Recently, I contributed to a post about Soft AC formats on another board. Right here on The Treasure Coast, we have WOSN (97.1 Ocean FM) Vero Beach that’s truly Soft AC.
It’s difficult finding history about small market radio. But to my surprise, I learned that Herb Oscar Anderson, of New York City’s WABC Radio of the 60s heyday, had a weekend gig in the 2012-2013 period. He may have been at the station a little longer, I had no way of verifying that.
If you aren’t familiar with Herb (HOA), he enjoyed engaging with the audience in both songs and in lengthy dialogue. In his time in hit music radio, he sometimes sounded a little out of place. But then I’m reminded that hit music jocks, especially before the Beatles came along, didn’t all talk rapidly.
So, Herb fit in with a mass-appeal environment and at a time families ate breakfast together in the kitchen with the radio on in the background. Herb had as many as 6 million weekly listeners to his WABC morning drive show. And to think, he came to the station in the very early 60s where WABC was a dog having very few listeners. Obviously, his style and all the station’s elements came together so it all worked making WABC a giant.
I thought about HOA’s presentation style. Middle of the Road, when it comes to radio, is often thought of by format, especially with the song selections. But the MOR style of broadcasting I can recall was one where various stories were told and there were liberties to do so. It certainly has its place in time. While MOR may be thought of in terms of Standards or Beautiful Music formats, I noticed exceptions to rapid banter and getting one song after another played.
For those of you who are old enough to have experienced early FM, there was a format known as “Progressive Rock.” This wasn’t in all cases, but the jock would occasionally tell a story, especially about the artist, latest album, or concert series.
It was in the late 1990s that my job took me to Jacksonville, Fl. Back then there was a rock music station, WFYV 104.5, known as “Rock 105.” It was a highly successful radio station, always in the top tier in the ratings.
While my new boss was driving me around the community, that station played in his car. What amazed me was the female jock who was on in afternoon drive told a story about how that song she just played got produced.
As much as I am not a fan of rock music nor have even minimal knowledge of the typical artists, I found her 5 minute or so rap about the song quite interesting. She told the story well. That’s a must for any broadcaster who engaged in prolonged banter. Ramblings can have you tuned into another station quickly.
I couldn’t find any other videos of WOSN when it was a Standards Format. Interestingly, a guy by the name of Jim Davis was the PD of the station back then and he knew HOA. It may be the reason Herb moved to Vero Beach and wound up with a weekend gig. I believe this was Herb’s last time on the radio.
If you’re familiar with the old Westwood One’s “America’s Best Music,” this was syndicated Standards type formatting. Their morning drive host, Jeff Rollins, was let go in 2015 in a typical downsizing initiative. He wound up at WOSN 97.1 The Ocean. Imagine! It goes to show, big fish wind up in small ponds.
In early 2017, WOSN flipped from Standard to its current Soft AC sound. Perhaps, a lot later than what we’ve seen elsewhere but then again, the Treasure Coast area has a good percentage of senior citizens and older tourists/snowbirds who don’t want glitz and glamour but peace and quiet.
Time marches on. Public tastes change. And most have attention spans of a flea who can’t sit still enough to appreciate a good story told by those who are very skilled at telling it. It recalls when radio was regarded as "theater of the mind."
Upcoming: Highly rural areas of Florida and a Florida MOR legend.
It’s difficult finding history about small market radio. But to my surprise, I learned that Herb Oscar Anderson, of New York City’s WABC Radio of the 60s heyday, had a weekend gig in the 2012-2013 period. He may have been at the station a little longer, I had no way of verifying that.
If you aren’t familiar with Herb (HOA), he enjoyed engaging with the audience in both songs and in lengthy dialogue. In his time in hit music radio, he sometimes sounded a little out of place. But then I’m reminded that hit music jocks, especially before the Beatles came along, didn’t all talk rapidly.
So, Herb fit in with a mass-appeal environment and at a time families ate breakfast together in the kitchen with the radio on in the background. Herb had as many as 6 million weekly listeners to his WABC morning drive show. And to think, he came to the station in the very early 60s where WABC was a dog having very few listeners. Obviously, his style and all the station’s elements came together so it all worked making WABC a giant.
I thought about HOA’s presentation style. Middle of the Road, when it comes to radio, is often thought of by format, especially with the song selections. But the MOR style of broadcasting I can recall was one where various stories were told and there were liberties to do so. It certainly has its place in time. While MOR may be thought of in terms of Standards or Beautiful Music formats, I noticed exceptions to rapid banter and getting one song after another played.
For those of you who are old enough to have experienced early FM, there was a format known as “Progressive Rock.” This wasn’t in all cases, but the jock would occasionally tell a story, especially about the artist, latest album, or concert series.
It was in the late 1990s that my job took me to Jacksonville, Fl. Back then there was a rock music station, WFYV 104.5, known as “Rock 105.” It was a highly successful radio station, always in the top tier in the ratings.
While my new boss was driving me around the community, that station played in his car. What amazed me was the female jock who was on in afternoon drive told a story about how that song she just played got produced.
As much as I am not a fan of rock music nor have even minimal knowledge of the typical artists, I found her 5 minute or so rap about the song quite interesting. She told the story well. That’s a must for any broadcaster who engaged in prolonged banter. Ramblings can have you tuned into another station quickly.
I couldn’t find any other videos of WOSN when it was a Standards Format. Interestingly, a guy by the name of Jim Davis was the PD of the station back then and he knew HOA. It may be the reason Herb moved to Vero Beach and wound up with a weekend gig. I believe this was Herb’s last time on the radio.
If you’re familiar with the old Westwood One’s “America’s Best Music,” this was syndicated Standards type formatting. Their morning drive host, Jeff Rollins, was let go in 2015 in a typical downsizing initiative. He wound up at WOSN 97.1 The Ocean. Imagine! It goes to show, big fish wind up in small ponds.
In early 2017, WOSN flipped from Standard to its current Soft AC sound. Perhaps, a lot later than what we’ve seen elsewhere but then again, the Treasure Coast area has a good percentage of senior citizens and older tourists/snowbirds who don’t want glitz and glamour but peace and quiet.
Time marches on. Public tastes change. And most have attention spans of a flea who can’t sit still enough to appreciate a good story told by those who are very skilled at telling it. It recalls when radio was regarded as "theater of the mind."
Upcoming: Highly rural areas of Florida and a Florida MOR legend.
