Songs of the last 30 years that would pass for "MOR"

[EZway2go]

If you're referring to Melissa Manchester's 1975 hit, yes, it's a bit over the 30 year limit. It's kind of hard to believe that song will be 40 years old in just a couple years, isn't it?

However, "Midnight Blue" by Louise Tucker, is not the same song. It's a synthesized classical piece adapted from Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8. It did far better in other countries than it did here, but it does show up occasionally on EZ Listening stations. I hear it on KMGR in Richfield, Utah.

Getting back to Melissa Manchester, her last big hit was, in fact, exactly 30 years ago, wasn't it? "You Should Hear How She Talks About You." Definitely good MOR material, but I think that one's a little too contemporary for what would be considered MOR, say, 15 years earlier. My favorite by Melissa is "Better Days" from 1976, which you never hear anywhere, and I don't know why.

There are so many songs which have fallen by the wayside, which for whatever reasons 'don't test well'. Unfortunately, much of this has to do with 'familiarity'. A song like "Better Days" is likely not to test well as it is too obscure. Don't get me wrong, I think it's inexcusable! I for one think some of these stations should have playlists well into the thousands! They should be able to play music by artists that much of the target audience can relate. This includes some of the more obscure songs as well as the major hits. Melissa Manchester is a good example of this on a MOR.

I recently had "Better Days" pop up on the mp3 player in my car and one of my passengers asked who it was... said it sounded really nice. That's why I mentioned it here.

 

[klutch00]

If you're referring to Melissa Manchester's 1975 hit, yes, it's a bit over the 30 year limit. It's kind of hard to believe that song will be 40 years old in just a couple years, isn't it?

However, "Midnight Blue" by Louise Tucker, is not the same song. It's a synthesized classical piece adapted from Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8. It did far better in other countries than it did here, but it does show up occasionally on EZ Listening stations. I hear it on KMGR in Richfield, Utah.

Getting back to Melissa Manchester, her last big hit was, in fact, exactly 30 years ago, wasn't it? "You Should Hear How She Talks About You." Definitely good MOR material, but I think that one's a little too contemporary for what would be considered MOR, say, 15 years earlier. My favorite by Melissa is "Better Days" from 1976, which you never hear anywhere, and I don't know why.

There are so many songs which have fallen by the wayside, which for whatever reasons 'don't test well'. Unfortunately, much of this has to do with 'familiarity'. A song like "Better Days" is likely not to test well as it is too obscure. Don't get me wrong, I think it's inexcusable! I for one think some of these stations should have playlists well into the thousands! They should be able to play music by artists that much of the target audience can relate. This includes some of the more obscure songs as well as the major hits. Melissa Manchester is a good example of this on a MOR.

I recently had "Better Days" pop up on the mp3 player in my car and one of my passengers asked who it was... said it sounded really nice. That's why I mentioned it here.

That's cool! I wonder how old said individual was? If s/he was younger than say 45, I'd say it would say volumes as such music is likely considered uncool by those much younger than that.

Speaking of songs by Melissa, I'd suggest "Fire In The Morning".

On a different note, If I was to program a MOR format, I'd suggest featuring the more familiar titles during AM and PM drive. Feature a little more chatter along with news features, but don't overdo it. For mid-days, have a host (DJ) that keeps abreast of musical and other events. WMAL Washigton's Tom Gauger was a prime example of what I'm talking about. Have a mid-day artist spotlight feature and don't be afraid to play deeper cuts than what normally would be heard. With that said, the artist should be one most people can relate to! For evening hours, like the mid-day show play deeper cuts or have a special music feature. A jazz or light jazz show could work. A concert feature might also work too. For overnights, keep it mellow.

 

[vchimpanzee]

You know, I could honestly see fmradio1's list getting played on the Dial Global format in, say, 5 to 10 years, maybe sooner.

Not if I have anything to say about it.

 

[vchimpanzee]

The MOR format of the '60s and early '70s was for another era. Keep in mind that many MOR stations from that time actually chopped off the last part of "Goodbye To Love" by The Carpenters because the fuzz guitar riff was considered too extreme for their audience.

And standards stations should do this as well.

Amazingly, while AC stations chopped off the end of "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" by Chicago back in the day, my Stardust station did not. I don't think the satellite formats played the long version. Nor should they have.

