• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Songs that sounded "better" on AM

This past Saturday night I was on the NYS Thruway traveling from Syracuse to Rochester. 77 WABC was coming in like a local station. Fortunately, they were running the Saturday Night Oldies Show and not hockey, bowling, whatever.
They just sounded great. Their 50,000 watts was booming just like I remember. The quaility of the signal was excellent. All the music just sounded fantastic. If you haven't heard the show try tuning in Saturday nights 6-10 (in the Cousin Brucie slot). They really do a great job.
 
This past Saturday night I was on the NYS Thruway traveling from Syracuse to Rochester. 77 WABC was coming in like a local station. Fortunately, they were running the Saturday Night Oldies Show and not hockey, bowling, whatever.
They just sounded great. Their 50,000 watts was booming just like I remember. The quaility of the signal was excellent. All the music just sounded fantastic. If you haven't heard the show try tuning in Saturday nights 6-10 (in the Cousin Brucie slot). They really do a great job.
Didn't realize they were still doing that...Is Marc Simone still the host?
 
Didn't realize they were still doing that...Is Marc Simone still the host?
Yes, but they weren't on again last night because of hockey.
javascript:void(0);
Angry
 
Some other pop songs that sounded best on AM (especially on a 50kw blowtorch):

Brandy-Looking Glass

How Long-Ace

Lonely People-America

Mandy-Barry Manilow

Listen to what the Man said-Wings

Year of the Cat-Al Stewart (think of the screaming guitar climax in the orchestra bridge)

Reunited-Peaches & Herb (already compressed)

heart of the night-Poco
 
My personal favorite -- after a stop-set was "Rasperries and "Go All The Way"
Tom S
 
Dance Dance Dance- Beach Boys
Itchycoo Park- Small Faces
Wooly Bully- Sam the Sham & the Pharoahs
Ride My See-Saw- Moody Blues
Classical Gas- Mason Williams
If You Could Read My Mind- Gordon Lightfoot
 
Frankley, none do! However, as a total package...air checks with music, spots, jingles, TALENT...AM has a home in my home.
 
Ultimajock said:
..."I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles. Not only was that one considerably weakened in the stereo mixes (the one on the first PAST MASTERS volume sounds downright ill), but Capitol's original 45 mix (which was maintained on the Apple reissue 45 circa 1969) had the sound overmodulated just past the point of distortion, which really made it stick out from the Bobby Vinton and Connie Francis stuff of the period even more than one would think if they only heard the CD versions...

...Jim Croce's "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" by The Temptations, with those thumping bass lines, were also aided by AM compression...
Click to expand...
 
Two of my personal favorites were "Incense and Peppermints" by the Strawberry Alarm Clock (loved the way the organ sounded on AM), and Chicago "If You Leave Me Now" (the low guitar parts really cut through, and FM compression doesn't bring up all the notes like it should).
 
Air That I Breathe by the Hollies
Bungle In The Jungle by Jethro Tull
Treat Her Like A Lady by the Cornelius Brothers
La Grange by ZZ Top

Let's Go by the Cars was a good one later in the 70s back when KAAY Little Rock was still jammin rock.

How many of you had an FM converter hooked to the AM radio in the car?
 
I did in my Dodge in 1977-79.... 8)
 
Lancer said:
How many of you had an FM converter hooked to the AM radio in the car?
Click to expand...

...my dad had one of those damned things in his '73 AMC Matador. Problem was, none of the FM stations in the Appleton-Oshkosh market at the time had anything either he or I wanted to listen to, so most of the time we had the radio on either WIND or WCFL out of Chicago ;-) ...
 
I had an FM converter in the car; believe it was the late 60's early 70's: Hartford Ct radio was at it's peak with WCCC, WHCN, WPLR, (probably more) being good stuff. I remember the converter had decent range for FM.
Just about everyone had one. We had to have our "Innagaddavita" fix. Still do. Could have sworn that I've heard the long version before on AM as well. Several times.
There's an AM station in SW FLA, WKII 1070 that plays stuff from the 50's to the 70's: a lot of older folk listen to it on their home stereos. I actually have listened to it a few times in the car with my Mom and her companion and it is a station that several generations can enjoy in a vehicle without feeding one of the occupants to the gators. And it sounds good-they play cuts that don't get a lot of airtime elsewhere. Large playlist. One song that sounds real good on AM is "This is a Man's World" by the late J.B. or "I've Been Loving You Too Long." by Sir Otis or "Slipping Into Darkness" (group slips my mind).
 
"Slipp'in Into Darkness" is by the group War which also had some other great songs like "All Day Music", "Cisco Kid", and "Spill The Wine" where they backed Eric Burdon (of Eric Burdon & The Animals).
 
How about songs whose intros never sounded good on any kind of radio?

Roberta Flack: The First Time Ever I Sawed Your Face...

ouch.
 
tcs...add "Love Me Tender" Elvis to that pile.

Good? How 'bout "Sweet Talkin' Guy" the Chiffons.
 
Some my faves from AM

"Year of the cat" - Al Stewart - the piano intro sounded noisy & "hissy" on FM, because of the compression...
"Best of my love" - Emotions
"Strawberry letter 23" - Brothers Johnson
"Dance with me" - Peter Brown - somehow, songs like these with a "punchy bottom" just sounded better on AM
 
...almost every British "Glam Rock" record ever put out -- bands like The Sweet, T.Rex, Slade, Bay City Rollers, Suzi Quatro, First Class, The Rubettes -- sound much more impressive over an AM signal than they ever have over an FM. Surprised that only a handful of those things ever got played on American AM radio at the time...
 
Happy Just To Dance With You-Beatles
Pretty Lady-Lighthouse
Laughter in the Rain-Neil Sedaka
Magic-Pilot
Sky High-Jigsaw
Float On-Floaters
Philadelphia Freedom-Elton
Yes I'm Ready-Barbera Mason OR Terry Desario & K.C
Shake Your Bootie-K.C & Sunshine Band
most all instrumentals including T-Bones
Guess Who-American Woman, These Eyes, Laughing, Undun
Don't Call Us We'll Call You-Sugarloaf
One Bad Apple, Two Out of Three aint Bad, 3 Ring Circus, Four Seasons, Fifth Dimension, 65 Love Affair, 7Th Son, 8 Days a Week, 99, Ten Commandments of Love, the 11th Hour Medley, 12:30...(Young Girls Coming to the Canyon)

Life Is a Rock But the radio rolled Me- Reunion
& many many more!

Someone earlier said they're 36 and won't listen to ANY "crap" that's out today. Dude, I'm 39 and still like to keep up on what's going on, funny you sound like my dad. I'd go nuts stuck in the 70's & 80's forever!
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom