Question: When Did Top 40 playlists become standard across the U.S.?

[vchimpanzee]

A great way to dive into this is to look at the station charts, side-by-side in the CHR section of Radio and Records over the years. David has a great archive:

https://worldradiohistory.com/RandR_Magazine_Page_Range_Guide.htm

I remember Billboard having lists of songs that were played on each individual station back in the early 80s.

 

[Groove1670]

Except keep in mind the charts have rules about that. And even when a company does a targeted (paid) campaign, it still isn't enough to overwhelm the rest of the chart. The people who run the charts (like the people who run elections) are very concerned about giving the impression that the system is flawed or filled with fraud.

Nope. Not what I meant. If you have a corporate group of CHR stations (for example) jump on a title it will increase spins. It is most likely that the whole corporate group will add the record.

 

[TheBigA]

Nope. Not what I meant. If you have a corporate group of CHR stations (for example) jump on a title it will increase spins. It is most likely that the whole corporate group will add the record.

They might add it, but after first week, they back off the spins, and we've seen songs that have big first weeks drop off the charts after actual research kicks in. Obviously labels like to see a big add week for a new single. No guarantee that it becomes a hit.

 

[Groove1670]

They might add it, but after first week, they back off the spins, and we've seen songs that have big first weeks drop off the charts after actual research kicks in. Obviously labels like to see a big add week for a new single. No guarantee that it becomes a hit.

That has been the case of several singles lately.

 

[TheBigA]

That has been the case of several singles lately.

Which is why I said in answer to the question posed by the OP that it hasn't happened yet. If one company does a group add, and I program a competing station in the same market, I'm not likely to add that song. That has also happened a few times.

 

[MarioMania]

Why is this on the SF forum for?

Should be in the Top 40 forum

 

[tvnut]

Why is this on the SF forum for?

Should be in the Top 40 forum

The original question pertained to KFRC's top 40 compared to Billboard's.

 

[michael hagerty]

I remember in the late '70s listening to Casey Kasem's American Top 40 show and noting that there would be songs in the Top Twenty, Nazareth's 'Love Hurts' and Van Halen's 'Dance The Night Away' for example, that were not added to KFRC's playlist. I suppose there were a lot more of these geographic differences in playlists in the '60s and early '70s. When did everything become standardized nationally, such that a Top 40 format in Atlanta was essentially identical to one in the Bay Area?

In the interests of accuracy, KFRC did play and chart "Love Hurts":

KFRC 610 San Francisco Survey 02/11/76

San Francisco radio station KFRC 610 AM survey chart for the week of 02/11/76.

www.las-solanas.com

And "Dance The Night Away" made it to #2 on KFRC:

KFRC 610 San Francisco Survey 06/15/79

San Francisco radio station KFRC 610 AM survey chart for the week of 06/15/79.

www.las-solanas.com