I also remember "Baker Street" got its ending chopped off on the AC station. My Dial Global station played the song--whether it was local or the satellite format I don't know, and I don't remember whether the ending stayed in--back when it was still ABC memories.

 

[EZway2go]

Another genre which might have passed for MOR back in the day is New Age. Some nice instrumentals which come to mind include...
"Hymne" Vangelis
"Behind The Waterfall" David Lanz & Paul Speer
"Celestial Sodapop" Ray Lynch
"Chattahoochie Field Day" Patrick O'Hearn

(That last one I remember being featured on The Weather Channel during the Local on the 8's).

 

[vchimpanzee]

Another genre which might have passed for MOR back in the day is New Age. Some nice instrumentals which come to mind include...
"Hymne" Vangelis
"Behind The Waterfall" David Lanz & Paul Speer
"Celestial Sodapop" Ray Lynch
"Chattahoochie Field Day" Patrick O'Hearn

(That last one I remember being featured on The Weather Channel during the Local on the 8's).

I don't care for new age.

These are some of my favorite smooth jazz instrumentals.

http://displacedcwloungefan.proboar...splay&board=othertalk&thread=190&page=1#16538 (#16 if your computer is slow)

These are my favorite instrumentals, a few of which are smooth jazz.

http://displacedcwloungefan.proboar...isplay&board=othertalk&thread=190&page=1#3399 (#3 if your computer is slow)

 

[fmradio1]

Let's get this thread back on track...Songs of the last 30 years that would pass for MOR!

Smooth Jazz and New Age are NOT MOR, and would not pass for MOR back when those were current songs. Those artists were core in the New Age format of the late 80's, which would eventually evolve into Smooth Jazz later on. That replaced supersoft AC's and B/EZ formats. But, they were never mass appeal songs. A true, enduring MOR song had at least some success on either the Hot 100 or the Adult Contemporary charts. The song had to be familiar, and could stand the test of time and repeated plays. Some NA/SJ artists did cross over, like Kenny G, Candy Dulfer & Dave Koz, but only a handful of tracks could be included in an updated MOR format.

As to my list I submitted awhile back, those songs fit the criteria. They are from the last 30 years, have had chart success, and have stood up to repeated plays at the AC, Hot AC and even Top 40 formats over their lives. Several of those songs and artists have won Grammy's, Oscars and other accolades. And back in the MOR era, they did play currents and recurrents! Not many...maybe a half dozen would be in rotation at any one time, but it wasn't a totally gold based 'time tunnel' format. Eventually MOR evolved into full-service AC, but while the music became more contemporary overall, the criteria stayed the same.

Today, if I was programming such a station, the new Adele track "Skyfall" from the new James Bond film would be an immediate add. It just fits. It has that classic "Diamonds Are Forever" sound to it. It's easy to pick a bunch of pleasant, soft favorites, put them together and call it a format, but to be truly "updated" MOR (not Standards, EZ Listening or Soft AC) there would have to be songs from the last decade included, and that means recent tracks as well.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Today, if I was programming such a station, the new Adele track "Skyfall" from the new James Bond film would be an immediate add. It just fits.

Dial Global played this last week. It sounded so weird, but it did remind me of a Bond theme, and from what I could hear Jeff Rollins say, that's what it was.

The signal from my station, on the new radio I changed to, is good enough to hear the music but I sometimes have trouble making out what Jeff Rollins is saying.

 

[willdav713]

While these kind of songs since Y2K are few and far between, there are several that would be deserving...

Adele "Someone Like You"
Bruno Mars "Just The Way You Are" & "It Will Rain"
Enrique Iglesias "Hero"
James Blunt "You're Beautiful"
Plain White T's "Hey There Delilah"
Christina Aguilera "Beautiful"
Alicia Keys "Fallin'" & "If I Ain't Got You"
Colbie Caillet "Bubbly" & "Realize"
DJ Sammy & Yanou "Heaven" (Candlelight Mix)
Jason Mraz "I'm Yours" & "I Won't Give Up"
Kelly Clarkson "Because Of You," "A Moment Like This" & "Breakaway"
Dido "White Flag" & "Thank You"
'N Sync "This I Promise You"
Fergie "Big Girls Don't Cry"
The Fray "How To Save A Life"
Owl City "Fireflies"
Pussycat Dolls "Stickwitu"
Savage Garden "I Knew I Loved You"
Uncle Kracker "Drift Away" & "Smile"
Five For Fighting "Superman (It's Not Easy)"
Lee Ann Womack "I Hope You Dance"
Enya "Only Time"
Vanessa Carlton "A Thousand Miles"
Faith Hill "Breathe"
Marc Anthony "You Sang To Me"
The Band Perry "If I Die Young"

