80's on American Top 20

[BrettVW]

Perhaps it was when "That 70's Show" debuted?

Casey still does play the occasional 70's song. Recent ones so far in 2005 have been "Le Freak" by Chic, "Imagine" by John Lennon, "Brass in Pocket" by the Pretenders, and "I Want You To Want Me." Aside from Imagine, they are all songs commonly heard on the Hot AC format....and Imagine was the Book of Records that week.

I prefer the shows when the extras are much more diverse. Last night I was listening to this weekend's show with a friend who is not a regular listener by any means and his exact quote (without any knowledge of the show and its nature and the nature of Hot AC) and he said "this show would be better if they didn't play so much stuff from recent years, and if they are gonna play extras they should play older songs and songs we don't hear every day"

[Deleted]

which again shows exactly what I mean when I say it is the PRGRAM DIRECTORS who THINK they know what their audience wants, but really have no clue.

[BrettVW]

Agreed. My friend (who I talked to again today) had never heard AT20 before last night. He used to hear Casey on AT40, and then noticed Ryan took over and thought Casey retired (like the media made it seem.)

Anyway, when he came in my room last night and heard AT20 on he stayed and listened because he didn't know Casey was still on. We talked music a little, and he said he loved the countdown, but didn't understand why every other song had to be an extra. When I told him a bit about the Hot AC format and how it is not dominated by currents, etc, he said that since it is a countdown they should either just play the countdown and make the show 2 hours long - or they should use the time with the extras to play songs from more years than 1995-present (which I told him they usually do) and they should play at least 4 or 5 extras that we haven't heard since they were hits.

Kind of an interesting insight on the average listener.

[Deleted]

another note: I listened to the Hot AC edition of the Weekly Top 40 this week for the first time since it became a Top 40, and first thing I noticed is they arent using the same survey as AT20. Anyone know what they are using? Second thing I noticed in relation to that is it seemed to be more edgier music wise than At20's Top 20 countdown. It was almost a hybrid between Hot AC/CHR sort of without most of the hip hop. I found myself thinking, THIS is the music stye I like!

[Hervard]

I would assume that Dees is using his own list, like he's doing for the Top 40 version of the show. Did he pick out a different song for number one than is on the AT20 chart ("Boulevard Of Broken Dreams", that is)?

[Deleted]

#1 on WT40 is "Lonely No More" by Rob Thomas, in fact Blvd of Broken Dreams I think was #4

[BrettVW]

Rick Dees stopped using the R&R chart in early 2005. He now uses his own chart. AT20 will never stop using a national chart, and that chart will more than likely always be R&R.

[Deleted]

whoa! I just went to the Rick Dees website and saw that you can apparently once again listen to the WT40 on his website!

[BrettVW]

And they now for the first time ever list the Hot AC chart!!

[Scott Lakefield]

Michael1973 said:

In fact, I seem to remember him doing an entire show filled exclusively with 1970's extras. I think it was done to tie in with a 1970's themed TV movie that was running that weekend. Anybody remember this?

I could be wrong...but I don't believe that this was the case.

[Deleted]

does anyone else find the extras placed like they are annoying?

[Radioman]

No, just fine as it is !
The producers do only what radio programmers on HAC outlets want them to do, just as they handle it on their own.

BrettVW:
If your friend would be a radio programmer, then his station would probably have only 3 listeners ......

[Deleted]

wrong again.....I know of at least two listeners: Brett, and me and you can probably count almost every other regular poster in here as well. Which gives us well above the 3 listeners you claim it would.

Also, the producers produce a show the HAC PROGRAM DIRECTORS want, whom program what they THINK the listener wants to here. In most cases, they are usually wrong! How is it that we can not know what we are talking about since all the complaints about radio now on this board, chat room, and the consensus around the country is that there is no longer any variety in music? Hmmm.....

[BrettVW]

Paul, you have to remember though that the majority of listeners WILL in fact turn off a station they are familiar with if a song they are unfamiliar with or a song from a different musical genre or era comes on (i.e. when the older 70's, 80's and 90's ballads were being played as Long Distance Dedications on AT40 in its last years)

Radio is not what it was even 5 years ago. Narrower formats are the norm. While it's not what us radio geeks want, and it's not even what many listeners want... it IS what enough listeners want to keep it that way. The average 20-something woman who listens to Hot AC stations probably does not want to hear an obscure 80's song that only we could identify on her favorite station.

However, there is also the argument that shows like AT20 are specialty programming, often times with a different audience who come for appointment tune in every weekend at a time when many regular listeners are not tuned in. Does it really matter if the playlist is shaken up on a Sunday morning or Sunday night? Playing an unknown slightly out of format song would be much better to do at 8am on Sunday morning rather than 5pm on a weekday. And i'd say 30-50% (I could be off, totally guessing here) of listeners to a show like AT20 are in fact appointment tune ins who would love to hear songs they don't hear every day.

It is a two way street, and the PD's choose the safer way, and it shows in the music selection on Hot AC. In terms of the late 70s and 80's, half of AT20's affiliates don't play them and the other half still focus heavily on them. So it's a fine line for the folks at AT20. I personally hope they stay, because I know that at least one of the "90s and Today" stations that runs AT20 still likes the fact that it does give Sunday morning a different sound.

It's very complex, and in the end, everyone can never be happy.

[Deleted]

the thing that gets me is that a show like Backtrax USA can play pretty much whatever they want and that is ok. It doesnt matter that we havent heard "Breakfast at Tiffany's" since 1996, but if AT20 tries to play a song like that that isnt heard anymore, the same station will gripe!

Ok, I have heard this argument form both sides about radio stations. On one hand I hear that people WOULD want to hear more variety but because no one plays it anymore, they just listen to whats there and be doen with it. On the other hand, I hear the argument that if stuff is played that people don't remember then people will change the station. I side with argument #1. It doesnt mean you play obscure crap every hour, but playing music from the last 25-30 years on a Hot AC station with an occasional reach a little further back isnt going to kill anyone. All I am asking from stations and what I thought you're firend was referring to was playing stuff that WAS popular back in those days whether it is still commonly played on the radio anymore or not.