SONGS YOU'D LOVE TO HEAR ON KRTH-FM!

[ValleyWatt]

You're the man, "Oldies 76!!!" We speak the same language.

I moved out to Los Angeles in 1989 and KRTH-101 and KHJ (93.1) were the two major oldies stations. And I can tell you without a doubt that KRTH had a more vast and diversified playlist!

That aside, what makes WCBS a far superior oldies station (besides going outside a normal oldies playlist), is PRESENTATION! Their Jocks (or whatever they're called these days) are more exciting and engaging, the bumps are energetic, and even an overplayed song is given a better introduction, which makes you feel like you're hearing it for the first time. And they'll throw in a cool unknown trivia tidbit. WCBS makes you feel like you're part of that era! A good radio station will do that. I listen to KRTH and DO NOT feel like I'm part of the station!

But I did hear a shocker on KRTH yesterday morning, as the last verse of "Nothing But a Heartache" by The Flirtations trailed out! Now that was a cool oldie from 1969. A few more of those and KRTH will be heading back in the right direction.

 

[davideduardo]

I moved out to Los Angeles in 1989 and KRTH-101 and KHJ (93.1) were the two major oldies stations. And I can tell you without a doubt that KRTH had a more vast and diversified playlist!

KHJ-FM became KRTH; they never coexisted.

WCBS makes you feel like you're part of that era! A good radio station will do that. I listen to KRTH and DO NOT feel like I'm part of the station!

Many oldies stations do not want to sound like part of an era. They want to sound like today in presentation. Many listeners, particularly those who did not grow up in a city... such as the case with LA, don't want nostalgia,and don't want to be dragged back into a bygone era.

But I did hear a shocker on KRTH yesterday morning, as the last verse of "Nothing But a Heartache" by The Flirtations trailed out! Now that was a cool oldie from 1969. A few more of those and KRTH will be heading back in the right direction.

Yet many of us who were doing Top 40 in that era would not even remember that song. I don't.

 

[ValleyWatt]

I moved out to Los Angeles in 1989 and KRTH-101 and KHJ (93.1) were the two major oldies stations. And I can tell you without a doubt that KRTH had a more vast and diversified playlist!

KHJ-FM became KRTH; they never coexisted.

You're right, thanks for correcting. KRTH 101 and the predecessor to KCBS-FM (93.1).

WCBS makes you feel like you're part of that era! A good radio station will do that. I listen to KRTH and DO NOT feel like I'm part of the station!

Many oldies stations do not want to sound like part of an era. They want to sound like today in presentation. Many listeners, particularly those who did not grow up in a city... such as the case with LA, don't want nostalgia,and don't want to be dragged back into a bygone era.

It's not about being dragged into the past or being frozen in time -- it's honoring a great time period in music. Do you think anyone will be nostalgic about the songs of 1999, 2000, 0r 2006? Doubtful!

But I did hear a shocker on KRTH yesterday morning, as the last verse of "Nothing But a Heartache" by The Flirtations trailed out! Now that was a cool oldie from 1969. A few more of those and KRTH will be heading back in the right direction.

Yet many of us who were doing Top 40 in that era would not even remember that song. I don't.

Here's the song -- a great Motown cousin! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcoBjiY7UfA

 

[oldies76]

Nostalgia is not the issue here..WLNG or a station like that is nostalgic!! All we are saying is why can't a radio station play more hits / songs from the past?? Why must a station stay "stuck" with the same presentation repeatedly?? You don't have to have old 1960's or 70's jingles (nostalgia) to accompany the songs. A station can have updated jingles..etc.. Truthfully, the older jingles may work better, but it's an option.

A good classic hits / oldies station wants to provide you with the "music that you grew up with". I've heard that idea on other stations before. Ok then.....have a somewhat limited playlist, but you need to shuffle the songs around and bring in "new release" oldies & classics every so often, so that you DO NOT BORE THE LISTENER with the same circle of songs! Like I've said before..WCBS does this and is very attractive to listen to and I hope they continue!

Audiences like variety and changes..not redundancy!

Sure, a CHR station will play the same "NEW" songs over and over..to familiarize the youth out there, what is Hot in 2008...but new songs keep pouring in and the ones that are not popular anymore, will drop off to make the station listenable.

