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Where are WDUV and Easy 93.1 now?

V

vchimpanzee

These seem to be the stations to which all others trying a classic-leaning soft AC approach are compared.

I keep forgetting to look at their playlists, and I know I shouldn't be concerned about going to the sites that provide this while at home, but I do limit where I go at home to a few select sites.

The reason I ask this is that at the times I listened, WEZV Myrtle Beach, SC, while still playing the artists ignored by most ACs--Neil Diamond, Glen Campbell, Engelbert Humperdinck, etc--played only a few songs this year that would be considered standards. Some sites list it as soft AC but I still don't think that's an accurate description. Sinatra was played, but only in a duet with his daughter. Nat King Cole was played only in one of those manufactured duets. Michael Buble also sang a standard, and I heard "Theme from 'A Summer Place'" at least once. I have this memory of hearing the Lettermen while sitting at a very long stop light, but I'm not sure I'm remembering that correctly. I know Percy Faith played it, which is unusual because I had not heard an instrumental on WEZV in years, and this year I heard a smooth jazz one too.

I don't think WDUV or Easy 93.1 play new songs, and WEZV plays a few. Someone on this site commented that Easy 93.1 had backed off from songs not respected by AC, while WDUV had not. I thought "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion was newer because it is so contemporary-sounding and annoying, but the one site I'm willing to go to at home to research this said it was recorded in 1993, if it is in fact the song with the lyrics "I am your lady". I thought there was a version recorded by a man with the lyrics "you are my lady" but this was the only thing I could find. Anyway, I do not care for the pounding drums in this one. I was so relieved when songs like that seemed to disappear. Soft songs should also have soft drums.
 
And I still haven't looked up these stations' playlists.

I know there is a song called "Power of Love" by Air Supply and Jennifer Rush which Celine Dion recorded but I don't know if that's the right one. The lyrics web sites call it "I Am Your Lady" or "I'm Your Lady". So far no one has confirmed this is the song, except the Air Supply version was called "Power of Love (You Are My Lady)". I thought a black man recorded this too.
 
Here's a start. I remembered to look at the WDUV playlist once while I was at a library. I suppose it would be safe at home, but I won't.

"One" Three Dog Night
"Running On Empty" Jackson Browne
"She's Like The Wind" Patrick Swayze
"Everlasting Love" (no artist shown, and this was true for some of the others but we can easily conclude whose hit they were)
"What a Fool Believes" The Doobie Brothers
"Time After Time" Cindi Lauper
"Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" Creedence Clearwater Revival

That's all I got without clicking on further links, but it's enough of a sample to make clear I would never listen to this station. It would be more pleasant as background music in stores than what I typically run into. Maybe if I was out in the middle of nowhere without a good station I would put up with it, but I wouldn't want to be stuck with it ALL the time.

This is a long way from what WEZV is doing.
 
"Love Train" O'Jays
"Every Breath You Take" Police
"Still the One" Orleans
"I Just Want to Be Your Everything" Andy Gibb
"Foolish Heart" Steve Perry
"You Are Everything" Stylistics
"Kiss On My List" Hall and Oates

This is much better. At least in this sample, most of the songs are on the station I listen to now. Still, where are Barry Manilow? Neil Diamond? Barbra Streisand? I guarantee you even WEZV is doing them.
 
vchimpanzee said:
"Love Train" O'Jays
"Every Breath You Take" Police
"Still the One" Orleans
"I Just Want to Be Your Everything" Andy Gibb
"Foolish Heart" Steve Perry
"You Are Everything" Stylistics
"Kiss On My List" Hall and Oates

This is much better. At least in this sample, most of the songs are on the station I listen to now. Still, where are Barry Manilow? Neil Diamond? Barbra Streisand? I guarantee you even WEZV is doing them.
Click to expand...

I was checking the playlist for WFEZ a few mins ago. I scrolled back about three or four hours back, and the only artist they played from the typical EZ group was Roberta Flack. Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, and Barbra Streisand were absent from the list. It seems that some of the traditional soft AC stations are now beginning to eliminate these artists and others like them; another station employing this kind of thinking is the new Easy 98.1 in San Diego. I do listen to Sunny 106 in Ft. Myers and they are still airing these artists. Another good one to try which still airs the full spectrum of "old school" soft AC is KAJR (The Oasis) in Palm Springs, CA. It appears that one of our local stations is set to debut one of these "Easy" formats soon, but I strongly suspect that the upcoming format will not be including the EZ artists, either. :(
 
I noticed they're skewing older now than they did in the summer. The demographics of Florida change with the seasons. The snowbirds go south for the winter, so there is a higher proportion of old people in the winter.
 
I was looking for a topic for WEZV Myrtle Beach SC. I found this.

I checked WDUV's last songs played a few weeks ago and they only show one or two songs but I was shocked to see "What About Love" by Heart, "West End Girls" by Pet Shop Boys and "Brick House" by The Commodores at various times. But "Believe It Or Not" they play Joey Scarbury.

