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What is the Chicken Rock format

M

Mid West Clubber

Guest
I gave up on trying to do WNAP tribute,,, I just dont have the knowledge to do it. So I created a Rock Based CHR, but with hit songs from the chr and modern rock charts, with no justin beiber,,,, very little rap,,, and some,, but very limited dance pop.... MY Older brother listened for about an hour and said I know you dont know what this means, but you have created a modern version of the Chicken Rock format.. I just wanna know what it means,, and some examples of stations that have or had this so called chicken rock format... also.. here is the stream to the hot fm http://sc.ipip.cz:8000/listen.pls My Brothe said WTTS and WZPL had Chicken Rock formats at one time??????????
 
Chicken Rock (early 70's till early 1980's) was kinda like AC is now. Most Chicken Rock stations played the "non hard core rock" current top 40 artists. In the 1970's The Carpenters and Barry Manilow types where in heavy rotation. Most of the stations that played some disco only if the lyrics were stronger than the beat and not too "urban". Example KC's "Please Don't Go", "Keep It Comin' Love" Yes. "Shake Your Booty" most likely No. Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" yes, Bit*h is Back" no. A lot of these stations were the old MOR (Stardust or Music of Life now) during the "British Invasion" but during the Chicken Rock era would play Paul, George, and Ringo singles but not much too John Lennon except "This is Christmas" every December. The format had great appeal to parents who listened to Elvis but did not care for the endless "beat" of disco or could not make the connection with AOR.

IIRC Mid West Clubber you had some Tennessee connections, some here are stations that at one time in the 1970's were "Chicken Rock" WSM 650 AM Daytime only Pat Sajack (Wheel of Fortune), worked afternoons. WOKI FM 100.3 was Chicken Rock in the early 1970's. Chicken Rock was easier to sell in conservative markets than AOR or Top 40.

A lot Chicken Rock stations evolved into "full Service AC's" and sounded like WHAS in the early 1990's before 840 went talk.

I Played Chicken Rock at WQRZ Taylorsville NC, WBRM Marion NC, WBMS Black Mountian (Ashville) in the early 1980's
 
WOWO was pretty much chicken rock from the late 60s till they went oldies in the late 80s. Heavy on Carpenters/Bread/Anne Murray, etc, and lots of country crossover (especially, of course, during the Little Red Barn), and they did play a lot of disco during its heyday. There was some harder stuff like Edgar Winter and Deep Purple at times in the evenings, too. They also were pretty heavy on oldies, especially on weekends.
 
Chicken rock stations might play a song if the guitar solo was edited out. There was actually a song by Bread that was a bit too hard for some of those stations.
 
"Guitar Man" was played on a lot of CR* stations. I played it. And as mentioned a fair number of Country Cross Over artists like Kenny,Dolly, Olivia ETC.

* Chicken Rock not Classic Rock
 
Or the GREAT GUITAR "extro" on the roll out of The Carpenters "Goodbye To Love"! I knew a few MOR-Early AC-Shick-Kin Rock Stations that would play about 10 seconds of it and FADE THAT BABY, OUT! Ticked me off, as a kid..... :mad: Now, on the farm, down in Miz-ur-uh.. We had a great daytimer at 13-30 and it was KUKU... Yez, Koo-Koo! My unc'el Larry wurk'd dar' ann it waz kewl.... AM 'ours 4 da' farmin' stuff, Pall Har-Vee and gud noose from da' Oh-zark Ray-de-oh nitwark... Affer da' noon noose, Top ferty pop (nut 2 B con-fuzz'd wit so-dee-pop), and da earlee affer noon 'ours werr songz fer chickins... Melow pop sew 'day kin play da' ray-de-oh in da' hin howse... U'Gues dem' hins b'in fee-mell, wur en da' dee-mon-graf-iks and lyk'd melow songz.. Must of hep dem' to lay mor' aggs... Chickin' Rock! :p
 
The soft acts of the 70s are gone. The AC format is gone for that matter. The few ACs that play current music usually just wait until CHR/HOT AC burns a somewhat acceptable song out, and then they add it about 6 months to a year after it's release.
 
The soft acts of the 70s are gone. The AC format is gone for that matter. The few ACs that play current music usually just wait until CHR/HOT AC burns a somewhat acceptable song out, and then they add it about 6 months to a year after it's release.
Click to expand...

They do that with country songs, too. Best example--"Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum.
 
Any thought of TURKEY ROCK, or here in the Dakotas, maybe, PHEASANT ROCK! My favorite was SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK! "Conjunction-Conjuncton, What's Your Function?".... ;)
 
First station I worked at had a format similar to chicken rock. This was in the late 70s and into most of 1980.

Some of the disco artists were still in the mix at that time.

MW Clubber, we played Suzi Quatro, Teri DeSario, softer KC and the Sunshine Band, The Dirt Band, Anne Murray, Kenny Rogers, Smokey Robinson, Air Supply, Dr. Hook, Crystal Gayle, John Denver..
then every third song was an oldie. Nothing too hard, but upbeat was OK.
 
Sounds like WHAS in the early 90s,, and Bedfords WQRK Q-105 when they were kinda acish,, Also even WRZQ 107.3 and HIts 106,,, NOW THE RIVER,, and WTTS when they were Power 92... Power Hits... Power Classics.... Would love to see a format like this now... BUt Im focusing on 80s since thats the decade I grew up in,,,, I play some Dance Music,,,, some Ballads,, a few 70s classics,, Lots of POP and Mellow Rock.... Come ot think of it,, Isnt WTTS NOwdays almost a chicken rock station minus the rhythmic product.. WTTS is what I usually listen to cause I like their mix of Alternative Adult hits from today,, and back to the 60s....
 
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