Oldie or new to a new believer?

[MightyFrenchman]

This topic might have fit in the Michael Omartian & producers discussion where the topic of oldies was regularly coming up but I want to introduce it as a new topic, mostly as a programming issue.

Again, for those of us who've known Jesus as our Lord & Savior since the early or mid '70s and CCM for that long, we understand which groups and which songs are oldies. Especially in some cases where the production was poor.

But as more and more people give their lives to Jesus they become aware of a type of music that they'd never heard of, contemporary Christian music.
For them it's all new. There's no such thing as an oldie. Some of the styles are old sure, but some of the songs we've mentioned still fit in.

Programmers, K-Love, take another look at Bryan Duncan, Pat Terry Group, Roby Duke, Denny Correll, Karen Lafferty, etc. They're oldies to us but not to people who just came to know the Lord in the last couple of years. Many of these recordings have been reproduced and dubbed to CD and sound much better than when they were originally released on vinyl.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

Programmers, K-Love, take another look at Bryan Duncan, Pat Terry Group, Roby Duke, Denny Correll, Karen Lafferty, etc. They're oldies to us but not to people who just came to know the Lord in the last couple of years. Many of these recordings have been reproduced and dubbed to CD and sound much better than when they were originally released on vinyl.

I tried a fair amount of Christian oldies on my show. What I found was that CCM has changed. I was already doing a hot-AC / Christian rock format as it was, and the older material stuck out like a sore thumb. It didn't fit the format and sounded dated in comparison with the style at the time. So even if the songs were new to listeners, the response was pretty negative. I've noticed even AC stations are now playing stuff that in the early 90's would have been considered "rock", so I just don't see it going over well with listeners even on a garden variety AC CCM station like so many markets have. Maybe on a praise and worship station - which is technically what I would call some of those early CCM artists. At the time, they sounded really edgy to believers who were used to hymns and not much else. But yesterday's edgy contemporary - controversial though it was at the time - is today's passe.

At one time, KSBJ had a really good Christian oldies show. It had a following, and I think those of us who grew up - spiritually or otherwise - with those great songs and artists should have the format somewhere. I just don't see it as evangelical today - attracting throngs of people to Christ. I've even seen some of those old songs in hymnals. Sadly - I also saw John Lennon's "Imagine" in a hymnal so there isn't much discretion there. But the point is that time has moved on, and there is a body of musical songs and acts that remain frozen back in the 70's and don't have much relevance today. The kids listening to my show didn't even like Stryper that much. They could tell it was old school rock.

 

[radioboy]

Frenchman,

You know I LIKE your oldies posts - always stirs up some memories and gives me ideas ;D

I first heard CCM in 1983, the same year I began working at then-Christian station WCVC AM 1330.
All of the music was on LPs and 45s at that time. (I became a Christian at age 13, but we did not have
Christian radio in our area for several years after that.)

By 1997, the WCVC albums and 45s were pretty much forgotten - until I began doing a Saturday afternoon
classic CCM program. It did well enough to expand to four hours, and ran for five years - until the
station flipped to all-talk.

By the time I relaunched the program in October of 2007 as MUSIC OF NEW LIFE, I had purchased the WCVC music library, as well as the library of now-silent WJEP in South Georgia.

Some of the music does sound dated, to be sure. That's why I believe it works best as a specialty show.
Right now MUSIC OF NEW LIFE is running on an oldies/variety station, a Southern Gospel station, a small network, and soon, a satellite service, on which it may be the only Christian show to be carried.

I'm not sure how evangelistic it is. I only know that I pretty much stopped listening to CCM radio in
the early 2000s because it just didn't appeal to me in the same way. I've received enough emails, letters,
requests and such that I'm sure I'm not the only one who still likes to hear this kind of CCM.

First group I ever saw was Harvest, later on Craig Smith, Jamie Owens-Collins, Sandi Patty and Steve Camp came to our area. I've since met many other fine artists along the way.

I know I'm just one programmer with one tiny show, but it seemed like there was a void needing to be filled.

 

[anotherguyTN]

I've said before that one of the biggest problems is that in a lot of areas, especially in rural areas where local Christian stations wouldn't give CCM a chance in the past, that CCM radio has only been around since the 90's and 2000's, so because of that listeners don't know about very much CCM from the 70's or 80's. In larger cities and towns that had Christian colleges that accepted CCM, and because of that have CCM stations that have been around longer, I could see where they could at least have a classic CCM show on weekends. But to people in rural areas CCM is still a new thing, so all they know is what is from the past 10 years or so. But then even in Memphis or Nashville, where CCM radio has been around since the late 70's or early 80's, I don't know of any classic CCM being done, even in the form of a weekend show. Memphis only has K-LOVE now, and WNAZ, the longest running CCM station in Nashville, is CHR now.

