Who will take Jhani Kaye's place heaing any names?

[michael hagerty]

And yet KRTH still plays Shout and La Bamba, both of which are 54 years old, and Tequila, which is 55 years old. The people in that coveted 25-54 demographic must have really good memories!

(Is that some more of that "comic exaggeration" that's wearing thin? I hope not.)

And as we've said before and as you know, it's not about memories for a lot of those songs, it's about likeability. Both "La Bamba" and "Shout" have had fairly consistent exposure in movies, TV, commercials and as "party" records. So, yeah...a 45 year old grew up with them, but in a different way from the way we did.

 

[Thomps2525]

A clue to someone's age: When you ask who sang Shout, does he say the Isley Brothers...or does he say Tears For Fears?

(Of course if the person is an oldies freak like me, he might say Joey Dee or Lulu.)

 

[oldies76]

Mister oldies76 makes a good point about KRTH playing only certain songs by certain artists. Did you know, for instance, that Roy Orbison had only one hit (Oh Pretty Woman) and Rick Nelson, Connie Francis, Andy Williams, Jackie Wilson, Nat "King" Cole, John Denver, Glen Campbell, Bobby Vee, Bobby Vinton, Johnny Cash, Fats Domino, Paul Anka, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Mathis, Pat Boone, Brenda Lee and the Everly Brothers never had any hits at all?

I believe the last time I heard a Barbra Streisand song ("Woman In Love", "The Way We Were") on KRTH was during that famous special way back in 1985. ;D

But you're right, KRTH may have 800 songs to choose from, but it's only 1 or 2 songs from each artist and more songs from the powerhouse artists, like the Eagles, Elton John or the Beatles. and then it's only those songs and rarely anything else.

 

[michael hagerty]

Mister oldies76 makes a good point about KRTH playing only certain songs by certain artists. Did you know, for instance, that Roy Orbison had only one hit (Oh Pretty Woman) and Rick Nelson, Connie Francis, Andy Williams, Jackie Wilson, Nat "King" Cole, John Denver, Glen Campbell, Bobby Vee, Bobby Vinton, Johnny Cash, Fats Domino, Paul Anka, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Mathis, Pat Boone, Brenda Lee and the Everly Brothers never had any hits at all?

I believe the last time I heard a Barbra Streisand song ("Woman In Love", "The Way We Were") on KRTH was during that famous special way back in 1985. ;D

But you're right, KRTH may have 800 songs to choose from, but it's only 1 or 2 songs from each artist and more songs from the powerhouse artists, like the Eagles, Elton John or the Beatles. and then it's only those songs and rarely anything else.

Why? Because that's what the listeners like.

And if you go back to the rotation post, you'll see that if a listener is only hearing their favorite songs every 19 days or longer, and you start folding in songs from those artists that test less well, you'll not only lengthen the time it's been since the listener heard the song they like, you'll be perceived as playing songs they're not wild about. And so....they don't.

 

[davideduardo]

I believe the last time I heard a Barbra Streisand song ("Woman In Love", "The Way We Were") on KRTH was during that famous special way back in 1985. ;D

There is one very important thing that has not been adequately mentioned in the discussion of which old pop hits should be played on an oldies station or a classic hits station.

And that "thing" is the age span of the Top 40 / CHR listener.

In the 50's and 60's, in many if not most major markets, if your preferences were not country or r&b, you could either listen to Top 40 or you could listen to MOR. And looking at the Top 40 stations, we see that they were not just teen stations... they were dominant in 18-49. So many of the listeners were in their 30's and even 40's then!

Of course, those listeners are generally no longer with us. But the point is that the likes of those listeners were the major reasons why we had hits by Dominico Modugno, Perry Como, Dean Martin, Wayne Newton... and later, Barbra Streisand, the Carpenters and other traditional-leaning artists and songs.

Just look at the demos of the Tom Jones TV show... his popularity was driven by 25-44 women. Englebert, Barry Manilow and others were also significantly propelled by more mature demos.

So, naturally, many of the people who liked those songs tend to be in their 70s or 80s today. And the age groups that stations seek contains very few fans of that kind of music. Not only does this explain why those songs are not played, it also explains why a significant percentage of charting songs from past eras of pop / Top 40 / CHR are just unplayable today.

 

[michael hagerty]

I believe the last time I heard a Barbra Streisand song ("Woman In Love", "The Way We Were") on KRTH was during that famous special way back in 1985. ;D

There is one very important thing that has not been adequately mentioned in the discussion of which old pop hits should be played on an oldies station or a classic hits station.

And that "thing" is the age span of the Top 40 / CHR listener.

In the 50's and 60's, in many if not most major markets, if your preferences were not country or r&b, you could either listen to Top 40 or you could listen to MOR. And looking at the Top 40 stations, we see that they were not just teen stations... they were dominant in 18-49. So many of the listeners were in their 30's and even 40's then!

Of course, those listeners are generally no longer with us. But the point is that the likes of those listeners were the major reasons why we had hits by Dominico Modugno, Perry Como, Dean Martin, Wayne Newton... and later, Barbra Streisand, the Carpenters and other traditional-leaning artists and songs.

Just look at the demos of the Tom Jones TV show... his popularity was driven by 25-44 women. Englebert, Barry Manilow and others were also significantly propelled by more mature demos.

So, naturally, many of the people who liked those songs tend to be in their 70s or 80s today. And the age groups that stations seek contains very few fans of that kind of music. Not only does this explain why those songs are not played, it also explains why a significant percentage of charting songs from past eras of pop / Top 40 / CHR are just unplayable today.

