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Playlists For Dance Leaning Radio Stations From 1987

C

CHRles

Hot 103 New York September 18,1987

1 Noel Silent Morning
2 Los Lobos La Bamba
3 Pepsi & Shirlie Heartache
4 Jellybean Who Found Who
5 Will To Power Dreamin
6 Bananarama I Heard A Rumor
7 Lisa Lisa Lost In Emotion
8 ABC When Smokey Sings
9 Whitney Houston Didn't We Almost Have It All
10 Expose Let Me Be The One
11 TKA Scars of Love
12 Alexandar O'neal Fake
13 Georgio Tina Cherry
14 Pretty Poison Catch Me I'm Falling
15 Levert Casanova
16 Promise Circle Be Mine Tonight
17 T'Pau Heart And Soul
18 Nancy Martinez Crazy Love
19 Madonna Causing A Commotion
20 Madonna Who's That Girl
21 Swing Out Sister Breakout
22 Company B Full Circle
23 Depeche Mode Strangelove
24 Jets Cross My Broken Heart
25 Prince U Got The Look
26 Jody Watley Don't You Want Me
27 Curisity Killed The Cat Misfit
28 Stevie B Party Your Body
29 Tiffany I Think We're Alone Now
30 Janet Jackson The Pleasure Principal
31 Pet Shop Boys It's A Sin
32 Michael Jackson Bad
33 Cover Girls Because of You
34 Five Star Whenever Your Ready
35 Debbie Gibson Shake Your Love
36 George Michael I Want Your Sex
37 Whitney Houston I Wanna Dance With Somebody
38 Jellybean The Real Thing
39 Billy Idol Mony Mony
40 Samantha Fox Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now
Adds Terence Trent D'arby If You Let Me Stay
On Michael Jackson I Just Can't Stop Loving You


Power 106 Los Angeles September 18, 1987

1 Lisa Lisa Lost In Emotion
2 Los Lobos La Bamba
3 Jellybean Who Found Who
4 Madonna Causing A Commotion
5 Michael Jackson I Just Can't Stop Loving You
6 L.L. Cool J I Need Love
7 Pepsi & Shirlie Heartache
8 Fat Boys Whipe Out
9 Will To Power Dreamin
10 Natalie Cole Jump Start
11 Pretty Poison Catch Me I'm Fallin
12 Prince U Got The Look
13 Expose Let Me Be The One
14 Bananarama I Heard A Rumor
15 Levert Casanova
16 Swing Out Sister Breakout
17 Whitney Houston Didn't We Almost Have It All
18 Club Nouveau Why You Treat Me So Bad
19 Jody Watley Don't You Want Me
20 Debbie Gibson Only In My Dreams
21 Noel Silent Morning
22 Michael Jackson Bad
23 Jesse Johnson Baby Let's Kiss
24 Curiosity Killed The Cat Misfit
25 Herb Alpert Making Love In The Rain
26 Bardeaux Three Time Lover
27 Georgio Tina Cherry
28 Pet Shop Boys It's A Sin
29 Depeche Mode Strangelove
30 Donna Summer Dinner With Gershwin
31 Madonna Who's That Girl
32 David Bowie Never Let Me Down
33 Promise Circle Be Mine Tonight
34 Anita Baker No One In The World
35 Stevie B Party Your Body
36 Tiffany I Think We're Alone Now
37 ABC When Smokey Sings
38 Debarge Dance All Night
39 Fleetwood Mac Little Lies
40 George Michael I Want Your Sex
Adds Ray Parker Jr. I Don't Think That…
Smokey Robinson One Heartbeat
On Nancy Martinez Crazy
Miami Sound Machine Betcha Say That
Pebbles Love/Hate


