NEW YORK - It's the day the music died. WCBS-FM, the top oldies station in the nation for more than three decades, stunned its legion of listeners by abruptly switching formats this weekend. Goodbye, Buddy Holly and the Beach Boys. Hello, Duran Duran and Jet.

"I'm sure this move angered and bewildered its listeners," said Tom Taylor, editor of the trade publication Inside Radio. "A lot of people punched in WCBS-FM, heard Pink's `Get The Party Started,' and said `Something's wrong with my radio.'"

The station had switched to an oldies format in 1972, initially as a bastion for the doo-wop sounds of the '50s. Although the playlist changed over the years, WCBS-FM always remained the outpost for classic Top 40 radio in the nation's largest radio market.

It was also the home to many of New York's legendary Top 40 DJs, including "Cousin Brucie" Morrow, Harry Harrison, Dan Ingram and Norm N. Nite.

Radio formats came and went — disco, punk, hip-hop, talk, sports talk — but WCBS-FM remained unchanged, a warm and welcoming presence at 101.1 on the FM dial.

The station's new format is called "Jack," an eclectic mix of hit music from the '70s through the present. The station's owner, Infinity Broadcasting, made the same format shift Friday at its Chicago oldies station, WJMK-FM, where classic Top 40 had aired for the past 21 years.

"We did a lot of market research and found a hole in the market that wasn't being served by any other station," said Chad Brown, WCBS-FM vice president and general manager.

There are currently about a dozen stations nationally using the Jack format.

"Youth must be served," Taylor said about the changes. "If you look at a lot of media, older Americans aren't important unless you're selling Craftmatic beds."

At 5 p.m. Friday, just as Frank Sinatra's "Summer Wind" faded out, WCBS listeners heard a voice announce: "Why don't we play what we want? There's a whole world of songs out there."

The first song played on the new 'CBS-FM: "Fight for Your Right" by the Beastie Boys.

Until that moment, there were no indications of any imminent change at the station. Earlier in the day, morning show host Mickey Dolenz — yes, the former Monkees drummer — celebrated his 100th show with the station by hosting a live broadcast from B.B. King's Blues Club just off Times Square.

In the winter 2005 Arbitron ratings, WCBS-FM was ranked eighth among the city's stations — a strong showing, but apparently not strong enough.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050604/ap_en_mu/no_more_oldies

NEW YORK - It's the day the music died. WCBS-FM, the top oldies station in the nation for more than three decades, stunned its legion of listeners by abruptly switching formats this weekend. Goodbye, Buddy Holly and the Beach Boys. Hello, Duran Duran and Jet.

"I'm sure this move angered and bewildered its listeners," said Tom Taylor, editor of the trade publication Inside Radio. "A lot of people punched in WCBS-FM, heard Pink's `Get The Party Started,' and said `Something's wrong with my radio.'"

The station had switched to an oldies format in 1972, initially as a bastion for the doo-wop sounds of the '50s. Although the playlist changed over the years, WCBS-FM always remained the outpost for classic Top 40 radio in the nation's largest radio market.

It was also the home to many of New York's legendary Top 40 DJs, including "Cousin Brucie" Morrow, Harry Harrison, Dan Ingram and Norm N. Nite.

Radio formats came and went — disco, punk, hip-hop, talk, sports talk — but WCBS-FM remained unchanged, a warm and welcoming presence at 101.1 on the FM dial.

The station's new format is called "Jack," an eclectic mix of hit music from the '70s through the present. The station's owner, Infinity Broadcasting, made the same format shift Friday at its Chicago oldies station, WJMK-FM, where classic Top 40 had aired for the past 21 years.

"We did a lot of market research and found a hole in the market that wasn't being served by any other station," said Chad Brown, WCBS-FM vice president and general manager.

There are currently about a dozen stations nationally using the Jack format.

"Youth must be served," Taylor said about the changes. "If you look at a lot of media, older Americans aren't important unless you're selling Craftmatic beds."

