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

[airpab]

I listen to both online a lot and they're both good stations. But if I had to pick one over the other, the slight edge musically would go to K-EARTH.

I think they're playlist is better than WCBS'. WCBS tends to throw in some "cheesier" 70's tunes.....Heard, "Billy Don't Be A Hero" the other day?...now that's cheesy!

Seems like both are tweaked a tad for the markets they're in.

 

[oldies76]

WCBS tends to air more mid-late 70's and some 80's, with a few 60's, and a rare late 50's song.
KRTH is more mid-late 60's, some 70s' and few early 80's & "Smooth" by Santana, from 1999. I think the only pre-64 songs KRTH might play, is "Tequilla" & "Stand By Me".

I heard "Billy.." a few days ago too..They were airing a few songs that hit #2 and the song that was #1 at the same time, a themed weekend.

KRTH's weekends are just a re-shuffling of their regular playlist, to make it sound like it's something new.
I was only impressed with the 1001 songs they aired for New Year's Weekend, since none of the songs repeated for the whole weekend.

It's ok to play a rare "cheesy" tune every once in a while..as a novelty perhaps..stick with your main playlist, but throw in a few extras to make it interesting, and that is what WCBS does. I am not bored listening to WCBS, because of the features and selection.

The playlists vary for each market, I suppose.

KRTH had its heyday back in the 70's & 80's and people who remember KRTH then, will tell you that.

It seems, this thread is getting nowhere.

 

[scooty430]

If you want to listen to Oldies (or "Classic Hits") there is only one choice in LA. So I'm not sure why KRTH can't take a few more chances. They have no competition.

At least throw us a bone Sunday night with some cool Oldies show. Heck, give Charlie Tuna a good show where he picks songs. WCBS has five hours of specialty programming Sunday night!

And more REAL themed weekends. (Top 1001, No Repeat, Summer Songs, Killer Bs were great - do more of that!) No more fake weekends (Parade of Hits, Motown Weekend, Songs in Commercials,Good Time Oldies Weekend - all just the regular playlist shuffled, as has been pointed out.)

 

[firepoint525]

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.

I'm just curious. Do they play any Beatles? Then they cannot play "I Saw Her Standing There," "She's a Woman," "Day Tripper," "Eleanor Rigby," "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Come Together," and "Revolution," because they were all B-sides!

If you're playing Elvis, then a number of his titles are off limits because they were B-sides! There are many more examples too numerous to mention here.

Many "hits" that we recognize today actually originated as B-sides, but the DJs played them because they liked those better, and those became the hits.

I am curious why many stations play "All My Loving" by the Beatles, because I have never been able to find any evidence that it was ever a single. (EPs don't count.) I believe even "Yesterday" originated as the B-side of "Act Naturally" before the roles were reversed and "Yesterday" emerged as the A-side.

 

[radio124]

Just for fun I will say:

Roses and Rainbows by Danny Hutton
Sweet Cream Ladies by the Box Tops
Will You Be Staying After Sunday by The Peppermint Rainbow
Sky Pilot by The Animals
Things I'd Like to Say by New Colony Six
Words by The Monkees
Shapes by The Yardbirds
White Bird by It's a Beautiful Day
Time by The Chambers Bros.
Reach Out From the Darkness by Friend and Lover
Ask the Lonely by The Four Tops
Tobacco Road by The Nashville Teens
Younger Girl and Six O' Clock by The Lovin' Spoonful
Seven and Seven Is by Love

These songs bring back good memories of a Super Sixties Weekend circa 1983.

 

[BACKnUSSR]

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.

I'm just curious. Do they play any Beatles? Then they cannot play "I Saw Her Standing There," "She's a Woman," "Day Tripper," "Eleanor Rigby," "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Come Together," and "Revolution," because they were all B-sides!

If you're playing Elvis, then a number of his titles are off limits because they were B-sides! There are many more examples too numerous to mention here.

Many "hits" that we recognize today actually originated as B-sides, but the DJs played them because they liked those better, and those became the hits.

I am curious why many stations play "All My Loving" by the Beatles, because I have never been able to find any evidence that it was ever a single. (EPs don't count.) I believe even "Yesterday" originated as the B-side of "Act Naturally" before the roles were reversed and "Yesterday" emerged as the A-side.

Trying not to go too far off topic, but the Beatles really helped reset the rules for everything, many Beatles "hits" were not singles at all, but rather album cuts pulled by programmers to satisfy the listener's insatiable thirst for Beatles music at the time.
So although many didn't actually "chart" or get released as singles, they qualify as hits based on airplay alone.

 

[oldies76]

KRTH is Beatle heaven....They had a 1001 weekend over New Year's weekend..76 of them were Beatles Songs.

And some were not even B-sides..some were Album Cuts, like "Lovely Rita".

And then they say, as mentioned above: You can request the "Greatest Hits of All Time"...Sure...so if I request "You Light Up My Life" Or "Physical" or even "Hound Dog"...I expect it to be played...because these were some of the GREATEST hits of all time, of the Rock era....all #1 songs for 10 weeks or more!!!

