Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Don't You Forget About Me - Simple Minds
Let the Good Times Roll, You Might Think - The Cars
Dream On, Sweet Emotion - Aerosmith

Over on AC and Classic Hits, we have the same pop gold problem with:

What's Love Got To Do With It - Tina Turner
Hungry Eyes - Eric Carmen
Heart of Glass - Blondie
All Night Long - Lionel Richie

...  I'll be honest that most Classic Rock and Classic Hits Formats overplay stuff, thanks to auditorium testing.  I'm glad it works for them, but sheesh, is it ever bland and predictable.

What's worse than overplayed classic rock?  Overplayed classic rock Canadian content!

There's a certain Niagara Peninsula FM station that gets by with Trooper and Gino Vannelli albums interspersed with overplayed US clunkers.  Little Stevie Winwood was cutting his teeth with Traffic and Blind Faith long before the drivel of overplayed solo work.  Fleetwood Mac was far superior as a blues group before the saccharine dreck of 'Rumours' and later.

And I am only one mug of coffee into the morning...😁

Jody Thornton wrote:

Just one other thing that irks me, so Classic Rock stations which have Pink Floyd's "... Brick in the Wall" on their system:  please source the single version (you can get it from "... Collection of Dance Songs" easily enough).  Then you can tack on the LP version ending using your editing system.  Now you'd have a track that wouldn't sound cludgy on the start of the vocal.  The single intro is not on the Wall of course, so it sounds horrible on the radio.

100% Agree.

1050 CHUM used to play the very tail end of "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" segueing into "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II" back in the day. Boom 97.3 plays that exact same edit (and so do I on ClassicHitsOnline.com  )

Just a footnote: the version on "A Collection of Great Dance Songs" isn't the official single version. Although that version starts the same, it goes longer than the single version, which fades during the closing guitar solo before the old man starts screaming about meat and pudding. (I actually just discovered this myself a few months ago).

Another one that bugs me is "Jet Airliner" by The Steve Miller Band. Most stations appear to be playing it from Steve Miller Band's Greatest Hits 1974-78, and you can hear the few remaining notes from the previous segueing track, "Threshold". It takes only a few seconds to do a nice clean edit of that song, but I guess a lot of stations can't be bothered.


PJ

 

Last edited by Paul Jeffries (April 23, 2025 9:00 am)

I can't disagree with any of your listed examples. When I am tired of the same 300 songs I escape to KOZT "The Coast" in tiny Fort Bragg, Ca. However, if you really want variety may I suggest the AccuRadio app. Every type of music you could imagine. From Blues to Broadway. From Bluegrass to Beautiful. A total of 63 different musical choices. Definitely something there to please everyone.

Jody Thornton wrote:

Paul Jeffries wrote:

Jody Thornton wrote:

Just one other thing that irks me, so Classic Rock stations which have Pink Floyd's "... Brick in the Wall" on their system:  please source the single version (you can get it from "... Collection of Dance Songs" easily enough).  Then you can tack on the LP version ending using your editing system.  Now you'd have a track that wouldn't sound cludgy on the start of the vocal.  The single intro is not on the Wall of course, so it sounds horrible on the radio.

100% Agree.

1050 CHUM used to play the very tail end of "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" segueing into "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II" back in the day. Boom 97.3 plays that exact same edit (and so do I on ClassicHitsOnline.com  )

Just a footnote: the version on "A Collection of Great Dance Songs" isn't the official single version. Although that version starts the same, it goes longer than the single version, which fades during the closing guitar solo before the old man starts screaming about meat and pudding. (I actually just discovered this myself a few months ago).

Another one that bugs me is "Jet Airliner" by The Steve Miller Band. Most stations appear to be playing it from Steve Miller Band's Greatest Hits 1974-78, and you can hear the few remaining notes from the previous segueing track, "Threshold". It takes only a few seconds to do a nice clean edit of that song, but I guess a lot of stations can't be bothered.


