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an obituary for a radio station

I've "lost" radio stations before. WNEW moved away from the album cut format. WLIR stopped playing new wave. Q104 went from heavy metal to adult oriented rock. I've always bemoaned these losses, but never exactly mourned the loss of a station. Until now.

When I heard that WCBS FM had changed their format, I felt like someone had slapped me in the face. I hadn't listened to the station in a long time, but knowing it existed was like knowing there was a friendly face from the past still out there, smiling at you.

I grew up listening to CBS. I know the words to every doo-wop song. I remember the intro songs - Those oldies but goodies remind me of....WCBS FM. Don K. Reed. Norm N. Nite. The way it always sounded as if they were broadcasting from an echo chamber. My childhood memories are so intrinsically tied to music because there was always music playing in our house. And it was always CBS. Hearing the news of its demise, I felt like a small piece of my soul had been ripped from me. Dramatic, I know. But you have to understand what part this station played in my life.

When I hear the old doo-wop song "In the Still of the Night," I am in my parents backyard, about eight years old, wearing a yellow tank top and tan cotton shorts. It's early evening and my parents have company over. They are scattered around the yard, sipping exotic drinks with fancy stirrers and smoking long cigarettes. I can smell the sweetness of the drinks, the smoke from someone's cigar, the chlorine in the pool. There are fireflies flitting around the yard, and I'm running after them with another girl, the daughter of one of my parent's guests. She smells of coconut suntan lotion and the beach. The radio, a little am/fm portable with a bent antenna is tuned to WCBS. The DJ announces the next song. "And now, here's The Five Satins with In The Still of The Night."

shoo do- shooby doo shoo do- shooby doo

The girl and I stop chasing fireflies. We stare at the grownups. They are all singing along, the women and the men with their funny drinks and half-drunk voices and some men are singing louder than the others and some of the women are giggling.

In the still, still of the night I held you, held you tight

They are swaying and crooning and it's almost embarassing, yet something about it is giving me goosebumps. My mom and dad are holding each other and dancing, and a lot of the other couples have started dancing and the men are all singing to their wives. They sing off key, their voices full of beer. But it's oddly sweet and I stare at them for a minute before the girl I am playing with pokes me in the side and starts giggling.

It was always like this, and it was always CBS. The Sunday night doo-wop countdown was a ritual. Earth Angel would always be towards the top and I could count on my father walking into the room at the moment the song started, singing his heart out, knowing damn well that his voice sounded like that of a wounded animal's. My sisters and I would cover our ears, pretending to be offended, but we'd all start singing eventually.

As I got older and had my own radio tuned to the rock and roll of WNEW, I never tired of hearing CBS emanating from the kitchen or the backyard. I prided myself on knowing all those doo wop lyrics, all those early rock artists. Even now, walking into a store that had CBS on the stereo, to hear the call letters was the equivalent of comfort food; the warm, cozy feeling of your past reaching out to give you a squeeze. It made my heart and soul feel good and now it's gone. I never thought I'd be saddened over the loss of a radio station, especially one I rarely listened to anymore - I've been angry and pissed off and cynical every time a station I like changed formats, but I've never been so sad to see something go.

There was no warning. Nothing was said about imminent change. They just went straight into the Beastie Boys "Fight for Your Right" and like that, an historical place on the New York radio dial was gone. Dead. Murdered by corporate radio.

The new format is something called Jack (which I believe is owned by Infinity). They tout it as "playing what we want" but that's just so much bullshit. No one plays what they want on commercial radio anymore. It may sound like they're playing what they want because Beastie Boys will be followed by Pink and Def Leppard and Derek and the Dominoes, but it's all just a computerized playlist.

K-Rock switched to the same type of format, playing what they call an eclectic collection of rock, but what I call formulated pandering.

I understand that commercial radio stations are in deep shit, trying to compete with satellite and iPods. Every move like the CBS move is a business decision. When I lost WNEW, K-Rock, Q104 and WLIR, I was sad for each of them. But not like this.