WFEZ's last songs played wasn't working when I tried. Let me go check. "Drift Away" by Dobie Gray and "Forever Tonight" by Crystal Bernard. For WDUV, "Summer breeze" by Seals and Crofts.

If I wanted to listen online like I do with WEZV, I could, I guess. I'm more interested in WEZV, although I keep that station at a lower volume than WNAM (America's Best Music). Right now, "Let's Groove" by Earth Wind and Fire. I got busy with something else before that song finished, and now they're playing "Babe" by Styx.

WEZV was calling itself soft AC nearly 10 years ago. That was not a correct description because it still sounded very much like America's Best Music, and it was "the relaxation station" as recently as a few months ago. The actual standards gradually disappeared but as recently as last year, I could still hear a few, mostly newer performances. this year things were distinctly different. I was mostly listening to Rush Limbaugh, but the soft AC sure was more lively than it had been. The first song that told me something was wrong was "Sunny Came Home" by Shawn Colvin. Over the next several days I had opportunities to hear some really off-the-wall tunes mixed in with the softer stuff. Once I got home, I started listening online occasionally, then I started keeping the station on "in the background" while listening to WNAM. Sometimes, it is still easygoing with some loud stuff mixed in. Sometimes, the easygoing songs (meaning what was there before) were the exception. Whatever they are doing, it is called "more refreshing than ever".

In all the time I have been listening in the past month, I have not heard one song by The Carpenters, Barry Manilow, Kenny Rogers, John Denver, Glen Campbell or Anne Murray. Neil Diamond is still there for some odd reason. "Theme from 'Mahogany'", "Endless Love" and "Do That to Me One More Time" are among the softest songs I have heard. On the other end of the scale, "Don't You" by Simple Minds, "Cruel Summer" by Bananarama, "Send Her My Love" by Journey, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears, "Holiday" and "Lucky Star" by Madonna, "Take It on the Run" and "Keep on Loving You" by REO Speedwagon, and in the most unbelievable selection yet, "Sunglasses at Night" by Corey Hart. Yes, with the explosion and guitar solo.
 
"Baby Come Back" on WDUV, "Hotel California" on WFEZ (WEZV has played that one too) after "Kokomo". Someone else may want to do a longer list.
 
Let me add some more from WEZV, and then anyone who wants to can find out if these are on the other two stations.

"Little Red Corvette", "Jack and Diane" and "Hurts So Good".
 
Right now WEZV is playing "With or Without You" by U2, hope I spelled the band name correctly. I actually enjoy the stations that play a wide variety of songs. I could give two flips about the format. If it is a good song it's a good song. I'm just glad I haven't heard any modern songs with AutoTune. I was listening to a station that called itself AC earlier, and they were mostly playing songs from the 2010s, or at least the late 00s. I guess it's popular with a lot of people, but to me it is yuck.
 
vchimpanzee said:
I was looking for a topic for WEZV Myrtle Beach SC. I found this.

I checked WDUV's last songs played a few weeks ago and they only show one or two songs but I was shocked to see "What About Love" by Heart, "West End Girls" by Pet Shop Boys and "Brick House" by The Commodores at various times. But "Believe It Or Not" they play Joey Scarbury.

WFEZ's last songs played wasn't working when I tried. Let me go check. "Drift Away" by Dobie Gray and "Forever Tonight" by Crystal Bernard. For WDUV, "Summer breeze" by Seals and Crofts.

If I wanted to listen online like I do with WEZV, I could, I guess. I'm more interested in WEZV, although I keep that station at a lower volume than WNAM (America's Best Music). Right now, "Let's Groove" by Earth Wind and Fire. I got busy with something else before that song finished, and now they're playing "Babe" by Styx.

WEZV was calling itself soft AC nearly 10 years ago. That was not a correct description because it still sounded very much like America's Best Music, and it was "the relaxation station" as recently as a few months ago. The actual standards gradually disappeared but as recently as last year, I could still hear a few, mostly newer performances. this year things were distinctly different. I was mostly listening to Rush Limbaugh, but the soft AC sure was more lively than it had been. The first song that told me something was wrong was "Sunny Came Home" by Shawn Colvin. Over the next several days I had opportunities to hear some really off-the-wall tunes mixed in with the softer stuff. Once I got home, I started listening online occasionally, then I started keeping the station on "in the background" while listening to WNAM. Sometimes, it is still easygoing with some loud stuff mixed in. Sometimes, the easygoing songs (meaning what was there before) were the exception. Whatever they are doing, it is called "more refreshing than ever".

In all the time I have been listening in the past month, I have not heard one song by The Carpenters, Barry Manilow, Kenny Rogers, John Denver, Glen Campbell or Anne Murray. Neil Diamond is still there for some odd reason. "Theme from 'Mahogany'", "Endless Love" and "Do That to Me One More Time" are among the softest songs I have heard. On the other end of the scale, "Don't You" by Simple Minds, "Cruel Summer" by Bananarama, "Send Her My Love" by Journey, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears, "Holiday" and "Lucky Star" by Madonna, "Take It on the Run" and "Keep on Loving You" by REO Speedwagon, and in the most unbelievable selection yet, "Sunglasses at Night" by Corey Hart. Yes, with the explosion and guitar solo.
Click to expand...