Same thing with classic hits..keep adding in "New Classics" to make the station listenable. If "My Girl" was Hot in 1965, why play it to death in 2008?..we've heard the song for 43 years!!! It's a great song, but the frequency of it being played is like, if it was current. If people get tired of overplayed songs, then drop it or reduce the airtime of it and play some other "New Classic" in it's place.

KRTH is a good station, and has improved lately, especially from the period (1989-2004). If they keep playing songs outside their playlist, as ValleyWatt suggests, then KRTH could reach the caliber of WCBS.

Remember that oldies station out of San Diego, KOOL 99.3 that was shut down in 2005, because of La Preciosa's take over? They had a huge playlist too, with specials. Why San Diego was deprived a great oldies / hits station, sure disappointed many there.

 

[oldies76]

Maybe oldies / classic hits stations should do today, what was done years back: Taking requests!!! They can play the core songs, but if a listener wants to hear an oldie or classic hit from a certain time..than the station should air it..no matter what song it is or where it peaked on the Hot 100, as long it's part of the station's format (i.e..1964-1985). Then everyone would be pleased.....FINALLY!

 

[SuperRadioFan]

Remember that oldies station out of San Diego, KOOL 99.3 that was shut down in 2005, because of La Preciosa's take over? They had a huge playlist too, with specials. Why San Diego was deprived a great oldies / hits station, sure disappointed many there.

Funny you mention that great oldies station RIP... From an Edison Media Research column and blog responses, here is Dave Mason's post:

Dave Mason on March 13, 2008 9:32 PM
Can I say "I TOLD YOU SO"?? 3 years ago we were left to our own at XHOCL in San Diego. We knew in 6 months the station would be sold, but faced with "Jack" and an AM station dabbling in 50's music, we straddled the fence...playing everything that made sense from "Rock Around The Clock" to "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" to some pretty nifty 90's music that fit the bill. In three short months we started seeing amazing movement in the station -but then it was gone. Til then, I've been getting strange reaction from people who wouldn't THINK of Jerry Lee Lewis on the same station with-John Mellencamp "Wild Nights" to UB 40's remake of "Red Red Wine". It's the ESSENCE not the era that makes a True Oldies station - a TRUE OLDIES Station. If you know the music (and some of us do) you will WIN."

Perhaps you've already seen this, but if not, for you and everyone else interested here's the link:

http://www.edisonresearch.com/home/archives/2008/03/catching_up_on.php

 

[oldies76]

Great Article...

I wonder what KOOL 99.3 would be like today, if La Preciosa did not take over this slot?

Kool did play tons of songs from the 50's thru the early 80's...I moved from Orange County to Colorado Springs in 2005 and missed the change..found out once I relocated here. Could not believe it at the time!

Getting away from the KRTH subject line,

We have 107.9 here in nearby Pueblo, Co. JET 107.9 (automated) and 105.1 in Denver (KOOL)..What do you think of these stations?? They both play Classic Hits and some oldies.

 

[davideduardo]

Maybe oldies / classic hits stations should do today, what was done years back: Taking requests!!!

This one comes up here every so often.

No important station in important dayparts (Sunday Morning and night and Saturday night are not important dayparts) has done requests for decades and decades.

Playing requests is, fundamentally, letting a person, whose only qualifications are having a phone, program your radio station. In New York, where a CHR reaches several million persons, why would you not want to play the best songs in a very balanced sequence with proper horizonatal and vertical protection?

It only takes a few request line calls where someone asks for the song you are playing right now or the one you just played 3 minutes ago to realize that there is no programming use in doing requests unless you use some system where the listener "requests" one of the songs coming up in the next halof hour or so.

 

[oldies76]

Well, of course there would be internal station rules to abide by. Obviously, a station won't play a song over, if it was just played minutes or even hours ago. I think this would only apply to songs that the station normally would not play in their rotation. The oldies / classic hits station could set aside a time and day when requests would be granted, like the weekends. Make it a weekend request show or a Saturday Night request show.

KRTH had that back in the mid 80's, if I recall. In fact, I called them and requested "Come Sail Away" during their request show and they indeed played it within 20 minutes, the album version that is. But geez..that was back in 1984 or '85 I believe, when they had a bigger playlist.