An old friend has died. I may not have visited this friend as often I used to, but it was nice knowing it was out there if I ever needed to feel the comforting warmth of my childhood.

It's time to load some doo-wop and 50's rock and roll onto the iPod. Too bad I can't recreate that echoing DJ voice to play in between songs.

[Thanks to Al for the heads up email last night. You broke my heart, AL!]

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» Radio is clearly missing the point from The Media Drop
One of the topics I try and keep abreast of for the purposes of this blog is radio station format changes. With satellite radio continuing to grow in popularity and personal playlists a la online downloads and such becoming the... [Read More]

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I learned a long time ago that I was no longer valued as an audience member by the commercial-radio industry; I'm too old and I can't be persuaded to listen... [Read More]

» POP CULTURE: Moldy Oldies from Baseball Crank
Michele mourns the loss of oldies radio station WCBS-FM. Now, some of her sentiment is about good memories, and everyone's got their own memories. But let me tell you: I will not miss this radio station. When I was in... [Read More]

» Well This Is A Shame from The LLama Butchers
One-L Michele reports on the sudden change of format of radio station WCBS in Noo Yawk from oldies to, well, something else. This is too bad. The Missus grew up with WCBS living in southern Connecticut. In later years, whenever... [Read More]

Comments

Jack FM is all over the country.

I'm sure it's all satellite broadcasting of a playlist, like you suggest. No local overpaid idiot DJ's, just a few engineers making $15-18/hr to keep things running smoothly. Much cheaper that way. My wife thinks it's a new format intended to compete with the growing popularity of MP3 players, where you'll hear several different types of music in your collection, not just one type.

Between MP3 players and Sirius/XM, broadcast radio has to make radical changes or their days are numbered.

I've lost two excellent oldies stations in the last few years. One to "Top 40 favorites from the 80s, 90s and today" format. The other to talk radio, as if we need more of that garbage polluting the airwaves.

I guess this is what happens when a national conglomerate wants to go with what's popular and fashionable.

Thank God the college station still exists. For now...

I live in a radio wasteland to begin with, which is crippling for someone who grew up with the famous KROQ (Of Rodney Bingenheimer fame). Every station in the area here is computer playlist, satellite broadcast crap.

hey did you see that thing on TV the other night when they had the 80s bands on to do the song that made them famous and then the band did a new song? Man was that ever a waste of programming time. What crap. oh yeah it was "hit me baby one more time".

Be thankful you live in the real world, up here in the northern wastes we get two stations.

The NPR affiliatte and some awful rock thing (I think it's produced in some guys trailer) with a playlist of about three bands -- the day kicks off with AC/DC, then it's Skyrnrd for the rest of the afternoon. Late at night they get all bold and shit and play The Doors. For variety they throw in a Bob Seger or Boston tune every fifty songs. Cutting edge to these guys is any Zepp song that isn't Stairway to Heaven or any Pink Floyd song that isn't Money.

Rinse and repeat. Day after day after day after day. Clear Channel is sounding pretty good the moment.

I'm with you. I didn't really listen to CBS but my dad did. It was my family's Sunday night thing to listen to the "Doo-Wop Shop with Don K. Reed." I also know all those old doo-wop songs.
He ended every show with "In the Still of the Night."

I remember thinking it was a complete travesty that there was not a single doo-wop song on that big list of 100 Greatest RnR songs that came out a few years ago (2000 probably). "Still of the Night" belonged on that list.

In the Still of the Night and Earth Angel are on MY list. :0)

Same thing happened here to our "oldies" station. It went to an all hispanic format overnight a couple of months a go.

Jack FM has been here in Toronto for about six years. It's really annoying.

Just wait for their TV commercials. Those are SUPER annoying.

On the other hand hand, I stopped listening to commercial radio when Howard Stern was yanked out of this market.

shit, we just got a JACK here. 100.7 used to be an "adult contemporary" station (clear channel), but in the last month, it turned to JACK (dunno if it was sold to Infinity, but it must have been).

i don't really know the whole story, because i know the joy that it iTrip.

