did cbs fm play doo wop along with future gold when they first launched

[eddieedwards]

Italian Doo Wop was fantastic, and was heard all over NYC from 1955 to 1965. My question is, did CBS-FM play any of those Doo Wop tunes, or any Doo Wop for that matter, during their regular broadcast day, in the early 70's. I am not talking about the Doo Wop Shop or specialty shows. Also, did they program Future Gold like many CBS owned Oldie formats, such as CAU-FM, which did play one Furture Gold, every hour. Back in 73, when I was visiting my cousin in Brooklyn, listening to Dick Heatherton, Joeys little brother, so he said, stolen from us here in Philly, or was it Bob Dayton, I am sure I heard a jingle that said WCBS-FM, Doo Wop Gold and the Clock by the Contenders came on. I never heard any Future Gold, the time I was there. I also think CBS-FM played more "oh wow" off the wall oldies, which CAU-FM did not, although CAU was the first CBS test pilot to adapt the Solid Gold format.

 

[L Chanon Gade]

Regarding "Future Gold" -from what I recall Mad Ave was hesitant about the Oldies format so CBS started adding currents, about one per hour in the first half of 1973. It was a good idea and over the decades it allowed a natural evolution of the format McCoy dropped it in 1992 and the station became a stale museum. Then the "demo-rot" caught up with them and they panicked in the early 2000's. They were up s--t's creek by 2005 and blowing them up was an act of mercy... it also gave them another shot two years later.

LCG

 

[andreajesus]

Italian Doo Wop was fantastic, and was heard all over NYC from 1955 to 1965. My question is, did CBS-FM play any of those Doo Wop tunes, or any Doo Wop for that matter, during their regular broadcast day, in the early 70's. I am not talking about the Doo Wop Shop or specialty shows. Also, did they program Future Gold like many CBS owned Oldie formats, such as CAU-FM, which did play one Furture Gold, every hour. Back in 73, when I was visiting my cousin in Brooklyn, listening to Dick Heatherton, Joeys little brother, so he said, stolen from us here in Philly, or was it Bob Dayton, I am sure I heard a jingle that said WCBS-FM, Doo Wop Gold and the Clock by the Contenders came on. I never heard any Future Gold, the time I was there. I also think CBS-FM played more "oh wow" off the wall oldies, which CAU-FM did not, although CAU was the first CBS test pilot to adapt the Solid Gold format.

Oh yes - back in the old days of the station ('72-'00) - they WERE putting doowopp music into the regular format -I don't know 'bout the "oh wow" factor, though...

 

[andreajesus]

Regarding "Future Gold" -and blowing them up was an act of mercy... it also gave them another shot two years later.

LCG

and yet, all these years later, WCBSFM is NOTHING like its original legacy - their core artists (and format) are primarily confined to the late 1970's and 80's and yes, even some 90's - to me, they just "took" the call letters of the original station and made a whole new station - their core audience is, in my opinion, 25-49...

 

[DavidEduardo]

and yet, all these years later, WCBSFM is NOTHING like its original legacy - their core artists (and format) are primarily confined to the late 1970's and 80's and yes, even some 90's - to me, they just "took" the call letters of the original station and made a whole new station - their core audience is, in my opinion, 25-49...

More than half the listeners are 45 to 64, with only 8% 35-44 and even less in 25-34. Another 24% is over 65.

What the station has tried to do is keep as much of the listening as possible in the salable 40-54 age range by gradually refreshing the library as some songs grew too old. It's the same format, up to date, just as Z-100 is the same format as WMCA or WINS or WMGM had when they were Top 40, but with current songs of the moment. The music changes, but the target demo does not.

 

[DavidEduardo]

Regarding "Future Gold" -from what I recall Mad Ave was hesitant about the Oldies format so CBS started adding currents, about one per hour in the first half of 1973.

Ad agencies did not have any issue with the format... ownership may have been troubled that it might swing too old or just be a fad.

Around 1973 there had been gold stations for about six years, so the format had become rather familiar. In addition, there were gold based AC stations like WGAR in Cleveland that were also, for all practical purposes, gold stations.

 

[eddieedwards]

Oh yes - back in the old days of the station ('72-'00) - they WERE putting doowopp music into the regular format -I don't know 'bout the "oh wow" factor, though...

That must of been one hell of a playlist, in Philly, CAU-FM never played any Doo Wop, the closest thing were a few Dion cuts and Alone and Broken Hearted by the Five Jays, and of course the Sunday Night Geator Show(vomit). The "oh wow" cuts I heard on CBS-FM were, Whenever a Teenager Cries - Reperata and the Delrons, Playgirl - Thee Profits, I'm Crying - Animals, Fever - McCoys, I Can't Stop - Honeycombs, I can never go home anymore - Shangralas, and about a billion others to numerous to mention. Would you say their playlist back then had to be over 3,000 titles, including all the throw in's.

 

[andreajesus]

The "oh wow" cuts I heard on CBS-FM were, Whenever a Teenager Cries - Reperata and the Delrons, Playgirl - Thee Profits, I'm Crying - Animals, Fever - McCoys, I Can't Stop - Honeycombs, I can never go home anymore - Shangralas, and about a billion others to numerous to mention. Would you say their playlist back then had to be over 3,000 titles, including all the throw in's.

CBSFM had at one point probably one of the BEST playlists EVER for an oldies station - as a classic hits station, they basically play the same couple of hundred songs (least it feels that way -but since I'm not in the demo anymore - I'm 57..... )

 

[BruceNYC]

Joe McCoy was a terriic program director during the hey day of WCBS-FM. I just loved the specialty shows and the wide playlists. They don't want old people like me anyway, but their formula of using a tight playlist seems to be working as they are consistently #2 in the ratings. I guess people like hearing More Than A Feeling by Boston 5 times a day.

 

[eddieedwards]

and instead of Gloria by Vito and the Salutations

 

[L Chanon Gade]

Ad agencies did not have any issue with the format... ownership may have been troubled that it might swing too old or just be a fad.
Around 1973 there had been gold stations for about six years, so the format had become rather familiar. In addition, there were gold based AC stations like WGAR in Cleveland that were also, for all practical purposes, gold stations.

Listener age would not have been a consideration at that point.

David, the agency issue as explained to me by the father of a friend and exec with DFS in December 1972 was simply whether there was a longterm audience that wanted to hear a format of only old songs.

The NYC radio landscape showed no paucity of oldies at that point;

WABC: One/hr going as far back as the mid-fifties. They had the “playdate” jingles to go with it.

WOR-f: At least one/hr along with specials and “Solid Gold Weekends”.

WNBC: A mix in what was still an MOR, but lots of oldies on weekends with Murray the K’s syndicated and local shows.

WPIX: I don’t remember if Gossert was still there, but ‘PIX was one/hr with an emphasis on the sixties. They quoted both year and months that the oldie charted locally.

Even WWDJ had a liberal amount of somewhat scratchy throwbacks and weekend specials with highlighted years.

Against this you can see why there was some skepticism about the need for an all-oldie format. You can’t draw blanket conclusions from one market to another.

LCG