Album-oriented rock
Encyclopedia
Album-oriented rock is an American
FM radio
format
focusing on album
tracks by rock
artists.
s. The best example is Top 40, though other formats country
, smooth jazz
, and urban
, all utilize the same basic principles, with the most popular songs repeating every two to six hours, depending on their rank in rotation
. Generally there is a strict order or list to be followed and the DJ does not make decisions about what selections are played.
AOR, while still based on the rotation
concept, focused on the album as a whole (rather than singles). In the early 1970s many DJs had the freedom to choose what track(s) to play off a given album
— as well as latitude to decide what order to play the records in.
Later in the 1970s AOR formats became tighter and song selection shifted to the Program Director
or Music Director, rather than the DJ. Still, when an AOR station added an album to rotation they would often focus on numerous tracks at once, rather than playing the singles as they were individually released. As AOR stopped playing new music and died out in the late 1980s the core repertoire of AOR became that of the Classic Rock format.
or progressive
formats developed the repertoire and set the tone that would dominate AOR playlist
s for much of its heyday.
In July 1964, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) adopted a non-duplication rule prohibiting FM radio stations from merely running a simulcast
of the programming from their AM counterparts. Owners of AM/FM affiliate stations fought these new regulations vigorously, delaying enactment of the new rules until January 1, 1967. When finally enacted, station owners were pressed to come up with alternate programming options.
The freeform
format in commercial radio was born out of this desperate need to program the FM airwaves inexpensively. Programmers like Tom Donahue
at KMPX
and Ron Elz at KSHE
in St. Louis developed stations where DJs had freedom to play long sets of music, often covering a variety of genres. Songs were not limited to hits or singles
; indeed the DJs often played obscure or longer tracks by newer or more adventurous artists than heard on Top 40 stations of the day. This reflected the growth of albums as opposed to singles
as rock's main artistic vehicle for expression in the 1960s and 1970s.
Under the direction of "Peter C" Cavanaugh, WTAC
in Flint, Michigan initiated a "Rock Album Cuts Only" format with what became "FM rock mechanics" (i.e. no jingles or announcer hype; music segued together without interruption, etc.) in October 1967 beginning with the two hour "WTAC Underground Show." WABX
in Detroit initiated its own "free form rock format" four months later in February 1968 with Jerry Lubin, who came from WTAC. This type of programming was considered radical at the time.
With a few exceptions commercial freeform
had a relatively brief life. With more and more listeners acquiring FM radios, the stakes became higher for stations to attract market share
so that they could sell more advertising at a higher rate.
By 1970 many of the stations were moving to institute programming rules with a "clock" and system of "rotation
". With this shift, Stations formats in the early 1970s were now billed as progressive
. DJs still had much input over the music they played, and the selection was deep and eclectic, ranging from folk to hard rock with other styles such as jazz fusion occasionally thrown in.
A broad cross section of rock music that gained popularity during this time came to be called progressive rock
, likely because the wide recognition and success of artists could be attributed to airplay on progressive
stations, much the way the college rock
label was given to bands that received air play on student-run college stations
during the 1980s.
s began to put more controls over what songs were played on air, freeform
and progressive
stations evolved into the album-oriented rock format. Stations still played longer songs and deep album
tracks (rather than just singles
), but program directors and consultants took on a greater role in song selection, generally limiting airplay to just a few “focus tracks” from a particular album and concentrating on artists with a slicker-produced, "commercial" sound than what had been featured a few years earlier. Noted DJ "Kid Leo
" Travagliante of influential station WMMS
in Cleveland observed the changes in a 1975 interview: "I think the '60s are ending about now. Now we are really starting the '70s. The emphasis is shifting back to entertainment instead of being 'relevant'...In fact, I wouldn't call our station progressive radio. That's outdated. I call it radio. But I heard a good word in the trades, AOR. That's Album-Oriented Rock. That's a name for the '70s."
By the late 1970s, AOR radio discarded the wide range of genres embraced earlier on to focus on a more narrowly defined rock sound. The occasional folk
, jazz
, and blues
selections became rarer and most black artists were effectively eliminated from airplay. Where earlier soul
and R&B
artists like Stevie Wonder, War, Sly Stone and others had been championed by the format, AOR was no longer representing these styles, and took a stance against disco
. In 1979, Steve Dahl
of WLUP in Chicago
destroyed disco records on his radio show, culminating in the notorious Disco Demolition Night
at Comiskey Park
. Steve Slaton of KISW in Seattle had a similar on-air bit which was included on the station’s Epic Rock album, as did Jay Preston of WLBJ
in Bowling Green, Kentucky, who would play a few lines of a current disco hit, then unceremoniously run the stylus across the record numerous times and break the record on the air.
What links the freeform, progressive, AOR and ultimately the classic rock
formats are the continuity of rock artists and songs carried through each phase. Programmers and DJs of the freeform and progressive phases continued to cultivate a repertoire of rock music and style of delivery that were foundations of AOR and now classic rock
. Those AOR stations, which decided to stay "demographically-rooted", became classic rock stations by eschewing newer bands which their older listeners might tune out. Those that didn't fully evolve into classic rock generally attempt to hold onto their older listeners through careful dayparting—playing large amounts of classic rock during the 9-5 workday with more adventurous, newer songs "baked into the mix" as the listener base skews younger at night.
had a huge impact on AOR programming. Beginning in the mid 1970s they began contracting with what would become over 100 stations by the 1980s. Lee Abrams
had developed a format called SuperStars, pioneering it at WQDR
in Raleigh, North Carolina, and had been very successful in delivering high ratings. The SuperStars format was based on extensive research and focused on the most popular artists such as Fleetwood Mac
and the Eagles and also included older material by those artists. While his SuperStars format was not quite as tight as Top 40 radio, it was considerably more restricted than freeform or progressive radio. Their firm advised program directors for a substantial segment of AOR stations all over the US. This might be considered somewhat ironic, considering the format’s origins were based on a free-form approach without playlists.
