WJPA, the way radio used to be

[db59]

On Saturday, I was listening to Dave Anthony on WJPA, and I called him to request a song, which was "Dandy" by Herman's Hermits. I am not exaggerating when I say that my request was on the air in less than 5 minutes. Try doing that on most stations around the area. Most would say, "We don't take requests", "That's not on our playlist", "I don't have that one", yada, yada, yada. They at WJPA are a rare breed, one that actually takes care of its listeners.

 

[DJNastyNeil]

Not a oldies listener, but spending my childhood weekends in Washington, i always thought they were different oldies wise.

 

[KeyTimes950]

Fascinating station, WJPA. A good news department. A sports play-by-play lineup, AM and FM, as good as any in Southwestern Pennsylvania. And a very listenable oldies format. It's also the only area radio station that regularly broadcasts the lottery results each night. A lot to like, from the South Hills of Allegheny County to the state's southwest corner.

 

[FreddyE1977]

WJPA, the way radio used to be

You mean with the lack of dead air, commercials and programs ending on time,
and no double-feeds of programs running on top of one another?

 

[cingram]

I like WJPA. That said, the question no one is asking, and should be asking (although it's probably less
important for WJPA than it is for, say, 3WS) is: How many people besides the caller really want to hear
"Dandy"?

Requests can be a sort of tyranny in which the caller, aided by the DJ, inflicts his musical desire on the
audience. My favorite song from 1970 might be "Go Back" by Crabby Appleton, but I am about the only
person left who wants to hear it.

C.

 

[tce]

I think there is little harm in playing song like "Dandy" as the result of a request. The jock has to exercise some editorial judgment if a lot of requests skew the selection, even over a few weeks. I actually enjoy hearing a song that wasn't a favorite, if it is one of those, "Never thought I'd hear that again" experiernces.

I don't know how they program the oldies selection on HyLitRadio, but I like it. There is a definite bias toward Philly favorites, some of which you hear often. But every couple of hours, I "hear one again" which is sort of a delight. I admit the tight production makes the listening experience superlative. And as sort of an antidote to Philly sounds, they play a Beatles song (from a wide selection) after the top of the hour.

I, for one, would gladly listen to "Dandy" once a week, if I never again had to hear "You've Lost That Lovin Feeling"

 

[cingram]

I, for one, would gladly listen to "Dandy" once a week, if I never again had to hear "You've Lost That Lovin Feeling"

The latter is much more popular than the former. If Station A is playing "Dandy" and Station B is playing "You've
Lost That Lovin' Feeling," Station B wins and Station A loses.

Internet radio doesn't count; they don't depend on the ratings. That will change, however. Arbitron is about to
start measuring web-only stations.

C.

 

[db59]

One of the main reasons listeners like myself get so frustrated with a station like 3WS is because they do play the same songs constantly. If you never get to hear a song like "Dandy" and just always hear "Loving Feeling", then it is so easy to forget that "Dandy" was actually a top 10 hit. If listeners get to hear songs that have sort of fallen by the wayside, then they will remember them and might actually be glad to hear them, rather than say, "Oh, not that one again!! (ex: my favorite one to hate, Piano Man). And yes, if the above mentioned song by Crabby Appleton came on, yes, I would remeber that one too and enjoy hearing it, but not every single day, like stations do now, play the same songs each and every day. Thank you radio Gods for giving me WJPA. Sorry, Clarke, I choose station A.

 

[Parttimer]

I think there is little harm in playing song like "Dandy" as the result of a request.

If the station is WJPA, you're right. If it's 3WS, you couldn't be more wrong.

PPM can actually measure minute-by-minute and you can essentially see which songs (or bits or stopsets) caused people to change the station.

 

[cingram]

it is so easy to forget that "Dandy" was actually a top 10 hit.

Yes, it was Top 10. And, yes, most people have forgotten.

Here are some more songs that have largely been forgotten:

Ringo - Lorne Greene
Hello, Dolly! - Louis Armstrong
Ballad Of The Green Berets - S/Sgt. Barry Sadler
Winchester Cathedral - The New Vaudeville Band
Honey - Bobby Goldsboro

Those were all Number One songs, and I wouldn't be caught dead playing any of them today.

You can't judge by chart position alone.

C.

 

[Boss Radio]

I like WJPA. That said, the question no one is asking, and should be asking (although it's probably less
important for WJPA than it is for, say, 3WS) is: How many people besides the caller really want to hear
"Dandy"?

Requests can be a sort of tyranny in which the caller, aided by the DJ, inflicts his musical desire on the
audience. My favorite song from 1970 might be "Go Back" by Crabby Appleton, but I am about the only
person left who wants to hear it.

C.

