America's Best Music
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America's Best Music, formerly known as AM Only and now officially known as Adult Standards, is the on-air branding of an adult standards 24-hour radio network currently managed by Dial Global and owned by Westwood One. It was one of the original Transtar networks. The format is no longer exclusive to AM stations and is carried on some FM stations too.
Its main competitors are Timeless from Citadel/ABC Radio, Jones Standards from Jones Radio Networks, and Music of Your Life, currently offered by Planet Halo, Inc.
The target audience of the format is persons 35 to 64, with most of the music from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Artists include Neil Diamond, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, The Carpenters, Johnny Mathis, Barry Manilow, Celine Dion, James Taylor, Elton John, Anne Murray, Andy Williams, Engelbert Humperdinck, Linda Ronstadt, Nat King Cole, Captain and Tennille, and Simon and Garfunkel[1]. The format also incorporates "new standards" material by artists like Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Michael Buble, Steve Tyrell, Rod Stewart, Bette Midler, Carly Simon, and Renee Olstead.
The current lineup of DJs includes Jeff Rollins, Chick Watkins, Ed Brand, Mark Haden, and Drew Braxton on weekdays, as well as Don Reid, Casey Hayes, Bill Jones, Rick Garza, Lou Simon, and Rick Wagstaff.[1][2] Former DJs include Nick Gerard and Peter Doeblin.[1][3]
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[edit] History
AM Only was created by Transtar Radio Networks at a time when AM radio was no longer highly regarded as a place to listen to music. The format was promoted only to AM stations, though it was not long before some FM stations used it as well.
The format was (and still is) promoted on-air as "Great Songs, Great Memories". One affiliate used an ad which stated the following:
Ray Charles lives here. So does Rosemary Clooney, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, The Lettermen, and The Nelson Riddle Orchestra. At WFEA we play the original hits of the 40's, 50's and 60's. All day, every day.[4]
In 2000, over 240 radio stations used the adult standards format which was being distributed by this time by Westwood One.[5]
In the first decade of the 21st Century, the format added more uptempo material from the oldies and adult contemporary formats and promoted "A New Variety of America's Best Music". In recent years, though, the commitment to older songs has been renewed, with titles by artists previously dropped from rotation such as Patti Page, Doris Day, the Ames Brothers, Gogi Grant, Joan Weber, Perry Como, and Ella Fitzgerald, being re-added to the playlist.
[edit] Stations
- Apalachicola, Florida - WFCT
- Appleton, Wisconsin - WNAM
- Cambridge, Ohio - WILE-FM
- Clinton, Illinois - WHOW-FM
- Columbus, Ohio - WMNI
- Cumberland, Maryland - WTBO
- Fort Wayne, Indiana - WGL-AM/FM
- Fresno, California - KGES
- Hibbing, Minnesota - WMFG-AM
- La Crosse, Wisconsin - WLFN
- Manchester, New Hampshire - WFEA
- Melbourne, Florida - WOSN
- Norfolk, Virginia - WJOI
- Ogden, Utah - KOGN
- Petoskey, Michigan - WMBN
- Phoenix, Arizona - KOY-AM
- Port Huron, Michigan - WHLS/WHLX
- Savannah, Georgia - WSEG
- Stevens Point, Wisconsin - WSPT-AM
- The Dalles, Oregon - KODL
- Uniontown, Pennsylvania - WMBS
- Youngstown, Ohio - WNIO
[edit] References
- ^ a b c http://www.dial-global.com/xr/dg_247_adultstandards.asp, Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
- ^ http://www.1280wnam.com/programming.asp, retrieved on 2007-11-06
- ^ http://www.westwoodone.com/program?action=viewProgram&programID=448, Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
- ^ http://www.manfrommars.com/wfea90s.html, Retrieved on 2007-11-06
- ^ Doreen Oken, "K-JWL flaunts title as number one station nationwide," Business Journal Serving Fresno & the Central San Joaquin Valley, May 8, 2000, p. 1.
[edit] External links
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