So it must be KRTH's Greatest Hits of all time, not the real greatest hits of all time.

K- Earth's Themed weekends are a shuffled playlist as mentioned by Scooty430. Not the real deal at all.

Remember Labor Day Weekends in the 80's on KRTH?? Those WERE the real deal! Every top-charter in L.A. from '55 thru '85..in chrono order...an incredible show!!

If WCBS can do variety, why can't KRTH! They are both Classic Hits stations, playing the "Greatest Hits of All Time" in two huge cities containing millions of potential listeners.

 

[firepoint525]

Trying not to go too far off topic, but the Beatles really helped reset the rules for everything, many Beatles "hits" were not singles at all, but rather album cuts pulled by programmers to satisfy the listener's insatiable thirst for Beatles music at the time.
So although many didn't actually "chart" or get released as singles, they qualify as hits based on airplay alone.

In addition to "All My Loving," you can add "Michelle," "Taxman," "In My Life," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "Here Comes the Sun," and a few others to that list. Harrison seems to be well represented on that list!

Occasionally, other artists will be able to get album tracks played on the air as well. Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely?" and Bon Jovi's "Never Say Goodbye" are candidates for that list. And Queen managed to get both sides of their "We Will Rock You"/"We Are the Champions" single played back to back as a medley! Bruce Springsteen's "Pink Cadillac" got almost as much airplay as its A-side, "Dancing in the Dark"!

 

[firepoint525]

KRTH is Beatle heaven....They had a 1001 weekend over New Year's weekend..76 of them were Beatles Songs.

And some were not even B-sides..some were Album Cuts, like "Lovely Rita".

And then they say, as mentioned above: You can request the "Greatest Hits of All Time"...Sure...so if I request "You Light Up My Life" Or "Physical" or even "Hound Dog"...I expect it to be played...because these were some of the GREATEST hits of all time, of the Rock era....all #1 songs for 10 weeks or more!!!

So it must be KRTH's Greatest Hits of all time, not the real greatest hits of all time.

K- Earth's Themed weekends are a shuffled playlist as mentioned by Scooty430. Not the real deal at all.

Remember Labor Day Weekends in the 80's on KRTH?? Those WERE the real deal! Every top-charter in L.A. from '55 thru '85..in chrono order...an incredible show!!

If WCBS can do variety, why can't KRTH! They are both Classic Hits stations, playing the "Greatest Hits of All Time" in two huge cities containing millions of potential listeners.

I would be careful about saying a song should be played, solely based on the number of weeks it spent at #1. Otherwise, we will never be able to hear the end of "Macarena"! But your point is well taken.

 

[BACKnUSSR]

Trying not to go too far off topic, but the Beatles really helped reset the rules for everything, many Beatles "hits" were not singles at all, but rather album cuts pulled by programmers to satisfy the listener's insatiable thirst for Beatles music at the time.
So although many didn't actually "chart" or get released as singles, they qualify as hits based on airplay alone.

In addition to "All My Loving," you can add "Michelle," "Taxman," "In My Life," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "Here Comes the Sun," and a few others to that list. Harrison seems to be well represented on that list!

Occasionally, other artists will be able to get album tracks played on the air as well. Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely?" and Bon Jovi's "Never Say Goodbye" are candidates for that list. And Queen managed to get both sides of their "We Will Rock You"/"We Are the Champions" single played back to back as a medley! Bruce Springsteen's "Pink Cadillac" got almost as much airplay as its A-side, "Dancing in the Dark"!

And virtually everything in the past 15 years....as singles are gone.

 

[BACKnUSSR]

KRTH is Beatle heaven....They had a 1001 weekend over New Year's weekend..76 of them were Beatles Songs.

So appx 93% of the countdown was non Beatles.

And some were not even B-sides..some were Album Cuts, like "Lovely Rita".

Everything from Sgt, Pepper was an album cut. "Lucy In In The Sky With Diamonds", "A Day In The Life", etc.

And then they say, as mentioned above: You can request the "Greatest Hits of All Time"...Sure...so if I request "You Light Up My Life" Or "Physical" or even "Hound Dog"...I expect it to be played...because these were some of the GREATEST hits of all time, of the Rock era....all #1 songs for 10 weeks or more!!!

If WCBS can do variety, why can't KRTH! They are both Classic Hits stations, playing the "Greatest Hits of All Time" in two huge cities containing millions of potential listeners.

Does CBS-FM play "You Light Up My Life"? Or even "Hound Dog"?
Millard Fillmore is not considered one of the "Greatest Presidents Of All Time"...although he did indeed reach the top spot.

You do realize that KRTH has a larger, deeper playlist than CBS-FM. Correct? KRTH plays more titles than CBS-FM and that's counting the 80's songs that CBS plays and KRTH does not.

 

[davideduardo]

Millard Fillmore is not considered one of the "Greatest Presidents Of All Time"...although he did indeed reach the top spot.

That is truly funny, and a perfect analogy.

What none of the "it charted!" armchair programmers don't realize is how fragile the charts of the 50's and 60's were. Many record companies gave free product to stores in exchange for reporting a song higher than it was, or gave more liberal return policies. Of course, that is the tip of the iceberg, and does not even get into the "P" word area... but the charts are certainly less than reliable in many cases.

