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OM Jerry King, Maria Danza, Dwayne Dancer, Steve Gunn, Smokin Kevan Browning, Larry King(The DJ/not TV host), Randy Fuller, Alan Craig
History
Launch date
1981(1981)
Former names
Heart & Soul of Rock n Roll, Pure Gold, Oldies Radio
Coverage
Availability
National
Classic Hits Radio is a 24-hour Classic Hits radio network. Classic Hits Radio is heard in over 100 markets around the U.S. Classic Hits Radio, formerly known as "Pure Gold" and "Oldies Radio", plays a selection of well-tested pop and rock hits from the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. "Classic Hits Radio" is one of two satellite oldies formats offered by Cumulus Media Networks, the other being Scott Shannon's "The True Oldies Channel," which is automated and voice-tracked entirely by Shannon and features an older playlist of music.
Nationally recognized DJs include Maria Danza, Steve Gunn, Smokin'Kevan Browning, Randy Fuller, Dwayne Dancer, "Late Night" Larry King (unrelated to the talk show host), and, before his death, Dave Michaels. As of September 16, 2011, it is distributed by Cumulus Media Networks and is one of the original Satellite Music Network stations.
Classic Hits repeating features include "Instant Winner Thursday", "The Top 5 Countdown", and themed weekends every weekend.
Cumulus purchased Dial Global/Westwood One in 2013. In July 2014 "Cumulus Classic Hits", formerly "Pure Gold", merged with Dial Global/Westwood One Classic Hits, as did most formats that were duplicated between the two syndicators. Most Cumulus Classic Hits personalities were displaced. Dewayne Dancer remained as part of the "new" "Classic Hits", but in an overnight role. Maria Danza and Smokin Kevan Browning segued to the new "Good Time Oldies Format", Cumulus replacement for Scott Shannon's cancelled "True Oldies" format. Danza later returned to Classic Hits on a weekend evening shift. Steve Gunn and Larry King departed the company, while Randy Fuller and Barbara Summers remain as weekend hosts.
GTO is the first joint programming effort at the network level between Cumulus and Westwood One, debuting in 75 U.S. markets, including Tampa Bay, Florida; Phoenix, Arizona; and Atlanta, Georgia.
A spin-off format, dubbed "Classic Hits / Rock" by Westwood One, features an anti-disco presentation with no music associated with black artists. In October 2019, Classic Hits was announced to be reformatted as an all 80s music format, with a third version of the format, "Classic Hits Gold," reincorporating more 1960s music into its 1970s/early 1980s core mix.
1 = Distribution only; produced by another company.
Related Research Articles
Westwood One was an American radio network that was based in New York City. At one time, it was managed by CBS Radio, and was later purchased by the private equity firm, The Gores Group. Due to purchases, mergers and other forms of consolidation in the 1980s and 1990s, at one time or another, it had ownership stakes in or syndication rights to some of the most famous brands in network radio, including CBS, NBC, Mutual, CNN, Fox, and Unistar. The company was one of the largest producers and distributors of radio programming in the United States. It broadcast entertainment, news, weather, sports, talk, and traffic programming to about 7,700 radio stations across the United States. The company was the top provider of local traffic reports in the U.S. through its subsidiaries, Metro Networks, Shadow Broadcast Services, SmartRoute Systems, and Sigalert.com. Westwood One also offers weather services; originally using Accuweather, Westwood switched to The Weather Channel in 2009.
Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music.
Cumulus Media Networks was an American radio network owned and operated by Cumulus Media. From 2011 until its merger with Westwood One, it controlled many of the radio assets formerly belonging to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which was broken up in 2007; Cumulus owned the portion of the network that was purchased by Citadel Broadcasting that year.
WOKI is a commercial radio station licensed to Oliver Springs, Tennessee, and serving the Knoxville metropolitan area. It is owned by Cumulus Media and it broadcasts a talk radio format. The studios and offices are on Old Kingston Pike in the Sequoyah Hills section of West Knoxville.