's album Thriller
led some AOR stations to soften their stance by adding Jackson's "Beat It
", which featured Eddie Van Halen
, to their playlists. At the same time other black artists also made inroads into AOR radio—Prince
's "Little Red Corvette
", Eddy Grant
's "Electric Avenue
" and "Beat It" all debuted on Billboards Top Tracks chart the same week in April 1983.
The relative success of Michael Jackson's "Beat It" did not open the floodgates for other black artists on album-oriented rock stations. However, the door was cracked and through the remainder of the 1980s Jon Butcher
, Tracy Chapman
, Living Colour
, Prince
and Lenny Kravitz
did manage to receive AOR airplay of varying magnitude.
bands such as Mötley Crüe
and Bon Jovi
, while others embraced modern rock
acts such as The Fixx
, INXS
and U2
. But by the end of the decade, AOR stations were playing fewer and fewer new artists and the rise of grunge, alternative and hip-hop accelerated the fadeout of the album-oriented rock format. By the early 1990s many AOR radio stations switched exclusively to the classic rock
format or segued to other current formats with somewhat of an AOR approach:
, with programing that evolved to what became known as AOR. Many of these stations have switched from AOR to another format—in some cases Classic rock
or one of the other AOR spin-offs mentioned above.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
FM radio
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
format
Radio format
A radio format or programming format not to be confused with broadcast programming describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve...
focusing on album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
tracks by rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
artists.
Music played
Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singleHit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
s. The best example is Top 40, though other formats country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, smooth jazz
Smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....
, and urban
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
, all utilize the same basic principles, with the most popular songs repeating every two to six hours, depending on their rank in rotation
Spin (radio)
In radio broadcasting, a spin is a single play of a song. The term is also used as a unit to measure popularity, typically in spins per week...
. Generally there is a strict order or list to be followed and the DJ does not make decisions about what selections are played.
AOR, while still based on the rotation
Spin (radio)
In radio broadcasting, a spin is a single play of a song. The term is also used as a unit to measure popularity, typically in spins per week...
concept, focused on the album as a whole (rather than singles). In the early 1970s many DJs had the freedom to choose what track(s) to play off a given album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
— as well as latitude to decide what order to play the records in.
Later in the 1970s AOR formats became tighter and song selection shifted to the Program Director
Program director
In service industries, such as education, a program director or programme director researches, plans, develops and implements one or more of the firm's professional services...
or Music Director, rather than the DJ. Still, when an AOR station added an album to rotation they would often focus on numerous tracks at once, rather than playing the singles as they were individually released. As AOR stopped playing new music and died out in the late 1980s the core repertoire of AOR became that of the Classic Rock format.
Freeform and progressive
The roots of the album-oriented rock (AOR) radio format began with programming concepts rooted in 1960s idealism. The freeformFreeform (radio format)
Freeform, or freeform radio, is a radio station programming format in which the disc jockey is given total control over what music to play, regardless of music genre or commercial interests. Freeform radio stands in contrast to most commercial radio stations, in which DJs have little or no...
or progressive
Progressive rock (radio format)
Progressive rock is a radio station programming format that prospered in the late 1960s and 1970s, in which the disc jockeys are given wide latitude in what they may play, similar to the freeform format but with the proviso that some kind of rock music is almost always what is played...
formats developed the repertoire and set the tone that would dominate AOR playlist
Playlist
In its most general form, a playlist is simply a list of songs. They can be played in sequential or shuffled order. The term has several specialized meanings in the realms of radio broadcasting and personal computers.-In radio:...
s for much of its heyday.
In July 1964, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) adopted a non-duplication rule prohibiting FM radio stations from merely running a simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
of the programming from their AM counterparts. Owners of AM/FM affiliate stations fought these new regulations vigorously, delaying enactment of the new rules until January 1, 1967. When finally enacted, station owners were pressed to come up with alternate programming options.
The freeform
Freeform (radio format)
Freeform, or freeform radio, is a radio station programming format in which the disc jockey is given total control over what music to play, regardless of music genre or commercial interests. Freeform radio stands in contrast to most commercial radio stations, in which DJs have little or no...
format in commercial radio was born out of this desperate need to program the FM airwaves inexpensively. Programmers like Tom Donahue
Tom Donahue
Tom "Big Daddy" Donahue , was a pioneering rock and roll radio disc jockey, record producer and concert promoter....
at KMPX
KMPX
KMPX, virtual channel 29, is a television station in Decatur, Texas, serving the Dallas/Fort Worth market as an Estrella TV affiliate broadcasting on UHF digital channel 30. KMPX is owned by José and Lenard Liberman's broadcasting firm, Liberman Broadcasting....
and Ron Elz at KSHE
KSHE
KSHE is a rock & roll radio station licensed to Crestwood, Missouri which serves the Greater St. Louis area. KSHE is located at 94.7 MHz and currently uses the slogan "KSHE 95, Real Rock Radio". The station's studios have been located in the Powerhouse building at St. Louis Union Station since...
in St. Louis developed stations where DJs had freedom to play long sets of music, often covering a variety of genres. Songs were not limited to hits or singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
; indeed the DJs often played obscure or longer tracks by newer or more adventurous artists than heard on Top 40 stations of the day. This reflected the growth of albums as opposed to singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
as rock's main artistic vehicle for expression in the 1960s and 1970s.
Under the direction of "Peter C" Cavanaugh, WTAC
WSNL
WSNL is a radio station broadcasting a religious format. Licensed to Flint, Michigan, it first began broadcasting in 1946.The original call letters were WFLM, but the station was purchased in December of 1946 by George W. Trendle and H. Allen Campbell, who changed the call letters to WTCB and made...
in Flint, Michigan initiated a "Rock Album Cuts Only" format with what became "FM rock mechanics" (i.e. no jingles or announcer hype; music segued together without interruption, etc.) in October 1967 beginning with the two hour "WTAC Underground Show." WABX
WYCD
WYCD is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan. The station is the only country music station in the Detroit area. WYCD's offices and studios are located on Woodward Heights . near Interstate 75 in Ferndale, Michigan...
in Detroit initiated its own "free form rock format" four months later in February 1968 with Jerry Lubin, who came from WTAC. This type of programming was considered radical at the time.