At 5 p.m. Friday, just as Frank Sinatra's "Summer Wind" faded out, WCBS listeners heard a voice announce: "Why don't we play what we want? There's a whole world of songs out there."

The first song played on the new 'CBS-FM: "Fight for Your Right" by the Beastie Boys.

Until that moment, there were no indications of any imminent change at the station. Earlier in the day, morning show host Mickey Dolenz — yes, the former Monkees drummer — celebrated his 100th show with the station by hosting a live broadcast from B.B. King's Blues Club just off Times Square.

In the winter 2005 Arbitron ratings, WCBS-FM was ranked eighth among the city's stations — a strong showing, but apparently not strong enough.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050604/ap_en_mu/no_more_oldies
This is absolutely HORRIBLE!! Makes me wonder if ALL stations with an oldies format will see dollar signs...and sell out to 'the new stuff'!?!

I honestly hope the oldies stations in this area...WOGL'Oldies 98'(Philadelphia)and "Cool 98.3"(Wildwood, NJ) don't fall victim to greedy, ratings-driven owners!

It's sad that some people think the music of the 50's,60's and early 70's does not matter much anymore...I grew up with the Beatles,Stones,Paul Revere and the Raiders,The Doors,Steppenwolf,'Lady Soul'(Aretha Franklin),the Turtles,Mamas and Papas,the Guess Who,Tommy James and the Shondells,and of course Elvis....sad that today's kids just see these bands as 'old fart music' and oldies stations disappearing from radio will not help...

I was P.O.ed when "Jack" (off ::)) took over our oldies station Gold 104.5. And someone or something named "Hank" is destroying the lite rock format while promoting its pre-fab country junk. Someone help us stop this "Jack Attack". :-\\

I don't live in NY...but this is STILL one of the worst things that I've heard of.

I am not a big fan of newer music to begin with.....
It's all based on image now...if you don't have a certain "look", then your music apparently won't sell.  I hate to put down something I treasured as a kid, but MTV truly did kill the radio star.
The radio was where people just "listened" to music...and if you enjoyed the song...you went out and bought the album.  It wasn't based on 6 pack abs, frosted, high-lited hair, belly button rings and cleavage.  It used to actually be about talent.
Changing this radio station's format was a step in the wrong direction.
"Oldies" stations are the only place left to hear REAL music.

Jack FM...  :P Also struck my area...


The same ol' songs over, and over, and over, and over, and over...  :P


Some OK, good...BUT I don't want to hear "Hungry Like The Wolf" 100 x's...


Though still a good song.  ;)

They struck here also.  It's really annoying!  They took away Mix 104.1 FM the 80's Station for that crap!  I agree, some songs are OK, but the d*mn announcer is ANNOYING!!  >:( >:(

It's a trend that has been occuring over here too. Good radio stations being replaced by boring top 40 radio stations with terrible announcers.  :-\\

HOLY CRAP!!!!    If I lived in NY, I would be glad there's no country music anymore.  But no oldies?!!!  Shoot I'm only 19 and I can sing all the words to just about any Oldies song.  Man I would be p*ssed off!

OMG!!! I go to Maryland and DC for the weekend and look what happens! 


THis is a true shame, since WCBS FM was one of my favorite stations.  They were the only ones who would play many songs that I wanted to hear. 


what oldies stations are left>?

I heard the change on Friday evening and all of a sudden I hear MC Hammer on WCBSFM and I was saying"Why the hell is MC Hammer being played on an oldies station"? ::) I was angry that they took away the good oldies that we grew up listening to. >:( Bruce Morrow(Cousin Brucie)will try to find a way to bring WCBS FM back but for now you can tune to Satellite Radio for the oldies.

OMG!!! I go to Maryland and DC for the weekend and look what happens! 


THis is a true shame, since WCBS FM was one of my favorite stations.   They were the only ones who would play many songs that I wanted to hear. 


what oldies stations are left>?


absolutely nothing right now at the moment. :(

If you ever pass thru Southern NJ you'd hear Cool 98.3 and maybe even WOGL Oldies 98.3 out of Philly!