KBOB is a radio station licensed to Davenport, Iowa, and airs a sports format. The station's frequency is 1170 kHz, and broadcasts at a power of 1 kW. Its transmitter is in Knoxville Road just outside of Milan, Illinois.
WGRR is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Hamilton, Ohio, and serving the Cincinnati metropolitan area. It broadcasts a classic hits radio format and is owned by Cumulus Media. Its studios and offices are on Montgomery Road in Norwood, Ohio, using a Cincinnati address.
WCZX is a radio station licensed to Hyde Park, New York and serving the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York state. The station is owned by Townsquare Media and broadcasts at 300 watts ERP from the Illinois Mountain master tower in Marlborough, New York with studios on Pendell Road in the Town of Poughkeepsie.
WBXX is a radio station in Battle Creek, Michigan.
WALL is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Middletown, New York, and serving Orange County and parts of the Hudson Valley. WALL is owned by Neversink Media Group through licensee Digital Radio Broadcasting, Inc., and broadcasts a classic hits radio format. The radio studios and offices are in Port Jervis and Middletown.
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.
Scott Shannon's True Oldies Channel is a radio network begun in the spring of 2004. Originally distributed by ABC Radio Networks via satellite, the service plays a hybrid oldies/classic hits format comprising music mostly from 1964 to 1979 but also plays selected cuts from the 1955-1963 era and also from the 1980s. As of September 22, 2016, it is distributed via United Stations Radio Networks.
WNDX is a commercial radio station, licensed to Lawrence, Indiana, and serving the Indianapolis metropolitan area. It is owned by Cumulus Media and airs a mainstream rock radio format, using the moniker 93-9X. The studios and offices are located on North Shadeland Avenue on the east side of Indianapolis.
Best Country Today was one of the 24-hour live formats produced by Cumulus Media Networks. It is designed to appeal to a wide range of listeners, concentrating on a younger audience than would generally listen to traditional Country stations. It is one of two country formats produced by Cumulus, the other being Real Country, which skews toward older listeners.
WKQL is a classic hits formatted radio station. The station is licensed to Brookville, Pennsylvania, where it maintains its transmitter facility, but the station's programming and administration functions originate in Punxsutawney, where it shares studio space with its affiliate stations WPXZ and WECZ.
WWCK is a commercial AM radio station in Flint, Michigan. It is owned by Cumulus Media and it broadcasts a classic hits radio format. Its studios are south of the Flint city limits and the AM transmitter is east of downtown Flint near the intersection of Dort Highway and I-69. WWCK carries Michigan State Spartans college football and men's basketball.
KKAT is an AM radio station broadcasting a talk format. KKAT is licensed to Salt Lake City, Utah and is owned by Cumulus Media. The station's studios are located in South Salt Lake.
KJMO is a radio station serving Central Missouri with a classic hits music format. This station broadcasts in HD and is under ownership of Cumulus Broadcasting.
Good Time Oldies is a 24-hour music format offered to local radio stations across the country that was originally produced by Jones Radio Networks. After the sales of Jones Radio Networks to Dial Global in 2008, the format was absorbed into D.G.`s "Kool Oldies" format. However, due to radio stations demand, the Good Time Oldies format was brought to Dial Global. The format was programmed by program director Jon Holiday from 1994 through 2003.
WJBC-FM is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Pontiac, Illinois, in the Bloomington-Normal radio market. It is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts a Country radio format, calling itself "93.7 Nash Icon." The transmitter is on County Road 3200 North in Weston, Illinois.
Classic Hits is a 24-hour music format produced by Westwood One. Its playlist is composed of oldies music from the mid-1960s to mid-1980s, from artists such as Billy Joel, The Beatles, The Temptations, Fleetwood Mac, Hall and Oates and dozens more artists mainly targeted at listeners 45–54. It was known as The Oldies Channel until they changed their name to "Kool Gold" to avoid confusion with the ABC Radio/Citadel Media "The True Oldies Channel". It was branded as Kool Gold Timeless Classics as part of Dial Global's revamped satellite format group, but has then reverted to its original Kool Gold ident to avoid confusion with Citadel's former Timeless format, which once used the "Timeless Classics" positioner.
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