With a few exceptions commercial freeform
Freeform (radio format)
Freeform, or freeform radio, is a radio station programming format in which the disc jockey is given total control over what music to play, regardless of music genre or commercial interests. Freeform radio stands in contrast to most commercial radio stations, in which DJs have little or no...
had a relatively brief life. With more and more listeners acquiring FM radios, the stakes became higher for stations to attract market share
Market share
Market share is the percentage of a market accounted for by a specific entity. In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 67 percent responded that they found the "dollar market share" metric very useful, while 61% found "unit market share" very useful.Marketers need to be able to...
so that they could sell more advertising at a higher rate.
By 1970 many of the stations were moving to institute programming rules with a "clock" and system of "rotation
Spin (radio)
In radio broadcasting, a spin is a single play of a song. The term is also used as a unit to measure popularity, typically in spins per week...
". With this shift, Stations formats in the early 1970s were now billed as progressive
Progressive rock (radio format)
Progressive rock is a radio station programming format that prospered in the late 1960s and 1970s, in which the disc jockeys are given wide latitude in what they may play, similar to the freeform format but with the proviso that some kind of rock music is almost always what is played...
. DJs still had much input over the music they played, and the selection was deep and eclectic, ranging from folk to hard rock with other styles such as jazz fusion occasionally thrown in.
A broad cross section of rock music that gained popularity during this time came to be called progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, likely because the wide recognition and success of artists could be attributed to airplay on progressive
Progressive rock (radio format)
Progressive rock is a radio station programming format that prospered in the late 1960s and 1970s, in which the disc jockeys are given wide latitude in what they may play, similar to the freeform format but with the proviso that some kind of rock music is almost always what is played...
stations, much the way the college rock
College rock
College rock is a term that was used in the United States to describe 1980s alternative rock before the term "alternative" came into common usage. The term's use of the word "college" refers to campus radio stations located at institutions of higher education in Canada and the United States, where...
label was given to bands that received air play on student-run college stations
Campus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...
during the 1980s.
Album-oriented rock
In the mid-1970s, as program directorProgram director
In service industries, such as education, a program director or programme director researches, plans, develops and implements one or more of the firm's professional services...
s began to put more controls over what songs were played on air, freeform
Freeform (radio format)
Freeform, or freeform radio, is a radio station programming format in which the disc jockey is given total control over what music to play, regardless of music genre or commercial interests. Freeform radio stands in contrast to most commercial radio stations, in which DJs have little or no...
and progressive
Progressive rock (radio format)
Progressive rock is a radio station programming format that prospered in the late 1960s and 1970s, in which the disc jockeys are given wide latitude in what they may play, similar to the freeform format but with the proviso that some kind of rock music is almost always what is played...
stations evolved into the album-oriented rock format. Stations still played longer songs and deep album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
tracks (rather than just singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
), but program directors and consultants took on a greater role in song selection, generally limiting airplay to just a few “focus tracks” from a particular album and concentrating on artists with a slicker-produced, "commercial" sound than what had been featured a few years earlier. Noted DJ "Kid Leo
Kid Leo
Lawrence J. Travagliante — better known by his on-air personality Kid Leo — serves as both program director and afternoon disc jockey on Little Steven's Underground Garage on Sirius XM Radio...
" Travagliante of influential station WMMS
WMMS
WMMS — branded 100.7 WMMS: The Buzzard — is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, widely recognized as one of the most influential rock stations in America throughout much of the history of FM broadcasting...
in Cleveland observed the changes in a 1975 interview: "I think the '60s are ending about now. Now we are really starting the '70s. The emphasis is shifting back to entertainment instead of being 'relevant'...In fact, I wouldn't call our station progressive radio. That's outdated. I call it radio. But I heard a good word in the trades, AOR. That's Album-Oriented Rock. That's a name for the '70s."
By the late 1970s, AOR radio discarded the wide range of genres embraced earlier on to focus on a more narrowly defined rock sound. The occasional folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
selections became rarer and most black artists were effectively eliminated from airplay. Where earlier soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
artists like Stevie Wonder, War, Sly Stone and others had been championed by the format, AOR was no longer representing these styles, and took a stance against disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
. In 1979, Steve Dahl
Steve Dahl
Steven Robert Dahl has been an American radio personality and humorist for more than thirty years. He is currently podcasting, and releases the podcasts for download daily from his own website as well as the iTunes store...
of WLUP in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
destroyed disco records on his radio show, culminating in the notorious Disco Demolition Night
Disco Demolition Night
Disco Demolition Night was a promotional event that took place on Thursday, July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, during which a crate filled with disco records was blown up on the field. It was held during the twi-night doubleheader baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and...
at Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park was the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910 to 1990. It was built by Charles Comiskey after a design by Zachary Taylor Davis, and was the site of four World Series and more than 6,000 major league games...
. Steve Slaton of KISW in Seattle had a similar on-air bit which was included on the station’s Epic Rock album, as did Jay Preston of WLBJ
WLBJ
WLBJ was the first commercial radio station in Bowling Green, Kentucky, signing-on in June, 1940. The station operated at 1410 kilohertz for much of its existence. Among the more significant local programs it produced were the 4 O'Clock Special, hosted by disc jockeys G. W...
in Bowling Green, Kentucky, who would play a few lines of a current disco hit, then unceremoniously run the stylus across the record numerous times and break the record on the air.
What links the freeform, progressive, AOR and ultimately the classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
formats are the continuity of rock artists and songs carried through each phase. Programmers and DJs of the freeform and progressive phases continued to cultivate a repertoire of rock music and style of delivery that were foundations of AOR and now classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
. Those AOR stations, which decided to stay "demographically-rooted", became classic rock stations by eschewing newer bands which their older listeners might tune out. Those that didn't fully evolve into classic rock generally attempt to hold onto their older listeners through careful dayparting—playing large amounts of classic rock during the 9-5 workday with more adventurous, newer songs "baked into the mix" as the listener base skews younger at night.
