America's Best Music adds to playlist

Clearly, the format is more soft AC or gold than standards these days, but from what I can tell, there is as much Johnny Mathis, Sinatra and Nat King Cole on the playlist as before. But the mix has definitely moved forward into 80s and 90s adult contemporary. I think it's a good balance. One of the stations (I think WILE FM) has been airing promos touting a larger playlist.

One area they have greatly expanded is the timed record, local options spots at the top hour, :30 and :50. Those playlists have essentially doubled. (I keep the stream open all day on my computer at work).

They first starting beefing up the list in April. Then a second wave of additions started coming in the last couple of weeks (Kenny Rogers ought to love the additional royalties from all of his songs they added). Songs with an asterisk are local option timed records:

Kenny Rogers – "A Love Song"*
Bette Midler – “Do You Want To Dance”*
The Delfonics – “La La Means I Love You”
Bonnie Raitt – “Not the Only One”
Kool & The Kang – “Too Hot”*
Kenny Rogers –*“Morning Desire”*
Anita Baker – “Just Because”
Little River Band – “Lady”
Kenny Rogers – “Daytime Friends”*
Kenny Rogers – “Love the World Away”*
The Commodores –*“Oh No”*
Dan Hill – “Sometimes When We Touch”
Tony Bennett & Natalie Cole – “Watch What Happens”
Kim Carnes, Kenny Rogers & James Ingram –*“What About Me”
Loggins & Messina – “My Music”
Bread – “Lost Without Your Love”*
Earth, Wind & Fire – “That’s the Way Of the World”
The Commodores – “Sail On”
Kenny Loggins – “Whenever I Call You Friend”
Bruce Springsteen –*“I’m On Fire”*
Mickey Gilley – “Stand By Me”
Jackson 5 – “Never Can Say Goodbye”
Michael Jackson – “Human Nature”
Michael Jackson – “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”
Michael Jackson – “Got To Be There”
Heatwave – “Always and Forever”
Sheena Easton – “Almost Over You”*
Dobie Gray – “Drift Away”*
Lionel Richie – “Love Will Conquer All”
Restless Heart – “When She Cries”
Garth Brooks – “The Dance”
Bonnie Raitt – “Something To Talk About”
Anita Baker – “Sweet Love”
Peter Cetera & Amy Grant – “The Next Time I Fall”
Elton John – “Sacrifice”
Fleetwood Mac – “Gypsy”
Wings – “Let ‘Em In”
Foreigner – “I’ve Been Waiting For A Girl Like You”
Cyndi Lauper – “Time After Time”
Billy Joel – “This Is the Time”
Michael McDonald – “I Keep Forgettin’”*
Toto – “I’ll Be Over You”*
Laura Brannigan – “How Am I Supposed To Live Without You”
Paul McCartney & Wings – “No More Lonely Nights”*

CTListener said:

They fit the format (well, 10cc are British, but I'm sure that being American isn't a prerequisite for inclusion on America's Best Music) and really aren't all that similar. The 10cc tune is English pop, the Hall & Oates is blue-eyed soul. Did they play them back-to-back or just within the same music block? With the way the vocals on "She's Gone" build, I don't see any tempo problems with playing the songs close to each other at all.

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They have almost exactly the same opening.

And I would disagree about fitting the format. We're getting way over into AC territory now. As long as you continue to play actual standards, too many of these just sound strange.

Sounds good today. I wouldn't want to hear a lot of the songs on the above list.

vchimpanzee said:

They have almost exactly the same opening.

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So does Player's "Baby Come Back," but that song goes in yet another direction once you get past the intro.

CTListener said:

So does Player's "Baby Come Back," but that song goes in yet another direction once you get past the intro.

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I hadn't thought of that.

That song has been in the format for a very long time, but it never seemed to fit.

I've always liked it, though.

There are days like Friday when it seems like nothing has changed. Then there are days like today when the new songs are all over the place and it just sounds weird. At least the standards are still there from time to time, though there was one day when they weren't while I was listening, and it really was like Timeless Favorites.

Air Supply's "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" has to be the worst.

If I said I loved Michael Bolton, I lied.

Adele's "Hello". Goodbye.

I CAN stay away from Gloria Estefan. Unless she's singing one of the songs on her recent collection of standards.

And while I haven't heard it, I say this about "Waiting on a Girl Like You". No way, no how, not gonna do it, wouldn't be prudent at this juncture, read my lips, no new taxes.

I did hear "Time After Time" and while I don't care for Cyndi Lauper and all that synthesizer sounds totally out of place in this format.

publisher said:

Clearly, the format is more soft AC or gold than standards these days, but from what I can tell, there is as much Johnny Mathis, Sinatra and Nat King Cole on the playlist as before. But the mix has definitely moved forward into 80s and 90s adult contemporary. I think it's a good balance. One of the stations (I think WILE FM) has been airing promos touting a larger playlist.

One area they have greatly expanded is the timed record, local options spots at the top hour, :30 and :50. Those playlists have essentially doubled. (I keep the stream open all day on my computer at work).

