Is Keith Urban Classic Country

[Jay F]

I was listening to an internet classic country station (1.fm) and they played Keith Urban-It's A Love Thing. That caught me by surprise, I almost shut it off. Not that I hate Keith Urban's music but I wanted to hear old country. IIRC that was his first hit and it's well over 10 years old. But it doesn't sound classic at all to me, especially with it's hip hop beat. So what do you think...Is Keith Urban classic country?

 

[Casey]

1.FM's country stations are in poor condition. They were once great, but the playlists have become very poorly programmed. In the case of their main country station, there has not been any updates in over a year.

But as far as Keith being classic? I would say no. I don't consider mit-late 90's or new to be classic. However Clear Channel considers Jason Aldean to be classic on my local station, so what do I know.

 

[vchimpanzee]

If he is we're in trouble.

At the same time, the classic country station I listen to was playing some new-sounding junk not so long ago. Like "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry. Now they are truly classic country.

 

[AHLPOR]

Keith Urban is NOT classic country.

 

[Jay F]

Keith Urban is NOT classic country.

You are right. I decided not to listen to that stream again.

 

[Jay F]

Here is my review of the classic country format on Big R Radio. No Keith Urban, no Kenny Chesney, no 90s at all. This is appreciated because 90s is NOT classic!

They are however very 80s based. I consider 80s the very latest that could be classic country. However this stream should call themselves "80s Country"..there is probably a market for a niche format like that. They would just have to get rid of the 20% non 80s they play.

All the songs they played were super familiar huge hits. Their library almost matches song for song the gold I played at a country station in 1990. Lot's of Reba, Judds, Alabama, Tanya Tucker, Restless Heart,etc. The problem for me is that is was too familiar. One of the things I enjoy about internet radio is all the obscure songs. You will get none of that on this stream. The one song they played that did excite me was Mickey Gilley/Charlie McClain "Paradise Tonight". That song gave me an "oh wow" sensation even if it was a #1 hit.

 

[scott salvatori]

i beg to ask not whether kieth urban is classic country, but is he even country?

who controls the narrative of what classic country is? behemoths like clear channel, or you/me/fans/artists/industry?

fact is, time is zooming by like box cars on a train. clear channel, and other country music narrative adjusters are thinking, hey that stuff from the 90's is now classic, regardless of how countryfied it really is. also, as the classic country narrative has changed, we have to say a long goodbye to the real classic hits from the pre 80's. you reckon the entire country era of the 70's and 60's can be summed up with a few dozen token classics like, okie from muskogee, on the road again, coal miners daughter, mamas dont let your babys...,rose garden, stand by your man, he stopped loving her today, i walk the line, etc. have you listened to ABC's "real country" in the last ten years? case closed!

hard to believe, for instance george jones and merles entire catalog of hits, have been black listed to the same couple ones over and over. thanks to some of the suit and tie elites in the industry.....

i want my country back!

 

[nmoore6676]

I suppose that "Classic Country" is in the ears of the beholder. I grew up listening to the "Opry on Saturday nights with my parents on their big Monkey Wards console radio. Back then the stars included Ernest Tubb and the "King" of Country Music Roy Acuff. You may find ET played on some classic country stations but not Roy. Then there is Eddy Arnold, also a contemporary to Roy and Ernest but even there there is a divergence.

Recently I was listening to my favorite classic country station, http://www.myclassiccountry.com/, when they played "Just Call Me Lonesome" and it was the later version with all of the strings which was the Nashville Sound of the 60s. I like Eddy a lot and I certainly rank him as Classic Country but I prefer the earlier recording which featured "Little Roy" Wiggins the master of the "ting-a-ling" steel guitar. Well on that same station on the weekends you will more likely hear the earlier version because the weekend DJ/host is also a steel player.

So I would suppose that some of Keith Urban and his contemporaries will be considered classic sooner or later but it will be the listeners who decide which if any of their material deserves to be so called. And even then not all of us will agree as we will all have our personal preferences.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Here is my review of the classic country format on Big R Radio. No Keith Urban, no Kenny Chesney, no 90s at all. This is appreciated because 90s is NOT classic!

They are however very 80s based. I consider 80s the very latest that could be classic country. However this stream should call themselves "80s Country"..there is probably a market for a niche format like that. They would just have to get rid of the 20% non 80s they play.

All the songs they played were super familiar huge hits. Their library almost matches song for song the gold I played at a country station in 1990. Lot's of Reba, Judds, Alabama, Tanya Tucker, Restless Heart,etc. The problem for me is that is was too familiar. One of the things I enjoy about internet radio is all the obscure songs. You will get none of that on this stream. The one song they played that did excite me was Mickey Gilley/Charlie McClain "Paradise Tonight". That song gave me an "oh wow" sensation even if it was a #1 hit.

The 90s are when country started going downhill.

On the other hand, in the late 70s and early 80s the "Urban Cowboy" sound wasn't country either, yet for some reason we like it. Or I do.

A classic country station I listened to before it went Spanish played a lot of 80s. But I liked it.