Burkhart/Abrams
Radio consultants Kent Burkhart and Lee AbramsLee Abrams
Lee Abrams is an American media executive who has held a number of posts for large and influential companies, and is generally credited with developing the "Album Oriented Rock" format employed by hundreds of radio stations across the country.-Career:...
had a huge impact on AOR programming. Beginning in the mid 1970s they began contracting with what would become over 100 stations by the 1980s. Lee Abrams
Lee Abrams
Lee Abrams is an American media executive who has held a number of posts for large and influential companies, and is generally credited with developing the "Album Oriented Rock" format employed by hundreds of radio stations across the country.-Career:...
had developed a format called SuperStars, pioneering it at WQDR
WQDR-FM
WQDR is a radio station in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, broadcasting to the state's central and eastern regions, including the cities of Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Fayetteville, Rocky Mount, Wilson, and Goldsboro...
in Raleigh, North Carolina, and had been very successful in delivering high ratings. The SuperStars format was based on extensive research and focused on the most popular artists such as Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
and the Eagles and also included older material by those artists. While his SuperStars format was not quite as tight as Top 40 radio, it was considerably more restricted than freeform or progressive radio. Their firm advised program directors for a substantial segment of AOR stations all over the US. This might be considered somewhat ironic, considering the format’s origins were based on a free-form approach without playlists.
Criticism
In the early 1980s, AOR radio was criticised for the lack of black artists included in their programming. AOR programmers responded that the lack of diversity was the result of increased specialization of radio formats driven by ratings and audience demographics. Indeed, many AOR stations had embraced harder rock while also cultivating a bad boy image. In 1983, the undeniable success of Michael JacksonMichael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's album Thriller
Thriller (album)
Thriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall...
led some AOR stations to soften their stance by adding Jackson's "Beat It
Beat It
"Beat It" is a song written and performed by American recording artist Michael Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones . It is the third single from the singer's sixth solo album, Thriller . Eddie Van Halen was hired to add the song's distinctive overdriven guitar solo, but was prevented by his...
", which featured Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen is a Dutch-American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
, to their playlists. At the same time other black artists also made inroads into AOR radio—Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
's "Little Red Corvette
Little Red Corvette
"Little Red Corvette" is a song by the American musician Prince. Released as a single from the album 1999 in 1983, the song was his biggest hit at the time, and his first to reach top-10 status in the U.S., peaking at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart...
", Eddy Grant
Eddy Grant
Edmond Montague "Eddy" Grant is a musician, born in Plaisance, Guyana.- Life and career :When he was still a young boy, his parents emigrated to London, UK, where he settled. He lived in Kentish Town and went to school at the Acland Burghley Secondary Modern at Tufnell Park...
's "Electric Avenue
Electric Avenue (song)
"Electric Avenue" is a song by Eddy Grant, from his 1982 album Killer on the Rampage. It was released as a single in 1982, and went on to be very popular, reaching #2 on both United States and United Kingdom singles charts...
" and "Beat It" all debuted on Billboards Top Tracks chart the same week in April 1983.
The relative success of Michael Jackson's "Beat It" did not open the floodgates for other black artists on album-oriented rock stations. However, the door was cracked and through the remainder of the 1980s Jon Butcher
Jon Butcher
Jon Butcher is an American rock, blues songwriter, guitarist & freelance multimedia producer.-Early life:Born Jon A. Toombs to Joan Butts and John A Toombs Sr., Jon picked up his new last name and his first guitar simultaneously at the age of six, through inspirations of Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and...
, Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Give Me One Reason" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.-Biography:Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland,...
, Living Colour
Living Colour
Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. Stylistically, the band's music is a creative fusion influenced by free jazz, funk, neo-psychedelia, hard rock, and heavy metal...
, Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
and Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
did manage to receive AOR airplay of varying magnitude.
Spin-off formats
The phenomenal success of the album-oriented rock and the highly competitive battle for ratings likely contributed to the format splintering to reflect different stylistic perspectives. The 1980s saw some stations adding glam metalGlam metal
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...
bands such as Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
and Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
, while others embraced modern rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
acts such as The Fixx
The Fixx
The Fixx is an English rock band formed in London in 1979. Their hits include "One Thing Leads to Another," "Red Skies," "Stand or Fall," "Saved by Zero," "Sign of Fire," "Are We Ourselves?," "Secret Separation," "Driven Out," "How Much Is Enough?," and "Deeper and Deeper," which was featured on...
, INXS
INXS
INXS are an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. Mainstays are Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar and Kirk Pengilly on guitar/sax...
and U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
. But by the end of the decade, AOR stations were playing fewer and fewer new artists and the rise of grunge, alternative and hip-hop accelerated the fadeout of the album-oriented rock format. By the early 1990s many AOR radio stations switched exclusively to the classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
format or segued to other current formats with somewhat of an AOR approach:
- Adult Album AlternativeAdult album alternativeAdult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats....
(known as Triple A) echoed a softer AOR without the hard rock or heavy metal. For a time Seattle's KMTT even promoted Freeform Fridays, and the Grey Pony Tail Special to highlight the halcyon days of FM radio. WXRTWXRTWXRT, also known as WXRT 93.1, XRT, and 93-XRT is a AAA radio station in Chicago, Illinois. For many years their slogan has been "Chicago's Finest Rock". WXRT is a primary sponsor of the Chicago nonprofit Rock For Kids.-History:...
/Chicago is a long running AAA station. Other Triple A stations with strong hertiage are KINKKINKKINK, also kink.fm, is an American commercial broadcast FM radio station in Portland, Oregon. The station began broadcasting Christmas Day, 1968 as “KINK – The Underground Link”...
/Portland, Oregon and KBCOKBCOKBCO is a AAA radio station licensed to Boulder, Colorado, United States, that serves the Denver-Boulder area. The station's format, dubbed "World Class Rock," is an eclectic variety of pop, rock, blues, reggae and folk, from the late-1960s to the present.The Clear Channel Communications outlet...