Here in St. Paul, we recently lost a perfectly serviceable 80s station to Jack-FM. What a shame.

Our only local oldies station suddenly switched to gospel. Damn Alabama.

We don't know Jack down here in Oklahoma, but what we have is called Bob, and it's a classic-rock format peeled back to 300 or so songs. It's damned near unlistenable even if you like all 300 of those songs.

Michele: You got any 50s requests, let me know; I have tons of that stuff around here.

WCBS as we know it is not dead yet. You can still listen to the oldies format on line at http://www.wcbsfm.com/frameset.html.

I would suggest sattelite radio. Mourn the loss of your friend, and subscribe to something that will cater to you every taste. Commercial free, but there are still some annoying DJs. I guess some things never change.

Eh, I listen to my iPod/iTrip. I rarely listen to the radio. I'm just sad about radio's loss.

I did have 101.1 WCBS on my truck radio button. I will miss those songs from the 50s and 60s that the DJs I grew up with played. Now, without the local news or weather or traffic, I won't be tuning in.

Whoever made the decision to droop the oldies format, well, let's just say that they don't know Jack.

At least in northern New Jersey we still have WMTR at 1250 on the AM dial. They still play the oldies.

Good riddance to all these broadcast music stations, really. I listen to the radio for news, talk and traffic. Downloadable music on the Internet opened a whole world of music to be listened to that never would be heard on FM radio. FM plays the same same stuff played over and over again and in the same day. And these stations wonder why their ratings are in the dumper. With iPods and mp3 players, listeners have a far more interactive--and empowering--way to hear the music they want.

Anne, I think you missed the entire essence of my post.

Good riddance to all these broadcast music stations, really. I listen to the radio for news, talk and traffic.

Well, bully for you, Anne. It's great that the demise of broadcast music stations makes you happy. After all, that really is the most important thing, isn't it?

Never mind that there are some people who actually like broadcast music stations. Never mind that, due to revolutionary new technologies known as "the off button" and "changing the channel," their continued existence in their current formats wouldn't cramp your style one bit.

When a great (and storied) station like WCBS bites the dust, we should all admit to ourselves that we're better off without it because you only listen to the radio for news, talk, and traffic.

Vanity, thy name is "Anne."

We just got Jacked here in Seattle as well. A perfectly fine 'alterna' station was given the heave-ho for Jack. I had that station playing when I was working in my yard and I noticed that their program manager has a serious Billy Squier and Huey Lewis problem...heard quite a bit of both over a two day period.

I know exactly how you feel, Michele. In Kansas City, I grew up with WHB-AM. 710 on the dial. Phil J and Johnny Dolan rocked for us growing up. Who needed FM radio? Then suddenly, WHB was gone. They changed to all talk. None of the rock N roll stations around the Midwest had the collection of songs they had. I mourn for you.

In the Bay Area it's "Max FM," and it started just a couple of weeks ago as well. Obviously the radio execs' plan is to shove this crap down everyone's throat at the same time.

From the first time I heard their slogan "...whatever we feel like," I knew to stay away. To me, "Whatver we feel like" is corporate-speak for "We'll play the same songs and over and there's not a damn thing you can do about it."

I can't wait to get my iPod.

CBS-FM is was a main staple and the spirit of old school
60's NYC Radio.... Just like the CBS O&O in Boston WODS...
I would expect the "JACK SHIT" format to hit there also....
I was in the radio industry 30 years both full & part time and had to
get out do to the "corporate crap" which ruined the industry which I so loved. About 2 years ago I started Radio14fun.com and started broadcasting oldies on the web...please feel free to visit and listen..
I play alot of the Stuff CBS-FM played and not just the top 40 hits either! point the browser to www.radio14fun.com and click listen..
I use the services of Live365.com...Rock N Roll will never Die!

Switching CBS away from oldies borders on criminal, but then, hiring Monkeeboy Mickey Dolenz to be their morning DJ had stepped over that line by a good ten yards anyway, so it doesn't really come as much of a surprise.