A CHR station probably would never take requests on current hits, since they rotate them very frequently anyways.

 

[SuperRadioFan]

there is no programming use in doing requests unless you use some system where the listener "requests" one of the songs coming up in the next half hour or so.

That is true today of any top 20 station (or top 30 or top 40) in a major market. It's too bad, but your point is well taken. Requests made to an over the air terrestrial radio station only seem to get played on formats like AAA on a suburban station or maybe an classic hits/oldies suburban station like WLNG as long as those requests are reasonable i.e. don't request "Underwater"-The Frogmen for an oldies station or "Majesty" by Madrugada (a Norwegian group) on a AAA station.

Many years ago, I actually got Chris Cox (who did a one hour shift) then the PD of 95.9 KEZY play "'Round Here"-Counting Crows within 10 minutes of my call. I just about fell off my chair when he played it but that was back in around 1995. And the old FM 101.9 (Mimi Chen) played a few requests I made circa '96. For the most part, those days are long gone.

 

[BACKnUSSR]

Well, of course there would be internal station rules to abide by. Obviously, a station won't play a song over, if it was just played minutes or even hours ago. I think this would only apply to songs that the station normally would not play in their rotation. The oldies / classic hits station could set aside a time and day when requests would be granted, like the weekends. Make it a weekend request show or a Saturday Night request show.

KRTH had that back in the mid 80's, if I recall. In fact, I called them and requested "Come Sail Away" during their request show and they indeed played it within 20 minutes, the album version that is. But geez..that was back in 1984 or '85 I believe, when they had a bigger playlist.

A CHR station probably would never take requests on current hits, since they rotate them very frequently anyways.

Do you think those great stations of yesterday (KHJ, WABC, KFRC) played requests?
Airing phone calls for the song you're about to play is one thing.....

But do you think Drake & Sklar et. al shared music rotation decisions with anyone who had the request line #?
Really?
I'm picturing somebody waiting patiently by the radio for Cousin Brucie to spin "Calcutta".

 

[oldies76]

I honestly don't know about WABC or KFRC (not familiar with these stations unfortunately). KHJ might have, since they were oldies at the time or then currents. You'd think maybe songs off the Boss 30 or others when their countdown wasn't airing, I don't know.

I'm sure one of these stations did play 'Calcutta' by request in the early 60's...who knows?

Did stations take requests in the 50's and 60's??

Calcutta was a great song in its time (1961), an upbeat instrumental with that early 60's beat to it. It still is a great song, but I seriously doubt anyone will air it ever again, unless your dealing with some sort of special on an oldies station.

 

[cyberdad]

Calcutta...an interesting choice! A big #1 hit in 1961..and you won't hear it anymore, because of the way stations playlist their music these days...

Next to nobody wants to hear it, and those familiar with it would be in their 60's and in not a salable demo.

Ummm....It's a joke, son, a joke!!!!

Except maybe for "Shotgun Boogie".  I think a hillbilly tune from 1950 somehow finding its way into the rotation on a major market signal in the self-appointed cool, chic, uber-sophisticated entertainment capital of the universe would be flat-out hilarious!  ;D

In seriousness, "Calcutta" indeed is an example of a number #1 hit from a bygone era that practically nobody wants to hear today.  (It also sort of typifies problems with pop music in the era between payola and the British invasion. As cheesy and insipid as it gets. Exactly why I love it!)

As for the "not a saleable demo stuff".....yes, absolutely.  I believe whatever the ad agencies tell me.

 

[davideduardo]

Did stations take requests in the 50's and 60's??

Larger market Top 40's had very strict and mechanical rotations. Practically none took requests.

 

[scooty430]

I got the impression with requests that it was a form of gauging popularity. If they had 100 requests for "You Light Up My Life" but only 5 for "Night Fever" then the former was more popular.

But it was clear back in the day that the DJs had more leeway to just pop a song on the air, especially in smaller markets. DJs also cheated. Read Jim Ladd's book about KLOS and KMET and you'll see how he and the other jocks devitaed from the playlist when the boss wasn't looking. They would even log it incorrectly so as not to get caught.