/Denver-Boulder. - Modern RockModern rockModern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
/AlternativeAlternative rockAlternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
A pioneer in this format was KROQ-FMKROQ-FMKROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
in LA, taking the AOR programming approach to music with New WaveNew Wave musicNew Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
, punkPunk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, college rockCollege rockCollege rock is a term that was used in the United States to describe 1980s alternative rock before the term "alternative" came into common usage. The term's use of the word "college" refers to campus radio stations located at institutions of higher education in Canada and the United States, where...
and grungeGrungeGrunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
/alternative leanings, mostly in the 1980s. Today's KROQ-FMKROQ-FMKROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
/LA is considered mainstream Alternative. - Active RockActive rockActive rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
Today’s mainstream album rock, playing acts such as Stone Temple PilotsStone Temple PilotsStone Temple Pilots is an American rock band from San Diego, California that consists of Scott Weiland , brothers Robert DeLeo and Dean DeLeo , and Eric Kretz ....
, NickelbackNickelbackNickelback is a Canadian rock band from Hanna, Alberta. Since 1995 the band has included guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist and back-up vocalist Ryan Peake and bassist Mike Kroeger.. The band's current drummer and percussionist is Daniel Adair who has been with the band since 2005....
, CreedCreed (band)Creed is an American rock band formed in 1995 in Tallahassee, Florida. Becoming popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the band has released three consecutive multi-platinum albums, one of which has been certified diamond, and has sold over 28 million records in the United States, with an...
, Foo FightersFoo FightersFoo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
, and Linkin ParkLinkin ParkLinkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
. The active rock format was pioneered by the formerly broadcast (now internet only) "Pure Rock" 105.5 KNAC-FM out of Los Angeles, California in 1986. KNAC Program Director/DJ Tom Marshall and KNAC Music Director/DJ Michael Davis had previously worked at rock station KFMG/Albuquerque, NM. Active Rock or Hard rock was also pioneered by The Nationally Syndicated Z Rock Network (which lasted from 1986–1996) and expanded upon by WXTB-FM out of Clearwater, Florida starting in 1990.
AOR radio stations
The radio stations in the following list were successful with the AOR format. In the 1970s some were considered progressiveProgressive rock (radio format)
Progressive rock is a radio station programming format that prospered in the late 1960s and 1970s, in which the disc jockeys are given wide latitude in what they may play, similar to the freeform format but with the proviso that some kind of rock music is almost always what is played...
, with programing that evolved to what became known as AOR. Many of these stations have switched from AOR to another format—in some cases Classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
or one of the other AOR spin-offs mentioned above.
| Call Letters | Market | Frequency | AOR Years | Current Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KSEZ | Sioux City, IA | 97.9 FM | ?-present | AOR |
| KZRR KZRR KZRR is a commercial radio station located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, broadcasting to the Albuquerque-Santa Fe, New Mexico, area. KZRR airs a mainstream rock music format.-External links:*... |
Albuquerque, NM | 94.1 FM | 1980–present | AOR |
| KFMG | Albuquerque, NM | 107.9 FM | 1979–1991 | Country Country A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously... as KBQI KBQI KBQI is a radio station in Albuquerque, New Mexico, owned by Clear Channel. It has a contemporary country music format. It takes its name from the I-40 and I-25 interchange near downtown Albuquerque that is locally known as "the Big I"... |
| WZZO WZZO WZZO, popularly known as "95.1 WZZO", is a popular rock radio station located in Whitehall Township, outside of Allentown, in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the United States.WZZO broadcasts locally at 95.1 MHz FM... |
Allentown, PA Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently... |
95.1 FM | 1975–present | AOR |
| WKLS | Atlanta, GA | 96.1 FM | 1974–2003 | Active Rock Active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:... |
| KLBJ-FM KLBJ-FM KLBJ-FM is a classic rock music radio station serving the Austin, Texas area, broadcasting at 93.7 MHz from its broadcast tower on Austin's Mount Larson.The station was owned by the Lyndon B... |
Austin, TX | 93.7 FM | 1973–Present | Classic rock Classic rock Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the... |
| WAAF WAAF (FM) WAAF is a Boston, Massachusetts, area commercial Album Oriented Rock/Active rock radio station that mixes music that is popular in the modern rock, heavy metal and classic rock genres.... |
Boston, MA | 107.3 FM | 1969–1989 | Active Rock Active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:... |
| WBCN | Boston, MA | 104.1 FM | 1968–1995 | Hot Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music Adult contemporary music is a broad style of popular music that ranges from lush 1950s and 1960s vocal music to predominantly ballad-heavy music with varying degrees of rock influence, as well as a radio format that plays such music.... as WBMX |
| WLBJ WLBJ WLBJ was the first commercial radio station in Bowling Green, Kentucky, signing-on in June, 1940. The station operated at 1410 kilohertz for much of its existence. Among the more significant local programs it produced were the 4 O'Clock Special, hosted by disc jockeys G. W... |
Bowling Green, KY | 96.7 FM | 1974–1980 | Country Country music Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music... as WBVR |
| WCLX WCLX WCLX is a radio station owned by Westport Broadcasting located in Westport, New York, USA, serving the Champlain Valley region of central Vermont and the Burlington, VT market... |
Burlington, VT | 102.9 FM | 1992–present | AOR |
| WDAI | Chicago, IL | 94.7 FM | 1972–1978 | Oldies Oldies Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day.... as WLS-FM |
| WLUP | Chicago, IL | 97.9 FM | 1977–present | Classic rock Classic rock Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the... |
