Comments on: Hit the Road, Jack http://jabartlett.wordpress.com/2007/07/10/hit-the-road-jack/ Our Top 40 Past . . . in the Present Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:12:54 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: JasonHare.com » Blog Archive » Welcome Back, Bob Shannon and WCBS-FM http://jabartlett.wordpress.com/2007/07/10/hit-the-road-jack/#comment-1569 JasonHare.com » Blog Archive » Welcome Back, Bob Shannon and WCBS-FM Thu, 12 Jul 2007 12:02:06 +0000 http://jabartlett.wordpress.com/2007/07/10/hit-the-road-jack/#comment-1569 [...] Today, at 1:01 PM, WCBS-FM (101.1) in NYC ditches JACK-FM and goes back to the great oldies format that NYers treasured for so many years.  Well, sort of - it’ll be updated to include the best of the ’60s, ’70s, and now, ’80s as well, and will have "the biggest [playlist] in New York," according to Program Director Brian Thomas.  (For more insight about the switch, visit our good friend JB over at The Hits Just Keep On Comin’.) [...] [...] Today, at 1:01 PM, WCBS-FM (101.1) in NYC ditches JACK-FM and goes back to the great oldies format that NYers treasured for so many years.  Well, sort of – it’ll be updated to include the best of the ’60s, ’70s, and now, ’80s as well, and will have "the biggest [playlist] in New York," according to Program Director Brian Thomas.  (For more insight about the switch, visit our good friend JB over at The Hits Just Keep On Comin’.) [...]

]]> By: jb http://jabartlett.wordpress.com/2007/07/10/hit-the-road-jack/#comment-1553 jb Wed, 11 Jul 2007 17:46:02 +0000 http://jabartlett.wordpress.com/2007/07/10/hit-the-road-jack/#comment-1553 Couple of points: I think people *will* tolerate a wide variety to a certain extent, as the success of Jack formats (other than at WCBS) would indicate---but you can bet that the presence of each record in the Jack format is validated by research, as much as those in any other format. The stations may claim to be random, but they're not. The mix is tweaked to keep people listening and to drive as few people as possible away. The mixes you mention each contain one risky record (Paul and Paula, Bobby Goldsboro), but the rest are plausible. Top 10 hits only strikes me as an astoundingly bad primary criterion for a radio station's on-air library. You'd play "My Ding-a-Ling" by Chuck Berry, but not "Roll Over Beethoven"? Chart performance is relative, after all. A record is only as popular as the other records it's up against at the same time, and not all eras are created equal. I'm not saying that it's an entirely invalid measure---after all, who puts more stock in the record charts than I do?---only that when it comes to programming a radio station, it shouldn't be the main criterion. After all, "Calcutta" by Lawrence Welk was a Number One; that doesn't make it the equal of "She Loves You" or "Hotel California." There's got to be research to back up the choices, or at least a set of ears well-trained enough to know what fits and what doesn't. Couple of points:

I think people *will* tolerate a wide variety to a certain extent, as the success of Jack formats (other than at WCBS) would indicate—but you can bet that the presence of each record in the Jack format is validated by research, as much as those in any other format. The stations may claim to be random, but they’re not. The mix is tweaked to keep people listening and to drive as few people as possible away. The mixes you mention each contain one risky record (Paul and Paula, Bobby Goldsboro), but the rest are plausible.

Top 10 hits only strikes me as an astoundingly bad primary criterion for a radio station’s on-air library. You’d play “My Ding-a-Ling” by Chuck Berry, but not “Roll Over Beethoven”? Chart performance is relative, after all. A record is only as popular as the other records it’s up against at the same time, and not all eras are created equal. I’m not saying that it’s an entirely invalid measure—after all, who puts more stock in the record charts than I do?—only that when it comes to programming a radio station, it shouldn’t be the main criterion. After all, “Calcutta” by Lawrence Welk was a Number One; that doesn’t make it the equal of “She Loves You” or “Hotel California.” There’s got to be research to back up the choices, or at least a set of ears well-trained enough to know what fits and what doesn’t.

