Connoisseur’s newly relaunched Classic Hits WGTZ (Z93) Dayton, Ohio, has a logical reason for starting its music around 1984. That was when the original Z93 launched as a CHR. PD Java Joel Murphy sees the key era of the station as 1984-2004, although there are a few titles on the still-evolving station this week that go into the late ’00s/early ’10s.
Z93 has been a heavily watched launch among industry people, who appreciate the return of the heritage brand and its classic radio touches. Playing a list that stretches from “Billie Jean” to “We Found Love” both reflects and has the potential to drive other stations as part of the Classic Hits format’s ongoing modernization, as frequently chronicled here. We’ve also asked how long Classic Hits has before the ’90s become the center lane.
Part of the excitement of Z93 is that there aren’t a lot of significant format launches in general these days. But there are still a dozen or so markets among the Top 50 that effectively have no Classic Hits outlet (although some have an Adult Hits station that covers the franchise). But if Classic Hits were to come to Atlanta or Sacramento, would programmers decide to just start in the ’80s?
Until last week, there was only one major Classic Hits station that had effectively moved away from the hits of the ’70s. KXKL (Kool 105) Denver’s regularly rotating titles start in 1980 with Blondie’s “Call Me” and continue through Katy Perry’s “Firework” and Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” in 2010.
Even stations that have been aggressive about modernizing, from KOLA Riverside, Calif., to KRTH (K-Earth 101) Los Angeles to WOGL (Big 98.1) Philadelphia, still have some ’70s component, even when it means spanning from “Tiny Dancer” to “Ms. Jackson” in the case of the latter station. Classic Hits outlets aren’t quite willing to give up “Dreams” or “Bohemian Rhapsody,” especially given the all-ages currency of those songs.
But stations are moving forward. The most-played song from the ’90s, “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls, is Mediabase’s No. 51 most-played Classic Hits title. That puts it ahead of the most-played ’70s song, Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way,” at No. 63. The ’70s now comprise only 10 of the top 100 most-played titles. KOLA still plays about 15 titles from the ’70s, but by comparison it plays about 70 from the ’00s — an era it helped open for Classic Hits.
There are still stations at the other end of the spectrum as well. KCMO-FM Kansas City still plays more than 80 titles from the ’70s. It plays only nine from the ’90s and none beyond that. KJEB (95.7 The Jet) Seattle has about 60 pre-1980 titles and still has ’60s titles that go back to “Twist and Shout.” Its only ’00s titles are mostly those with older tentacles (“Drift Away,” Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life”), although Train’s not-so-retro “Drops of Jupiter,” the format’s most-played ’00s song, is in there as well.
I asked Ross on Radio readers where they would start a new Classic Hits station. By nearly a 4:1 margin, most say that they would still play at least a handful of ’70s songs, regardless of where they saw the center of the format now. But in a format that was grappling with the ’90s not so long ago, the largest number of commenters would cut off somewhere in the mid-’00s – many chose 2005. A few say they would go as late as 2014.
“AC stations drew an unnecessary line in the sand on ’70s music,” says Stan Phillips, longtime PD of AC WMGS Wilkes-Barre, Pa. “’Dreams’ became a hit all over again and most wouldn’t play it, although you might hear the poorer-testing ‘Gypsy’ because it was from 1982.” Phillips, now managing Wilkes University’s WCLH, says his window for a 45-54 listener would be 1983-2004, but believes in playing the biggest titles from before and after.
Longtime New Jersey programmer Jeff Rafter “was telling a friend recently about my idea for a rock-leaning Classic Hits, 1984-2004, from ‘Born in the USA’ to ‘American Idiot.’ I would treat the late ’70s and early ’80s the same — a little spice here and there. But I’m retired, so I probably won’t be launching it!”
“People know and love the ’70s songs you mention and more,” says CBS Radio News’ Peter King. “‘September’ by Earth, Wind & Fire is another example. No one tunes that out.”
As is usually the case when we talk about the format modernization, there are those who agree with Townsquare Utica, N.Y.’s Dave Wheeler that “radio doesn’t go into the ’90s enough. And I mean more variety of ’90s titles. Not the same 20 songs we all pretend are the only ’90s.” “A 41-year-old means late ’90s/early ’00s is the center lane. TRL Tuesdays anyone?” asks veteran Michigan PD Jerry Noble.
Z93’s Murphy is looking for songs associated with his station, but Classic Hits’ whole modernization question is happening even as a new generation of listeners discovers music from before its time. That audience also listens to Classic Rock stations that are less hung up on playing the ’60s or ’70s. Four years ago, it was even possible to make a case for playing the ’60s.
“You’re not programming to a spreadsheet, you’re programming to a listener,” writes veteran air personality Lisa St. Regis. “People of all ages are being exposed to music from TikTok trends, reaction videos, movie and commercial syncs. If something from the ’70s pops up, throw it in there as a specialty. It doesn’t have to show up 15 times a week.”
There’s also the question of market opportunity. As the syndicated Jack-FM, Z93 was one of three stations adjacent to Classic Hits. Being newer (and following the music to a place where the hits become more R&B/Hip-Hop-driven) is a point of differentiation. But this column’s longstanding advice on era has been that readers’ mileage may vary, and there’s no imperative to shift before the audience does.
“Where I’d start would depend at least in part on the market I was in and what the other stations were or weren’t doing,” says Paul B. Walker, Jr., PD of Alaska’s KSKO. Veteran Texas PD Alan Sells asks, “Is there a Classic Rock station? [Has] the Classic Rock station [moved too far into the] grunge era — Soundgarden, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots?”
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