B-96 Chicago September 18.1987

1 Michael Jackson I Just Can't Stop Loving You
2 Whitney Houston Didn't We Almost Have It All
3 Lisa Lisa Lost In Emotion
4 Los Lobos La Bamba
5 Dan Hill Can't We Try
6 L.L. Cool J I Need Love
7 Smokey Robinson One Heartbeat
8 Jellybean Who Found Who
9 Prince U Got The Look
10 Natalie Cole Jump Start
11 Levert Casanova
12 ABC When Smokey Sings
13 Expose Let Me Be The One
14 Tiffany I Think We're Alone Now
15 Debbie Gibson Only In My Dreams
16 Bananarama I Heard A Rumor
17 Madonna Who's That Girl
18 Madonna Causing A Commotion
19 Michael Jackson Bad
20 Whispers Rock Steady
21 Yello Oh Yeah
22 Alexander O'neal Fake
23 David Bowie Never Let Me Down
24 Atlantic Star One Lover At A Time
25 Donna Summer Dinner With Gershwin
26 Swing Out Sister Breakout
27 Jody Watley Don't You Want Me
28 Huey Lewis & The News Doin It All For My Baby
29 George Michael I Want Your Sex
30 Danny Wilson Mary's Prayer
31 Fleetwood Mac Little Lies
32 Belinda Carlisle Heaven Is A Place On Earth
33 Pet Shop Boys It's A Sin
34 Los Lobos Come On Let's Go


106 KMEL San Francisco September 18.1987

1 Lisa Lisa Lost In Emotion
2 Expose Let Me Be The One
3 Bananarama I Heard A Rumor
4 Alexander O'neal Fake
5 Madonna Causing A Commotion
6 Atlantic Star One Lover At A Time
7 Smokey Robinson One Heartbeat
8 Michael Jackson Bad
9 Levert Casanova
10 Prince U Got The Look
11 Natalie Cole Jump Start
12 Swing Out Sister Breakout
13 Whitney Houston Didn't We Almost Have It All
14 Whitesnake Here I Go Again
15 Sweet Sensation Victim of Love
16 Fat Boys Wipe Out
17 Noel Silent Morning
18 Pretty Poison Catch Me I'm Falling
19 Bon Jovi Edge of a Broken Heart
20 Other Ones Holiday
21 Stephanie Mills You're Putting A…
22 Michael Bolton That's What Love Is For
23 System Nighttime Lover
24 Go West Don't Look Down
25 Wa Wa Nee Sugar Free
26 Fleetwood Mac Little Lies
27 ABC When Smokey Sings
28 Pet Shop Boys It's A Sin
29 Kenny G Don't Make Me Wait
30 Simply Red Maybe Somday
31 Billy Idol Mony Mony
32 Medley & Warnes I've Had The Time of My Life
33 Jody Watley Don't You Want Me
34 Curiosity Killed Misfit
35 Tiffany I Think We're Alone Now
Adds Terrence Trent D'arby If You Let Me Stay
Taylor Dayne Tell It To My Heart
On Europe Carrie


Power 96 Miami September 18, 1987

1 Tapps My Forbidden Lover
2 Nice & Wild Oh Baby
3 Expose Let Me Be The One
4 Madonna Causing A Commotion
5 Company B Full Circle
6 E.Q. Daily Mind Over Matter
7 Depeche Mode Strangelove
8 Genuine Parts I Don't Care
9 Pretty Poison Catch Me I'm Falling
10 Bananarama I Heard A Rumor
11 Whitney Houston Didn't We Almost Have It All
12 Los Lobos La Bamba
13 TKA Scars of Love
14 Dorothy Galdez One Love
15 Tiger Moon Something Tells Me
16 Curiosity Killed Misfit
17 Noel Silent Morning
18 New Order True Faith
19 Babie & Keyes Playgirl
20 Taylor Dayne Tell It To My Heart
21 Michael Jackson Bad
22 Prince U Got The Look
23 Tiffany I Think We're Alone Now
24 Fat Boys Wipe Out
25 Natasha Be Gentle With My Heart
26 Europe Carrie
27 Pet Shop Boys It's A Sin
28 Swing Out Sister Breakout
29 Chapter One Playing With Love
30 Billy Idol Mony Mony
Adds Samantha Fox Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now
Debbie Gibson Shake Your Love
Lydia Love Don't Take Your Love…


