This is a great question, Chuck, and I wouldn’t even try to suggest an answer.
30-40 years ago, I remember that the word “standards” –as understood by grown-ups and used outside of a radio context – had a very specific meaning. “Oh, I really enjoy the old standards,” spoken kind of wistfully, referred to that genre of songs written by Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen & Johnny Mercer, Sammy Cahn & Jimmy Van Heusen, Dorothy Fields, et al. “Standards” were performed by Sinatra, Ella, Nat, Tony Bennett, June Christy, Jo Stafford, Keely Smith and other giants of the era. Today, standards are also performed by new, young artists like Michael Buble and Diana Krall.
Those are “standards” to this 57 year old.
Today, for many radio folks, “standards” includes the songs of Neil Diamond, Anne Murray, the Carpenters, Bread and other core artists of 70’s era soft AC. For some, it even reaches into more modern 80s and 90s soft rock performers. Personally, I will never classify songs by these artists as “standards.”
“Adult Standards” is a radio-concocted term, never used by real world people. Even in radio, it’s a format descriptor for the industry, but not really used on the air.
I’d hesitate to use any age-based word to market a format to listeners. Rock fans of the Zepplin and Grand Funk Railroad era are now in their 50’s – well into “adult” land.
“Timeless,” “Evergreen,” “Music of Your Life,” all sound nice and warm and fuzzy. I’d say, however, to the average American music radio listener, none of these descriptors could tell them what kind of music a station played, if they’d never heard the station.
Around 2002, I had the real pleasure of working on-air at a station that played exclusively the music described in my second paragraph above. We used the slogan “Home of the Great American Songbook.” It was absolutely accurate, because that music is correctly identified as such, even outside of radio. I wondered, however, if the casual listener who discovered us when hitting the scan button would get it – even if they did like the songs.
WNEW in New York – the big kahuna of standards stations in the 70’s, 80’s and up ‘til about 1992 – for a while used the lyrical identifier “WNEW 1130 – Where the Melody Lingers On.” Just beautiful! Props to Irving Berlin.
I still don’t know what to call it today. My best suggestion is to forget marketing, forget cleverness and forget trying to be cute. Say your call letters with pride, give the dial position often, and be sure your on-air hosts present the music with passion and joy. The listeners will remember you.
Nick Gerard
