How? Bush won a second term and the Chicks never came close to their previous peak of popularity. I agree with you about the cowardly boycott, but I'm struggling to see the Chicks as a "winner," especially since many country stations still won't play their pre-London-comments hits.
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Nov 6+..and still no WOW!
- Thread starter DrAkbar
- Start date
How? Bush won a second term and the Chicks never came close to their previous peak of popularity. I agree with you about the cowardly boycott, but I'm struggling to see the Chicks as a "winner," especially since many country stations still won't play their pre-London-comments hits.
FYI there was never any boycott. In fact their song "Not Ready To Make Nice" received quite a bit of country radio airplay in 2006 even though it was biting the hand that fed them. Their hits continue to receive airplay on classic country radio stations across the country. I can also tell you that the Chicks quit country radio at least two years before the "incident." It was part of their lawsuit against Sony Music that resulted in them moving from Nashville to New York.
But their recurrents were still being played at country radio and did, in fact, disappear after their remarks about Bush, did they not? "Not Ready" wasn't welcomed at all country stations, not even close, but as you say, they weren't actively courting country radio by then.
That's not true. Their 90s hits are played regularly on classic country stations. Current country stations don't play them because Gold usually only covers the last 10-15 years, and the Chicks hits are too old.
I also take issue with the idea that some radio stations were "cowardly." What happened was right wing talk radio hosts told their listeners to call country radio stations to stop playing DC songs. Some of those callers threatened radio employees, and held demonstrations in front of their radio stations, primarily in military towns. To this day, conservative talk hosts still attack the Chicks any time their name is mentioned.
"Not Ready" peaked at #34 in country radio airplay, which is about where it charted in Adult Contemporary. The Dixie Chicks had the #1 song in the country with Traveling Soldier the wknd of Natalie's remarks. Their songs disappeared in towns with military bases to appease some violent talk show listeners. But I can tell you there never was a national ban or boycott.
I don't want to continue to hijack the thread, but I'm almost positive that Clear Channel's WWYZ Waterbury/Hartford dropped the Chicks tune in the middle of its chart run. I don't believe it picked up "Not Ready" either. Not a red state, no big military installations in the listening area (New London is out of range). If you have documentation that I'm misremembering, I'll admit I'm wrong.
Not on specific stations. I know Tampa and Shreveport dropped their songs due to complaints from people in nearby military bases. On the other hand I also know CC's WMZQ and WSIX continued to play their songs after the incident. It was all done market by market.
That was later in life.
The "Real" KOY was on 550 which is now talker KFYI.
In about 1999 KOY became KGME. 1230, a Class IV with 1 kw on 1230, became KOY. That is when it went to Welk-land to stay.
KFYI had been on 910, the old KPHO radio. It moved to 550, if memory serves me, in about 2000 as 910 became KGME.
For most of its life later life KOY was an MOR leaning AC. Landtuna gave a nice homage to Mr Haywood who was a true Phoenix star among the older crowd.
I had neighbors in Scottsdale who were very faithful listeners. When I'd go to the carport to head for ASU in the early 70's, I could hear KOY from several directions during the months when people could open their kitchen windows and let the trapped sound out...
I was a KRUX / KUPD / KRIZ listener myself, and found KOY quite "out of demo" for me.
That is what is so interesting about KOY/Heywood. My "crew" in those days, with the single exception of the manager of our development team, were a group of a dozen or so IT professionals whose ages ranged from high 20's to mid-30's. My personal favorite radio station when not working was KOPA but I also listened to KRUX and KRIZ from time to time. So did my workmates. It was only during working hours we had KOY up and listening.
It was interesting to note that none of my workmates was familiar with Arizona, the West or Phoenix when we began our project (writing the original Medicaid program for the State). They were all former residents of Richmond, VA. I introduced them to the local Top-40 radio stations but our Phoenix-based admin introduced them to KOY (as it wasn't in my demo either). It only took a week or two and it was the go-to choice in our office.
So it wasn't the "older crowd" - at least in my experience. Whatever music they played in those days (I would have called it MOR) didn't matter. It was the on air personalities that attracted us. And that goes to the aforementioned comment that stations need something besides just the music to get popular. Otherwise, with all the devices available today we'd all be just listening to our own private libraries.
