WDRC-FM Hartford: Going Jack?

[CTListener]

WDRC-FM Hartford, while retaining a full airstaff, has added many titles to its playlist and is using the liners "building Connecticut's biggest music library" and "It's like an iPod on shuffle." Here's a recent hour:

Angel in Your Arms -- Hot
Something About You -- Four Tops
Let's Hear It for the Boy -- Deniece Williams
Love Is in the Air -- John Paul Young
Workin' at the Car Wash Blues -- Jim Croce
Reflections -- Supremes
Drive -- Cars
Been to Canaan -- Carole King
Runaround Sue -- John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band
You Can't Change That -- Raydio
Lights -- Journey
Sail On Sailor -- Beach Boys
Harper Valley PTA -- Jeannie C. Riley
Smiling Faces -- Undisputed Truth
Soul Deep -- Box Tops

No '90s music in this hour, although I have heard Rod Stewart's "Rhythm of My Heart," and no pre-Beatles music, although I have heard the Four Seasons' "Rag Doll" and Sam Cooke's "Chain Gang" and "Having a Party."

Is this considered a Jack-type format, or just an expansion of the oldies format?

 

[OldiesCat]

Oldies expanded and borrowing "Jack" lines as a half-hearted attempt to pre- empt a Jack-type station.

There are a good number of legitimate stiffs in the mix you list below.
You'd think they could do better.


> WDRC-FM Hartford, while retaining a full airstaff, has added
> many titles to its playlist and is using the liners
> "building Connecticut's biggest music library" and "It's
> like an iPod on shuffle." Here's a recent hour:
>
> Angel in Your Arms -- Hot
> Something About You -- Four Tops
> Let's Hear It for the Boy -- Deniece Williams
> Love Is in the Air -- John Paul Young
> Workin' at the Car Wash Blues -- Jim Croce
> Reflections -- Supremes
> Drive -- Cars
> Been to Canaan -- Carole King
> Runaround Sue -- John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band
> You Can't Change That -- Raydio
> Lights -- Journey
> Sail On Sailor -- Beach Boys
> Harper Valley PTA -- Jeannie C. Riley
> Smiling Faces -- Undisputed Truth
> Soul Deep -- Box Tops
>
> No '90s music in this hour, although I have heard Rod
> Stewart's "Rhythm of My Heart," and no pre-Beatles music,
> although I have heard the Four Seasons' "Rag Doll" and Sam
> Cooke's "Chain Gang" and "Having a Party."
>
> Is this considered a Jack-type format, or just an expansion
> of the oldies format?
>

 

[Oldbones]

No kidding about lots of clinkers!!

Never knew John Cafferty ever did "Runaround Sue". I doubt anyone remembers anything he did other than "Dark Side".


> There are a good number of legitimate stiffs in the mix you
> list below.
> You'd think they could do better.
>
>
> > WDRC-FM Hartford, while retaining a full airstaff, has
> added
> > many titles to its playlist and is using the liners
> > "building Connecticut's biggest music library" and "It's
> > like an iPod on shuffle." Here's a recent hour:
> >
> > Angel in Your Arms -- Hot
> > Something About You -- Four Tops
> > Let's Hear It for the Boy -- Deniece Williams
> > Love Is in the Air -- John Paul Young
> > Workin' at the Car Wash Blues -- Jim Croce
> > Reflections -- Supremes
> > Drive -- Cars
> > Been to Canaan -- Carole King
> > Runaround Sue -- John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band
> > You Can't Change That -- Raydio
> > Lights -- Journey
> > Sail On Sailor -- Beach Boys
> > Harper Valley PTA -- Jeannie C. Riley
> > Smiling Faces -- Undisputed Truth
> > Soul Deep -- Box Tops
> >
> > No '90s music in this hour, although I have heard Rod
> > Stewart's "Rhythm of My Heart," and no pre-Beatles music,
> > although I have heard the Four Seasons' "Rag Doll" and Sam
>
> > Cooke's "Chain Gang" and "Having a Party."
> >
> > Is this considered a Jack-type format, or just an
> expansion
> > of the oldies format?
> >
>

 

[LouPickney]

> Is this considered a Jack-type format, or just an expansion
> of the oldies format?

Looks like expanded-playlist Oldies to me. Waaaayyy too much obscure material in there. What makes Variety Hits/Adult Hits work so well is that it takes well-known songs (albeit from different genres) and puts them together, versus digging into "deep cuts" that typically will turn off much of the mainstream if used too often.