The internet is a good place to hit, ditto with Launch.


http://launch.yahoo.com/launchcast/

WCBS FM has been a mainstay in the oldies community for 30 years and all of a sudden Infinity Broadcasting Company takes over and is now called "JackFM" and their motto is"We Play What We Want,When We Want". ::)

It's sad that no one seems to care about the artists that made rock music the mainstay it is today. Also when FM rock stations started using the Album Oriented Rock format...all they played was formulaic rock such as Foreigner and Kansas...d*mn the edgy stuff like the Velvet Underground....but New Wave improved FM rock at least somewhat with Elvis Costello and the Police...

WCBS FM has been a mainstay in the oldies community for 30 years and all of a sudden Infinity Broadcasting Company takes over and is now called "JackFM" and their motto is "We Play What We Want,When We Want". ::)

Yeah, there's a station just like that here in the Los Angeles area! Its call letters are KCBS. One thing I like about them, they play a wide variety of music. :)

Hmm, interesting topic.

I'm afraid I might be going against the grain with my opinion, but we got a station here in the South Bay alot LIKE that (MAX 95.7 FM) and it's been an absolute pleasure to listen to the past couple weeks.

Their motto is "70's, 80's, whatever we feel like."

They do play some modern stuff, but the bulk is, I'd say from about 1975-1990 -- that time span is a GOLD MINE, at least IMO. Great variety too - they can go from "Pour Some Sugar on me" to a Christopher Cross song, to the Gin Blossoms' "Hey Jealousy."

I've heard some songs that I've NEVER heard on the radio before, or at least not since I was pretty little. They seem to air alot of Loverboy! :)

PS: The best thing of all - it took the place of a Country station. :D

WCBS FM has been a mainstay in the oldies community for 30 years and all of a sudden Infinity Broadcasting Company takes over and is now called "JackFM" and their motto is"We Play What We Want,When We Want". ::)


I was listening to it while driving to work today...they were playing the phone messages left by angry listeners who didnt appriciate their station changing...and they were mocking them. 

I was listening to it while driving to work today...they were playing the phone messages left by angry listeners who didnt appriciate their station changing...and they were mocking them. 



I don't blame them.They have a right to complain,Billy.How could you possibly change the format of a radio station for over 30 years without letting the fans know and then all of a sudden,the next day you hear MC Hammer being played on an oldies station? >:(

We got Jack FM here in Toronto area, too. Coincidence ?  Me thinks not.....  ::)

http://www.jackfm.ca/

I don't blame them.They have a right to complain,Billy.How could you possibly change the format of a radio station for over 30 years without letting the fans know and then all of a sudden,the next day you hear MC Hammer being played on an oldies station? >:(


my favorite part of all of this though is that theyd play the phone message of the person complaining, and then the voice over artist would try to say something cool like "Aww, too bad" or "We dont care, we're playing what we want to play" or something macho like that...and then play an Avril Lavigne song.  ::)

Random radio fights back with `Jack FM'
The increased use of iPods is causing broadcast outlets to take a look at their formats, and some, like WJMK-FM (104.3), have decided to change things with `play what we want' approach.

By John Schmeltzer
Tribune staff reporter
Published June 7, 2005


Think the iPod and other personal music players aren't influencing broadcast radio? Think again.

Infinity Broadcasting Inc.'s decision to dump its oldies format at WJMK-FM 104.3 after 21 years Friday for a new format called "Jack FM" is being described by many in the industry as the radio version of the iPod shuffle.

And the station isn't the only one trying its best to stave off a hot trend.

Locally, WJMK follows Newsweb's "Nine FM--We play anything" format for WDEK-FM (92.5), WKIE-FM (92.7) and WRZA-FM (99.9) that it introduced last year.

And even pop music station WTMX-FM 101.9 recently began promoting itself as playing "today's new music. ... and whatever we want."

Such "randomness" formats have burst on the scene as listeners gain more control over their music choices with everything from iPods that can hold thousands of songs categorized across many genres, to satellite radio, which gives subscribers access to dozens of different formats at the touch of a button.

