This same oldies station I mentioned earlier also sometimes plays 'Kokomo' by the Beach Boys from 1988 - I can understand that one, though, since the Beach Boys are primarily thought of as a '60s band.

I doubt it... 80's music still has a modern sound to it, unlike most 70's music. The song production was also better, which makes it sound current.

However, perhaps in the future the 50's and 60's will be the Golden Oldies and the 70's and 80's just the oldies.

^ Robbie, you've got a good point there in both areas (I've often thought about what radio dials would be like in, say the year 2030. "Oldies" and "Really oldies" LOL).

I think some 70's songs still have a slight oldies/60's holdover production, even if they don't sound like 60's songs, per se. I think the 80's type production started in about 1976/77 - some songs from then sound a little 80's-ish in a way. Like "Still the One" from one hit wonder Orleans. The vocals are kinda old-sounding, but the song's structure is kinda 80's to me.

I'd say the same thing about "More than a Feeling" and "Go Your Own Way" too.

I consider anything prior to the early 70s 'oldies'.  Calling anything after that time 'oldies' makes me feel way too old!  So, no matter how 'old' they get, in my  :D world, they will not be 'oldies'!    ;D

Yes, all of them are!

anything over 30 years old is considered oldies now.

I consider anything "Pre-Beatles" as oldies.
Wasn't there another topic almost identical to this one?

I consider anything "Pre-Beatles" as oldies.
Wasn't there another topic almost identical to this one?
Probably for another decade of singles?

I consider anything "Pre-Beatles" as oldies.
Wasn't there another topic almost identical to this one?


I think there was one.  ???

Many think the early '90s are oldies now too after asking someone about a song from that time agreeing that it is such. The early '90s don't seem to get as much respect as earlier decades do with regards to nostalgia, perhaps due to that decade's "anti-pop" fervor. It's a scary thought, but all those high school graduates this year have outside of trace memories in 1999, NO memories of the '90s whatsover! They'll all refer to the '90s as "classics" or "old songs"! But the '90s (and late '80s to an extent) suffers from much classic airplay due to the smaller generation X demographic it serves.

As for the '80s, its much more universal now than when this thread was started with regards to it as having an oldies vibe; it was pre-Internet and anything homo was still despised. We're pretty much at the point where today's young adults were the same age as what their parents were back in the '80s, and being a full generation back, clearly reflects a different time. What's "oldies" on radio today is what was "classic rock" back in the '90s/early '00s, sprinkled with some pop/R&B songs.

Let's just face it.  Today's generation considers anything that's over 5 years old to be old. For me I consider anything that's over 40-50 years old to be oldies.
But I'm constantly listening to Boom 97.3 which is an "oldies" station.  They consistently play music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s so I guess it's not that much of a stretch that anything from 1970-1980 is considered to be old by today's standards. 

According to some radio stations, such as KRTH in Los Angeles, yes.

To me, oldies are anything before 1970.  It seems like the 1970s should be in there as well, but I just don't think of oldies music when I listen to 70s songs

I don't either.

I don't either.

Neither do I, really. It just doesn't have the same feel to it.

Most "classic hit" or Oldies stations now play stuff up to 1987 or so (you'll hear Livin' on a Prayer about 10 times a day).

Obviously pre-Beatles stuff is the original Oldies music.

Stuff from 1964 to 1974 has also been played in the Oldies format for awhile.

Disco to New Wave era is a more recent inductee, and that era has a very different feel to it but is still grouped with the 60s and early 70s stuff.

You really don't hear too much stuff from the 50s or 60s anymore on FM radio, which sucks.

When I think of oldies, I think of stuff like Glenn Miller or Vera Lynn or The Andrews Sisters or Frank Sinatra or maybe Elvis, because when I was a kid in Hawaii, the most popular morning radio show played that sort of music.  The DJ was a very politically incorrect guy named Akuhead Pupule (Crazy Fish in Hawaiian).

I think many kids at that time were like me -- vaguely annoyed that our parents played all this old-fashioned music instead of tuning in to a station with all the new rock and roll.  But in retrospect, in a way I'm kind of glad I was exposed to it.  It gave me a perspective on things that a lot of my fellow Gen X-ers don't seem to have.

Nevertheless, a consequence of this massive early exposure to pre-1960s music is that I STILL view anything from about The Beatles on as "new" music.  I probably listened to more 60s and 70s music during my college years (1984-88) than I did during the 60s and 70s.  In my mind, it really doesn't make any more sense to me that 60s songs should be considered oldies than 80s.  From my perspective, if 60s and 70s are oldies, then why not 80s and 90s and early 00s.  On the day when Britney Spears, NSYNC and Coldplay start playing on the "oldies" station, I'll probably just shrug.