 

[Yeziknoradio]

> WDRC-FM Hartford, while retaining a full airstaff, has added
> many titles to its playlist and is using the liners
> "building Connecticut's biggest music library" and "It's
> like an iPod on shuffle." Here's a recent hour:

Long before Jack launched in Buffalo, Oldies 104 eliminated the oldies Moni in favor of just being known as WHTT 104one FM and they too aired the same "it's like an ipod on shuffle" claim, but they didn't become Jack. Instead, they maintained, and still maintain themselves as "Buffalo's greatest hits" to this very day.

But, I'm not from Hartford, and know very little about what a "Jack" would be up against there, so I'll just say you may be right, or you may be wrong.<P ID="signature">______________
"If you never say NO, How much is your YES worth?"
</P>

 

[CTListener]

> > WDRC-FM Hartford, while retaining a full airstaff, has
> added
> > many titles to its playlist and is using the liners
> > "building Connecticut's biggest music library" and "It's
> > like an iPod on shuffle." Here's a recent hour:
>
> Long before Jack launched in Buffalo, Oldies 104 eliminated
> the oldies Moni in favor of just being known as WHTT 104one
> FM and they too aired the same "it's like an ipod on
> shuffle" claim, but they didn't become Jack. Instead, they
> maintained, and still maintain themselves as "Buffalo's
> greatest hits" to this very day.
>
> But, I'm not from Hartford, and know very little about what
> a "Jack" would be up against there, so I'll just say you may
> be right, or you may be wrong.
>

They're up against a "lite" AC, a "hot" AC, a CHR, two urbans, a country, a tight-playlist adult hits (Clear Channel's "River" format) and a couple of rimshotting classic rockers (Springfield and New Haven). River is the closest thing to Jack in the market, but it's too focused stylistically to be one. DRC's had oldies pretty much to itself -- except for a brief period when we had a "Jammin' Oldies" r&b-leaning station, which eventually wound up urban/hip-hop -- for about 25 years.

 

[CTListener]

> > Is this considered a Jack-type format, or just an
> expansion
> > of the oldies format?
>
> Looks like expanded-playlist Oldies to me. Waaaayyy too
> much obscure material in there. What makes Variety
> Hits/Adult Hits work so well is that it takes well-known
> songs (albeit from different genres) and puts them together,
> versus digging into "deep cuts" that typically will turn off
> much of the mainstream if used too often.
>

That list was a couple of weeks old. I'm noticing fewer and fewer low-charting songs in the mix this week. Here's today's 10-11 a.m. hour:

Make Me Lose Control -- Eric Carmen
Sister Golden Hair -- America
Fame -- David Bowie
Happy Days -- Pratt & McClain
Lady Love -- Lou Rawls
Loves Me Like a Rock -- Paul Simon
Crystal Blue Persuasion -- Tommy James & the Shondells
Fire -- Pointer Sisters
Your Mama Don't Dance -- Loggins & Messina
Two Divided by Love -- Grass Roots
Tie a Yellow Ribbon -- Tony Orlando & Dawn
Do You Wanna Dance -- Bette Midler
It's Still Rock and Roll to Me -- Billy Joel
I'm Living in Shame -- Supremes
That's All -- Genesis

Well, at least all of these songs were actually hits. But I don't suppose the sight of those Orlando, Midler and Supremes songs makes you happy, does it?

 

[radiophile]

> Make Me Lose Control -- Eric Carmen
> Sister Golden Hair -- America
> Fame -- David Bowie
> Happy Days -- Pratt & McClain
> Lady Love -- Lou Rawls
> Loves Me Like a Rock -- Paul Simon
> Crystal Blue Persuasion -- Tommy James & the Shondells
> Fire -- Pointer Sisters
> Your Mama Don't Dance -- Loggins & Messina
> Two Divided by Love -- Grass Roots
> Tie a Yellow Ribbon -- Tony Orlando & Dawn
> Do You Wanna Dance -- Bette Midler
> It's Still Rock and Roll to Me -- Billy Joel
> I'm Living in Shame -- Supremes
> That's All -- Genesis

What would seem to disqualify this station from being Variety Hits is the era covered. Variety Hits stations usually play no music older than 1974, with about 50% of the music being from the 80s. They also play music from the 90s, and some play music from the 00s.
Another factor: These appear to be AC hits instead of Top 40 chart hits. There's no Madonna, no Prince, no Duran Duran, no hard rock (Variety Hits stations usually feature Guns n Roses from the 80s).
If I were categorizing this station, I'd say it's a 60s-80s oldies, or classic hits, or maybe even a classic hits/AC hybrid.

