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In a shocking move, Infinity Radio has dumped oldies from their stalwart station WCBS FM 101.1. Out with "The Greatest Hits of All Time" and in with Jack FM which is "the best songs from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, right up through today." So long Harry Harrison, Ron Lundie, and Cousin Brucie. The Daily News reports that they ended the oldies format with Frank Sinatra's "Summer Wind" and entered the Jack era with "Fight for Your Right" from the Beastie Boys. While Gothamist loves the Beasies, we will really miss our oldies.
For those that still want to listen to those greatest hits, Infinity says they can listen to the Internet version of the old station, without the radio personalities, we surmise. Jack FM says they will play what they want and blast away the traditional rules of radio. And it's just going to be like your iPod on shuffle. Strange, we feel like we were just mugged of our old iPod.
Infinity has had success with the Jack format before, boosting their Dallas station from 28th to 5th in the market and making it the most listened to station by 25-54 year olds.
Of course, if you don't want the new Jack, you can always get Sirius or XM and listen to their oldies stations, no?
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BIg deal. All you're losing is a playlist of about 50 moldy oldies that they repeat every two hours or so.
It IS...is you were a fan of the format. The former personalities were given ONE hour notice. The radio boards are a flame with " are they (management) nuts?" posts.
The radio business has become the business of radio. Another commodity like shoes or toasters, subject to change with little notice.
Seems like they didn't know how many 20-somethings loved the station. The music being gone isn't nearly as horrible as losing the on-air personalities... It's devastating.
I have to say I'm in love with this station.
I got plenty of moldy oldies over at NPR with Jonathan Schwartz, and I will go back and forth, but I'm stuck right here for now. And so far, not a lot of jibber-jabber, though the weather might be nice once in a while.
Jack sounds like Mike here in Boston. http://www.937mikefm.com
Why did you have to take away my music?
A former CBS FM loyal listener.
When I started listening to my iPod in the car, I realized, broadcast is dead. I loved CBS-FM, but Harry Harrison and Ron Lundy (and didn't Dan Ingram do a thing on 101.1, too?) will all get jobs on satellite. And "Jack" will sound like every other station in NY.
Nice job, Infinity. What a bunch of f***ups.
Go XM!!
OnA Party Rock!!!
Having worked at WDRE in the past and a brief stint at WXRK, seeing how radio works is a pretty scary thing. The whole notion that Cousin Brucie et al didn't get more than an hour's notice is not uncommon. The station will probably remain with minimal radio personalities for about 2 weeks as management tries to figure out who would be a good fit for the format and the market.
Interesting to note that radio companies are trying this new format across the board mainly due to the increased use of the iPod and other MP3 players (but honestly, like there are any others out there that are as good ;p). Radio has to date always been about niche stations and now what we have a device that helps better track what people actually listen to, we're being given proof that people's musical tastes are a bit more eclectic than originally perceived. It's not uncommon for someone to put their iPod on shuffle and go from Sinatra to Anthrax to... (guh) Britney.
The next big trend, if the broadcasters can somehow convince the idiots at the RIAA and the royalty collectors that they really know nothing about trends, should probably be radio station podcasts (most right now from legit stations are newsfeeds, not commercial music). Radion stations need to create podcasts that not only provide branding but include listener incentives and some attempt at a decent DRM.
Having also worked at WDRE and WQBK (in Albany), the notion of job security doesn't even remotely exist. I had a good friend who was promoted into the program director position at The Edge and over the next 2 years took the station from #4 in the market, to an overwhelming #1. He was promptly fired for his hard work.
The business of radio (well put Pat) is disgusting. New York is the #1 market in the country with barely a free frequency for our iTrip and it is packed with crap. WDRE/WLIR sadly went more and more mainstream before selling off. But back in the 80's WLIR was out there playing intersting and diverse tastes. I'm actually interested to hear a little variety in the airwaves with JACK.
What I truly wish is that New York would get a station like KCRW in Santa Monica. An NPR station, they have regular music shows that are interesting and programmed by people who have interests other than business. They have also begun podcasting their non-musical programming as well as making available the prior 24 hours worth of shows available on-demand (unfortunately in Real Audio format), but they are headed in the right direction. I think a smart and eclectic station like KCRW would flourish here in NYC if someone would give it a shot.
Jack is horrible we already hav a station like that at 107.1 The Peak. Boy it was nice to get a history lesson from those old jocks. This is horrible.