 

[scott salvatori]

Here is my review of the classic country format on Big R Radio. No Keith Urban, no Kenny Chesney, no 90s at all. This is appreciated because 90s is NOT classic!

once again....it aint that 90's country is bad. in fact, much of it is quite good! including the charted hits. the question is, who controls the narrative of what 90's gold gets the spins on radio. most all of the 90's rotations these days been watered down to a few dozen 90's country pop production hits that some of the centralized elite programmers/consultants dictate for their clueless radio outlets in the major markets, which parrots off into the lesser country markets.

yep, there is some good 90's classic country hits out there:

martina mcbride-cheap whiskey-the time has come
leanne womack-the fool-a little past little rock
sammy kershaw-haunted heart-somethings are meant to be
alan jackson- anything by him..........
marty stuart-high on a mountain top-now thats country
tanya tucker-oh what it did to me-walkin shoes
daryle singletary-i let her lie-too much fun
aaron tippin-thats as close as ill get to lovin you-i wouldnt have it any other way
dwight yoakam-the heart that you own-i got you
george straight-chill of an early fall-so much like my dad
david ball-look what followed me home-thinkin problem
ken mellons-jukebox junkie
mark chesnutt-your love is a miracle-old flames have new names
joe diffie-new way to light up an old flame-home
clint black-when my ship comes in-no time to kill
pam tillis-shake the sugar tree-put yourself in my place
randy travis-no place like home-too gone too long


and of course waylon, merle, vern, george and tammy, david allen coe, gene watson and other veterans had great stuff out in the 90's, but they were blackballed by the elite radio gate keepers. so i guess none of their stuff was of hit status, and no listeners are interested in it. 'cept for a few backward moon shine drinkin' hillbillys deep in them hills with large music librarys...

 

[nmoore6676]

Great list and most of it IS played by my favorite station which, since I don't live in the Dayton-Springfield area, I listen to online. And thanks for the reference for "Jukebox Junkie as I've heard it but forgot who did it.

My problem now is spending too much adding what I do hear to my personal library.

 

[KFodor]

1.FM's country stations are in poor condition. They were once great, but the playlists have become very poorly programmed. In the case of their main country station, there has not been any updates in over a year.

But as far as Keith being classic? I would say no. I don't consider mit-late 90's or new to be classic. However Clear Channel considers Jason Aldean to be classic on my local station, so what do I know.

Yep..these new stations are sooooooo poorly programmed...they're #1 in most markets and country is the #1 programmed format in America.

It's all in your musical taste (which, as an American, I'll gladly allow you.)

Classics radio formats are on the air in quite a few markets...but those that heavy up on the 40's to 60's and 70's country...largely find their audiences to be over 60, which creates the same advertiser indifference as those "oldies stations" who stick with the original 1950's to 70's formats.

So can Keith Urban be a classic artist? In my view, I think it might be a tad early for that, but, I'm not privvy to each company's research...

As time marches on...radio formats have to move on...if they want to have advertisers and make lots of money...

Don't kill the messenger guys...I'm just stating the obvious from a business perspective.

 

[jh]

Classics radio formats are on the air in quite a few markets...but those that heavy up on the 40's to 60's and 70's country...largely find their audiences to be over 60, which creates the same advertiser indifference as those "oldies stations" who stick with the original 1950's to 70's formats.

So can Keith Urban be a classic artist? In my view, I think it might be a tad early for that, but, I'm not privvy to each company's research...

As time marches on...radio formats have to move on...if they want to have advertisers and make lots of money...

Don't kill the messenger guys...I'm just stating the obvious from a business perspective.

There's really two different sub-formats here... "classic" country and "traditional" country.

Classic country is coming to mean the country version of classic hits/oldies... songs that have gotten a little too old for the mainstream country stations to still play. These stations aren't intended to be traditional country, and if you're not hearing Keith Urban yet, you probably will in five years. These stations typically don't play currents.

Traditional country is where Keith Urban would probably never fit, at least not very well. These stations (there are still a few around) may go back to the 50s for oldies, but may also play currents if they fit. They probably have a bluegrass show on the weekend or carry "Cowboy Corner." In the midwest they tend to be AM stations that have been country since the 60s or 70s, originally were mainstream but when much of their audience moved to FM, they went back to playing the traditional songs. They also run a lot of farm and market programming.

I've always liked the ABC "Real Country" satellite format, although I haven't had much of a chance to listen to it in some years, so it may have changed somewhat from what it used to be. They played a lot of oldies, with a few from the 60s and even 50s... but they also played all (or almost all) of the currents. The more traditional sounding currents like George Strait got more airtime, the less traditional got less.

The "Real Country" satellite format started out all-oldies, but wasn't successful until they added currents. I really don't know of any country station successful in the sales demos that doesn't play currents.

 

[Casey]

1.FM's country stations are in poor condition. They were once great, but the playlists have become very poorly programmed. In the case of their main country station, there has not been any updates in over a year.

But as far as Keith being classic? I would say no. I don't consider mit-late 90's or new to be classic. However Clear Channel considers Jason Aldean to be classic on my local station, so what do I know.