Hot 105 Miami September 18,1987

1 Europe Carrie
2 Lisa Lisa Lost In Emotion
3 Fat Boys Wipe Out
4 Noel Silent Morning
5 Madonna Causing A Commotion
6 Stevie B Party Your Body
7 Expose Let Me Be The One
8 Company B Full Circle
9 Nice & Wild Oh Baby
10 Whitesnake Here I Go Again
11 Whitney Houston Didn't We Almost Have It All
12 Promise Circle Be Mine Tonight
13 Michael Jackson I Just Can't Stop Loving You
14 Bananarama I Heard A Rumor
15 Los Lobos La Bamba
16 Prince U Got The Look
17 L.L. Cool J I Need Love
18 Sa-Fire Let Me Be The One
19 Michael Jackson Bad
20 Tiffany I Think We're Alone Now
21 Miami Sound Machine Betcha Say That
22 Billy Idol Mony Mony
23 Bon Jovi Edge of a Broken Heart
24 Pet Shop Boys It's A Sin
25 Pretty Poison Catch Me I'm Falling
26 Tapps My Forbidden Lover
27 Heart Alone
28 Jellybean Who Found Who
29 Levert Casanova
30 Swing Out Sister Breakout
Adds Heart Who Will You Run To
Curiosity Killed Misfit
On Taylor Dayne Tell It To My Heart
Richard Marx Don't Mean Nothing
Los Lobos Donna
Los Lobos Come On Let's Go


Q-106 San Diego September 18, 1987

1 Michael Jackson I Just Can't Stop Loving You
2 Los Lobos La Bamba
3 Fat Boys Wipe Out
4 Whitney Houston Didn't We Almost Have It All
5 Lisa Lisa Lost In Emotion
6 L.L. Cool J I Need Love
7 Levert Casanova
8 Prince U Got The Look
9 Bananarama I Heard A Rumor
10 Will To Power Dreamin
11 ABC When Smokey Sings
12 Expose Let Me Be The One
13 Natalie Cole Jump Start
14 Curiosity Killed Misfit
15 Swing Out Sister Breakout
16 Other Ones Holiday
17 Pet Shop Boys It's A Sin
18 Anita Baker No One In The World
19 Fire On Blonde Wrong Number
20 Kenny G Don't Make Me Wait
21 Michael Jackson Bad
22 Atlantic Starr One Lover At A Time
23 Madonna Causing A Commotion
24 Dan Hill Can't We Try
25 Whispers Rock Steady
26 Los Lobos Come On Let's Go
27 Debbie Gibson Only In My Dreams
28 Billy Idol Mony Mony
29 Noel Silent Morning
30 Tiffany I Think We're Alone Now
Adds Jody Watley Don't You Want Me
Pretty Poison Catch Me I'm Falling
 
This is how they worked,, nearly all that was mainstream pop at the time,,, look for some of the songs played on 95.3 tnz in Knoxville,,, wbbo 93.3 Greenville, Power 98 in myrtle beach, and look at the 1992 logs for stations like hot 96 whhh Indianapolis, and Wild 94.9, and even KIIS was dancy at the time.
 
Wow. I remember all these songs like it was yesterday. Except that the station I listened to 92 Q out of Cleveland didn't play freestyle ecept for the Cover Girls,Expose...the pop leaning stuff.Lisa Lisa was so huge back then. She hasn't had her comeback yet. Her new album released two months ago just doesn't do it. So much rhythmic music on top 40 radio back then. I think we just might be heading that way again.
 
Thanks for the comments. Clubber, I'll be posting playilsts from 1988 and 1989 in the coming days (maybe early 90s too).
It should be noted that at this time most CHR/Pop stations were not playing too much Dance or Rhythmic hits. One notable exception was Power 96 Detroit, which was very Rhythmic leaning, but didn't play nearly as much Dance music as the stations I've posted.
When Power 106 L.A. first debuted both Billboard and Radio & Records viewed it as an Urban station. As a result, Power 106 refused to report to the trades until the crossover category was created in 1987. Power 106 was undoubtedly one of the most influential stations of the mid to late 80s. Although Many on this board fondly remember the early days of Hot 103, WQHT's ratings were just okay at best back then. Power 106, on the other hand, shot up to the top of the L.A. radio ratings very quickly. Within 6 months of its debut it managed to knock 102.7 KIIS out of the top spot with over a 7 share in the ratings. They also forced 93 Hit Radio KKHR out of the CHR/Pop format. Stations like 106 KMEL San Francisco, which was still a true CHR/Pop in 1986, took note. The station started to lean more and more both on Dance and Rhythmic hits in part b/c they wanted to acheive the kind of ratings that Urban KSOL 107.7 (which changed to Wild 107.7 in the early 90s) had. Over in San Diego the new Q-106 was a ratings success story pretty quickly forcing CHR/Pop KS 103 out of the format. Hot 97.7 San Jose, which debuted the following year was actually even heavier on Dance music than KMEL in nearby San Francisco. You also saw stations like 105.3 KKXX Bakersfield and B-95 Fresno go crossover by the late 80s, influenced by and large by both Power 106 and KMEL.
predating both Power 106 and Hot 103 was Miami's Hot 105 under the programming direction of Bill Tanner. As seen in this thread, Tanner by 87 was already over at Power 96 while Hot 105 was evolving to CHR/Pop to take on Y-100. It's important to note just how Dance friendly the radio dial was in Miami all throughout the 80s, but especially in the mid 80s. Rhythm 98 was around in 1986, the Spanish Contemporary stations like Super Q on 107.5 were playing some Dance. Also between 1983-1985 both Y-100 and rival I-95 were two of the most Dance friendly CHR/Pop stations in the country.