I can't believe CBS/Infinity did this! What idiots! I guess I shouldn't be too surprised after the shabby treatment Da Ingram received last summer. Are there any other oldies stations in NY anymore? I'm really not ready to start paying for radio.
Jack....ass.
what the hell. I'm nineteen and I really didn't mind being exposed to music that came before 1970, in fact, I liked it. It seperated me from so many other musically oblivious asses I go to school with. Thanks for creating a new generic station and saying it was for the cause of ecclecticism.... I hope you're all smug in the jobs you usurped from the people who earned them, jackasses.
Love Jolson, Fitzgerald, Darin, Sinatra, Bennett,
Coldplay, Beach Boys, B-52s, Mozart, Guns N Roses, The Doors, Chicago, The Who, Nirvana, Santana, Joabim, Hendrix, and on and on. Just because 101.1 might have undergone some recent changes doesn't mean I still can't listen to what I want on my own or on another radio station. You know who I still miss? Allison Steele.
In Los Angeles they have Jack, too. In San Francisco,they just launched "Max." Same format. Wonder why no Jack?
It sounds a lot like PLJ and Lite to me... so just another station duplicating a lot of the same and now non of the classics in NY.
OK, so you're telling me there is now more diversity in commercial radio in my hometown in Oklahoma (which has equivalents of most of the stations here, plus country stations and an oldies station) than in the biggest media market in the country?
Thank goodness for public/university radio.
WCBS-FM should've continued their trend towards "shifting" the oldies over more as newer generations want to hear "the music they grew up with", not get this abrupt about it. About a decade ago they started mixing in 70s and early 80s songs and some disco into their 50s do-wop and 60s-early 70s top 40 mix, something many oldies stations (such as "Cool 96.7" in nearby Stamford CT) still do not do today. When I was a kid in the late 70s I thought of it as "my parents station" and never listened to it, but when I met my wife in the early 90s (who is a big fan of both the "classic" and "modern" oldies) she turned me back to it and I was surprised to see how many songs from my childhood were mixed in while at the same time getting an appreciation for music I once derided.
While in some ways the Jack format is just a shift (and one I would actually otherwise listen to) and not a 90-degree turn (changing it to all rap for example would be), my real problem with this is who they did this to and how they did it. I tried to put it in words but an interview Cousin Brucie did today in the Daily News put it best "it's like replacing Yankee Stadium with a fruit stand on a moment's notice". Even if WCBS were to one day change as may be inevitable with the oldies format, the way Infinity did it was a disgrace and an extreme disrespect to the historic personalities involved. With its DJ-less format (which may stick, I hear in Dallas they are closing in on a year with no jocks on Jack), they did the radio equivalent of telling the top stars in Hollywood with 1 hour's notice that all movies will be actor-less and computer generated from now on.
Infinity, shame on you! I'm surprised and happy to see that there are people well under 40 or 50 or 60 on here complaining too!
What Infinity did was a disgrace, and an undeserved slap in the face to the WCBS-FM fans and DJ's. Chad Brown had this station's ruin in mind when he took over 3 years ago. The station was at the top, so instead of remembering that if it "wasn't broke, don't fix it," he got rid of the Doo-Wop Shop, all 50's music except for the wee hours on Sunday nights, and cut a 1,500 song playlist to 500 songs. That's why you heard the same songs over and over. It was a deliberate attempt to sabotage the station. Now, Chad shoves this disgrace down our throats. I suggest we bombard Infinity and WCBS with E-mails, and calls to complain. Let them know that it won't be that easy on them, and that they lost a huge block of listeners. I'm 34 years old, and I know a lot of people my age who listened to CBS FM.
As a 25 year, I'm really saddened by how dumb Infinity is. To think some suit and moronic underlings fresh out of college thought WCBS-FM was just for old people, and the youth would rather be served by more Springstein, U2, and Pink. Pathetic. Another great job corporate america is squashing another cultural institution.
You propably commited the greatest crime in NY, Taking away WCBS 101.1FM and their jockies. It was a station listen to by ALL ages. I listen on the web now, but you won't hear Jack in my car. I will switch to 106.7 in the car and at home.
Seems today management cant feel what people want and tend to read 'graphs'.
What we don't need in NY is another station that plays Pink and all the other poor sounds called music.
I can't remember a time when Cousin Brucie was on my radio.