In fact, I saw this yesterday; I don't think that day is terribly far off anymore:

"17 Songs That Made You Sob Uncontrollably As A Teen"

http://www.buzzfeed.com/candacelowry/songs-that-gave-you-tween-angst

(I'm not sure how many of those artists were even born yet when I was a teen,)

Most "classic hit" or Oldies stations now play stuff up to 1987 or so (you'll hear Livin' on a Prayer about 10 times a day).

Yeah, there are plenty of "classic hit" stations on the air now. I know there is such a station near where I live, "Classic Hits 106.3", which plays music from the 60s through the 80s. There's also classic rock, which nowadays seems to include the 90s (on some such stations).



Obviously pre-Beatles stuff is the original Oldies music.

Good point.




You really don't hear too much stuff from the 50s or 60s anymore on FM radio, which sucks.

Especially music from before the British Invasion era.

They shouldn't be! Growing up oldies stations played stuff from the baby boomer era, that they'd have listened to. It was a distinct sound. 80's has it's own distinct sound, and I just associate the two as different no matter how many years go by.

Wasn't there another topic almost identical to this one?
Starting in 2005, is the thread your are thinking of?

Yeah, there are plenty of "classic hit" stations on the air now. I know there is such a station near where I live, "Classic Hits 106.3", which plays music from the 60s through the 80s. There's also classic rock, which nowadays seems to include the 90s (on some such stations).
Radio2 in the UK plays hits from all decades.

To me, oldies are anything before 1970.  It seems like the 1970s should be in there as well, but I just don't think of oldies music when I listen to 70s songs


I think of them more like "retro".

You really don't hear too much stuff from the 50s or 60s anymore on FM radio, which sucks.

WCBS-FM used to play Doo-Wop almost all the time but now they have a 70's and 80's format which the people who used to listen to Doo-Wop have to find another station that plays their kind of music.

A book I was just reading mentioned the radio playing a golden oldie.  It was Twist in my Sobriety by Tanita Tikaram which came out in 1988!

You really don't hear too much stuff from the 50s or 60s anymore on FM radio, which sucks.


Cold, hard fact is...that demographic portion of the public (especially the 50s mob) is gradually 'dying off' (sorry to sound harsh, but it is!)

Long as I still got a functioning pair of ears, I'll continue to play it, along with stuff going way back before the war...

Technically they should be.  When i listened heavily to our "oldies" station in the '80s they were playing things pre-1970, when i was born.  It only really occurred to me lately that this was only 15 years.  So yes, we are far beyond "oldies" level today for the '80s!  In fact, it is now about equivalent to me listening to the '50s songs back then!  Shocking!

Cold, hard fact is...that demographic portion of the public (especially the 50s mob) is gradually 'dying off' (sorry to sound harsh, but it is!)

Long as I still got a functioning pair of ears, I'll continue to play it, along with stuff going way back before the war...


my radio station a long time ago used to play 50's doo wop and now they play more 70's and 80's.

To those of us who grew up from 80-89 they never will be but to today's kids they are.  "Nobody listens to 80s music anymore." :D If I had a nickel for everytime I heard that I'd be rich.  :D

Not 'Oldies' -  'Retro'!!!  There's a difference  ;)

Not 'Oldies' -  'Retro'!!!  There's a difference  ;)


Retro.  8)

Oldies for me is pre Beatles.

Considering the fact that I hear a lot of 80s stuff on oldies stations now, I guess they are. I find it strange that I almost never hear 60s music on the radio anymore.

I find it strange that I almost never hear 60s music on the radio anymore.


Shouldn't really come as surprise - as I said earlier, that demographic is slowly but surely passing on and unless you're listening to some kind of 'niche' station, you'll be hard-pressed to come by any 60s (or pevious) music...which is a shame, as that's where a lot of music's inventiveness occurred!

Not 'Oldies' -  'Retro'!!!  There's a difference  ;)


RETRO- fashionably nostalgic or old-fashioned

OLDIES-someone or something that is not new

and there you go. ;)

Considering the fact that I hear a lot of 80s stuff on oldies stations now, I guess they are. I find it strange that I almost never hear 60s music on the radio anymore.


you would have to look up radio stations that play stations from the 50's and early 1960's.

To those of us who grew up from 80-89 they never will be but to today's kids they are.  "Nobody listens to 80s music anymore." :D If I had a nickel for everytime I heard that I'd be rich.  :D


My daughter is planning her 16th birthday bash and the DJ asked what sort of music she likes.  She's put "anything from the 80s onwards"

My daughter is planning her 16th birthday bash and the DJ asked what sort of music she likes.  She's put "anything from the 80s onwards"
So "Happy Birthday To You" cannot be sung for that was published in 1893.  ;D

My daughter is planning her 16th birthday bash and the DJ asked what sort of music she likes.  She's put "anything from the 80s onwards"


:) That's really cool karen.