PJ

 

Just to debate a couple points Paul ... lol (weird isn't it, because we're actually in agreement on this point ...lol)

1050 CHUM played what you are calling the single version, which was actually a US promo version.  The guitar fades out during the sustained two second note at around ten measures before the "wrong ... do it again" routine.  Rock 102 (actually TM Stereo Rock) and CHUM were the only ones I ever heard in this market play that version, outside of syndicated US countdown shows.  I'm not saying that perhaps CHUM never played a version with "Happiest ... " into Brick (Part 2), but whenever Mike Holland played it during middays, it was the promo edit.

Now, I can't speak for the US, but in Canada (or at least where I bought my single at Sam's in Eastgate Square), the stock 45-rpm single, was indeed the ""Dance Songs ... " version with the single intro, plus a wee bit into the "wrong ... do it again" routine.  That was on my single copy, plus a few friends who also bought it.

What single is that you sourced that has the guitar-fade promo?

Interesting. Perhaps there were multiple versions released as a single? According to Wikipedia, there's these versions: 

3:11 (single version)
3:59 (album version)
3:54 (A Collection of Great Dance Songs version)
5:43 (album version combined with "The Happiest Days of Our Lives", alternative radio edit)

The video, which clocks in at 3:18 on YouTube seems to coincide with the single version listed above. Also, I noticed that Discogs.com lists the Canadian and U.S. 45s as being 3:11 as well (as well as a U.S. promo 45). It could be that you and your friends had copies of a version that was in a short run but then later substituted? As I never had the actual 45, I can't say for sure, although I do remember having a Canadian copy of Daryl Hall & John Oates "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" and it was actually the LP version. Looking through Discogs.com, this version does not appear to exist, but I know I'm not dreaming that I had it!...lol.

As far as the "1050 CHUM version", I do know that they used to flip-flop between 45 and LP versions of various songs ("Africa" by Toto and "Pressure" by Billy Joel come to mind), so I do believe you when you said that was what you heard at the time. However, I do recall listening around 1982-83 and they were playing the version with the majestic tail end of "The Happiest Days of Our Lives", the version that Boom currently plays.


PJ

 

Paul Jeffries wrote:

=12pxIt could be that you and your friends had copies of a version that was in a short run but then later substituted? As I never had the actual 45, I can't say for sure, although I do remember having a Canadian copy of Daryl Hall & John Oates "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" and it was actually the LP version. Looking through Discogs.com, this version does not appear to exist, but I know I'm not dreaming that I had it!...lol.
 

You could be certainly correct on some flip-flop aspects.  The Pink Floyd/Wall example was during the hit run.  Now CHUM usually did play LP versions.  Doug Thompson might be able to confirm this, but perhaps in January of 1980, they carted the promo version, but then just slip cued an LP in 1982, when it was played as a gold selection.  Just a guess.

Now I have two single versions of Hall and Oates "I Can't Go For That".  During the hit run, there was an edit of the remix (which most memorably halved the final chorus).  CKOC played that one for example.  Then there was an LP edit which most countdown shows, CFTR, and WBEN-AM (yes, as in 930) played.  So you're very much correct that sometime two stock/retail 45-rpm versions existed.  CHUM did play the full LP version here.

That's why I love classic rock but listen to it everywhere but the radio. On the drive from Toronto to Kawarthas, I listen to CIUT/CJRT until I'm out of the city, then Nish Radio 92.3 Georgina Island for the bulk of the drive up, then when it fades I'm able to hear canoe FM 100.9 Haliburton. Can also still hear CIUT/CKLN, so these along with CBC Radio 2 are generally in the mix. Nish is a little known gem, from Georgina Island. Nice eclectic mix of rock, metal, blues, country-rock, etc... I just wish the announcer would name the tunes played because I don't know all of them; some tunes are no doubt Aboriginal artists - would be awesome to ID them.

Last edited by Saul (April 23, 2025 11:25 am)

There are just so many classic rock artists that just never get played.  Other than "Another Brick in the Wall", where is the Pink Floyd? Styx? David Bowie? Van Halen? Supertramp?  to name a few big names with large catalogs of music that we never hear on the radio.  97 Rock from Buffalo used to play a great variety of classic rock.  Unfortunately, they get wiped out by Radio Humber here in central Etobicoke.