The flaw in that thinking is it leads a station to play songs that test off the charts and overuse them. I'd rather hear a song that makes me say, "What's that?" rather than "Oh no, not that again."

 

[Boss Radio]

it is so easy to forget that "Dandy" was actually a top 10 hit.

Yes, it was Top 10. And, yes, most people have forgotten.

Here are some more songs that have largely been forgotten:

Ringo - Lorne Greene
Hello, Dolly! - Louis Armstrong
Ballad Of The Green Berets - S/Sgt. Barry Sadler
Winchester Cathedral - The New Vaudeville Band
Honey - Bobby Goldsboro

Those were all Number One songs, and I wouldn't be caught dead playing any of them today.

You can't judge by chart position alone.

C.

I don't think anyone is suggesting judgments be made by chart position alone.

The inclusion of "Dandy" was supported by the fact it was a hit in its time, not some bottom-of-the-chart obscurity or flip side that nobody had ever heard. The sound of "Dandy" is compatible with the rest of what WJPA plays, unlike "Ringo" or "Hello Dolly."

 

[cingram]

The inclusion of "Dandy" was supported by the fact it was a hit in its time, not some bottom-of-the-chart obscurity or flip side that nobody had ever heard.

So were all of the songs I mentioned.

The flaw in that thinking is it leads a station to play songs that test off the charts and overuse them. I'd rather hear a song that makes me say, "What's that?" rather than "Oh no, not that again."

I'm all for "oh wow" titles once in a while, but "what's that?" drives the average listener to another radio station
(as opposed to the radio types on this board). If they don't know it, or don't like it, especially if it's forty years
old, they're unlikely to put up with it.

Trust me: when Internet-only stations are measured by Arbitron and become dependent on the ratings, you will
hear a lot of "Piano Man" there, too.

C.

 

[loeper]

WJPA has been a solid radio station for a long time. Other suburban stations around the nation could learn a lot from those people. A class operation, top to bottom.

 

[Boss Radio]

The inclusion of "Dandy" was supported by the fact it was a hit in its time, not some bottom-of-the-chart obscurity or flip side that nobody had ever heard.

So were all of the songs I mentioned.

Not the point. I said that chart position alone wasn't justification for "Dandy." No. 1, it was a hit in its time and No. 2, it has a sound that's compatible with other songs WJPA plays.

 

[corporateradiosucks]

I think that for the most part, people listening to WJPA will be cool with hearing "Dandy" even if it's not their favorite. If there are people in Washington who want to hear the depth (shallowness?) level of 3WS, they aren't listening to WJPA - they're listening to 3WS. Different strokes for different folks.

WLSW is playing a WAY weirder combination of stuff than WJPA, trust me.

(Psst, Clarke, not to be a pickypants, but I'm pretty sure I've heard Winchester Cathedral on 620 a time or two. And you are not the only one who wants to hear "Go Back." That one was pretty familiar to me when I pulled it up, actually)

 

[FreddyE1977]

Here are some more songs that have largely been forgotten:


Honey - Bobby Goldsboro

And so far as I'm concerned it should have stayed forgotten.
Along with Alone Again, Naturally which KHB likes to play.
That song makes you want to walk straight out of the studio and jump off a ledge somewhere.

 

[cingram]

Not the point. I said that chart position alone wasn't justification for "Dandy." No. 1, it was a hit in its time and No. 2, it has a sound that's compatible with other songs WJPA plays.

My point was that "a hit in its time" doesn't necessarily qualify the song to be played today. The sound may be
compatible, but if the song isn't popular enough, what's the point of playing it?

C.

 

[cingram]

(Psst, Clarke, not to be a pickypants, but I'm pretty sure I've heard Winchester Cathedral on 620 a time or two. And you are not the only one who wants to hear "Go Back." That one was pretty familiar to me when I pulled it up, actually)

Let's be honest here: 620 is not competing for ratings, and the music is (highly) secondary to the paid programs.
If someone wants to fool around once in a while (within reason), there's little harm done.

(Bill Korch, who must be reading this thread, played "Go Back" at about 6:15 this morning. I'm looking forward to
hearing "Mongoose" by Elephant's Memory.)

C.

 

[tce]

I can understand how an obscure, quirky song could send a significant number of listeners away. But if a song charted in the top 20, it would seem that there are a couple of listeners who liked it for each who hated it. The main thing that would drive those who liked it away is if it grossly overplayed. Otherwise, you get a couple "great to hear that rare one again" for each "can't stand it, I'm punching out." And I would not underestimate the value of hearing a rare one again. At least in my case, it is such a pleasure that it builds loyalty - and I'll tolerate some totally unfamiliar or annoying songs, even on HyLitRadio, because the overall positive experience. I hope we're not programming to fickle teeny-boppers.

How long after Dandy drives him away until Lovin Feeling drives him back?