]]> By: Shark http://jabartlett.wordpress.com/2007/07/10/hit-the-road-jack/#comment-1549 Shark Wed, 11 Jul 2007 15:11:06 +0000 http://jabartlett.wordpress.com/2007/07/10/hit-the-road-jack/#comment-1549 Oldies...Classic Rock...Classic Hits...Retro Oldies...Retro Hits...it's a fuzzy line between oldies and non-oldies formats. You would think a music format that incorporated hits from 1965 to 1985 would be appealing to anyone between the ages of 40 and 60, supposedly the demographic with "all" the money. But it's just not that simple. Two of the stations in our radio group are oldies formatted stations. One station plays primarily 50s, 60s, and some 70s and is called "Cool Radio." The other station plays 70s and 80s and is called "SuperHits." (Our General Manager hates the term "oldies" and gave them monikers avoiding that perception.) Personally, I think both stations are unlistenable. The only criteria for a song to be played on either station is that it had to have been a top ten hit. However, certain songs don't stand the test of time very well and don't fit in with other hits of that era. On "Cool Radio" you'll hear: "Up Around the Bend" by CCR, "Love is Strange" by Paul & Paula, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance" by Gene Pitney, and "Strawberry Fields Forever" by the Beatles all in a row. On SuperHits, you'll hear: "Convoy" by C.W. McCall, "Honey" by Bobby Goldsboro, "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar, and "Shadow Dancing" by Andy Gibb all in a row. The problem is, listeners don't listen to the radio in 2007 the way they did in 1965, 1975, or 1985. Years ago, there were fewer radio stations and fewer radio formats. The whole "we play all the hits, all the time, and nothing but the hits" theory looks good on paper, but sounds like crap on the radio. I really think that, for best results, select the best parts of a format and STICK WITH IT! If you want to do an "oldies" format, play oldies from the 50s, 60s, and very early 70s and leave out the disco (no KC and the Sunshine Band), hard rock (no Deep Purple), and some of the classic country-western... sorry, but "Big Bad John" by Jimmy Dean just doesn't fit next to the Beatles and the Supremes, even though it was a top ten hit. Oldies…Classic Rock…Classic Hits…Retro Oldies…Retro Hits…it’s a fuzzy line between oldies and non-oldies formats. You would think a music format that incorporated hits from 1965 to 1985 would be appealing to anyone between the ages of 40 and 60, supposedly the demographic with “all” the money. But it’s just not that simple. Two of the stations in our radio group are oldies formatted stations. One station plays primarily 50s, 60s, and some 70s and is called “Cool Radio.” The other station plays 70s and 80s and is called “SuperHits.” (Our General Manager hates the term “oldies” and gave them monikers avoiding that perception.)
Personally, I think both stations are unlistenable. The only criteria for a song to be played on either station is that it had to have been a top ten hit. However, certain songs don’t stand the test of time very well and don’t fit in with other hits of that era. On “Cool Radio” you’ll hear: “Up Around the Bend” by CCR, “Love is Strange” by Paul & Paula, “The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance” by Gene Pitney, and “Strawberry Fields Forever” by the Beatles all in a row. On SuperHits, you’ll hear: “Convoy” by C.W. McCall, “Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro, “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” by Pat Benatar, and “Shadow Dancing” by Andy Gibb all in a row. The problem is, listeners don’t listen to the radio in 2007 the way they did in 1965, 1975, or 1985. Years ago, there were fewer radio stations and fewer radio formats. The whole “we play all the hits, all the time, and nothing but the hits” theory looks good on paper, but sounds like crap on the radio. I really think that, for best results, select the best parts of a format and STICK WITH IT! If you want to do an “oldies” format, play oldies from the 50s, 60s, and very early 70s and leave out the disco (no KC and the Sunshine Band), hard rock (no Deep Purple), and some of the classic country-western… sorry, but “Big Bad John” by Jimmy Dean just doesn’t fit next to the Beatles and the Supremes, even though it was a top ten hit.

]]> By: Willie http://jabartlett.wordpress.com/2007/07/10/hit-the-road-jack/#comment-1539 Willie Tue, 10 Jul 2007 23:15:22 +0000 http://jabartlett.wordpress.com/2007/07/10/hit-the-road-jack/#comment-1539 I can't wait until I'm 60 in 2020 listening to Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" on an oldies station. I'll still be playing air guitar. I can’t wait until I’m 60 in 2020 listening to Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” on an oldies station. I’ll still be playing air guitar.

]]> By: whiteray http://jabartlett.wordpress.com/2007/07/10/hit-the-road-jack/#comment-1538 whiteray Tue, 10 Jul 2007 23:00:07 +0000 http://jabartlett.wordpress.com/2007/07/10/hit-the-road-jack/#comment-1538 The main oldies station in the Twin Cities - KQQL, or KOOL 108, revamped its playlist in January. With the exception of a few speciality shows, it's now rare to hear anything from before 1975, while the former playlist ran back to about 1965 or so. The forward date is somewhere between 1985 and 1989 now, at a guess, while previously it was, oh, 1978 or so. And the mix is heavier. I heard .38 Special's "Hold On Loosely" this afternoon, a 1981 track that would never have been aired before the switch. When I listen -- usually in the car -- I don't hear a lot of what I (being at the very least a geezer in training, I guess) would consider Oldies. As a result, I don't care much for the new mix. I would guess that it's a ratings success, though, as it's been in place for more than six months now. But it's not my station anymore. The main oldies station in the Twin Cities – KQQL, or KOOL 108, revamped its playlist in January. With the exception of a few speciality shows, it’s now rare to hear anything from before 1975, while the former playlist ran back to about 1965 or so. The forward date is somewhere between 1985 and 1989 now, at a guess, while previously it was, oh, 1978 or so. And the mix is heavier. I heard .38 Special’s “Hold On Loosely” this afternoon, a 1981 track that would never have been aired before the switch. When I listen — usually in the car — I don’t hear a lot of what I (being at the very least a geezer in training, I guess) would consider Oldies. As a result, I don’t care much for the new mix. I would guess that it’s a ratings success, though, as it’s been in place for more than six months now. But it’s not my station anymore.

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