And "The Boys in the Bright White Sports Car" should never, ever be played.  What a vacuous song!

Last edited by mjf (April 23, 2025 12:38 pm)

mjf wrote:

There are just so many classic rock artists that just never get played.  Other than "Another Brick in the Wall", where is the Pink Floyd?  Styx?  David Bowie?  Van Halen?  to name a few big names with large catalogs of music that we never hear on the radio.  97 Rock from Buffalo used to play a great variety of classic rock.  Unfortunately, they get wiped out by Radio Humber here in central Etobicoke.

And "The Boys in the Bright White Sports Car" should never, ever be played.  What a vacuous song!

The Classic Rock station out of London does pretty good with their mix-balancing the overplayed with some album tracks: https://classicrock981.com/recently-played

Although I do question some of the "newer" classic rock choices like Nickelback.
 

Last edited by km93 (April 23, 2025 12:16 pm)

RadioAaron wrote:

Boom has 15 Bowie tracks in rotation, 8 Floyd.

I listen to Boom quite a bit and don't recall hearing anything other than "Let's Dance" and "China Girl" from Bowie. Bowie has 26 albums and 128 singles(!!).  Shirley, they can play some more variety.  I've always wondered if it's because of some kind of licensing restrictions or just because they only play what's considered popular.  As indicated by the topic of this thread, I think lots of listeners would appreciate the variety.

Today, Boom has played 2 Bowies (China Girl + 1) and no Floyd.  Q has 4 Floyds and 4 Bowies.  I'll have to give Q another chance :-)  Surprisingly, no Van Halen on Q so far today.  Not even Jump or Panama, the two regulars.

Last edited by mjf (April 23, 2025 4:22 pm)

Chrisphen wrote:

I may have stated this before but the sentiment bears repeating: radio edits are for housewives and little girls.

Beg to differ.  I want to hear how the song was played during its chart run.  That's how it's remembered.  Listen the LP version of Simple Minds' "Don't You Forget About Me".  It's just added fluff.  Here especially, editing is favourable to the song.

Besides, what does gender have to do with anything?  Sheesh!

mjf wrote:

RadioAaron wrote:

Boom has 15 Bowie tracks in rotation, 8 Floyd.

I listen to Boom quite a bit and don't recall hearing anything other than "Let's Dance" and "China Girl" from Bowie. Bowie has 26 albums and 128 singles(!!).  Shirley, they can play some more variety.  I've always wondered if it's because of some kind of licensing restrictions or just because they only play what's considered popular.

Kind of depends on the day or point in time, but I seem to have seen more on Boom than just those two: usually the regular rotation shakes up every so often to give them a chance, or they get requests or 70s at 7/Totally 80s play. I've heard the big ones like Space Oddity, Changes, Modern Love, Starman, sometimes Ziggy, the rather uncommon ones like Golden Years, Ashes To Ashes and Blue Jean, and even Jean Genie and Diamond Dogs have been played at some point IIRC.

I feel like generally Boom tends to have more music on hand than they seem to usually let on but they enjoy sprucing things up a bit every once in a while to have fun and get some more uncommon songs airtime with their little events. Q does have a bit of a better regular-rotated span of songs in some places, but for some artists they're too limited in scope to what they can play and they only really do one out-of-the-ordinary rotation song play during the day as a request, maybe two if you're lucky...

Last edited by YoungerTracker (April 23, 2025 5:45 pm)

One of the worst stations I know of for repeating the same 100 songs is Q92 in Sudbury. It's so bad , I can't listen to them for more than a 1/4 hour. The song Tweeter and the Monkey Man by Headstones is so overplayed by them , and Rock 95 in Barrie, it is an immediate dial turner for me. I have to admit, I find my self listening to the new country station here at 91.7 , and Kiss 105.3 , an 90's to current hit station. 

Last edited by mic'em (April 24, 2025 6:30 am)

Cheese2RF wrote:

i don't think these lists are taking CANCON into account, if i have to hear summer of 69' one more time i am gonna loose it! 

And with the summer of '25 approaching, we'll probably hear it more. 😁

All of them, and I like all of them.