But like all format switches, it's unclear whether the new random format, which targets a younger audience than WJMK was reaching, will survive long-term.

"They will play a little of everyone's music and when you play potpourri radio I don't know if you become anyone's favorite," said Paula Hambrick, a radio advertising buyer in Orland Park.

Instead of oldies from the 1960s and '70s--WJMK's bread and butter for the past several years--the station says it now will play in a random order a 1980s-centric mix of music with a "sprinkling from the '60s, '70s, '90s and early 2000s."

Dave Robbins, the station's program director, says there are no hard-and-fast rules about what will air. Even Elvis Presley, the Supremes and some early recordings of the Beatles that aired in the '60s won't be banned from its playlist.

"We play anything, our slogan is `Playing What We Want,' so there is no off-limits artists," he said. The station won't, however, be taking requests, unlike Oldies 104.3.

WJMK isn't the only oldies format in Infinity to flip. WCBS-FM in New York also changed from oldies to "Jack FM."

WJMK's deejays--Dick Biondi and Fred Winston among others--will move to the station's new digital band that will continue to play oldies beginning next month.

"By becoming America's first Commercial Multicast FM Digital station with live big-name talent (WJMK HD2), we have given listeners yet another reason to tune to the FM Digital band," said Robbins, who said he hopes the WJMK HD2 can go live by July 4. "It's good radio, it's good for the industry, and it's great for the talent."

It is a transition that the nation's radio industry is now beginning to explore. Listeners who have purchased a digital radio will be offered a choice of up to eight channels when they tune in a station offering HD2. In the case of WJMK, listeners will be able to choose between Jack FM and Oldies 104.3, according to Robbins.

Infinity executives say the format is a powerful means to draw new listeners. Its Los Angeles station KCBS jumped to No. 3 in the April ratings from 15th among listeners six months after switching to the format.

Viacom Inc.-owned Infinity is changing formats to boost revenue. It reported first-quarter radio revenue rose 2 percent, the smallest gain of all businesses at Viacom, whose holdings include the CBS television network and cable's MTV and Nickelodeon.

Infinity's decision to switch formats has other Chicago radio executives watching closely.

Harvey Wells, vice president and radio group manager for Chicago-based Newsweb, said he's unconcerned by the format switch and has no plans to switch his stations to another format. His three radio stations, with an aggregate of 170,000 listeners, have an audience that is one-quarter the size of WJMK, which has 700,000 listeners.

Others said the switch opens new opportunities for them.

"We're thrilled," said John Gehron, regional vice president for San Antonio-based Clear Channel Radio, which owns seven radio stations in the Chicago market.

"It's wonderful for (WLRR-AM) 1690 and probably good for WLIT," he said. He noted that WLRR now will be the only Chicago-area station with an oldies format, while soft-rock WLIT-FM (93.9) could gain listeners.

Drew Horowitz, general manager and president of the Bonneville Chicago Radio Group, said that his new "love songs" station, WILV-FM (100.3), likely will be a beneficiary of listeners abandoning WJMK.

The key for any station is staying consistent for its listeners, according to Hambrick, the radio ad buyer.

"Successful stations have passionate listeners, and I don't know how you get passionate about something that changes with every song," she said.

my favorite part of all of this though is that theyd play the phone message of the person complaining, and then the voice over artist would try to say something cool like "Aww, too bad" or "We dont care, we're playing what we want to play" or something macho like that...and then play an Avril Lavigne song.   ::)



Jack FM hardly takes any commercial breaks at all. ::)

'50's/'60's... my local "Jack FM" mostly play '70's/'80's amd a couple '90's... 

Mostly the same stuff heard on other stations...  ::)

The "Jack FM" in California plays, like I said, a wide variety of stuff....70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, and a bit of rock from the late 60s. I think their web address is 931jackfm.com or something like that. I just know that if you click on "arrowfm.com", it'll automatically redirect you to Jack FM's homepage.

