KAAM just heard it after being away for 6 months. Cary - Thank you!

[Bel Air Phil]

Cary, I found KAAM on an internet search and you helped introduce me to American Standards and Big Bands. I grew up in the 70's so this music was new to me. Now on my desk at work I have cds by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole and Tony Bennett. I also would love to get a cd with Skyliner by Charlie Barnet. - I love that so much it makes me almost choke up when I hear it. I hope you find work and I hope somebody wakes up to Standards again. I don't care much for the influx of 60's and 70s stuff that is growing on KAAM. I lived through it once - that was enough for me. Hang In There! I hope you have found work by now. Bel Air (25 miles north of Baltimore) Phil

 

[Chuck]

If you don't like the influx of 60's & 70's stuff on KAAM, try www.kzqx.com

I know it is a shameful plug, but you might prefer the music.

 

[crbigband]

Thanks Phil for the kind sentiments!

No, I have not found a job in radio (or any other job for that matter!).

The car I'm currently driving doesn't get AM and the only time I listen to radio is when I'm in the car. But what is going on over at KAAM has been filtering back to me from several sources, primarily listeners. Since I left:

1. Ratings have tanked. (But they were on the way down anyway)
2. Three sponsors that I know of have canceled.
3. There has MOST definitely been a move AWAY from the big band and Sinatra music to more mainstream 60's and 70's.

To be fair, I am not saying that my departure facilitated any of the above. Nor am I saying that if I was still there that these things wouldn't have occurred anyway - they would.

I know that McCoy spends endless hours in his office on the internet writing down everything that Platinum 96.7 plays (as well as other standards stations across the country) and scheduling/adding those songs to the KAAM playlist as if Platinum or any station has the market cornered on programming wisdom.

For a 10K watt AM (only 1000 watts at night) to think that they're in competition with a 50K watt FM is laughable. What KAAM should be doing is airing music you can't hear anywhere else, in short, to be what it has always been - personality driven radio with jocks who know that music and aren't reading it off from the internet. McCoy always used to say to me, "play the hits - you can never be far from a hit."

Why then are listeners subjected to Rod Stewart's butcherings of the Great American Standard Songbook? These Foolish Things was a #1 hit by Benny Goodman and Helen Ward in 1936 - when was Rod Stewart's version a hit? Answer: It never was.

Drinks anyone?
CRBig Band (Cary Richards strikes again.)

 

[doctorclu]

I enjoy listening to KAAM and the strip (100.3-2 HD)

KAAM has a good variety of music, and I am finding a good number of songs I am not hearing anywhere else. (Don't listen to Platinum.)

The strip has lounge music, which is good, but I like variety of KAAM.

. .
)\___/ Doc Clu (member of...)
/(- _O) Prison Board BBS
( \____ ) rdfig.net 972-329-0781

 

[little1]

For a 10K watt AM (only 1000 watts at night) to think that they're in competition with a 50K watt FM is laughable.

Yep. A dinky, low-power AM can never compete with bigger FM stations. Uh, unless you totally discount KTCK, which is kicking the crap out of 2 FM stations.

What KAAM should be doing is airing music you can't hear anywhere else, in short, to be what it has always been - personality driven radio with jocks who know that music and aren't reading it off from the internet. McCoy always used to say to me, "play the hits - you can never be far from a hit."

Why then are listeners subjected to Rod Stewart's butcherings of the Great American Standard Songbook? These Foolish Things was a #1 hit by Benny Goodman and Helen Ward in 1936 - when was Rod Stewart's version a hit? Answer: It never was.

Playing hits implies that those are songs that people are familiar with. Actuary tables tell us that most (like almost all) of the people that were around to know that Goodman had a hit with that in 1936 are now dead. The reason KAAM's numbers are declining is because the people that are most interested in that music are dying off. And there's only limited numbers of younger listeners that are familiar with big band music, like it enough to listen, etc.

Maybe McCoy belives that of those 150,000 listeners, more of them have heard of Rod Stewart than Benny Goodman. That's what cracks me up about you and some others here, you're so busy being purists that you forget that this industry is called "broadcasting". The idea is to get as many people listening as you can, not just satisfy the big band purists.