I do think that weekend shows are probably the best way to go now. The problem is that most CCM radio in West TN where I live is form satellite networks, and the locally owned CCM station has only been on for the past 3 years or so, so they're limited on what they'll do. The main Southern Gospel station, although they're the ones that started a separate local CCM station, still won't do any CCM. The only option is probably for someone to buy time on a local secular station, and I don't know anyone in a position to do that. I definitely know I'm not.

I still believe K-LOVE should do something, but I'm not holding my breath for that to happen.

 

[R.D.P.]

If you're looking for the Classic Christian music and are blessed to have it, check out AFR's Christian Classics Network.

They play the classic songs that most Christian Radio stations, tend to put on the shelf and forget about.

Glad my area has this network. I like to check it out and often find myself singing along, if I know the song(s) that are being played.

R.D.P. <><

 

[anotherguyTN]

If you're looking for the Classic Christian music and are blessed to have it, check out AFR's Christian Classics Network.

They play the classic songs that most Christian Radio stations, tend to put on the shelf and forget about.

Glad my area has this network. I like to check it out and often find myself singing along, if I know the song(s) that are being played.

R.D.P. <><

They have a station in Ripley, TN, but at the times I've heard them they mainly lean toward Southern Gospel and Inspo. That's not to say there isn't a place for a station like that, but the type of classic CCM program or station I'd like would lean more toward groups like Petra, DeGarmo & Key, Allies, etc. I don't think that AFR's Classic network does anything like that, although here again it looks like they could at least do a weekend show on one of their networks, but they don't.

 

[earlyriser937]

Why should a Southern Gospel station play CCM?? Playing CCM on a Southern Gospel station would be like playing A/C on a country station, it just doesn't make sense. Especially when the company that owns the Southern Gospel station also owns the CCM station. The Dove 93.7 is not satellite. It is local 24/7. I do think a Classic CCM show would be great on the weekends.

 

[anotherguyTN]

I honestly don't expect the SG station (I'm assuming you're talking about 93.1) to do anything with CCM now since The Dove stations are on. During the time that 93.1 was the only major Christian station in West TN I thought they should have made some time for CCM at least on weekends, but now that The Dove stations are on that isn't necassary now. I just brought up the SG station because of an earlier post by Alan mentioning his show was on an SG station.

 

[MorningLight]

A topic that is NEAR and DEAR to my heart!!

I had been in Christian Radio since 1987. I started part-time for 2 years, then spent the last 18 full-time, 17 of those as Music Director.

Over those years, I received a number of calls and letters from VERY appreciative listeners, telling me how much they LOVED hearing those old "Classics" on the radio, again!

I mixed them in with the newer music, but it was done CAREFULLY and by THEME. (You NEVER heard "train-wreck" segue's!) The songs always blended together into a flowing message, where the lyrics of each song built upon a common theme. The program was called "Morning Light", and it aired on WFIF for many years. The listeners loved it and even financially supported it!

Then there were the other calls... in line with the title of this thread - about the WONDERFUL NEW SONG they just heard... which was, in fact, a song from 10-20 years ago! The original poster was VERY correct! These songs that are actually "old" are BRAND SPANKING NEW to the people who are NEW Christians! If given a chance, they WILL buy those songs!!

I have had all too many broken-hearted people report to me that they tried, but just could NOT locate a copy of a song they heard on the air. Some were blessed, and COULD find legitimate copies, but MOST did not. Inevitiably, I would invite them to "stay tuned" so they could record it off the air, and I would play it for them. (Without saying anything about it on the air.)

Even though it was an AM station, just having a copy of that beloved song really made their day. Again and again, this happened. To these new Christians, those "old" songs ARE BRAND NEW! You don't HAVE TO play stuff that sounds "dated"... especially if the MESSAGE of the song is TIMELESS!

Which brings me to my closing comments... when I played these wonderful songs on the air, I identified them as "TIMELESS TREASURES"... because that is EXACTLY what they are!

My ultimate Life's Goal is to raise-up a station here in southwestern CT, to fill these STARVING airwaves with Christ-Centered music! These "Timeless treasures" will most definitely be a part of the format! They work perfectly (when selected carefully) in a Light AC/Inspo/P&W style format. My 17 years of solid success with this very format bear this out!

Sadly, I lost my position at WFIF on August 31'st, 2007. The parent Company was forced to release a significant number of their staff throughout the Company, as a matter of survival. When I was told that my 20-year career in Christian Radio was going to be coming to an end, it was a shock... but at the same time, GOD gave me a supernatural PEACE about it.

Soon, I don't know when or how, but SOON, God is going to be opening up the airwaves here for this kind of format! I believe it with absolute assurance. The need is very great.

You can see more about it by visiting my WEBsite, if you wish.

God bless!