Cousin Brucie signs with satellite radio

Associated Press


NEW YORK - Cousin Brucie belongs to a new family. Veteran New York disc jockey Bruce Morrow, dumped last week when WCBS-FM switched away from its oldies format, signed on Thursday with Sirius Satellite Radio. Morrow, whose radio days predate the Beatles, will host three shows: two with hits from the '50s, '60s and '70s, and his own talk show.

"This was probably the most unusual, frightening, exhilarating week of my career," said the 67-year-old Morrow, known as "Cousin Brucie" to his loyal New York listeners. "I had no idea a week and a half ago that this was going to start."

Back then, Morrow was one of the mainstays at the nation's No. 1 oldies station, WCBS-FM. A phone call last Friday from management informed him that after 33 years as a New York institution, the station was going to a "Jack" format with a new playlist.

"It was like firing the New York Yankees," Morrow said.

Charles Schumer, New York's senior Senator, had been writing New York radio stations urging someone to hire Morrow for a regular oldies broadcast.

"I idolized the guy when I was a kid," said Schumer, who has fond memories of Morrow, a fellow graduate of Madison High School in Brooklyn.

"I have the world at my fingertips," said Morrow, adding that he will work without a playlist. "I have a national audience. This has been my dream."

Morrow's debut was set for the July Fourth weekend, with a special broadcast from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

He seems an unusual convert to the world of satellite, given that he started on terrestrial radio in 1959 at WINS-AM in New York and was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1988. But he's quickly adapted to the new world.

"I feel like I'm riding on a rocket ship," he said. "Or should I say a satellite?"

I'm not there, but I heard San Diego instituted JACK radio BUT said they were keeping their morning team JEFF AND JER....Not sure how that works if JACK is syndicated..how do the 2 guys jump in with their show?

Or why others don't do it with their vet radio guys??

What I like about my local Jack-FM is that they play a lot of 80s "New wave" stuff. 8)

First WNEW makes a pitiful attempt to become KTU, and now this. 

I highly doubt that Jack will last. 

Though some of the sets are good -- and, as Howard pointed out, there are fewer commercials -- the recorded messages from that a**hole are as offensive to me as the damned Tsunami Song. 

I'm perfectly capable of making my own mix of what, ahem, *I* want, and I won't have to hear some jerky-boy's attitude in between songs.  And I'd rather hear Scott & Todd, Jim Kerr, or Balthazar & Goumba any morning on the way to work, even if the format is less varied and there are more commercials. 

The idea that New Yorkers are gonna stand for this station's insults is positively laughable.  Add to that the fact that we're known for being loyal to our radio PERSONALITIES, and the fact that a radio INSTITUTION has been hi-JACKed, and I'm sure you'll agree with me that this s**t ain't gonna last.

Oh, yeah...sign the petition...

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/474032182?ltl=1117970041

I signed the petition but I highly doubt it that it's going to bring back the oldies.

I signed it too, but I think that the only way to send a message is to completely boycott the station

I'm not there, but I heard San Diego instituted JACK radio BUT said they were keeping their morning team JEFF AND JER....Not sure how that works if JACK is syndicated..how do the 2 guys jump in with their show?

Or why others don't do it with their vet radio guys??


Star 100.7, the San Diego station that Jack took over, had very annoying DJs... that's one good aspect of it. Jeff & Jer...don't listen to them and don't care, but good for their fans



I like the mixture of '70's/'80's/'90's, but it's not much different than any generic radio station around my area that play the same '80's, classic rock, '90's,... song.

I prefer the alternative rock stations & the recent adult contemp. station.  :)

I hadn't heard about this, but I don't listen to the radio regularly.  I occasionally catch Mickey Dolenz' show in the mornings, but haven't for a few weeks...

I love 50s and 60s rock, and grew up on a lot of it, but I must say I've also been pleased to hear more stations resuscitating lost 70s and 80s rock tunes of my teen and college years. 

Glad Brucie landed on his feet and found a new home.  What's up with Mickey?