So where was the Dance music heard prior to stations like Power 106? Some of it managed to cross over to CHR/Pop, but most of it broke out of the Urban stations. 98.7 Kiss FM New York debuted in the early 80s, and later stations like 102.7 BMX Chicago, 93 DRQ Detroit, Power 99 Philadelphia, and Z-107 Dallas were supportive of high energy Dance music.

Morpheux, you mentioned Cleveland. The big CHR in Cleveland at the time was 100.7 WMMS a Rock leaning CHR that was far and away the most listened to station in the markert, usually with something like a 15 share. They were very reluctant to play anything resembling Dance. There was a more true CHR/Pop station in Cleveland through much of the 80s called G-98. By the late 80s Cleveland had a great CHR/Pop in Power 108. 92 Q, which later became Jammin 92.3, wasn't a big ratings player at the time. WZAK was the big Urban station in town.
 
Another very dancy station was KS-104 KQKS in Denver in the early to mid 90s........... Ever since Y-108, denver never had a true chr until the new Hot 107.
 
When you really think of it, not really much different from what's going on TODAY. A lot of R&B and Pop content with a dance influence, and I bet many of those things on the list were all just considered pop at the time..
 
CHRles said:
Thanks for the comments. Clubber, I'll be posting playilsts from 1988 and 1989 in the coming days (maybe early 90s too).
It should be noted that at this time most CHR/Pop stations were not playing too much Dance or Rhythmic hits. One notable exception was Power 96 Detroit, which was very Rhythmic leaning, but didn't play nearly as much Dance music as the stations I've posted.
When Power 106 L.A. first debuted both Billboard and Radio & Records viewed it as an Urban station. As a result, Power 106 refused to report to the trades until the crossover category was created in 1987. Power 106 was undoubtedly one of the most influential stations of the mid to late 80s. Although Many on this board fondly remember the early days of Hot 103, WQHT's ratings were just okay at best back then. Power 106, on the other hand, shot up to the top of the L.A. radio ratings very quickly. Within 6 months of its debut it managed to knock 102.7 KIIS out of the top spot with over a 7 share in the ratings. They also forced 93 Hit Radio KKHR out of the CHR/Pop format. Stations like 106 KMEL San Francisco, which was still a true CHR/Pop in 1986, took note. The station started to lean more and more both on Dance and Rhythmic hits in part b/c they wanted to acheive the kind of ratings that Urban KSOL 107.7 (which changed to Wild 107.7 in the early 90s) had. Over in San Diego the new Q-106 was a ratings success story pretty quickly forcing CHR/Pop KS 103 out of the format. Hot 97.7 San Jose, which debuted the following year was actually even heavier on Dance music than KMEL in nearby San Francisco. You also saw stations like 105.3 KKXX Bakersfield and B-95 Fresno go crossover by the late 80s, influenced by and large by both Power 106 and KMEL.
predating both Power 106 and Hot 103 was Miami's Hot 105 under the programming direction of Bill Tanner. As seen in this thread, Tanner by 87 was already over at Power 96 while Hot 105 was evolving to CHR/Pop to take on Y-100. It's important to note just how Dance friendly the radio dial was in Miami all throughout the 80s, but especially in the mid 80s. Rhythm 98 was around in 1986, the Spanish Contemporary stations like Super Q on 107.5 were playing some Dance. Also between 1983-1985 both Y-100 and rival I-95 were two of the most Dance friendly CHR/Pop stations in the country.