The Bubble Machine was backed down when KYOT jettisoned Smooth Jazz and it moved to Ancient Modulation for nights and overnights. That didn't work. They tried an all business format branded KFYI~Two. That didn't work. Now KOY 12~Thirty is El Patron and simulcasts with translator 93~Seven en Espanol. Nurse Jeff and I aren't sure why ownership hangs on to the KOY call letters as they have no value in today's market. But I guess you could same the same about our '76 Gremlin. WOW!
When I was younger I was upset when KUKQ flipped from R&B to country with absolutely no notice. I didn't have the faintest idea that FM competition got to them. And in those days, a lot of older cars only had AM radios.
You have a point. How many Millennials mourned over the loss of Edge 103.9? Or when Power moved from 92.3 to 98.3, and a certain percentage of the Valley could not get crystal-clear hip-hop music anymore? For the younger generation, a terrestrial radio station isn't like a "friend," but yet one more choice of music delivery when they have an endless playlist to choose from on their phones.
Thanks for responding. Their sweep of multiple Grammys at the 2007 ceremony is how they ultimately won. Artistically speaking, the 2006 album Taking The Long Way is by far their best. Furthermore, their 2016 summer tour was hugely successful, after a 10-year hiatus. They were clearly still in demand as a live act.
Needless to say, their so-called "demise" was at best premature. In short order, they've outlived their critics (i.e. former fans). Respect.
Here in Phoenix there isn't an all "classic country" station to my knowledge, so I can't comment if they receive airplay on that format. If they are played, good for them! They deserve to be. Time has been kind to their music overall, and their influence on younger musicians is undeniable. Thanks for responding.
I can't say I blame them for not "courting" country radio after the "incident", if you will. However, that doesn't mean that they abandoned country music artistically. Regarding Not Ready..., I agree that country radio for the most part ignored it. However, outlets like VH-1 embraced it, and so did alt-country satellite stations. Critical acclaim was present as well.
As a result, it slowly became the highest charting single of their career. Deservedly so I might add. It's arguably one of the best singles of the 21st century. Thanks for responding.
Regardless of how we refer to it (ban, boycott, censor, etc.) TBA, there was indeed active, public pressure to cease playing the Chicks' music, as you pointed out. With the sole intent to sabotage their career, in my opinion. And the perpetrators knew it.
The pressure was specifically directed to the comments, not their career. Had they not made those comments, they would not have been attacked. But as I said, the group also made the decision to leave country music before the comments, and the safety net that had existed around them when they were in Nashville had been rejected and destroyed. That was their choice and their decision.
Actions have consequences. We see that here with the actions taken by Riviera and John Sebastian. This is a radio station that had a quantifiable audience. A decision was made to change the station's approach. We have seen the results: A more than 20% loss of audience for the new format. Had the station stayed the course, the audience likely would have stayed. Instead action was taken, and there are consequences.
Thanks for responding. Their sweep of multiple Grammys at the 2007 ceremony is how they ultimately won. Artistically speaking, the 2006 album Taking The Long Way is by far their best. Furthermore, their 2016 summer tour was hugely successful, after a 10-year hiatus. They were clearly still in demand as a live act.
Needless to say, their so-called "demise" was at best premature. In short order, they've outlived their critics (i.e. former fans). Respect.
It's also my understanding that even if they hadn't had the critical success of the post-"incident" record, they were pretty well set for life anyway. And last time I looked, a certain dromedary-related radio station in town added their songs back into their gold catalog.
Now...about that Wow Factor...
My gods the processing is awful. I stopped on the station during my drive home today. They were playing a song I really like, but it sounded like a 128k mp3 that had been traded multiple times through Napster. It was so bad that if there were such a thing as Signal Processing Police, I'd call it in as a murder.
See if ex Sheriff Joe can put together a posse to go over there and dust for evidence. We heard they're using an AOL dial up modem to download music.
Here in Phoenix there isn't an all "classic country" station to my knowledge, so I can't comment if they receive airplay on that format. If they are played, good for them! They deserve to be. Time has been kind to their music overall, and their influence on younger musicians is undeniable. Thanks for responding.
There are two rural FM rimshots on each end of the Valley and one regional AM with regional FM translator that plays "classic country." I have doubts that any of them play the Dixie Chicks.
Depends on what flavor of "classic country" they play. There is one group that plays 50s, 60s, 70s, and another that's 80s-90s. Two different audiences.
... while wearing pink jumpsuits.
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