I do remember trying to get KRTH to play "In the Summertime" by Mungo Jerry for years. It was out of print and I wanted a recording of the song. First off, KRTH would never answer the phone. When they did, they'd say, "Sure, we'll play it." But it wasn't on their playlsit, so it would never get on. This was back in the 80's. Little would I know that in 2008 it would be one of the constantly overplayed KRTH songs!

Today, KRTH will ask for requests, but they even say up front: "It needs to be one of the "GREATEST HITS OF ALL TIME." Then they actually say, "no B-sides or obscure songs, just 'great Oldies'" Kind of funny. They want you to request a song that will be played anyway. A bit of a farce.

 

[oldies76]

Scooty430...you're right on about KRTH.

You might have gotten "In the Summertime" on a 45 from then Tower Records or Musicland I suppose.

The playlist for the day, would determine what requests actually aired. So if one called and requested "My Girl" or "My Cherie Amour"....oh sure...it'll get played soon! But "You Light Up My Life"...you can call the station 100 times and they'll never air it....not on the playlist, no airtime!! Does even matter to the station, that it was one of the biggest songs of the Rock and Roll era, spending 10 Weeks at #1 in 1977.

I guess we can all wait for a special featuring the top 20 songs of 1977, which KRTH will never do anyway.
WCBS might though!!

Basically, as you said....why even request songs on KRTH, because either they won't play it at all or they will whenever it rotates after your call...that could be minutes (if you're lucky) or hours! Sounds more like a contest than anything!

Crazy..isn't it Scooty430

 

[davideduardo]

I got the impression with requests that it was a form of gauging popularity. If they had 100 requests for "You Light Up My Life" but only 5 for "Night Fever" then the former was more popular.

Nope. Requests tend to indicate failures in rotations. If you are playing a song too much, it seldom gets requests, and too little you get requests.

I had one case with a new station in a top 15 market. When we went on, we got no requests. We got lots of calls for contests, though. When the first ratings came out, we had a 22 share in a 30 station market, so our conclusion was that we were rotating all the songs the right amount and playing all the right songs, too.

But it was clear back in the day that the DJs had more leeway to just pop a song on the air, especially in smaller markets.

In professional stations, they had no leeway. Only progressive rock was an exception, and Superstars, with tight lists, blew all those out of the water.

DJs also cheated.

And were fired.

 

[surfdude]

The tight playlist decision is an economic one. The only way for an Oldies station to get enough listeners
in the 25-54 sales demo, is to play totally familiar music. Deeper cuts are only going to be KNOWN
by the people of that generation. For 60s/70s stations that would be the 50+ generation.
If you stick to the biggest hits, the ANTHEMS (My Girl, Brown Eyed Girl, etc...) there's a lot of familiarity
for those songs with people from 30-49.

The average listener comes to an Oldies station to hear one of their FAVORITE songs - it ain't MA BELLE AMI by The Tee Set. Anyone who posts on this board, is not an AVERAGE listener.

Instead of complaining about K-Earth's tight music list, you should be happy they play 60s and 70s music at all. In five years, they won't. Time marches on...

David Eduardo is spot on in his writings about short playlists. The CORRECT tighter list ALWAYS wins. The great PDs know this, the bads ones do not, and will fail repeatedly. I know, I've done both.

 

[oldies76]

Surfdude, from a business point of view in radio..your right, DavidEduardo is right and the average 25-50 demo is right. For myself and others posting or other listeners in L.A. complaining about KRTH's tight playlist..All we're asking is that KRTH expand at tad more to satisfy listeners that were younger in these years. Don't play them all the time..just do a feature on a Sat night or a weekend special or insert these other hits within the playlist they have already. We're not asking for a total revamp..just add some songs! Make things exciting!

Like I've said before, WCBS in a huge city, like NYC has a desirable playlist. Why can't L.A. have something like this. WCBS has bigger variety.

KRTH's playlist, as said before, is good, it's much improved from years past (1990's), but it needs icing on the cake.

 

[surfdude]

That's right, you CAN do theme weekends, which K-Earth does. And, you can do
countdown shows. But, the songs still havew to be familiar.

Aside from CBS-FM's 80s songs, I think K-Earth actually plays
more Oldies songs than CBS does.