I'm sure I could find a few more if I dig deeper, but it's not that long of a list considering it encompasses twelve years. Still, I like the idea of a MOR/Soft AC concentrating on just the last thirty years

Deserving of what?

Most of these to me are deserving of the dumpster. These have little in common with what others have said, and it seems like a totally different format to me.

No it's got a place for the new 106.9 FM Conroe Houston soon to be launched by Cox Radio, We call it "The New 106.9 KRAP." All Crap, All the Time.

 

[firepoint525]

I like Deborah Allen's "Baby, I Lied" for this list, but even it is approaching that 30-year mark. It came out in late 1983, I think.

Some of you might not like it because she cuts loose with that "baby, baby, babyyyyy!!" bit right before the key change near the end, but otherwise, I think that it would be great for this format.

 

[radioboy]

How about Judy Collins "Hard Times for Lovers" from 1979?

 

[Chuck]

I play Judy Collins "Amazing Grace," and get a lot of very positive comments on it. It is a great version of the song.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I play Judy Collins "Amazing Grace," and get a lot of very positive comments on it. It is a great version of the song.

I'm not sure but I think my Dial Global station plays that on Sunday morning. I do know they play Bob Snyder's version. It happens if the religious program runs short. Another song played in that situation is "Count Your Blesssings".

On the subject of Bob Snyder, it's hard to believe it has been six years since his "Somewhere in Time" introduced Bob Snyder Time on Joe Lacina's Saturday evening show on Timeless Favorites (where "Amazing Grace" sometimes aired). That was a terrible night when Kenny Loggins' atrocious "Meet Me Halfway" came on instead.

 

[oldtimeradio]

It is my considered opinion that soft rock cannot be mixed with MOR. It may sound the same, but there is a difference.

In addition to that, the MOR purest does not like their genres mixed.

MOR is MOR is MOR.

True MOR died off (to me) in the late 70s. If you want to mix soft rock with today's alleged MOR okay, but don't mix the true standards and artists with anything else.

(from an MOR purest.) ;-)

 

[Chuck]

It is my considered opinion that soft rock cannot be mixed with MOR. It may sound the same, but there is a difference.

In addition to that, the MOR purest does not like their genres mixed.

MOR is MOR is MOR.

True MOR died off (to me) in the late 70s. If you want to mix soft rock with today's alleged MOR okay, but don't mix the true standards and artists with anything else.

(from an MOR purest.) ;-)

While I completely know where you are coming from, it is hard to stay solvent doing what you suggest. I think that is too bad, but it is reality. The more modern stuff attracts listeneners, which contributes to the over-all financial health of the station. It is great to play your favorite music, but somewehere along the line, financial concerns come in to play.

 

[mbatchelor]

I don't think a real true 100% MOR format is viable anymore without at least some 70s/80s soft rock selected tracks - I think KJUL in Las Vegas does a pretty good job with their mix; used to like WDUV in Tampa Bay a lot more, but they have added some 90s soft rock in the mix which really turned me off from the station. My web station plays a mix of MOR, Standards, Soft Rock, and even instrumentals and a few rock oldies and I think the mix works well...check it out at oasisradio.us...

It is my considered opinion that soft rock cannot be mixed with MOR. It may sound the same, but there is a difference.

In addition to that, the MOR purest does not like their genres mixed.

MOR is MOR is MOR.

True MOR died off (to me) in the late 70s. If you want to mix soft rock with today's alleged MOR okay, but don't mix the true standards and artists with anything else.