Yep..these new stations are sooooooo poorly programmed...they're #1 in most markets and country is the #1 programmed format in America.

It's all in your musical taste (which, as an American, I'll gladly allow you.)

Classics radio formats are on the air in quite a few markets...but those that heavy up on the 40's to 60's and 70's country...largely find their audiences to be over 60, which creates the same advertiser indifference as those "oldies stations" who stick with the original 1950's to 70's formats.

So can Keith Urban be a classic artist? In my view, I think it might be a tad early for that, but, I'm not privvy to each company's research...

As time marches on...radio formats have to move on...if they want to have advertisers and make lots of money...

Don't kill the messenger guys...I'm just stating the obvious from a business perspective.

The poorly programmed stations I was clearly referring to, are the stations programmed by 1.FM, a Swiss webcaster. The country stations are completely terrible, and clearly I am not alone in my thinking. Otherwise the network would be gaining listeners monthly instead of losing them. The main country station has been stuck in a time warp for at least a year, but I would say it is approaching 2 or more. The network is on a stead decline, and Spotify is almost certainly the biggest reason. 181.FM operates the number one country station for the pureplays.


As for traditional broadcasting country stations, I never said they were poorly programmed in that post. Obviously most appeal to their listeners. The one I specifically mentioned, a classic country station, is poorly programmed. It can't even pull a 1 in the diary while KHAK, a competing country station operated by Cumulus, pulls over 18. Interestingly, Clear Channel has 2 country stations in the market, but even when combined, they still barely pull a 1. Because they are complete garbage and do not appeal to the listeners.

 

[hornet61]

http://youtu.be/i9WDl4RPqNM

this song has every "classic country" element , and surprisingly enough, our local so called "Classic Country station" doesn't play this cut.

twin fiddles
steel pedal
mel tillis on background
great dance step
best country singer name ever "Mundo Earwood"
typical country title "Your'e In Love With The Wrong man"
charted top 40 if memory serves me

heck no, they bombard us with The Judd's (Boring), and every whining depressing 34 bpm songs from the 80's...lets put the hitch back into Classic Country.... johnny Bush , Ray Price, etc, lets move out there, not so much crying in our beer overplayed cuts...pleeeeeeeease.

 

[vchimpanzee]

There's really two different sub-formats here... "classic" country and "traditional" country.

XM used to use those names. I found I didn't like "classic" country because it included some of the junk by people like Montgomery Gentry that didn't sound country to me. Lyrics don't matter. Lyrics can be whatever genre.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

Not too long ago, I posted on the Dallas board an hour of what I would consider "classic country" in today's radio. Nothing older than 1979. I'll reproduce that playlist.


Alan Jackson - Midnight in Montgomery (1992)
Conway Twitty - Happy Birthday Darlin' (1979)
Brad Paisley - Alcohol (2007)
Martina McBride - Independence Day (1992)
Tim McGraw - Live Like You Were Dying (2006)
Dwight Yoakum (w. Buck Owens) - Streets of Bakersfield (1988)
Alabama - Roll On (1984)
Sugarland - Baby Girl (2006)
Garth Brooks (w. George Jones) - Beer Run (2001)
George Strait - Heartland (1992)
Lady Antebellum - Need You Now (2009)
Ronnie Milsap - Houston Solution (1989)

Ten years ago, classic country was fixated on Willie, Waylon and Merle. I think the format needs to move past that now. That means the core acts become George Strait, Alabama, Reba, and potentially some of the pop crossover like Milsap.

I'm not sold on putting Montgomery Gentry or Keith Urban into the playlist musically, although if I were MD at an actual station running this format, both of them would get a few cuts in light rotation.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Not too long ago, I posted on the Dallas board an hour of what I would consider "classic country" in today's radio. Nothing older than 1979. I'll reproduce that playlist.


Alan Jackson - Midnight in Montgomery (1992)
Conway Twitty - Happy Birthday Darlin' (1979)
Brad Paisley - Alcohol (2007)
Martina McBride - Independence Day (1992)
Tim McGraw - Live Like You Were Dying (2006)
Dwight Yoakum (w. Buck Owens) - Streets of Bakersfield (1988)
Alabama - Roll On (1984)
Sugarland - Baby Girl (2006)
Garth Brooks (w. George Jones) - Beer Run (2001)
George Strait - Heartland (1992)
Lady Antebellum - Need You Now (2009)
Ronnie Milsap - Houston Solution (1989)

Ten years ago, classic country was fixated on Willie, Waylon and Merle. I think the format needs to move past that now. That means the core acts become George Strait, Alabama, Reba, and potentially some of the pop crossover like Milsap.

I'm not sold on putting Montgomery Gentry or Keith Urban into the playlist musically, although if I were MD at an actual station running this format, both of them would get a few cuts in light rotation.

I'm not happy with this. I don't like the idea of using the term "classic country" for a playlist like this when there is actually good music that is really classic country.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I heard Miranda Lambert on WBRF, though it WAS on the outlaw show.