My daughter is planning her 16th birthday bash and the DJ asked what sort of music she likes.  She's put "anything from the 80s onwards"


That's great, hope she enjoys it. :)

Shouldn't really come as surprise - as I said earlier, that demographic is slowly but surely passing on and unless you're listening to some kind of 'niche' station, you'll be hard-pressed to come by any 60s (or pevious) music...which is a shame, as that's where a lot of music's inventiveness occurred!


It's more of a surprise because there were SO many more iconic groups and songs from the 60s than any other modern period in rock that I feel like are very rarely represented on the radio, while plenty of mediocre songs from subsequent years are. I mean, even The Beatles barely get FM radio airplay anymore aside from a few major songs ("Yesterday", "Hey Jude" and the like).

Weird to think that kids who grow up listening to the radio now may be completely unaware of so much of that music.

I mean, even The Beatles barely get FM radio airplay anymore aside from a few major songs ("Yesterday", "Hey Jude" and the like).

Weird to think that kids who grow up listening to the radio now may be completely unaware of so much of that music.

They play Beatles but it's rare nowadays on FM Radio, this is why most people listen to internet radio cause they think that FM radio doesn't give them what they want to listen to or doesn't give them much of a choice. Internet radio has hardly a deejay so you can browse whatever you want to listen to.

It's more of a surprise because there were SO many more iconic groups and songs from the 60s than any other modern period in rock that I feel like are very rarely represented on the radio, while plenty of mediocre songs from subsequent years are. I mean, even The Beatles barely get FM radio airplay anymore aside from a few major songs ("Yesterday", "Hey Jude" and the like).

Weird to think that kids who grow up listening to the radio now may be completely unaware of so much of that music.
Tune into BBC Radio2 in the UK, a good range of varies song are played, even The Beatles.

When I think of oldies, I think of stuff like Glenn Miller or Vera Lynn or The Andrews Sisters or Frank Sinatra or maybe Elvis, because when I was a kid in Hawaii, the most popular morning radio show played that sort of music.  The DJ was a very politically incorrect guy named Akuhead Pupule (Crazy Fish in Hawaiian).

I think many kids at that time were like me -- vaguely annoyed that our parents played all this old-fashioned music instead of tuning in to a station with all the new rock and roll.  But in retrospect, in a way I'm kind of glad I was exposed to it.  It gave me a perspective on things that a lot of my fellow Gen X-ers don't seem to have.

Nevertheless, a consequence of this massive early exposure to pre-1960s music is that I STILL view anything from about The Beatles on as "new" music.  I probably listened to more 60s and 70s music during my college years (1984-88) than I did during the 60s and 70s.  In my mind, it really doesn't make any more sense to me that 60s songs should be considered oldies than 80s.  From my perspective, if 60s and 70s are oldies, then why not 80s and 90s and early 00s.  On the day when Britney Spears, NSYNC and Coldplay start playing on the "oldies" station, I'll probably just shrug.


I actually feel exactly the same way, even though I was only born in the 80's. Perhaps it's because I grew up listening to alot of 60's-80's music through my parents, but I've always seen anything released after 1964 as "modern" music. To my mind, the first image the the word "oldies" always conjures up is "Malt Shop Music" like The Four Seasons and The Chiffons.

Also, when I was younger, the top "oldies" station around these parts was much like the one you mentioned. They would rarely play anything more recent than Bobby Darin up until maybe the early 00's or so.

For some reason, when I think "oldies" I keep thinking of 1964-1974 songs.

For some reason, when I think "oldies" I keep thinking of 1964-1974 songs.


You could say that "oldies" era is between the 1960's and early 1970's and as for the 80's more like retro.

Yep.  So are 80s people.  Had an argument with a college kid about Depeche Mode.  I told him, "I was buying Depeche Mode records before you were an itch in your daddy's pants, so you just shut your pie hole!"  I work on a university campus.  Some of the students have parents MY age! 

So I look at all the young hotties and I feel like a dirty old man, but as I always say, a dirty old man is a happy old man!

NONONONONONONO!  >:( >:( >:( >:(

80s records are still in living memory!

You could say that "oldies" era is between the 1960's and early 1970's and as for the 80's more like retro.

That's what I say! 80's is too different from that, no matter how old it gets. It's a class all on it's own.

What defines 'Golden Oldies'?

80s records are still in living memory!


and being sold at garage sales and flea markets.

What defines 'Golden Oldies'?


probably the early 50's.

and being sold at garage sales and flea markets.
...and collectors' markets

...and collectors' markets


consignment shops as well.

What defines 'Golden Oldies'?

Mid 50's to mid 70's supposedly.

That's what I say! 80's is too different from that, no matter how old it gets. It's a class all on it's own.


I agree. That's the reason why German radio stations play them on charts stations and younger people still tend to like the music.

Mid 50's to mid 70's supposedly.


I would say that too.

The 80's are the new 50's.

The 80's are the new 50's.


That's right.  :)

The 80's are the new 50's.
Not for the older generations.