Dick Bartley

Last updated

Dick Bartley (born July 26, 1951) is an American radio disc jockey. He has hosted several popular syndicated radio shows of the oldies/classic hits genre, including Dick Bartley's Classic Hits and Rock & Roll's Greatest Hits, both syndicated through United Stations Radio Networks.

Contents

From 1982 to 2017, he was host of a national Saturday night call-in request show — the original version of Rock & Roll's Greatest Hits from 1991 to 2017 — that aired live (until 2009, after which the program was pre-recorded); that program, along with the Classic Countdown, were combined into the new Classic Hits show. [1] [2] In February 2020, a new version of Rock & Roll's Greatest Hits, focused on 1960s music, was launched. The last airings of both of the syndicated shows occurred during the weekend of January 1-2, 2022. [3]

Both Classic Countdown and Rock & Roll's Greatest Hits were syndicated through United Stations, and beforehand Westwood One (1982–1991) and ABC Radio Networks (1991–2009). Bartley has licensed his name for the "Dick Bartley Presents Collector's Essentials on the Radio" album series; compilations of radio favorites by specific era and genre. [4] Bartley's programs use historic data from the Billboard Hot 100 and other charts.

Bartley [5] got his start at age 17 [6] playing "Bad Moon Rising" [7] [8] on radio station WWOD in Lynchburg, Virginia. [9] WWOD, which hadn't been used for years, was finally razed and is now covered with grass on Mimosa Drive in Lynchburg.

Programs

As was the case with his previous programs (at least in the 2010s), Dick Bartley's Classic Hits was four hours in length, until it shortened to three hours in length during the program's final year, and played classic hits and oldies from the 1970s and 1980s. Much in the same way the oldies and classic hits formats in general have done, his previous programs gradually shifted in their focus since their debuts; for instance, Rock & Roll's Greatest Hits, when it debuted in 1982 as "Solid Gold Saturday Night", had a playlist composed of titles almost entirely from the late 1950s through the late 1960s, mirroring the oldies format at the time. The focus of each show was different:

Each program also had special weeks, usually the weekend before a major holiday:

During the 1990s, Bartley also hosted a third program, Yesterday Live, which featured a 1970s/1980s format similar to today's classic hits (at the time, his other shows were focused on 1950s and 1960s oldies).

In December 2021, United Stations Radio Networks, which had been distributing Bartley's shows since 2009, announced Bartley's retirement and the ending of syndication of Dick Bartley's Classic Hits and Rock & Roll's Greatest Hits. Both shows broadcast their final programs the weekend of January 1-2, 2022. [3]

Awards

Personal life

Bartley was born in Schenectady, New York, and grew up in Lynchburg, Virginia, the son of William Bartley, an engineer at General Electric, and Nancy Bartley, who was a lay leader in the Christian Science Church. He and his wife, Cynthia, graduated from the University of Virginia and as of 2024 live in Falls Church, Virginia. He has two daughters, Diane Bartley and Jane Bartley. Diane graduated from Duke University. Jane graduated from Dartmouth.

Related Research Articles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KJEB</span> Classic hits radio station in Seattle

KJEB is a commercial radio station in Seattle, Washington. It broadcasts a classic hits radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The radio studios and offices are in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood northwest of downtown.

KRTH is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Los Angeles, California, United States and serves the Greater Los Angeles area. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. and broadcasts a classic hits format. KRTH's studios are located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile district of Los Angeles. The station's signal covers an extremely large area of Southern California due in part to its antenna location on Mt. Wilson. It can be heard as far south as San Diego, as far east as Moreno Valley, as far west as Santa Barbara, and as far north as Barstow. KRTH is the flagship station for the nationally syndicated program Rewind with Gary Bryan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KQQL</span> Radio station in Anoka–Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota

KQQL is a commercial radio station serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul radio market and is licensed to suburban Anoka. It plays classic hits and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are on Utica Avenue South in St. Louis Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCCW-FM</span> Radio station in Traverse City, Michigan

WCCW-FM (107.5 MHz) is an FM radio station in Traverse City, Michigan, United States. The station is owned by the Midwestern Broadcasting group, which to this day includes the family members of its original partners from the early 1940s, the Biedermans, Kikers and McClays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCBS-FM</span> Classic hits radio station in New York City

WCBS-FM is a radio station owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. licensed to New York, New York, and broadcasting a classic hits format. The station's studios are in the combined Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, and its transmitter is located at the Empire State Building.