So where was the Dance music heard prior to stations like Power 106? Some of it managed to cross over to CHR/Pop, but most of it broke out of the Urban stations. 98.7 Kiss FM New York debuted in the early 80s, and later stations like 102.7 BMX Chicago, 93 DRQ Detroit, Power 99 Philadelphia, and Z-107 Dallas were supportive of high energy Dance music.

Morpheux, you mentioned Cleveland. The big CHR in Cleveland at the time was 100.7 WMMS a Rock leaning CHR that was far and away the most listened to station in the markert, usually with something like a 15 share. They were very reluctant to play anything resembling Dance. There was a more true CHR/Pop station in Cleveland through much of the 80s called G-98. By the late 80s Cleveland had a great CHR/Pop in Power 108. 92 Q, which later became Jammin 92.3, wasn't a big ratings player at the time. WZAK was the big Urban station in town.
Click to expand...

CHRles, if you're going to go '89 - early 90's, you have to include Energy 96.5 in Houston, which at the time was KNRJ. That station leaned very heavily on "high energy" dance. You might also want to include 93Q and Power 104 (KRBE) in Houston, and KHFI and B93 in Austin, as well as Power 92 in Phoenix (which leaned towards dance, then modern rock, then went back to dance-leaning in '95).
 
Don't worry, I'll have a playlist from both Energy 96.5 Houston and Power 92 Pheonix for 1989. While I don't have playlists for Austin CHRs from back then (Austin wasnt a big enough market at the time and thus its stations weren't featured in the trades) I do have playlists from nearby San Antonio.

With regards to 93 Q, Houston's dominant CHR for much of the 80s (Scott Shannon helped launch it 7 months prior to the debut of Z-100 NYC), as well as rival Power 104, both were truly great sounding CHRs. They were Dance friendly especially with regards to New Wave and synth Pop, but the majority of their playlist wasn't Dance. Besides, what they were playing pales in comparison to the amount played on Energy 96.5, which sadly only lasted a year. KRBE became very very Dance friendly around 92-93 while it was evolving to a Modern Rock leaning CHR.
I believe 93 Q and Power 104 started getting more aggressive on new Dance music around 1986-87, perhaps in part due to the influence of stations like Power 106 and Hot 103, perhaps due to Houston's already sizeable Hispanic population...or maybe b/c of a huge Jean Michel Jarre concert that was attended by 1.5 million people in Houston. He created one of the most epic Dance records of the decade and played it at the event, "Rendezvous 4"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SVf...2F9A1E8B&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=16


Fun fact: Controversial talk-show host Glenn Beck was Power 104 Houston's morning DJ in 1989. Prior to that he was doing mornings at Y-95 Phoenix...
 
2Son said:
CHRles said:
Thanks for the comments. Clubber, I'll be posting playilsts from 1988 and 1989 in the coming days (maybe early 90s too).
It should be noted that at this time most CHR/Pop stations were not playing too much Dance or Rhythmic hits. One notable exception was Power 96 Detroit, which was very Rhythmic leaning, but didn't play nearly as much Dance music as the stations I've posted.
When Power 106 L.A. first debuted both Billboard and Radio & Records viewed it as an Urban station. As a result, Power 106 refused to report to the trades until the crossover category was created in 1987. Power 106 was undoubtedly one of the most influential stations of the mid to late 80s. Although Many on this board fondly remember the early days of Hot 103, WQHT's ratings were just okay at best back then. Power 106, on the other hand, shot up to the top of the L.A. radio ratings very quickly. Within 6 months of its debut it managed to knock 102.7 KIIS out of the top spot with over a 7 share in the ratings. They also forced 93 Hit Radio KKHR out of the CHR/Pop format. Stations like 106 KMEL San Francisco, which was still a true CHR/Pop in 1986, took note. The station started to lean more and more both on Dance and Rhythmic hits in part b/c they wanted to acheive the kind of ratings that Urban KSOL 107.7 (which changed to Wild 107.7 in the early 90s) had. Over in San Diego the new Q-106 was a ratings success story pretty quickly forcing CHR/Pop KS 103 out of the format. Hot 97.7 San Jose, which debuted the following year was actually even heavier on Dance music than KMEL in nearby San Francisco. You also saw stations like 105.3 KKXX Bakersfield and B-95 Fresno go crossover by the late 80s, influenced by and large by both Power 106 and KMEL.
predating both Power 106 and Hot 103 was Miami's Hot 105 under the programming direction of Bill Tanner. As seen in this thread, Tanner by 87 was already over at Power 96 while Hot 105 was evolving to CHR/Pop to take on Y-100. It's important to note just how Dance friendly the radio dial was in Miami all throughout the 80s, but especially in the mid 80s. Rhythm 98 was around in 1986, the Spanish Contemporary stations like Super Q on 107.5 were playing some Dance. Also between 1983-1985 both Y-100 and rival I-95 were two of the most Dance friendly CHR/Pop stations in the country.

