

 

[TheBigA]

There is a saying that goes "Great music makes for great radio."

Right now, there's some great music coming out of Nashville, that's marketed well, promoted well, and sounds great on the radio.

Couple that with some major tours in Boston, like two nights of Taylor Swift in Gillette, and two nights of Jason Aldean at Fenway, and you have the potential for a lot of non-country fans sampling KLB.

For 10 years, the top stars, like Chesney and Toby Keith, say they play their biggest shows in Boston. So this should be no surprise. The other formats would do well to study country and learn. Other formats are less focused on the fans, and creating a great fan experience. Other formats have given up on OTA radio promotion. Other formats are unfocused in terms of their message and music. Not country. The country record labels have made OTA radio a top priority, and build radio interview time into their artist contracts. It's required for all stars, regardless of stature, to do radio interviews. Those same labels flew country radio programmers from other markets to Boston to see concerts. When was the last time a rock label did that?

That's how country became #1 in Boston. By the way, it's #1 in a lot of other northeast markets too.

 

[4CX1000A]

July 14, 1983 was a SAD day! That final Rock incarnation of WBOS that was launched earlier in 1983...was an awesome sounding Modern Rock (for 1983) format!

It was Maxanne Satori's "new wave" format. The music was well chosen, but most of the on-air personalities sounded like college kids. Unfortunately, Herbert Hoffman, who owned the station, didn't like the music nor the punk crowd that went with it. The idea for the format belonged to Barry Skidelsky, whom Mr. Hoffman had hired as station manager. Mr. Skidelsky and Jane Duncklee, who was running WUNR, did not see eye-to-eye, and she wanted the country format.

They had initially flipped to Rock in January, 1982....going head to head with WCOZ at the time....but with no promotion....and it tanked.

The original "92.9/FM Rocks Boston" format did pretty well considering that it was only given six months and the station's antenna got hit by lightning in May, taking it off the air for four days and forcing it to run at reduced height for another month. But Mr. Hoffman wanted an older demo; this was the same time when stations like WCOZ and WVBF began to realize that all the teens they were reaching weren't bringing in the ad dollars.

By late 1982...it had evolved to a more adventurous Rock format....and by mid 1983....it had been tweaked further.

Clark Smidt was hired in July 1982 to focus on the 25-54 demographic. What he came up with was probably the first ever adult album alternative (AAA) format, which in retrospect was brilliant but about a decade too early. It was not successful.

I think that they were really on to something....at that point...When it abruptly flipped to Country. Country remained until 1989...when it flipped back to Rock...

One WBOS air personality managed to survive all those format changes: Bruce "Captain Zemo" Werner, a friend of mine and fellow WHRB alumnus who became Larry Dobbs under the country format. He eventually left radio to join American Express, and did some infomercials for them later in his career.

Bruce was the Anastas Mikoyan of WBOS, hired by Clark Smidt for the AAA format and staying well into the Granum Communications era.

 

[Cueburn]

Who was the first jock on WBOS, country?

 

[Vinnie914]

The biggest issue I have is the music these so-called country music stations plays really isn't country music. It is actually rock with real or fake southern accents and big cowboy hats for the men. Just one more sign that the apocalypse is night -- ;D

 

[TheBigA]

The biggest issue I have is the music these so-called country music stations plays really isn't country music. It is actually rock with real or fake southern accents and big cowboy hats for the men. Just one more sign that the apocalypse is night -- ;D

It doesn't matter. It's commercial radio. They're not trying to teach anybody the history of music, just make some money. Like just about everything else we see or hear these days. You want authentic country music? It's there if you want it. Just pay for it.

 

[CTListener]

Once Nashville realized it could reach a younger demographic with Garth Brooks, Billy Ray Cyrus and Shania Twain in the '90s, there's been no turning back. Want country music for adults or more authentic twang? As the previous poster said, pay for it (i.e., satellite radio) or find a classic country internet stream, because that's not what the advertisers are going to buy in a non-traditional country market like Boston.

 

[TheBigA]

Once Nashville realized it could reach a younger demographic with Garth Brooks, Billy Ray Cyrus and Shania Twain in the '90s, there's been no turning back.

Every few years, they kick the old farts out and replace them with a new batch of kids. It's been happening since the 1940s. George Jones replaced Roy Acuff. Then George Strait replaced George Jones. That's how you keep music fresh and the audience growing. Today, Garth & Shania fans are almost 50. That's why they play Las Vegas.