I had to reprogram all the presets in the house, cars, etc., because I can't stand that Jack crap.

WCBS will definitely be missed. I wasn't a big fan of the station, but my folks listened to it all the time. Car rides out to Long Island. Cousin Brucie.

It had a huge following and always had decent ratings. Now?

I don't give jack about Jack radio. Yet another homogenized, pasteurized, POS station that will play crap based on what some computer spews out, not what a DJ thinks will be the next big thing (or next old thing - we're talking oldies here).

No radio bitching aloud!

When I was kid I had 1.) NPR classical w/ 4 hours of news 2.) Country 3.) Top 40, unless that included something with some balls, then they'd never play it except when Casey Kaseem was on. 4.) Gospel/preachin'/hellfire-consignin'

And I had to walk uphill to the radio in the snow...

Yep. Another perfectly fine radio statio submits to formula-driven slock that you can hear on any channel. The Clear Channel behemoths would have us all lapping up the same pablum.

Too bad for corporate radio that I discovered Radio Paradise.com a couple of years back. Now I can listen to a real station run by a REAL old-time DJ that knows what he is doing.

www.radioparadise.com

"Radio Paradise is Old Fashioned Radio for the 21st Century"

"Each hour of music is carefully blended together to flow smoothly between different musical styles & genres - just like real DJs used to do on FM. We don't use the computer-generated playlists or "carefully researched music libraries" that have sucked the soul out of FM radio - and we never just throw songs together at random the way many web stations do."

http://www.radioparadise.com/modules.php?name=Information

Go there. Give it a try. Your ears will thank you and you may never look at your car radio again.

K-Y-O-U radio

http://www.kyouradio.com

I've never been too much into the oldies stations like CBS-FM myself, but I understand completely why you're so upset. CBS, like it or not, was a stalwart on your radio dial. You knew where you were the minute you twisted past it (on an old-school dial tuner, that is...), and you knew how much real estate you had to the left or right when you were hunting for something good to listen to.

I haven't tried the JACK station out yet, but I don't really plan to. I'f I'm listening to FM, I want something specific. If I want Jack, I'll shuffle my own iPod, thank you very much.

Lucia: kyouradio...already fondly known at our casa as headsuptheirassradio is the worst leftie drivel to hit the Bay Area airwaves since Radio Pacifica went live.

The music playlists are littler more than tedious vanity execises in musical oneupmanship. I might listen if Michele was uploading playlists...sorry, but kyouradio is krap.

It's the end of an era... in the fashion of NYCs future another piece of indispensible history is erased... Oldies 101.1 was indeed my favorite radio station and I feel sick that it's been dumped for generic streaming music. Why didn't they get rid of one of the many rap or spanish stations... couldn't they leave us with our ONE oldies station?

Write to these JACK-asses and let them know their idiots for destroying one of NYC's staples. We're a city that is know to offer everything. How could people destroy a whole generation of music? Should we get rid of classical stations and how about our classic rock stations? What's next? NYC is doing a nose dive. From the loss of mom & pop bookstores taken over by Barnes & Noble to Starbuck's on every corner (there are no cute coffee shops left). We're not allowed to dance in certain places in NY and now we've had a whole genre of music wiped out. Why are NYers putting up with this? WRITE to Jack and let them know what they've done. Don't give your business to the overpriced chain named Starbucks... support smaller businesses... let's keep NY interesting people!!!

NEW YORKER'S WANT THEIR OLDIES BACK!

HAMERSTEIN BALLROOM JUNE 10TH 7PM

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT!!!!!

Now you know how we all felt when WABC and WLS stopped playing music and started talking.

Or when WNEW-AM abandoned standards (though its spirit semi-continued at WQEW until the New York Times let Disney have the frequency).

The problem is that conglomerates want young listeners, so the personality that made stations like WNEW (AM and FM), WABC and WMCA in their Top 40 days and WCBS-FM is gone -- replaced with "attitude." Sigh.