I think it's a shame that they gave the staff no notice whatsoever. I think it's doubly shameful they didn't let their dedicated fans know.
When they cancelled the Doowop show I knew things were shakey but I never thought that I CBS-FM would just drop off the face of the earth.
Jack stinks!!! Bring back our oldies "mix" and DJ's. Radio personalities make the show. It's nice to hear their stories of yesteryear and all the great interviews. How about the time and weather in the morning. I guess Lite-FM 106.7 is going to have a lot of new listeners. Former Loyal Listener
As a 25-year-old former listener to 101.1 WCBS, I'm pretty pissed off at Infinity's random decision that people like me (and my friends) don't exist and/or matter (not to mention the apparent irrelevancy of anyone older).
WCBS is an institution in this part of the country. I live on the Jersey Shore, and there's (or used to be now) nothing better to listen to during those hot summer afternoons and evenings at the beach than classic oldies...now just another casualty of corporate radio.
Even my friends who don't live around here have heard of Cousin Brucie (mostly from Dirty Dancing) and were surprised that Infinity would treat someone like him and the other deejays, who have a loyal following, with such disrespect and downright rudeness.
You can send your comments to the soul-less Jack Machine at www.ilikejack.com....I'm not sure who if anyone will actually read them but listeners should try to at least make their voices be heard.
As Gothamist pointed out, Infinity Don't Know Jack....
I am so devestated that Infinity took away my CBS FM. CBS FM was more than another New York radio station. THEY WERE NEW YORK! The station personalities gave so much of themselves. From Cousin Brucie at The San Gennaro to Mr. G's school visits we knew that they cared.
It's obvious that Infinity doesn't know JACK about what makes a city a home. I feel so violated and dismissed.
Micky Dolenz, a rock icon,made the morning commute so much fun with his team of Mike Fitzgerald, Karen Stewart, Mr. G. and Brucer the Producer.
Together with Ron Lundy, Bob Shannon, Dan Taylor, Norm N. Night, Mary Wilson (my appologies to anyone I missed), they were family. We knew that they cared.
This is so bad. So sad and I am so mad.
I hope that some day SOON, Infinity will see the stupidity of this move and bring them all back.
Jeannie you are so right - WCBS-FM was New York. Growing up I ate breakfast listening to Harry Harrison before going to school. My kids (6 and 10) continued that tradition with Mickey Dolenz. There's been a huge void in our mornings these past two days. I guess Infinity is doing their part in the lobotimization of future minds - no plan, no personality, no history, no foundation.
Just operate on a random shuffle...
This is doomed to join WNEW-FM
Infinity!! Jack-Off
Don't know jack....
What a mess. I remember listening to WCBS FM when it went from Lite radio in the 70's to all oldies right in the middle of the day as I recalled and played oldies I never hardly heard and it was great. They became the number one radio station in New York and lasted a long long time. In fact stations all over the country imitated the format.
Now 30 some years later with a strong following, great name in NY and all over they morph into junk radio. "what a joke" Maybe it's like one of the Bee Gee songs " I started a joke"
We can only hope so.
Our daughter - aged 14, 11, and 8 - loved CBS-FM and are very upset and surprised that it's now off the air and turned into such a blah, canned-station with no human beings on it. What a waste. I'm not worried, though... Brucie and the other "Cousins" will resurface somewhere, somehow...
MM
Go to WWW.ILIKEJACK.COM click on feedback and send your comments. Let them know how much you don't like the new format.
WCBS-FM changing to JACK-FM is just like WABC changed from musicradio to talkradio which it happened in 1982. What's going on? Everything is changing. I can't even listen to it while I'm driving. Now, I listen to B-103. To listen to WCBS-FM, I have to go on line. Bring back the good old days. Change back to the original format to WCBS-FM, bring back the music on WABC. If there is such a thing, put me in a time machine & take me back to the years. I missed these years. The WCBS DJ's, originally from WABC were great. Well, times are changing. It's very hard to please everybody. In my opinion, the oldies are the best, I enjoy them. It brings back memories form way back then.
I've been listening to cbs seen I was a kid, I'am 40 years old now and will deeply miss the station my father and I shared together. You can never know what it meant to me. My father died 9 years ago and every time I listen to 101.1 I would think of my father. This is a sad day that people can't enjoy the music everyone loved to hear.
GREAT JOB INFINITY!!! You took away a cornerstone of NYC!!!! Maybe that president of yours would like to move the YANKEES to Oregon next!!! What an A-hole!!