They first starting beefing up the list in April. Then a second wave of additions started coming in the last couple of weeks (Kenny Rogers ought to love the additional royalties from all of his songs they added). Songs with an asterisk are local option timed records:

The Commodores – “Sail On”
Kenny Loggins – “Whenever I Call You Friend”
Anita Baker – “Sweet Love”
Peter Cetera & Amy Grant – “The Next Time I Fall”
Fleetwood Mac – “Gypsy”
Foreigner – “I’ve Been Waiting For A Girl Like You”
Cyndi Lauper – “Time After Time”
Billy Joel – “This Is the Time”

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I have heard these on WNAM at times when there are not supposed to be commercial breaks. I think they have commercials during the entire breaks when they could be playing music.

I started listening to WNAM when my phone company finally gave me a good deal on faster Internet. It took calling Spectrum (previously Time Warner) when I was having real problems and my phone bill had gotten too high.

WNAM, unlike KKOV, is not a jukebox with commercials in the weirdest places. They've been coming on with weather bulletins all afternoon (and weather forecasts at least once an hour). Good to hear community service for a change, and they don't interrupt the music.

Someone forgot to turn off the music. You can hardly hear the weather bulletin.

I'm not sure where to post about this but they started having a long conversation which sounds like it's happening on the TV station. There is a tornado on the ground. This is a topic which should probably be started somewhere, if it hasn't already. It's unusual to have these long weather bulletins simulcast on radio. This is the only weather bulletin that has actually done more than cause a slight delay in the music.

Another possible topic: the computer is getting so much information it's not possible to keep up. That would go under TV somewhere.

Twenty years ago this week, I heard Michael Bolton's "Time, Love and Tenderness" on Charlotte's Stardust station. That was bad enough, but there were these terrible annoying sound effects typical of contemporary pop "music" that made it clear something was not right. I haven't heard that song on America's Best Music, but they do have plenty of Michael Bolton these days. Ten years ago, Timeless Favorites had evolved to the point that people were comparing it with the failed experiment on the Charlotte station, which lasted a month. My very first email congratulated them on the new music director but I made a typo on the subject line, which you can see every time I post. I didn't know how to correct it, but I had an idea for my own email address. While I don't recall whether America's Best Music has George Michael's "One More Try", the only song I have actually heard since the recent changes which was also one of the new songs on the Charlotte station during that month (of those I heard) is Celine Dion's "If You Asked Me To", which is pretty bad.

Other songs I actually heard or think were played on the Charlotte station during that month:

"FM" Steely Dan
"Hold Me Now" Thompson Twins (I only know the DJ said a Thompson Twins song was played but didn't hear it)
"I Do It for You" Bryan Adams (they were obsessed with this one)
"Just Like Jesse James" Cher
"Missing You" John Waite
"Nightshift" Commodores
"You're in Love" Wilson Phillips

Chimp, I thought I'd let you know that your mainstay, KKOV, along with sister KPAM, has been sold and all employees have been given their walking papers. This will probably be the end of Adult Standards in Portland and dedicated local Talk as well, as soon as the sale goes through.

semoochie said:

Chimp, I thought I'd let you know that your mainstay, KKOV, along with sister KPAM, has been sold and all employees have been given their walking papers. This will probably be the end of Adult Standards in Portland and dedicated local Talk as well, as soon as the sale goes through.

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Who's the buyer? Not Evil EMF, I hope.

semoochie said:

Chimp, I thought I'd let you know that your mainstay, KKOV, along with sister KPAM, has been sold and all employees have been given their walking papers. This will probably be the end of Adult Standards in Portland and dedicated local Talk as well, as soon as the sale goes through.

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WNAM is my primary station. Once I found out about it, I mostly quit listening to KKOV, although that was because of the aerobics instructor that had a heart attack several times a day. Now I have the little girl who wants to know where babies come from, also several times a day.

And Michael Bolton should not be allowed to sing "Georgia on My Mind".

And this is why I love this site. I'm listening to WILE and I love it. The only thing I wish is that there were DJ's. It seems like stations have either music I like or DJ's, but not both anymore.

CTListener said:

Who's the buyer? Not Evil EMF, I hope.

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Try this thread: https://www.radiodiscussions.com/sh...radio-station-KPAM-AM-and-KKOV-are-being-sold

WNAM has been playing a song that is not necessarily in the America's Best Music playlist before they have the news break. I know it's them because the songs have never been played in recent years if ever, and they have some announcement about a contest just before the news. "Java" and "Cotton Candy" by Al Hirt and "Feels So Good" and "Give it All You Got" by Chuck Mangione are among the songs I've heard. Also, WNAM has done away with the last commercial break of the hour and I'm hearing songs I haven't heard since my local station went oldies.

oldiesgirl said:

And this is why I love this site. I'm listening to WILE and I love it. The only thing I wish is that there were DJ's. It seems like stations have either music I like or DJ's, but not both anymore.

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Where? I try to find WILE and I get error messages. It might be nice to have a second option. Also, WNAM doesn't do a list of songs played while KKOV does, even if some of the songs listed never aired because of commercials or news.