So where was the Dance music heard prior to stations like Power 106? Some of it managed to cross over to CHR/Pop, but most of it broke out of the Urban stations. 98.7 Kiss FM New York debuted in the early 80s, and later stations like 102.7 BMX Chicago, 93 DRQ Detroit, Power 99 Philadelphia, and Z-107 Dallas were supportive of high energy Dance music.

Morpheux, you mentioned Cleveland. The big CHR in Cleveland at the time was 100.7 WMMS a Rock leaning CHR that was far and away the most listened to station in the markert, usually with something like a 15 share. They were very reluctant to play anything resembling Dance. There was a more true CHR/Pop station in Cleveland through much of the 80s called G-98. By the late 80s Cleveland had a great CHR/Pop in Power 108. 92 Q, which later became Jammin 92.3, wasn't a big ratings player at the time. WZAK was the big Urban station in town.
Click to expand...

CHRles, if you're going to go '89 - early 90's, you have to include Energy 96.5 in Houston, which at the time was KNRJ. That station leaned very heavily on "high energy" dance. You might also want to include 93Q and Power 104 (KRBE) in Houston, and KHFI and B93 in Austin, as well as Power 92 in Phoenix (which leaned towards dance, then modern rock, then went back to dance-leaning in '95).
Click to expand...

KNRJ Houston - Energy 96.5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1u-C6yAc2c
 
CHRles said:
Don't worry, I'll have a playlist from both Energy 96.5 Houston and Power 92 Pheonix for 1989. While I don't have playlists for Austin CHRs from back then (Austin wasnt a big enough market at the time and thus its stations weren't featured in the trades) I do have playlists from nearby San Antonio.

With regards to 93 Q, Houston's dominant CHR for much of the 80s (Scott Shannon helped launch it 7 months prior to the debut of Z-100 NYC), as well as rival Power 104, both were truly great sounding CHRs. They were Dance friendly especially with regards to New Wave and synth Pop, but the majority of their playlist wasn't Dance. Besides, what they were playing pales in comparison to the amount played on Energy 96.5, which sadly only lasted a year. KRBE became very very Dance friendly around 92-93 while it was evolving to a Modern Rock leaning CHR.
I believe 93 Q and Power 104 started getting more aggressive on new Dance music around 1986-87, perhaps in part due to the influence of stations like Power 106 and Hot 103, perhaps due to Houston's already sizeable Hispanic population...or maybe b/c of a huge Jean Michel Jarre concert that was attended by 1.5 million people in Houston. He created one of the most epic Dance records of the decade and played it at the event, "Rendezvous 4"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SVf...2F9A1E8B&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=16


Fun fact: Controversial talk-show host Glenn Beck was Power 104 Houston's morning DJ in 1989. Prior to that he was doing mornings at Y-95 Phoenix...
Click to expand...