 

[CTListener]

> > Make Me Lose Control -- Eric Carmen
> > Sister Golden Hair -- America
> > Fame -- David Bowie
> > Happy Days -- Pratt & McClain
> > Lady Love -- Lou Rawls
> > Loves Me Like a Rock -- Paul Simon
> > Crystal Blue Persuasion -- Tommy James & the Shondells
> > Fire -- Pointer Sisters
> > Your Mama Don't Dance -- Loggins & Messina
> > Two Divided by Love -- Grass Roots
> > Tie a Yellow Ribbon -- Tony Orlando & Dawn
> > Do You Wanna Dance -- Bette Midler
> > It's Still Rock and Roll to Me -- Billy Joel
> > I'm Living in Shame -- Supremes
> > That's All -- Genesis
>
> What would seem to disqualify this station from being
> Variety Hits is the era covered. Variety Hits stations
> usually play no music older than 1974, with about 50% of the
> music being from the 80s. They also play music from the 90s,
> and some play music from the 00s.
> Another factor: These appear to be AC hits instead of Top 40
> chart hits. There's no Madonna, no Prince, no Duran Duran,
> no hard rock (Variety Hits stations usually feature Guns n
> Roses from the 80s).
> If I were categorizing this station, I'd say it's a 60s-80s
> oldies, or classic hits, or maybe even a classic hits/AC
> hybrid.
>

There actually is Madonna, but it doesn't get played mid-mornings. Ditto for songs like the Stones' "Tumblin' Dice" and ELO's "Do Ya," which, like the Madonna songs, seem to pop up only after dark. However, I've also heard stuff like Carly Simon's "Jesse" and John Denver's "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" after dark, so who the hell knows WHAT they're trying to do? (I may be the only person in the market who likes all four songs I've mentioned here, so I guess they're programming for me. But, barring cloning, that's not going to boost their numbers.)

You're right, though; it's not Variety Hits, at least not yet. I've heard the Boston version of the format, Entercom's WMKK (Mike-FM), and it seems to play the music you mention. For some reason, though, I was under the impression that a true "Jack" format was deep as well as broad. I guess my impression was wrong.

 

[radiophile]

> There actually is Madonna, but it doesn't get played
> mid-mornings. Ditto for songs like the Stones' "Tumblin'
> Dice" and ELO's "Do Ya," which, like the Madonna songs, seem
> to pop up only after dark. However, I've also heard stuff
> like Carly Simon's "Jesse" and John Denver's "Thank God I'm
> a Country Boy" after dark, so who the hell knows WHAT
> they're trying to do? (I may be the only person in the
> market who likes all four songs I've mentioned here, so I
> guess they're programming for me. But, barring cloning,
> that's not going to boost their numbers.)
>
> You're right, though; it's not Variety Hits, at least not
> yet. I've heard the Boston version of the format, Entercom's
> WMKK (Mike-FM), and it seems to play the music you mention.
> For some reason, though, I was under the impression that a
> true "Jack" format was deep as well as broad. I guess my
> impression was wrong.
>
DRC certainly seems to have an interesting playlist.

As for deep versus broad: If deep means hits by hit-making artists that you never heard on the radio, Variety hits is not deep.
Some Variety hits stations have been promoting playlists of between 1000 and 1200 songs. Compared to some stations that have 350 song playlists, Variety hits stations are indeed broad. These stations feature some songs not heard on the radio in a long time (or not all the songs heard on the same station), but they are all bonified hits.

 

[CTListener]

> DRC certainly seems to have an interesting playlist.
>
> As for deep versus broad: If deep means hits by hit-making
> artists that you never heard on the radio, Variety hits is
> not deep.
> Some Variety hits stations have been promoting playlists of
> between 1000 and 1200 songs. Compared to some stations that
> have 350 song playlists, Variety hits stations are indeed
> broad. These stations feature some songs not heard on the
> radio in a long time (or not all the songs heard on the same
> station), but they are all bonified hits.
>

Well, that "interesting playlist" lasted all of one month. Now they've dropped the "biggest music library" and "iPod on shuffle" liners and begun using "the greatest hits of all time" at the top of the hour again, just as they did in their days as a traditional oldies station. About the most adventurous thing I've heard them play in the past couple of days is Glen Campbell's "Southern Nights," which was a bona fide hit. DRC-FM now sounds like an oldies station again, with hits of the '80s added to the playlist.