I liked CBS-FM in the decade I lived in New Jersey (though some of their later moves were confounding), and will miss the likes of Bob Shannon, Bobby Jay as well as the venerable part-timers like Harry Harrison and Cousin Brucie. Au revoir, gang.

THEY TOOK AWAY THE ONLY THING THAT WAS ABLE TO CURE ANY TYPES OF DEPRESSION----YOU KNOW WHEN YOU HEARD THE VOICES OF THOSE ROCKS OF RADIO THAT EVERYTHING WAS STILL OK----THEY WERE STILL THERE MAKING MONEY FOR CHARITIES OR GIVING TO SOMEONE WHO NEEDED SOMETHING AT CHRISTMAS TIME--OR JUST ON THE WAY HOME FROM A GIG YOU WOULD HERE DON K REED WITH HIS MONO VOICE INTERVIEWING A GROUP WHO MAYBE WAS SINGING NEXT WEEK RIGHT DOWN THE STREET AT A CHURCH FUNCTION----IT WAS OUR ONLY STABILITY
THEY TOOK AWAY OUR SANITY! WHY?? I KNOW THERE'S ROOM FOR THESE LEGENDS SOMEWHERE--FIND A HOME FOR ALL OF THEM AND MAKE A LOT OF PEOPLE BREATHE AND SMILE AGAIN------IT'S LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE NOW
THERE ARE MACHINES MAKING THESE VERY CALUS DECISIONS FOR US---WHY?? EVEN IN THE MORNING THE VOICE OF MICKY FROM THE MONKEYS----BOY THAT SHOW WAS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER EACH WEEK---HE WAS REALLY GETTING IT!! I AM REALLY PISSED SO MUCH MY WORDS ARE NOT ENOUGH TO EXPLAIN ALL MY FEELINGS
WE ARE A BAND CELEBRATING 28 YEARS TOGETHER--OUR MEMBERS HAVE EVOLVED TO KEEP UP WITH OUR COMPETITION BUT THE TIME MACHINE WAS ABLE TO GO BACK AND FORTH THRU THE TIME TUNNELS OF MUSIC ANDI HAVE TO TELL YOU-----THOSE DECADES OF MUSIC OF THE 50'S AND 60'S AND 70'S HAVE BEEN THE RELIEF VAVLE FOR MUSICIANS AND DJ'S AND ENTERTAINERS ALL OF OVER TO FILL THE DANCE FLOOR.
SO WHO BETTER THAN US GET THEY REAL FEEL OF WHAT AN AUDIENCE LIKE----------YOUNG AND OLD LOVE THOSE SONGS----------WHO MADE THIS CALL??
APPARENTLY A DEAF MORON WHO SMOKES HIS ASS OFF FROM MORNING UNTIL NIGHT!!
I SAID ENOUGH BUT I THANK YOU FOR GIVING THE SPACE TO VENT MY FEELING--SINCE THAT SATURDAY MORNING WHEN I PUT ON THE STATION AND THOUGHT MY RADIO WAS ALL SCREWED UP---UNTIL NOW I HAD TO GET THIS OFF MY MIND

THANKS AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO ROCK AND ROLL
AND TEACH OUR AUDIENCES THE FREEDOM OF HEARING ALL KINDS OF MUSIC-------------SEE YA TIME MACHINE
JOE COREY LEADER

The new Jack-ass of a station is a perfect example of somebody or something with no feelings or a heart. My mother is distraught that she cannot hear her dis jockeys or the music anymore. I my self a 29 year old feel the same. I love the oldies station so much that it does bring me back to those time as being a kid. Come on jack-ass have a heart. Leave the air and put back on the oldies.

Everyone is complaining about the loss of a great radio station. But, except for the comment that there is an oldies station left in northern NJ (which I can't get in Manhattan), there are no recommendations of which radio stations still play decent music that can be heard in New York City. I run along the East River most evenings and I really miss WCBS, and think Jack FM truly sucks. Are there any stations that can be heard in the City with decent music?