KAAM's best ratings, IIRC, we're back in it's 1310 days, when it used to get in the low 2's 12+. And they played plenty of Carpenters, Manilow, etc. hard to gripe about how McCoy is bastardizing the format, when the format's most success ever was bastardized all to hell...

 

[mgshaw]

It is obvious that most of the big band generation has left us, and the demand for that type of music on the radio has, for the most part, died off with them. I agree with Little1 that radio is a business that is trying to attract the most listeners, and playing exclusively big band music would not accomplish that goal. I don't fault KAAM for trying to expand their playlist to attract a larger audience. I say all of that with regret, though, because, although I am not of the big band generation, I started loving big band music after I inherited all of my father's big band collection when he passed away 20 years ago. I started listening to KAAM at that time (they were at 1310) because they were the only ones who would play big band music, and I have continued to listen to them ever since. Even back then, their music mix would include music from the 40's, 50's, 60's, and 70's. I really enjoyed hearing the variety of music, even though my preference was the big band music. Although over time they have changed their mix to include more 70's, 80's, 90's and some 00's music and less 40's, 50's, and big band music, KAAM has probably been more consistent with their playlist over the past 20 years than any other station in the DFW area. If you listen long enough, you will probably hear the kind of music you have always enjoyed listening to on KAAM. I still hear big band music being played on KAAM, just not as much as it used to be. I will continue to listen because they are still the only station playing big band standards and the great music from the 40's and 50's, even though I may have to hear more 80's, 90's and 00's music in between.

Jaan McCoy and the rest at KAAM are like members of my family because they have been part of my life for so long. I really miss Cary Richards and was crushed when he left KAAM. His love of big band music and Sinatra really came through on his show, and he was more knowledgable about it than anyone. I wish him the best as he finds somewhere else to be heard, and I also thank him for the many years of great music and memories that he gave us while he was on at KAAM.

 

[grantchester]

Bah!
Good music is good music, whether it was recorded when you were in high school, decades earlier, or last week. The Big Band era had some timeless tunes and some real dreck. But when it comes to playing familiar music, for the love of Mike, PLAY THE HIT!
After reading this post the other day I tuned in 770 and heard 'Starry Starry Night'. It's an excellent song, and the singer was more skilled than Don McLean, but when I heard it wasn't Don, I switched the radio off.
Please, Mr (or Ms) programmer, hire people who have some kind of ability to choose good tunes, and let them develop a personality for their show and for the station. Don't play feces, just because it sold a lot of records, or got a lot of juke box plays, or sold a lot of sheet music. Play it because it it's good!

 

[Chuck]

Don't play feces, just because it sold a lot of records, or got a lot of juke box plays, or sold a lot of sheet music. Play it because it it's good!

I've had pretty good luck out here in East Texas by playing songs that stand up to the test of time. It is not a complicated format, although I've never heard another station quite like it. It is really based on the premise that a good song is a good song...

I do understand that it is a niche format, and not for everyone.

Incidentally, Cary can be heard Saturday evenings on my station. You can listen on line at www.kzqx.com if you like, since our signal does not make it into Dallas.

 

[TheRover]

Bah!
Good music is good music, whether it was recorded when you were in high school, decades earlier, or last week. The Big Band era had some timeless tunes and some real dreck. But when it comes to playing familiar music, for the love of Mike, PLAY THE HIT!
After reading this post the other day I tuned in 770 and heard 'Starry Starry Night'. It's an excellent song, and the singer was more skilled than Don McLean, but when I heard it wasn't Don, I switched the radio off.
Please, Mr (or Ms) programmer, hire people who have some kind of ability to choose good tunes, and let them develop a personality for their show and for the station. Don't play feces, just because it sold a lot of records, or got a lot of juke box plays, or sold a lot of sheet music. Play it because it it's good!

CAREFUL grantchester ! ! !

You're making a lot sense .... And You Know that goes down around here ! ! ! ;D