 

[CTListener]

Once Nashville realized it could reach a younger demographic with Garth Brooks, Billy Ray Cyrus and Shania Twain in the '90s, there's been no turning back.

Every few years, they kick the old farts out and replace them with a new batch of kids. It's been happening since the 1940s. George Jones replaced Roy Acuff. Then George Strait replaced George Jones. That's how you keep music fresh and the audience growing. Today, Garth & Shania fans are almost 50. That's why they play Las Vegas.

But there's a big difference. Jones and Strait may have replaced Acuff and Jones, but they appealed to, and were marketed to, the same audience. In the '80s and early '90s, baby boomers reaching their 30s and their 50- and 60-something parents could appreciate Strait, Reba McEntire, Rosanne Cash and Alan Jackson as well as Jones, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. I remember going to shows by people like Kathy Mattea, Tanya Tucker and Jackson and finding folks in their 20s sitting right next to folks in their '60s, all of whom could find something to enjoy. The only kids or even 20s who liked Jones in the '50s and Strait in the '80s were in the rural South and Southwest. Brooks brought elements of rock concerts to his shows, and Cyrus and Twain left most of the conventions of what adult listeners thought of as country music in the dust, even though they weren't being sold directly to teens. But today's stars -- Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum, Keith Urban, Jason Aldean -- all were pitched to the kids right out of the box; by that time, Nashville, and country radio, really didn't care if anyone over 40 liked them.

 

[TheBigA]

But today's stars -- Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum, Keith Urban, Jason Aldean -- all were pitched to the kids right out of the box; by that time, Nashville, and country radio, really didn't care if anyone over 40 liked them.

College kids made Willie & Waylon stars. They had been rejected by Nashville and the general country audience. Same with Hank Jr. They all combined southern rock with country. They were the ones who paved the way for Jason Aldean.

Today's stars grew up on all of the cross-format music from the 80s. And they operate in a media marketplace where radio formats aren't as distinct as they used to be. It's a very different world from the one Merle Haggard grew up in. He never heard anything but country music. Taylor Swift grew up on Shania Twain.

 

[ThatGuyOnTheRadio]

Guys, let's all take a step back here and not be so dramatic. Hell froze over in 2004 when the Sox won the World Series. Remember? ;D

 

[CTListener]

But today's stars -- Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum, Keith Urban, Jason Aldean -- all were pitched to the kids right out of the box; by that time, Nashville, and country radio, really didn't care if anyone over 40 liked them.

College kids made Willie & Waylon stars.

I was a college student in the mid-'70s and discovered country music when going through a Marshall Tucker Band phase. I tried out the country station in Syracuse one day and was blown away by Emmylou Harris' "If I Could Only Win Your Love." But I thought I was pretty much alone in that; nobody I knew, even other fans of Southern rock, would have anything to do with country music. I figured my tastes were just maturing faster than my rocker friends'.

 

[raccoonradio]

Agreed on the "outlaw country" stars like Willie and Waylon...for all the fun people make of it, country music was a major influence on rock and roll. Those British folk songs were picked up in the US
and country would later help to influence Britishers in return, like the Beatles. One soul/gospel/
blues artist did a couple country albums that were huge hits--Ray Charles (black country performers are rare but there was Charlie Pride and more recently Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish
fame). Is country corny or hackneyed at times? It can be. But it can tell a good story or even
get political ("The Pill", Loretta Lynn; "The Angry American", Toby Keith; "Traveling Soldier",
The Dixie Chicks, "Bumper of My SUV", Chely Wright)

Just remember folks if you're ever outside of Chicago, and you want good music, go to Bob's Country Bunker. They play BOTH kinds: country AND western!

http://www.bluesbrotherscentral.com/images/scmods/scenes/the-blues-brothers/bobs-country-bunker.jpg
(From the Blues Brothers; the bluesmobile shows up at the place. Actually this was filmed in
Calif. but just imagine it's just outside Chicago, OK?)

 

[dyeingeye]

There is a famous photograph of Elvis Presly, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis at Sun Studios. At that time there wasn't the rigid distinction among rock, country, and blues. As rock & roll developed, it became more distinct, but its shares some roots with country.

 

[TheBigA]

There is a famous photograph of Elvis Presly, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis at Sun Studios. At that time there wasn't the rigid distinction among rock, country, and blues. As rock & roll developed, it became more distinct, but its shares some roots with country.

There really wasn't a country format at that time either. It was a small regional format.

 

[4CX1000A]

Who was the first jock on WBOS, country?

Oh, you've got me; I can't remember the man's name, but he called himself "Jack Daniels".