| WMET WMET WMET is a radio station broadcasting on 1160 kHz in the mediumwave AM band, serving the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Over several decades, it has gone through a number of radio formats, from progressive rock to all-comedy to a conservative talk-show format... |
Chicago, IL | 95½ FM | 1976–1986 | Spanish Pop as WNUA WNUA WNUA is a Spanish Pop radio station located in Chicago, Illinois, owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications and branded as Mega 95.5.-History:... |
| WEBN WEBN WEBN is a commercial radio station serving Greater Cincinnati, airing an album-oriented rock format. The station pioneered the concept of album-oriented rock, and is in fact the longest running AOR-formatted station in the United States, first airing this format in 1967. The station is owned... |
Cincinnati, OH | 102.7 FM | 1967–present | AOR |
| WMMS WMMS WMMS — branded 100.7 WMMS: The Buzzard — is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, widely recognized as one of the most influential rock stations in America throughout much of the history of FM broadcasting... |
Cleveland, OH | 100.7 FM | 1968–1994 | Active Rock Active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:... |
| WWWM | Cleveland, OH | 105.7 FM | 1975–1982 | Classic Hits Classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format... as WMJI WMJI WMJI — branded Majic 105.7 — is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio broadcasting a classic hits format. The station serves Cleveland, Akron and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio.... |
| WLVQ WLVQ WLVQ is an FM radio station in Columbus, Ohio, United States, broadcasting on 96.3 MHz. Its brand identifier is Ohio's Best Rock, QFM 96. WLVQ is currently owned by Wilks Broadcasting and plays classic rock... |
Columbus, OH | 96.3 FM | 1977–present | AOR |
| KZEW | Dallas, TX | 97.9 FM | 1973-1989 | Rhythmic Contemporary Rhythmic Contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may... /Hip Hop Hip hop Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing... as KBFB |
| KNUS | Dallas, TX | 98.7 FM | 1966-1971 | Classic Hits Classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format... as KLUV |
| WTUE WTUE WTUE is a classic rock formatted radio station with studios in Dayton, Ohio. Its transmitter is located in Moraine, Ohio and can be heard clearly throughout Southwest Ohio, including in Cincinnati.... |
Dayton, OH | 104.7 FM | 1975–present | AOR |
| WLLZ | Detroit, MI | 98.7 FM | 1980–1995 | Top 40 (CHR) Contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts... as WDZH |
| WRIF WRIF WRIF — branded 101 WRIF: The RIFF — is a commercial active rock radio station licensed by the FCC to operate in Detroit, Michigan serving surrounding Metro Detroit. The station is currently owned by Greater Boston Radio, Inc. WRIF is a grandfathered Class B station with a signal equivalent to... |
Detroit, MI | 101.1 FM | 1971-c.1994 | Active Rock Active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:... |
| KTXQ | Fort Worth, TX | 102.1 FM | 1978-1998 | Alternative Rock Alternative rock Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s... as KDGE |
| KLOL | Houston, TX | 101.1 FM | 1970–2004 | Spanish Pop |
| KSRR | Houston, TX | 96.5 FM | 1980–1986 | Adult Top 40 as KHMX |
| WNIK | Indianapolis, IN | Online | 1960–present | Rock Rock music Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music... |
| KYYS KYYS KZPT is an American radio station broadcasting a Hot AC format. It is licensed to and serves the Kansas City, Missouri metropolitan area. It first began broadcasting in 1962 under the call sign KMBC-FM... |
Kansas City, MO Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties... |
102.1 FM/99.7 FM | 1974–1997, 1997- | Classic rock Classic rock Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the... |
| KOMP KOMP (FM) KOMP is a class-C FM radio station operating on 92.3 MHz licensed to Las Vegas, Nevada. KOMP broadcasts an active rock music format. The station was originally KENO-FM until February 8, 1981 playing top 40. The station's first song as KOMP was The Who's "Long Live Rock"... |
Las Vegas, NV | 92.3 FM | 1981–present | Active Rock Active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:... |
| WZZQ WMSI-FM WMSI-FM is a radio station in Jackson, Mississippi, and owned by Clear Channel Communications. WMSI's signal covers a roughly 90 mile radius around the city with an ERP of 100,000 watts.-History:... |
Jackson, MS | 102.9 | 1968–1981 | Country Country music Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music... as WMSI WMSI-FM WMSI-FM is a radio station in Jackson, Mississippi, and owned by Clear Channel Communications. WMSI's signal covers a roughly 90 mile radius around the city with an ERP of 100,000 watts.-History:... |
| WKQQ WKQQ WKQQ is a radio station licensed to the city of Winchester, Kentucky, and serves the greater Lexington, Kentucky, area. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications and licensed to Citicasters Licenses, L.P... |
Lexington, KY | 98.1 FM | 1974–1998 | Active Rock Active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:... on 100.1 FM |
| KSMB KSMB (FM) KSMB is a Top 40 radio station in Lafayette, Louisiana owned by Cumulus Media. KSMB began broadcasting in 1964 as Lafayette's first FM station. By the 1970s, the station had established an Album Rock format as "K94 The Stereo Rock." In late 1984, the format was gradually shifted from Album Rock to... |
Lafayette, LA | 94.5 FM | 1973–1984 | CHR Contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts... /Top-40 |
| KLOS KLOS KLOS is an FM rock music radio station based in Los Angeles, California, that debuted in 1969. The station is owned by Cumulus Media. It is home to the nationally broadcast Mark & Brian radio show, and Off The Record host Uncle Joe Benson.-History:... |
Los Angeles, CA | 95.5 FM | 1969–Present | Classic rock Classic rock Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the... |
| KNAC KNAC KNAC is an internet based heavy metal music radio station. It was previously a Los Angeles, California area FM radio station.-KNAC at 105.5 FM:... |
Los Angeles, CA | 105.5 FM | 1986–1995 | Spanish Spanish language Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the... as KBUE KBUE KBUE 105.5 FM, Long Beach, California, KBUA 94.3 FM, San Fernando, California, and KEBN 94.3 FM, Garden Grove, California, are a trimulcast comprising Que Buena 105.5/94.3 FM, a Spanish language regional Mexican music station owned by Liberman Broadcasting.-105.5 FM:105.5 FM was formerly KNAC, a... |
| KMET | Los Angeles, CA | 94.7 FM | 1968–1987 | Smooth Jazz Smooth jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles .... as KTWV KTWV KTWV is a commercial radio station located in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside–San Bernardino and Ventura County areas on 94.7 FM. KTWV airs a hybrid Smooth AC radio format branded as "94.7 The Wave"... |