Dick Bartley's Classic Hits was a syndicated weekly, four-hour, classic hits program written, produced and hosted by Radio Hall-of-Fame broadcaster Dick Bartley. It was syndicated across the country by United Stations Radio Networks and internationally via Radio Express.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WOGL</span> Classic hits radio station in Philadelphia

WOGL is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. and broadcasts a classic hits radio format. The broadcast tower used by the station is located in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia, at. The station's studios and offices are co-located within Audacy's corporate headquarters in Center City, Philadelphia. The station features mostly hits from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s with some 2000s hits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WBGB (FM)</span> Adult hits radio station in Boston

WBGB – branded as Big 103 – is a commercial adult hits FM radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves Greater Boston. The WBGB studios are located in the Boston neighborhood of Brighton, while the station's transmitter resides in nearby Newton. Besides a standard analog transmission, WBGB broadcasts over two HD Radio channels, and is available online via Audacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WLS-FM</span> Radio station in Chicago

WLS-FM is a commercial classic hits radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois. Owned by Cumulus Media, the station serves the Chicago metropolitan area, and is the radio home of Dave Fogel. The WLS-FM studios are located at the NBC Tower in the city's Streeterville neighborhood, while its transmitter is located at Willis Tower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Shannon</span> American radio personality and record promoter (born 1947)

Michael Scott Shannon is an American radio disc jockey currently best known as the announcer of The Sean Hannity Show. He also hosted the morning show for WCBS-FM in New York City from 2014 to 2022 as well as Scott Shannon Presents America's Greatest Hits which is syndicated nationally with United Stations Radio Networks and Audacy. He previously worked for WHTZ, WPLJ, and The True Oldies Channel.

Don Bombard, known professionally as Bob Shannon, was an American radio disc jockey best known for his work on WCBS-FM in New York City. He was also the author of the book Behind The Hits: Inside Stories of Classic Pop and Rock and Roll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRIP</span> Radio station in Windham, New York

WRIP is an adult contemporary radio station licensed to Windham, New York, serving the northern Catskill Mountains region and the Capital District of New York State. The station is locally owned and operated by Rip Radio LLC. WRIP broadcasts with 580 watts effective radiated power from atop Windham Mountain on Cave Mountain in Windham, 3,085 feet above sea level. A booster station atop nearby Hunter Mountain serves the Hunter, NY-Tannersville area. The station provides music, news, and weather information for residents and travelers in the Great Northern Catskills area, a popular skiing and vacation destination. The station also simulcasts at 97.5 MHz from Durham, New York and is carried on 104.5 MHz serving the greater Stamford, NY area from atop the town's Mount Utsayantha. As of 2015, the station was also heard on 103.7 FM, serving the greater Catskill and Hudson (NY) area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WMTR (AM)</span> Oldies radio station in Morristown, New Jersey, United States

WMTR is an American AM radio station owned by Beasley Broadcast Group. It is licensed to Morristown, New Jersey and serves Morris County and surrounding areas. The station features "The Morning Team" featuring Alan David Stein, Ginny Otte for middays, and Rich DeSisto for afternoon drive. From July through December 2008, WMTR employed a satellite oldies format, playing music from mostly 1964 to 1979. The Classic Oldies format was reinstated after Christmas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The True Oldies Channel</span> American radio music network

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WNBY-FM</span> Radio station in Newberry, Michigan

WNBY-FM is a classic hits/oldies music formatted radio station licensed to Newberry, Michigan, and serving the Sault Ste. Marie market. The station is owned and operated by Sovereign Communications. The station shares a call sign and ownership history with Newberry AM station WNBY 1450, which broadcasts a classic country format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WMRN (AM)</span> Radio station in Marion, Ohio

WMRN is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a news/talk format. It is licensed to Marion, Ohio, and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., through licensee iHM Licenses, LLC. It features programming from Fox News Radio and Premiere Networks.

WWCB is a full-service radio station licensed to Corry, Pennsylvania and serving Corry, Union City, Erie County, Pennsylvania, and Clymer, New York, from its studio located at 122 North Center Street in downtown Corry and a transmitter facility off of West Columbus Avenue. It is a licensed Class D AM station operating 24 hours a day/7 days a week with 1,000 watts during the daytime, and 14 watts in the evening hours.

WQMA was a broadcast radio station licensed to Marks, Mississippi. The station was owned by Jason Konarz with an oldies format on 1520 kHz. Its F.C.C. license was cancelled May 31, 2006. WQMA had operated under Special Temporary Authority from the F.C.C., but it was denied August 20, 2010. The station exhausted its appeal options, and its application for license renewal was dismissed by the FCC on May 20, 2015.

Dick Clark's Rock, Roll and Remember was a weekly American rock and roll radio documentary show hosted by Dick Clark featuring oldies music. It was broadcast on United Stations Radio Networks and its predecessors between 1982 and 2004, with reruns continuing until August 2020.

References

  1. ↑ "Dick Bartley's Classic Hits,. Accessed 07-01-2017.
  2. ↑ "The Grooveyard," Dick Bartley, Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Dick Bartley To End Syndicated Shows". RadioInsight. December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  4. ↑ Dick Bartley Presents Collector's Essentials on the Radio, Vol. 2: The '70s - Various Artists AllMusic.com Album review
  5. ↑ "10 Questions with ... Dick Bartley". July 6, 2009.
  6. 1 2 Best, Kenneth (January 25, 1998). "Oldies Endure, Even in the Era of MTV". The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
  7. ↑ Dick Bartley (2022). "Dick Bartley: A 50 Year Hall of Fame Broadcasting Career". D B Productions, Inc. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  8. ↑ Dick Bartley's Classic Hits, original air dates 24 March 2018 and 22 June 2019.
  9. ↑ "Dick Bartley". 94.7 WELK. Archived from the original on October 1, 2010. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Dick Bartley: Radio Hall of Famer". Archived from the original on October 5, 2014. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.