Music of Your Life
Music of Your Life is an American syndicated music radio format featuring adult standards music. First created by recording executive Al Ham in 1978, the format achieved popularity in the 1980s among AM radio stations in the United States and Canada, which were then facing declines in listenership in a transition period of most popular music to the FM band.
The format's peak was before the 1987 repeal of the
History
Al Ham, a veteran CBS Records executive, decided to change careers in 1978 and started Music of Your Life, a format featuring pre-rock popular music on station WDJZ in Bridgeport, Connecticut.[1] After that station was sold, the format was then installed at two other stations in the region: WHLI in Hempstead, New York, and WMAS in Springfield, Massachusetts, which was the first syndication customer. Both stations saw immediate and major gains in ratings, particularly among older listeners.[1] Ham credited its success to the disenfranchisement of listeners aged 35–64 by most music stations.[2] By 1981, more than 60 stations had adopted the live and automated versions of Music of Your Life, and their ranks had swelled to 130 by 1982.[2][3] It was particularly credited with providing ratings improvement for AM stations whose listeners had deserted to FM outlets and was a good fit for AM as most older songs were not recorded in stereo; at the time, AM stereo was not in use.[3] In contrast to "beautiful music" stations that mostly programmed instrumentals, the Music of Your Life format emphasized vocals; 20 percent of the music mix consisted of big band selections.[3] Ham promoted listener involvement by starting "Music of Your Life Clubs", an idea that caught on.[4]
A number of heritage contemporary hit radio stations on the AM band converted to Music of Your Life during the decade.
In 1989,
On January 1, 1996, the format was relaunched by Ham along with original partners Jim West and Gary Fink as a satellite-delivered service, with
See also
- WRME-LD, the Chicago flagship of the national "MeTV FM" radio network, which shares a similar format to Music of Your Life, though without celebrity on-air talent
References
- ^ ProQuest 1505919769. Archived(PDF) from the original on June 1, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via World Radio History.
- ^ a b Leader, John (April 3, 1981). "Al Ham's 'Music of Your Life': A New Format For An Older Audience" (PDF). Radio & Records. p. 19. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 1, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via World Radio History.
- ^ a b c King, Bill (June 25, 1982). "Tuned To The Past: Going For The Gray Hairs, Mining Gold". The Atlanta Constitution. Atlanta, Georgia. p. 1-B, 5-B. Archived from the original on September 11, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Pope, Leroy (August 4, 1982). "Successful selling of a music style". The News. Paterson, New Jersey. UPI. p. 28. Archived from the original on September 11, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "WOKY Switches To 'Music Of Your Life'" (PDF). Radio & Records. January 15, 1982. pp. 1, 18. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 11, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via World Radio History.
- ^ van Vugt, Harry (February 13, 1987). "CKLW seeks more 'life' from its music". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario, Canada. p. C1. Archived from the original on September 11, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Reddick, David (February 26, 1984). "'Music of Your Life' Singing the Right Tune". The Palm Beach Post. West Palm Beach, Florida. p. C1. Archived from the original on September 11, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Scott, Vernon (January 25, 1985). "A music show for the deprived generations". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. UPI. p. E15. Archived from the original on September 11, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ProQuest 227102539– via World Radio History.
- ProQuest 1016936922.
- ProQuest 1017238975.
- ^ "Street Talk" (PDF). Radio & Records. September 15, 1995. pp. 22, 24. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 11, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via World Radio History.
- ProQuest 1017339471. Archived(PDF) from the original on September 11, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via World Radio History.
- (PDF) from the original on September 11, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via World Radio History.
- ^ Tarter, Steve (September 6, 2009). "You can still find beautiful music". Peoria Journal Star. Archived from the original on September 11, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.