| WYXE WYXE WYXE is a religious radio station broadcasting in Spanish from Gallatin, Tennessee. It preaches the message of salvation and restoration for the whole family and includes educational programs, children's programs, counseling, prayer and music.-External links:*... |
Madison, WI | 92.1 FM | 1977–1979 | Talk radio Talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live... as WXXM WXXM WXXM is a radio station owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications and serving the Madison, Wisconsin metropolitan area. The station airs a progressive talk format, and is noted for surviving a planned 2007 format change from that format to all-sports radio after an organized outpouring... |
| WMC-FM WMC-FM WMC-FM is a "Hot AC" radio station serving the market of Memphis, Tennessee. The station is notable for being an FM "superpower," with a transmitter that greatly exceeds current Federal Communications Commission restrictions. Of stations in the FCC's Zone II, WMC is the most powerful... |
Memphis, TN Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers.... |
99.7 FM | circa 1969-circa 1981 | Hot Adult Contemporary |
| WRNO-FM WRNO-FM WRNO-FM is an Interactive Talk formatted radio station serving New Orleans, Louisiana. The Clear Channel Communications station broadcasts at 99.5 MHz with an effective radiated power of 100 kilowatts.-History:... |
Metairie, LA (New Orleans) | 99.5 FM | 1968–1997 | Talk radio Talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live... |
| KQRS-FM | Minneapolis, MN | 92.5 FM | 1968–present | Classic rock Classic rock Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the... |
| KZOQ | Missoula, MT | 100.1 FM | not sure | Classic rock Classic rock Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the... |
| WDHA WDHA WDHA-FM 105.5 FM is a rock music station licensed to Dover and Morristown, New Jersey. WDHA is owned and operated by Greater Media and serves the northern New Jersey region.... |
Morristown, NJ | 105.5 FM | 1979–present | AOR |
| WKDF WKDF WKDF is a Country music radio station broadcasting on a frequency of 103.3 MHz from Nashville, Tennessee. WKDF is owned by Cumulus Media.-History:... |
Nashville, TN Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home... |
103.3 FM | 1970–1999 | Country Country music Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music... |
| WNEW | New York, NY | 102.7 FM | 1967–1995 | Adult Contemporary as WWFS |
| WPLJ WPLJ WPLJ is a radio station in New York City owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media. WPLJ shares studio facilities with sister station WABC inside 2 Penn Plaza in midtown Manhattan, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building. The station currently plays a Hot Adult... |
New York, NY | 95.5 FM | 1971–1983 | Hot Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music Adult contemporary music is a broad style of popular music that ranges from lush 1950s and 1960s vocal music to predominantly ballad-heavy music with varying degrees of rock influence, as well as a radio format that plays such music.... |
| WVOK WVOK-FM WVOK-FM is a radio station broadcasting a Hot Adult Contemporary music format. Licensed to Oxford, Alabama, it serves the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Area... |
Oxford, AL (Birmingham Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S... ) |
99.5 FM | 1977–1983 | Classic rock Classic rock Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the... as WZRR WZRR WZRR is a classic rock FM radio station licensed to Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. Its on-air name is "Rock 99". The station is owned by Cumulus Media. Other stations in the market that Cumulus owns include WJOX-FM , WAPI-FM , WUHT-FM , WJOX-AM and WAPI-AM... |
| WMMR WMMR WMMR is an active rock radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, broadcasting at 93.3 MHz FM. The station is owned by Greater Media.... |
Philadelphia, PA | 93.3 FM | 1968–present | Active Rock Active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:... |
| KDKB KDKB KDKB is a commercial Rock music formatted radio station located in Phoenix, Arizona. It is owned by Sandusky Radio and licensed to Mesa Radio, Inc... |
Phoenix, AZ | 93.3 FM | 1971–present | AOR |
| KGON KGON KGON is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. The station also broadcasts in HD featuring live rock performances. Licensed to Portland, Oregon, USA, the station serves the Portland OR/Vancouver WA area... |
Portland, OR | 92.3 FM | 1974–1990 | Classic rock Classic rock Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the... |
| WQDR WQDR-FM WQDR is a radio station in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, broadcasting to the state's central and eastern regions, including the cities of Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Fayetteville, Rocky Mount, Wilson, and Goldsboro... |
Raleigh, NC Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh... |
94.7 FM | 1973–1984 | Country Country music Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music... |
| WQBK WQBK-FM WQBK-FM and WQBJ are Active Rock music formatted radio stations licensed to Rensselaer, New York and Cobleskill, New York respectively, and serving New York's Capital District and Mohawk Valley. The stations are owned by Townsquare Media... |
Rensselaer, NY Rensselaer, New York Rensselaer is a city in Rensselaer County, New York, United States, and is located on the Hudson River directly opposite Albany. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 9,392; in 1920, it was 10,832. The name is from Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original landowner of the region in New... |
103.9 FM | 1972–present | AOR |
| KSAN | San Francisco, CA (Bay Area San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas... ) |
94.9 FM | 1968–1980, 1997–present |
Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock Mainstream rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.-Format background:... on 107.7 FM |
| KMEL KMEL KMEL is an Urban Contemporary-formatted radio station located in San Francisco, California, and owned by Clear Channel Communications.... |
San Francisco, CA (Bay Area San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas... ) |
106.1 FM | 1977–1984 | Urban Contemporary Urban contemporary Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music... |
| KRQR KLLC KLLC is a commercial radio station located in San Francisco, California, broadcasting to the San Francisco Bay Area. KLLC airs an Adult Top 40 music format same as KZZO in Sacramento and on 97.3 HD-2 is Chill With Alice, a Chill format channel... |
