"Walk Away Renee" Which Version?

[tjthedj]

I LOVE notalgia (the format for the age group OLDER than oldies). MY generation is the "oldies" generation. But if I was an fm owner in a market without an oldies station, I'd rather have the money and pay my bills than squeak by.

I sold my stations in 1985 and can STILL live comfortably on interest from what I sold for. THE MONEY is WHY I got into the radio business (not to mention rubbing it in my brother-in-laws face-tied for first).

Hearing the tamborine in Make Me Smile and the bass in Forever in Blue Jeans Harry James play ANYTHING...o, and That's Life by Sinatra on my am radio station is a close second.

 

[lash]

If that was the right decision for you and your stations, congratulations! What I am defending is why can't a heritage AM, or a weak FM carve out a nice living, and niche with an oldies format. I realize every market is different, so a person needs to choose their formats wisely. But choosing the right format has always been a major decision for any radio owner.

If your market doesn't have a classic country, an oldies or classic hits format in the market, hire the right people, market it, and turn them around.

Our society wants to take the easy way to success. Nothing has been more satisfying in my career then to walk into a dark or destressed radio station, buy it, and turn it completely around. It can be done in any market in the country on either side of the band.

Our most recent AM purchase a year ago, went from 0 to now $18,000 a month, in a town of 2200 and county of less than 20,000 people! God does that feel good!

 

[tjthedj]

Lash,
Congrats right back at you. I'm 57 and have less "intense" interests now. It was great fun selling it all in 1985.
Success!

 

[8638]

A few days ago, "Cool 92.9" was playing the original version of "Walk Away Renee" by the Left Banke. But the version that I like better was the Four Tops. I don't like the original "Walk Away Renee", but I prefer the Four Tops version which is much much better than the original by the Left Banke.

Thoughts?

Both good, but Left Banke's version is musically superior to the Four Tops, IMHO. And it charted higher than the Tops version as well.

 

[OldiesCat]

Renee

A few days ago, "Cool 92.9" was playing the original version of "Walk Away Renee" by the Left Banke. But the version that I like better was the Four Tops. I don't like the original "Walk Away Renee", but I prefer the Four Tops version which is much much better than the original by the Left Banke.

Thoughts?

Both good, but Left Banke's version is musically superior to the Four Tops, IMHO. And it charted higher than the Tops version as well.

Totally agree. Some believe if you play alternate versions of the big hits, that will give Oldies more variety. WRONG! That'll just piss off your base because you're violating their expectation and they DO expect the major hit versions of their favorite songs. Create solid depth in your overall library and back off the "bang the powers every 19 hours" mindset and you'll do fine.

 

[CTListener]

Re: Renee

A few days ago, "Cool 92.9" was playing the original version of "Walk Away Renee" by the Left Banke. But the version that I like better was the Four Tops. I don't like the original "Walk Away Renee", but I prefer the Four Tops version which is much much better than the original by the Left Banke.

Thoughts?

Both good, but Left Banke's version is musically superior to the Four Tops, IMHO. And it charted higher than the Tops version as well.

Totally agree. Some believe if you play alternate versions of the big hits, that will give Oldies more variety. WRONG! That'll just piss off your base because you're violating their expectation and they DO expect the major hit versions of their favorite songs. Create solid depth in your overall library and back off the "bang the powers every 19 hours" mindset and you'll do fine.

Only one I can see making an exception for is "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." Marvin Gaye's version is the classic megahit, of course, but Gladys Knight's (which came first) was a solid top 10 performer and is a totally different take on the song. I've heard both versions played on several oldies stations.

 

[OldiesCat]

Grapevine

Agree on "Grapevine". Though, over the years, as Oldies moves out of the sixties, the Gaye version always tests great, Gladys' so-so at best in most places (but still worthy of occasional spins).

 

[warm590]

Lash is right- our station has been on the air since '63, and at that time had 60% of the new york audience. We do nowhere near that now, but being listener and community driven , we do well and the listeners love us. BTW, never had a listener get po'ed because we played a different version. You guys need to think outside the box. There is no excuse for repitition. Our Library consists of 1300 CD's. People over fifty still spend money. No one will take a request/ dedication in our market, except us. Advertising is all local. We feature a wide variety of guests from the era. It works for us. ;D It's like being book smart but in the real world common sense rules. GIVE 'em good local programming and a wide variety of tunes!!! having Jocks who know the music is another one of our strengths, instead of someone who wasn't born in '62!! ;D

BTW, Our station isn't WARM from Scranton; listening to WARM in the early 60's inspired me to go into radio, this in the years of the "sensational seven" programming. There was no better station anywhere in those years than the "mighty 590"...Corporate radio (Citadel), killed it off and it is still dying a slow death nowadays...too bad. Goes to show you what consultants, corporate ownership, and people who think AM is dead can do to a Great heritage station :'(


Fire away...
warm590

 

[DougD]

BTW, never had a listener get po'ed because we played a different version. You guys need to think outside the box. There is no excuse for repitition. Our Library consists of 1300 CD's.

People over fifty still spend money. No one will take a request/ dedication in our market, except us.

That's another reason why radio sucks. Most stations don't take requests anymore. And I'm not just talking about oldies.
Oh, they may take LISTENER CALLS over the lunch hour or something, but it's only music that the station plays anyway. No big deal.

Another problem with radio- razor-thin playlists keep the product lackluster.

 

[radiofriend1]

BTW, never had a listener get po'ed because we played a different version. You guys need to think outside the box. There is no excuse for repitition. Our Library consists of 1300 CD's.

People over fifty still spend money. No one will take a request/ dedication in our market, except us.

That's another reason why radio sucks. Most stations don't take requests anymore. And I'm not just talking about oldies.
Oh, they may take LISTENER CALLS over the lunch hour or something, but it's only music that the station plays anyway. No big deal.

Another problem with radio- razor-thin playlists keep the product lackluster.

yeah boy answering that hitline once in a while will save radio!!!!!!! truth is, probably half the djs out there put all their lines on hold or just let them ring

that whole 3 percent of the cume that ever calls, anyway