You don't treat employees like that, you don't treat loyal listeners like that and you don't treat NYC like that. You don't know JACKSHIT!!!!!!!!!
Lots of great posts on the demise of WCBS, so I won't repeat the obvious. I'm 47, and was in high school when WCBS switched to oldies, and was hooked from that day. While my friends were listening to Elton John, I discovered the greatest song I had ever heard - Johnnie B. Goode (I bought an old K-Tel record on TV with that song, and literally wore out the track).
The station has been a wonderful way to bring generations together, including my two teenage sons who couldn't wait to tell me recently that Roling Stone named the Chuck Berry classic as one of the top rock songs of all time.
The station had a warmth and comfortable feel like family, but I knew the end was coming when they eliminated the 50's and most 60's a few years ago; instead of expanding the playlist, it became smaller. I agree with an earlier post that it was a deliberate attempt to make CBS fail - though at the time of the switch it was still in 8th place.
I will never listen to JACK / 101.1 again - it's been removed from my cars pre-sets. It was an insult how they handled it, and I can only hope that the station's future failure will drive all of those responsible into the obscurity they deserve.
Thanks for letting me vent.
What's worse besides the way they destroyed a New York "institution" is the stupid way that the first day of Jack (the only time I listened to it) made fun of the WCBS-FM oldies listeners.
Sometimes between songs you'd hear snide remarks by the "computer DJ" like "WCBS-FM, yeah you wish, this is the new Jack-FM" or "WCBS-FM? Yeah, maybe in some announcer world, we're Jack-FM and we play what we want". The worst one is where a pretend caller says that he was angry at the switch but now likes the new station, then the "DJ" says "sorry we will not take your request".
This alone would turn me off to the new station no matter how much I would like the songs. What are these guys thinking? Do they think all this "dissing" will make their fans think they are "hip"?
I read that since the format first caught on only 2 years ago just one station has dropped it, in Hawaii. I think 101.1 will become the second (and well-deserved) and sadly, I think they will be going the way of 102.7 NEW-FM where an institution was also tinkered with and ever since they are still constantly changing formats.
I am also as mad as hell over this change. My next task is to contact "Jack's" advertisers and let them know that my days of doing business with them is over.
I have already contacted AAMCO Auto transmissions and I'll continue right down the list. Since Infinity made this a "money" issue, what don't WE let them know that just because we love the oldies, our spending dollars buy more than just prune juice and Depends!!! Please join me..
You oldheads need to get a life. I liked the golden oldies like anyone else but hey...life moves on. Think about it...the stuff they've been playing is 50 years old! How many times can you hear "Up On The Roof"?!? People complained when they stopped playing 30's and 40's music and now it's the 50's turn. I'm 47 and absolutely love the format. I love ALL music and this 'round robin' is just what progressives like myself needed. Times change and so should you. Get used to it. ;-)
Jack radio doesn't know Jack about radio!! Whoever made this stupid move should be fired!! Oldies music was what CBS-FM was all about - but it was the DJ's that made it what it was. It was always nice to hear a familiar voice - it was like family. What a mistake to end it. I will never listed to Jack - email me when CBS-FM comes back on the air. There's no way it will last even 3 months. The oldies are still the best - the music will never die.
Like I said earlier, times change. And besides, if you REALLY wanna listen to the old CBS-FM it's on the internet. Let me guess, you guys are too old and refuse to learn how to use a computer!
I posted on June 6, 2005. It is now June 19 and I am still depressed over the hiJACKING of CBS FM. I was at two graduation parties this weekend and all we talked about was the hole in our hearts. Micky, if you are reading this, I want you to know, that even people who weren't original Monkees fans were won over by your warm, high energy morning show. You, Mike, Davy, Peter (oops! wrong team!!! : ) ), Mike, Karen, Mr. G, Brucer made the commute a pleasure and you are all sorely missed. Karen, if you are reading this, you gave me plenty of ammuntion to shop! (Ahhh, honey! Karen went to H*** G**Ds, why can't I???) Mr. G, No one on the face of the earth made weather so entertaining and I will sorely miss hearing about you mom Ida's antics, God Bless Her! This is just so damn unfair and insulting. CDs are are great and I have 6 nice ones in my car right now (MICKY & DAVY in Canada ...picked it up at one of the AIDA performaces, Sarah Brightman, Herman's Hermits, ROlling Stones, Beatles, Mamas & Papas) but after a while, I can sing every song in succession and it gets boring and it's a pain in the ass to climb into the trunk to change them, thanks to the moron at FORD who installed it too far into the trunk. I WANT MY CBS FM BACK!!!!!! AGGGGGH!!!