'89-'92 was a good time for top 40 radio in Austin. Between B93 and KHFI (K98, K98.1, K96.7, 96.7), during regular rotation you could always hear artists and songs like The Shamen (Move Any Mountain, Make It Mine), Erasure (Chorus, Love to Hate You, Star, Blue Savannah, Stop), Corina (Temptation), The Other Two (Tasty Fish), T42 (Don't Let My Love, Desire, Will You Be There), The Party (In My Dreams), Anything Box (Living In Oblivion), Yaz (State Farm Remix), Noel, Book of Love (Alice Everyday, Sunny Day), Latour (People Are Still Having Sex), Dee-Lite (What Is Love), Siouxsie and the Banshees (Kiss Them For Me), 49'ers (Touch Me), Inner City (Good Life), Lil Louis (French Kiss), Saint Etienne (Only Love Can Break Your Heart), Ministry (Everyday is Halloween), Steven Duffy (Kiss Me), Stevie B (In My Eyes, I Wanna Be The One), etc...
 
Do you have playlists/adds for these stations from the late 1980s:
WLUM (Hot 102)/Milwaukee
KKFR (Power 92)/Phoenix
KSFM/Sacramento
WWKX (Kix 106)/Providence
KMAI and KQMQ/Honolulu
KTFM and KITY/Sam Antonio
KBOS/Fresno
KZHT/Salt Lake City
WKSS/Hartford
WCKZ/Charlotte
KPRR/El Paso
KKSS/Albuquerque
 
"Here I Go Again"......Whitesnake.......DANCE MUSIC??
 
Bongwater said:
"Here I Go Again"......Whitesnake.......DANCE MUSIC??
Click to expand...

That was nothing new back in the day (just ask KITY and KTFM/San Antonio). WLUM/Milwaukee also played it and "Is This Love" too.
 
Moving along...Whitesnake...there's no reason for even mentioning that in this thread...moving along...
 
Actually, I do want to address "Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake. These stations leaned Dance, but some of them also realized their audience WANTED to hear some of the biggest Pop records of the day as well on their station. "Here I Go Again" went to number one on the Pop charts. Some Dance leaning stations also played Bon Jovi and Guns N Roses the following year.
I think people have this romantic notion of stations from back in the day that all they played was their favorite Dance songs. Those may be the songs they remember, but the playlist was usually more broad based than that. For a station to succeed, oftentimes it needs to realize that while its core sound might be one thing, but the overall sound of the station needs to evolve. Whether that means getting deeper on Dance, as many stations played Lil Louis "French Kiss" in the late 80s, or opening up their playlist to big AC hits from the likes of Chicago and Breathe.

Robert, some of the stations you listed were too Churban even in the late 80s for me to post their playlists. In fact, KKSS 97.3 Kiss FM Albuquerque was first known as an Urban, although it's pretty clear from day one they were a crossover station. Hot 102 Milwaukee was also an Urban until around 1986...when they added a Van Halen hit to their playlist. WLUM was Dance friendly or Dance leaning between 89-91. I'll try to look it up. KSFM 102.5 Sacramento was one of three CHRs in its market, and while in the late 80s it was classified as Top 40/Dance they were really already a Rhythmic CHR in essence. Kix 106 was actually a CHR/Pop when it first came on, a direct competitor of heritage 92 Pro, and the first to go up against it since the early 80s when JB 105 was also doing CHR.
I have playlists from Kiss 95.7 Hartford from the early 90s - both Kiss and 96 TIC (the market's dominant CHR) were Dance leaning, much moreso than stations like Kiss 102 Charlotte or KSFM.
 
Morpheux, you mentioned Cleveland. The big CHR in Cleveland at the time was 100.7 WMMS a Rock leaning CHR that was far and away the most listened to station in the markert, usually with something like a 15 share. They were very reluctant to play anything resembling Dance. There was a more true CHR/Pop station in Cleveland through much of the 80s called G-98. By the late 80s Cleveland had a great CHR/Pop in Power 108. 92 Q, which later became Jammin 92.3, wasn't a big ratings player at the time. WZAK was the big Urban station in town.
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Actually, G98 was my fav station the first three months I lived in Cleveland. and then they flipped to WNCX Classic Rock. If im not mistaken they stunted with some dance mixes right before they flipped. So I had no choice but to listen to 92Q. There was also a 24/7 rap station that summer on 108. I don't remember hearing any personalities and after the summer of 86 they went silent.92 Q was actually decent to listen to in 87/88 their playlist mirrors what you have posted on here. This is where I first got a liking for dance music although I was more into rock then. They also had a mix show on sat nights that broadcast live from a dance club. The DJ was played house/freestyle,high energy and it was as good as anything fron ny or miami.For some reason I never really got into Power 108. I did like the Open House Party on sat and sun nights which was dance heavy during this time. Power ended up flipping to Alternative and by then Jammin 92.3 became dance intensive playing Technotronic,Noel,Dino,George Lamond until it got bought out and became more rhythmic back in 1991.
 