Bingo. And the boom in FM album rock in the 70s or teen-oriented AMs like KCBQ and KTNQ had a lot to do with the fact that they didn't play those "adult" artists. Listeners no longer had to sit through Streisand to get to the Stones.

 

[briancraig]

But even a teen station like KTNQ still played some adult artists in the late 70s if it was a big enough hit. They played Barbra Streisand's Evergreen and even Helen Reddy's cover of You're My World.

 

[michael hagerty]

But even a teen station like KTNQ still played some adult artists in the late 70s if it was a big enough hit. They played Barbra Streisand's Evergreen and even Helen Reddy's cover of You're My World.

And the teens kept finding their way to KMET.

 

[briancraig]

True, by the late 70s, KMET was L.A.'s teen station.

In the Spring of 1977, KHJ is still #1 with teens followed by KDAY, KTNQ, KIQQ and KLOS. KMET is 6th. KHJ still has double the teen listeners that KMET has.

In the Spring of 1978, KTNQ is number one with teens followed by KHJ with KMET in 3rd. By the Fall of 1978, KMET rules the teen ratings but surprisingly KHJ is still number 2 with teens but would fall to 7th place by Spring 1979 with KMET still dominant.

I was surprised that KHJ did so well with teenagers that late into the 1970s.

As I have posted years ago, I guess KMET was a "you had to be there" kind of station as I have never understood the appeal of their 1970s era.

I wasn't a Southern Californian teen in 1978, but I wasn't one in 1968 either but I certainly understand why Boss Radio was number one. I get what was cool about The Real Don Steele or Humble Harve but don't understand what made Jim Ladd or Jeff Gonzer special.

 

[oldies76]

And the teens kept finding their way to KMET.

What about KRTH of the late 70's? They were AC then, playing current hits, mixed with some oldies.

 

[michael hagerty]

True, by the late 70s, KMET was L.A.'s teen station.

In the Spring of 1977, KHJ is still #1 with teens followed by KDAY, KTNQ, KIQQ and KLOS. KMET is 6th. KHJ still has double the teen listeners that KMET has.

In the Spring of 1978, KTNQ is number one with teens followed by KHJ with KMET in 3rd. By the Fall of 1978, KMET rules the teen ratings but surprisingly KHJ is still number 2 with teens but would fall to 7th place by Spring 1979 with KMET still dominant.

I was surprised that KHJ did so well with teenagers that late into the 1970s.

As I have posted years ago, I guess KMET was a "you had to be there" kind of station as I have never understood the appeal of their 1970s era.

I wasn't a Southern Californian teen in 1978, but I wasn't one in 1968 either but I certainly understand why Boss Radio was number one. I get what was cool about The Real Don Steele or Humble Harve but don't understand what made Jim Ladd or Jeff Gonzer special.

KMET in the late 70s was more about the attitude projected on the air than anything else. After years of buttoned-up professionalism on KHJ and KLOS, L.A. needed something more in tune with sex, drugs and rock n' roll. And KMET was unafraid to embrace it. The same attitude (with different music) propelled KROQ to the top a few years later.

As much as Steele and Harve were entertainers, Ladd and especially Gonzer talked to you like your really cool surfer/stoner buddies. I listened to Gonzer in the morning in '72-'73...very personable and relatable. Ladd knows the music inside out, wove together brilliant sets. The Obscene Steven Clean was very funny, and B. Mitchell Reed was just this...presence. The Godfather of album rock.

I always thought KTNQ would have been big if they'd been able to launch in '71 or '72. I think they would have knocked off KHJ by '73 or so (Steele could have gone there instead of KIQQ) .

 

[michael hagerty]

And the teens kept finding their way to KMET.

What about KRTH of the late 70's? They were AC then, playing current hits, mixed with some oldies.

And as such, appealed to adults.

 

[davideduardo]

What about KRTH of the late 70's? They were AC then, playing current hits, mixed with some oldies.

They were using a phrase that was something like "Tomorrow's gold" for the currents. They played lots of gold, not "some" IIRC.

 

[michael hagerty]

What about KRTH of the late 70's? They were AC then, playing current hits, mixed with some oldies.

They were using a phrase that was something like "Tomorrow's gold" for the currents. They played lots of gold, not "some" IIRC.

David:

From 1976-1985, KRTH was pretty much a straight-ahead AC. Several unscoped airchecks from 1977-1982 exist, and the gold quotient is 30% or less, and the "tomorrow's gold" tag isn't heard.

 

[davideduardo]

What about KRTH of the late 70's? They were AC then, playing current hits, mixed with some oldies.

They were using a phrase that was something like "Tomorrow's gold" for the currents. They played lots of gold, not "some" IIRC.

I just spotted several 80-81 Broadcasting Ads using the tomorrow's gold line.... I always got the impression they were a rather conventional gold based AC.

David:

From 1976-1985, KRTH was pretty much a straight-ahead AC. Several unscoped airchecks from 1977-1982 exist, and the gold quotient is 30% or less, and the "tomorrow's gold" tag isn't heard.

 

[oldies76]

Several unscoped airchecks from 1977-1982 exist, and the gold quotient is 30% or less, and the "tomorrow's gold" tag isn't heard.

The aircheck from 1981 (Brian Beirne) is familiar, sounds great!

Thought you guys would enjoy this aircheck that I submitted recently from '86, mainly jingles and ID's, and of course, the music that KRTH played back then.

http://airchexx.com/2012/08/30/quic...roll-weekend-krth-los-angeles-august-30-1986/