Hey " INFINITY" I have an Idea!! Lets change the recipe for " COCA COLA"!! WHAT FOOLS YOUR ARE!!!
I was upset when the formats changed. But after about a week I liked the Jack format. Lots of strange obscure stuff, no DJ's (sad to see the old guys go, but no DJ's is better...like my TV cable music stations...) and aside from a few crappy Mellencamp tunes, they play good stuff. I don't enjoy the smug automated announcer, wish it could just be music, but whatever...like the article said...this could be a good time to get satellite radio. Commercial radio has always sucked anyway.
Greg H., you don't get it.
First off, since about 2000 or so, WCBS-FM has played about as many 50's songs as JACK-FM plays 60's songs, so their "oldies" format was already shifting with the times, as evidenced by the end of the "Doo Wop Shop" show in 2002. I'd say on average most of their songs in the last few years were about 30-40 years old, not 50.
Second, I think what bothers most people is not so much the death of the format, but how the change was done and who it was done to. WCBS-FM was a New York institution because of the personalities involved and their historic significance to radio. When other such stations like WABC-AM, WNBC-AM or WNEW (both AM and FM) changed with the times during the last decade or two, significant notice was given to the public to say goodbye to them and the stations on their last days gave tribute to the DJ's service to a generation or more of New York fans. This move essentially shoved these people and their fans out the door like they were complete "undesirables".
Yes, many stations change formats with no notice to the public, but it is not often that it is done in a way to provoke criticism by the likes of New York's mayor and senators and even the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In my first post about how WCBS-FM "grew" on me over time and my comments about people of varied ages posting here, I didn't note how old I am. I am 37 and my now wife who got me into it is 40, so we're somewhere in between the people for whom WCBS-FM's songs were "from their generation" and the surprisingly young posters I've seen here.
In all honesty, it was probably my third or fourth favorite station and averaging out the songs between the two, I could've been one of those people who would've preferred "Jack" (my wife would never have though), but as I posted 2 or so weeks ago, the way they did it as well as the snarky "dissing" comments they give between songs had and has completely turned me off to them. Good riddance.
What were you thinking when you unprofessionally pulled the plug on the only great oldies show on N.Y. Radio? Feedback via phone,letters & e-mail would have a better impact on correct demographic programming to suit your listeners. Should'nt you be pleasing us,your public?It does'nt seem so. I strongly suggest you think about reverting back with a day a week devoted to playing the mix you are now playing.That could please all. We miss news,weather and road conditons, not to mention all our favorite D.J.s
Hairymon, thanks for your comments. As you are only 37, you may not remember when one of the greatest jazz stations in NYC, WRVR-FM (106.7), abruptly changed formats back in 1980 at the drop of a hat to a country music format. There was no warning....nothing. What an outrage! But you know what...that's business. Turns out that it was a bad decision as country music in NYC is as common as hearing Iranian music in Kansas. I think it's hard for most people to realize that the way businesses work today, there is no loyalty to any 'base'. It's all about profit. I don't wanna sound harsh, yes, I liked the old format but it's only music we're talking about here. If they wanna play "Mack The Knife" followed by "Smells Like Teen Spirit"....it works for me.
Recently returned from a brief stint year in Philly. I cannot believe that the WIZZARDS of Infinity would do such a a thing. I grew up with Doo Wop. We love Doo Wop in NYC (Metro) Some of us even BLEED DOO WOP!! The OLDIES are in 'our' blood. My kids and I would Doo Wop and sing along in the car and on vacations. It's a sad day in MUDVILLE. Not ONLY did the YANKEES and METS disappoint us this year...so did the idiot management at CBS 101.1. Bad decision HONCHOS. Even Sumner Redstone will turn over in his grave. Cannot believe the ratings by us Baby Boomers in the NYC/NJ and as far west as Chicago on a clear night, didn't make up a significant enough LOYAL listening audience to satisfy the ratings gurus. In the end, Cousin Brucie, et al will live to see another day. And well for JACK, he'll be in radio heaven VERY soon. REMEMBER always those famous words by the poet ..."ROCK N' ROLL IS HEAR TO STAY."