Thx for the comments Morpheux.
Robert, you can actually see playlists of the major market CHRs from 1986, and one from 1987 if you follow my link. Billboard started adding the Power Playlists section in May of 1986 so here you go:
http://books.google.com/books?id=0i...e=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Scroll down to page 18. You'll see Power 96 and Z-95.5 Detroit (which was usually ahead of WHYT at this time), Kiss 108 and 103 WHTT (Z-94 was ranked below these two at this time), Z-93 Atlanta, WLS AM 89 Chicago (which was ahead of B-96 in the ratings until 1986) as well as B-96, both 102.7 KIIS fM and then rival 93 KKHR, G-98 and 100.7 WMMS Cleveland, Q-105 Tampa (one of the highest rated CHRs in the country all throughout the 80s), Z-100 and Power 95 New York (this was a great time for WPLJ - they actually beat Z in the ratings 1985!), WCAU 98 Philadelphia, B-94 Pittsburgh, 93 Q Houston, Q-107 Washington, Y-100 Miami (Hot 105 managed to beat it in the ratings in 86), 106 KMEL San Francisco, and WLOL 99.5 in Minneapolis. WLOL was almost always ahead of 101.3 KDWB, and in 1990 WLOL was a Top 40/Dance station for a year. Of special note is 96 TIC Hartford, which Billboard always featured in its Power Playlists, but was never featured in Radio & Records as Hartford wasn't a big enough market. So how did it make it into Billboard's smaller number of featured playlists? It was one of the top cuming CHRs in the country.

On page 16 they talked about how Urban K-97 Memphis was playing a lot of Dance music. It wasn't even Urban Dance but rather stuff by the likes of Pet Shop Boys, and even Phil Collins. That's probably why when Power 106 first came on the scene it was easier to classify it as an Urban.

By August of 1986 Emmis had acquired WAPP 103.5 New York, which was a CHR at the time. The speculation was that the station would either go Rock...or "Urban" similar to Power 106 L.A. Check it out for yourself here on page 15:
http://books.google.com/books?id=Ui...e=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Z-95 Chicago and Power 104 Houston were also added to the Power Playlists section. Check out Page 19 from the link above. Best of all, there's a huge special feature on the third anniversary of Z-100 New York which starts on page 21.

B-104 Baltimore, then programmed by Steve Kingston (and previously Jan Jeffries) was soon afterwards added (P.25)
http://books.google.com/books?id=qS...e=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Wanna read about the changes occuring in Miami in 1986 and how Power 96 came to be? Check out Pages 10 and 13 at:
http://books.google.com/books?id=ay...e=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Also a few pages down, page 15, you can see how 93 Q New Orleans was getting ready to transition from CHR/Pop to a crossover station, which evantually lead the station to flip to a very successful Urban outet. The guy put in charge? Jay Stevens, who in the early 90s worked at Y-95 Phoenix. Notice the way Jerry Clifton is described as being very knowledgable of the Urban format - he was already consulting stations out West and in the Southwest. Also, B-97 New Orleans was Dance friendly in the latter part of the 80s, though not Dance heavy. Even Dance songs by the likes of Noel and Sa-Fire managed to make its Top 10.

So you see, things were coming together in 1986 that slowly but surely lead to the rise of Top 40/Dance radio. In 1987 a lot of the big market CHR/Pop stations were able to play a record like M/A/A/R/S "Pump Up The Volume" because of the changes.

A few more CHR/Pop stations added to the Power Playlists by October included 101.3 KDWB Minneapolis, Z-94 Boston, 105.1 WAVE Washington, Live 105 KITS San Francisco, and 94 Q Atlanta (which was featuring Smooth Jazz music every weeknight). All this on page 12-13
http://books.google.com/books?id=yy...e=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false


Anyways, look at the playlists for CHR/Pop stations, and then look at the playlists I've posted again for Dance/Crossover stations from 1987. It should help give you some perspective.
 
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