I am waiting for someone to respond insisting that the record companies were such paragons of virtue they would never do such a thing...

 

[airpab]

IE listeners and even people all the way up in to Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley are lucky..They've got 2 stations to hear this stuff....KOLA 99.9 and KRTH. KOLA leans a tad rock, but plays a lot of different stuff that you might not hear on KRTH.

 

[oldies76]

The only time WCBS would play "You Light Up My Life" is if they do a Top 20 countdown on Sunday night, featuring 1977..or a "this week in 1977", Otherwise no.

Hound Dog..maybe on an "Elvis Weekend"....who knows?? They have played a 50's tune every now and then.

How could WCBS have fewer songs than KRTH?? Maybe KRTH has a bigger music library than WCBS's, but the actual Playlist?? I was leaning to WCBS all this time. Both stations have been around since 1972, except for that crazy "Jack" move in '05 on CBS.

KRTH plays more 60's for sure, but CBS does more 70's & 80's.

Back n USSR..yeah 7% of that countdown were Beatles singles, B-sides and cuts.

Firepoint525.."Macarena"..doubt it, I did read on a post here, that KRTH tried Selena "If I Could Fall in Love" a while back, and I've seen "Smooth" by Santana recently played.

It would not suprise me though if KRTH, did feed in a few songs by Latin singers / groups, to satisfy the growing Latin population in Southern California. Could they do "Macarena"...maybe as a classic a few years down the road, who can really know though. A huge hit in 1996 in the USA, for a "very brief" period of time.

 

[oldies76]

For the complete list of 1001 songs over New Year's Weekend (76 Beatles songs included), check out KRTH's Countdown Archive, under the "ON THE AIR" tab. Very interesting list and no repetition!!

 

[davideduardo]

How could WCBS have fewer songs than KRTH?? Maybe KRTH has a bigger music library than WCBS's, but the actual Playlist??

If you take the music log feature of Mediabase and export to a spreadsheet, delete specialty show songs, and sort, you find the regular play song count of KRTH, week by week, is bigger. Remember, Saturday and Sunday night time periods have very little listening, so plays in specialty shows have very little impact on the overall audience.

It would not suprise me though if KRTH, did feed in a few songs by Latin singers / groups, to satisfy the growing Latin population in Southern California. Could they do "Macarena"...maybe as a classic a few years down the road, who can really know though. A huge hit in 1996 in the USA, for a "very brief" period of time.

When you say "growing Latin population" I presume you really mean Latino or Hispanic. "Latin" includes Italian, French, Portuguese, Brazilian, Romanian, etc. And that "growing population" is the largest single group in the LA metro. The market is 42% Hispanic, and only about 30% non-Hispanic whites (including recent Russian and Central Europeans and Persians who would not listen to oldies).

A novelty song that Hispanics absolutely detest would hardly help. And Hispanics who listen to English language radio look for good songs, not songs by Hispanics. The real issue for an oldies station in a highly Hispanic area is whether Hispanics grew up on the Top 40 / CHR songs they play. In many cases, where the Hispanic population has come to the US in recent years, there is no familiarity with the music by most Hispanics.

 

[oldies76]

I meant Hispanics....no, I was just curious as to the fact, that KRTH will blend or has blended the songs by Selena (If I Could Fall in Love) & Santana (Smooth), somewhat recent hits, into their playlist of classics and oldies. I'm not complaining...just another observation. It's actually an interesting idea!

This thread of ideas has been interesting and educational since ValleyWatt began this...way back it seems!

 

[Neel]

I just took over running a small drug store in Rancho Cucamonga. The radio was set to KOLA and I noticed that it sounded different than KRTH. I switched
it to K-Earth as the music seemed more lively and "familiar" for customers to listen to. I remember a time when KOLA and KRTH were very similar, but I guess that's changed. Lucky for me, I have a different radio back in the pharmacy so I won't get bored of the same KRTH songs everyday.

IE listeners and even people all the way up in to Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley are lucky..They've got 2 stations to hear this stuff....KOLA 99.9 and KRTH. KOLA leans a tad rock, but plays a lot of different stuff that you might not hear on KRTH.

 

[Countrykitten]

Since there is now a TV ad airing this song (Horse with No Name), I'd love to hear America's other songs (Ventura Highway and You Can Do Magic).. hell why not??

There are so many singles from those years, I don't see the great need to repeat certain songs so often unless the requests for them is high. Just my thoughts...

 

[BACKnUSSR]

Since there is now a TV ad airing this song (Horse with No Name), I'd love to hear America's other songs (Ventura Highway and You Can Do Magic).. hell why not??

There are so many singles from those years, I don't see the great need to repeat certain songs so often unless the requests for them is high. Just my thoughts...

KRTH regularly plays "A Horse With No Name", "Ventura Highway" "You Can Do Magic" "Sister Golden Hair" and occassionally "Lonely People". Unfortunately, "Tin Man", "I Need You" and the other lesser singles don't seem to
do well with listeners anymore.