AFAIK, neither WDUV or WFEZ air any of the so-called EZ artists anymore (Diamond, Streisand, Carpenters, Manilow, etc) as soft AC stations offered thirty years ago. For a while, many of the revamped soft AC stations from decades ago (now known primarily as "easy oldies") did offer those particular tracks when the format was resurrected on broadcast radio a few years ago, but have since moved away from that direction. If you want soft AC as it originally was, you'll have to find it either via the internet or satellite radio, not broadcast radio. Maybe your personal tastes run more along the lines of an adult standards format, which could explain as to why stations such as WDUV and WFEZ don't appeal to you.
 
I've been listening to WEZV for several hours, and I'm glad to see they're playing the gold AC version of Delilah. This is AC as it was in the 90s when I listened to AC. It sounds a lot like WEZK in Knoxville before they changed to B97.5 and then later became a glorified top 40 station. Although, to be fair, WEZK and WLMX in Chattanooga, which were the stations I listened to, did in fact play a lot of newer songs, but they were still a lot softer and didn't play all this rap stuff they're playing now. We don't have WLMX anymore, but B97.5 and Mix 92.9 are still labeled as light rock as they always were, so when I tune in I'm expectying to hear AC as it always was. We really need different labels or better descriptions for the different types of AC stations. It is also confusing because the stations I grew up with did not come out and say that they were changing formats, they just started dropping all the good songs so gradually that you didn't even notice until you were being flooded with Katie Perry and Justin Bieber.
 
passtheword said:
AFAIK, neither WDUV or WFEZ air any of the so-called EZ artists anymore (Diamond, Streisand, Carpenters, Manilow, etc) as soft AC stations offered thirty years ago. For a while, many of the revamped soft AC stations from decades ago (now known primarily as "easy oldies") did offer those particular tracks when the format was resurrected on broadcast radio a few years ago, but have since moved away from that direction. If you want soft AC as it originally was, you'll have to find it either via the internet or satellite radio, not broadcast radio. Maybe your personal tastes run more along the lines of an adult standards format, which could explain as to why stations such as WDUV and WFEZ don't appeal to you.
Click to expand...
I'm not interested in soft AC. I'm interested in being able to turn on the radio in Myrtle Beach and hear good music. Still, I keep listening to this junk in the background, since there's not a list, with America's Best Music more prominent, because the more I know about how much people would object to what's available in Myrtle Beach, the better (but will that mean a better station taking its place?). It just happens the default volume for WNAM is louder than WEZV. As for WFEZ and WDUV, if I don't live there, it doesn't matter, but I really wish they had something better. West Palm Beach has a true standards station and I don't know what the Tampa area has.

I have heard Sinatra when in Myrtle Beach on Surf 94.9, but not lately. This year I heard Nat and Natalie. Still, I tried the station and it's certainly not "relaxing". If anything, WEZV is still more relaxing when it is relaxing. Someone commented on the high energy level on Surf.
 
Last edited:
Well, I can't edit, but going back to when I was actually at the beach without the Internet, and having to drive because I was too tired to walk everywhere, I was in the car for long enough to hear quite a few songs, and many of the ones on WEZV were not "relaxing". I tried Surf 94.9 but that wasn't relaxing either. I want something that sounds good, not something where I have to keep changing stations, which is how it is with my former America's Best Music station when the other one isn't close by. I have a couple of classic country stations with lousy signals.

I had Rush in the car on the way down. On the way home, I just like to see what happens with "scan".
 
I wonder if WDUV or WFEZ is playing "Sunglasses at Night", because WEZV just did. How that fits any definition of "soft" AC is beyond me. I like that the DJ said "Easy" right after the song ended, and I assume he said the frequencies before he said "continuous light favorites". Actually, I like that he sounded confused but wouldn't admit it.
 
vchimpanzee said:
I wonder if WDUV or WFEZ is playing "Sunglasses at Night", because WEZV just did. How that fits any definition of "soft" AC is beyond me. I like that the DJ said "Easy" right after the song ended, and I assume he said the frequencies before he said "continuous light favorites". Actually, I like that he sounded confused but wouldn't admit it.
Click to expand...

It's soft AC to a generation increasingly hard-wired for uptempo music. I'd put Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams Are Made of This" in the same category.
 
CTListener said:
It's soft AC to a generation increasingly hard-wired for uptempo music. I'd put Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams Are Made of This" in the same category.
Click to expand...

"Sweet Dreams Are Made of This" isn't newly-designated soft AC. Soft AC stations 30+ years ago played that song, even back then.
 
CTListener said:
It's soft AC to a generation increasingly hard-wired for uptempo music. I'd put Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams Are Made of This" in the same category.
Click to expand...
I thought that's what it was at first, but the Eurythmics song is actually a credible soft AC choice. Not one I would care for, but it still fits the format. And soft rock stations did play it when it was popular.
 
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