San Francisco, CA (Bay Area San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas... ) |
97.3 FM | 1982–1995 | Adult Top 40 as KLLC KLLC KLLC is a commercial radio station located in San Francisco, California, broadcasting to the San Francisco Bay Area. KLLC airs an Adult Top 40 music format same as KZZO in Sacramento and on 97.3 HD-2 is Chill With Alice, a Chill format channel... |
| KFOG KFOG KFOG is an FM radio station in San Francisco, California, broadcasting on 104.5 and sister station KFFG 97.7 FM MHz. The 97.7 transmitter is located near Cupertino, California, and it is a simulcast of 104.5 KFOG.... |
San Francisco, CA (Bay Area San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas... ) |
104.5 FM | 1982–present | Adult Album Alternative Adult album alternative Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats.... |
| KSJO KSJO KSJO is a commercial radio station in San Jose, California, and broadcasts to the San Francisco Bay Area on 92.3 FM. KSJO currently airs a Chinese format branded as "92.3 KSJO".-History:... |
San Jose, CA San Jose, California San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay... (Bay Area San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas... ) |
92.3 FM | 1968–2004 | Chinese Chinese language The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages... |
| KOME KOME KOME was a radio station in San Jose, California, heard at 98.5 FM from 1971 thru 1998. Currently, the 98.5 FM frequency is home to KUFX .-Beginnings:... |
San Jose, CA San Jose, California San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay... (Bay Area San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas... ) |
98.5 FM | 1971–1994, 1997–present |
Classic rock Classic rock Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the... as KUFX KUFX KUFX is a classic rock-formatted radio station in San Jose, California. It is owned by Entercom Communications. The station is referred to on-air as K-FOX.On January 24, 2011, KUFX began simulcasting on KUZX 102.1 MHz in San Francisco.... |
| KISW | Seattle, WA | 99.9 FM | 1971–1996 | Active Rock Active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:... /Talk Talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live... |
| KXRX KXRX KXRX is the call sign of the radio station 97 Rock based in Walla Walla, Washington. The frequency is 97.1 MHz, and it is a Townsquare Media radio station. The call letters are based on the former KXRX/Seattle -- a major rock radio station active in Seattle from 1987-1994 on 96.5 FM and now known... |
Seattle, WA | 96.5 FM | 1987–1994 | Jack FM Jack FM JACK FM is the alternative name and on-air brand of 60 radio stations in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia. Jack stations play a mix of 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s hits with some current hot adult contemporary singles. Jack's slogan "playing what we want" can also be... as KJAQ KJAQ KJAQ is a commercial radio station located in Seattle, Washington. KJAQ airs an adult hits music format branded as "Jack FM".-History:... |
| KZOK | Seattle, WA | 102.5 FM | 1974–1986 | Classic rock Classic rock Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the... |
| KOL-FM | Seattle, WA | 94.1 FM | 1968–1973 | Country Country music Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music... as KMPS KMPS KMPS-FM is a country music station based in Seattle, Washington. The CBS Radio outlet broadcasts at 94.1 MHz with its main transmitter operating at 69 kW effective radiated power and its three auxiliary transmitters operating at 57 kW, 55 kW and 53 kW ERP. All four of its transmitters are located... |
| WAOR WAOR WAOR is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. Licensed to Nappanee, Indiana, WAOR serves the South Bend, Indiana market.-History:... |
South Bend, IN | 95.3 FM | ?-present | Classic rock Classic rock Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the... on 95.7 FM |
| KEZE KEZE KEZE , "Hot 96.9") is a rhythmic contemporary formatted radio station licensed to Spokane, Washington, USA. The Morgan Murphy Media station broadcasts at 96.9 MHz on the FM dial with an effective radiated power of 8.2 kW... |
Spokane, WA | 105.7 FM | 1973–1996 | Top 40 as KZBD KZBD KZBD is a Top 40 music formatted radio station serving the Spokane, Washington, USA area. The Mapleton Communications station broadcasts at 105.7 MHz with an effective radiated power of 100 kW... |
| WXYG | St. Cloud, MN | 540 AM | 2011–present | AOR |
| KWK WARH WARH is a radio station in Granite City, Illinois. WARH serves the St. Louis, Missouri, metropolitan area.WARH plays an adult hits format as "106.5 The Arch - It's all about the variety". The format is quite similar to the Jack FM stations in the U.S. & Canada... |
St. Louis, MO | 106.5 FM | 1979–1984 | Adult Hits Adult hits Adult hits is a radio format, popular in the early 2000s, that does not adhere to a specific music genre, but instead draws from a wider playlist... as WARH WARH WARH is a radio station in Granite City, Illinois. WARH serves the St. Louis, Missouri, metropolitan area.WARH plays an adult hits format as "106.5 The Arch - It's all about the variety". The format is quite similar to the Jack FM stations in the U.S. & Canada... |
| KSHE KSHE KSHE is a rock & roll radio station licensed to Crestwood, Missouri which serves the Greater St. Louis area. KSHE is located at 94.7 MHz and currently uses the slogan "KSHE 95, Real Rock Radio". The station's studios have been located in the Powerhouse building at St. Louis Union Station since... |
St. Louis, MO | 94.7 FM | 1967–present | AOR |
| KWFM KWFM KTZR is a commercial radio station located in Tucson, Arizona, broadcasting on 1450 AM. KTZR airs a Spanish adult hits format.This station became Funny 1450 as a comedy format station at 10:00 AM Wednesday January 26, 2011.... |
Tucson, AZ Tucson, Arizona Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200... |
92.9 FM | 1970–1983 | Adult Album Alternative Adult album alternative Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats.... as KWMT KWMT-FM KMIY is a Hot AC radio station that serves Tucson, Arizona. KMIY broadcasts on the frequency of 92.9 MHz, and is licensed to Tucson. KMIY is owned by Clear Channel Communications.... |
| WOUR WOUR WOUR - 96.9 WOUR is a Classic Rock radio station that broadcasts from Utica, New York. The station is currently owned by Galaxy Communications.-On-Air Personalities:*"Gomez and Dave in the Morning" 6am-10am*Dave Frisina 10am-3pm*"Genesee Joe" 3pm-7pm*C.J... |
Utica, NY | 96.9 FM | 1969–present | Classic rock Classic rock Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the... |
| KICT | Wichita, KS Wichita, Kansas Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area... |
95.1 FM | 1975–Present | AOR |