(from an MOR purest.) ;-)

While I completely know where you are coming from, it is hard to stay solvent doing what you suggest. I think that is too bad, but it is reality. The more modern stuff attracts listeneners, which contributes to the over-all financial health of the station. It is great to play your favorite music, but somewehere along the line, financial concerns come in to play.

 

[Tim]

Don't know what you'd call it, but the music really is non-harder-edged rock/softer-pop/top 40 oldies.

Besides Motown, the above is my favorite type of music...and I like tunes in that feel/tempo/texture from the late 60's through late 80's, primarily. But, that's just me.

A few of the artists songs I like best: Sade, Classics IV, James Taylor, Bread, Manilow, Jennifer Warnes, Joni Mitchell, Brenda Russell, Phil Collins, Olivia-Newton-John, Roberta Flack, Seals & Crofts, England Dan & John Ford Coley, Steely Dan, Steven Bishop, Steve Perry (balads), Foreigner (balads), etc., etc.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Don't know what you'd call it, but the music really is non-harder-edged rock/softer-pop/top 40 oldies.

Besides Motown, the above is my favorite type of music...and I like tunes in that feel/tempo/texture from the late 60's through late 80's, primarily. But, that's just me.

A few of the artists songs I like best: Sade, Classics IV, James Taylor, Bread, Manilow, Jennifer Warnes, Joni Mitchell, Brenda Russell, Phil Collins, Olivia-Newton-John, Roberta Flack, Seals & Crofts, England Dan & John Ford Coley, Steely Dan, Steven Bishop, Steve Perry (balads), Foreigner (balads), etc., etc.

I'm open to some of those. Not really Sade or Phil Collins or any of the artists who would be acceptable on rock radio.

But I would have to hear softer material too, and I'm actually happier witrh all standards.

 

[michael hagerty]

I will admit, I pretty much gave up on "hit music" back in the early 80s. Even the AC stations were starting to play rougher stuff than I knew as middle-of-the-road (MOR) as I was growing up. "Full service" MOR stations went away in the major cities at the time AM radio went the talk route, as folk wanted their music on FM.

So......

This is all subjective, but can we list songs made only in the last 30 years here, that if, say, were recorded in that earlier time when MOR/full service radio was king, would have been accepted on that old station's playlists? (like WLW, WIOD, KFI, WGN, WSB, WOR....)

I think this would be an interesting thread....YMMV

cd

A quick note that 30 years ago, KFI was Top 40 and had been since 1977. They'd been AC more or less since 1973...and arguably since 1968 (there was some wavering around 1971/2).

 

[michael hagerty]

Don't know what you'd call it, but the music really is non-harder-edged rock/softer-pop/top 40 oldies.

Besides Motown, the above is my favorite type of music...and I like tunes in that feel/tempo/texture from the late 60's through late 80's, primarily. But, that's just me.

A few of the artists songs I like best: Sade, Classics IV, James Taylor, Bread, Manilow, Jennifer Warnes, Joni Mitchell, Brenda Russell, Phil Collins, Olivia-Newton-John, Roberta Flack, Seals & Crofts, England Dan & John Ford Coley, Steely Dan, Steven Bishop, Steve Perry (balads), Foreigner (balads), etc., etc.

In California, true MOR (artist-based music chosen for its quality and sound rather than any chart action, regardless of whether it was a single or LP cut) was pretty much over by 1973. Adult contemporary had taken its place on KMPC and KFI in Los Angeles, KNBR and KSFO in San Francisco and KFMB in San Diego (KOGO dragged its feet until '75 or so).

I programmed AC in the 70s. The artists Tim lists above were core artists (except Sade, Phil Collins, Steve Perry and Foreigner, who were early 80s) for me.

And here's the problem: I did very well playing that music in 1977...aiming at people who were 40. Which means those folks are now 75. The old-line MOR listeners who transitioned to Beautiful Music stations when MOR dried up? They're 85 and up now. And while we did okay with some younger listeners, there wasn't much below 30 or 35. Meaning the youngest you're talking now is 65-70. The under-30 listeners in 1977 (at least in majority numbers) were listening to album rock and early disco.

To survive, you have to do well in 25-54. And the same rules apply as did when I was programming 35 years ago. Aim for the center of the target. 39 and a half...call it 40. That means you're trying to get people born in 1973. And playing records from 1977 won't do that.