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110-524: WLIR was a radio station that played a new music / modern rock format on the frequencies 92.7 FM , 98.5 FM, and 107.1 FM from the 1980s into the 2000s. Bob Wilson, longtime WLIR employee and historian, created the website WDAREFM.COM (Dare FM), which maintains the spirit of the original WLIR. He also programs the music playlist. The website broadcasts a mix of alternative rock from the past and present day, along with former WLIR/WDRE personalities, such as Larry The Duck, Drew Kenyon, Andre, and Rob Rush. WLIR

220-593: A casual, conversational tone. The new format debuted on July 1, 1970. The station also began its long-running series of live concert broadcasts from the nearby Ultrasonic Recording Studios and later from local clubs such as My Father's Place and The Ritz . Artists featured on the series included Bruce Springsteen , the Allman Brothers Band , Dr. John , Jackson Browne , the Doobie Brothers , Billy Joel , Hall & Oates and many other notable performers of

330-470: A conscious and brave attempt to bridge the separation between 'progressive' pop and mass/chart pop – a divide which has existed since 1967, and is also, broadly, one between boys and girls, middle-class and working-class." The terms "new music" or "new pop" were used loosely to describe synth-pop groups such as the Human League , soul-disco acts such as ABC , new wave acts such as Elvis Costello and

440-470: A desire by some radio stations in the late 1950s and early 1960s to continue playing current hit songs but distinguish themselves from being branded as " rock and roll " stations. Billboard first published the Easy Listening chart July 17, 1961, with 20 songs; the first number one was " Boll Weevil Song " by Brook Benton . The chart described itself as "not too far out in either direction". Initially,

550-593: A different sound during that era, formed by a combination of alternative chart-toppers like Coldplay , Foo Fighters and No Doubt with alternative dance from Daft Punk , Wolfsheim , Moby , Fatboy Slim and others. Gary Cee took over as program director and brought in British DJ The English Muffin ( Orli Auslander ) for the afternoon drive and Drew Kenyon joined Maria Chambers on the Morning Show. This sound helped WLIR's ratings and would continue until

660-407: A great deal of R&B (without any form of rapping), gospel music , classic soul and dance music (including disco ). Another format, rhythmic AC , in addition to playing all the popular hot and soft AC music, past and present, places a heavy emphasis on disco as well as 1980s and 1990s dance hits, such as those by Amber , and Black Box , and includes dance remixes of pop songs, such as

770-399: A little bit flamboyant." Criticism of new pop emerged from both supporters of traditional rock and newer experimental rock. These critics looked at new pop as pro corporate at expense of rock music's anti-authoritarian tradition. Critics believed new pop's embrace of synths and videos were ways of covering in many cases lack of talent. The heavy metal magazine Hit Parader regularly used

880-465: A local, independent modern-rock station. In 1997, Jeff Levine was named program director, Gary Cee assistant program director, and night jock Lynda Lopez became music director. New features implemented during this era included Malibu Sue's All-Request Morning, the 5:00 Rush, Flashback Lunch, LIR After Dark, Andre's 9:00 Knockout and "In the Mix," an alternative dance show with DJ Theo and Andre. The station had

990-511: A major blow to the AC genre, and there are concerns that the portable people meter , a device being used to determine radio listenership, may be incompatible with AC songs and may not accurately pick up that a person is listening to an AC station because of the pitches and frequencies used in the style. Key AC artists of the early to mid-2010s included Bruno Mars , Coldplay , Adele , Arcade Fire , Meghan Trainor , Maroon 5 and Ed Sheeran , featuring

1100-575: A message from ownership. The WLIR call letters moved to the 107.1 frequency on Eastern Long Island , which had been simulcasting WLIR for several years. The new WLIR adopted an active / modern rock format and new image as "The Box". As 107.1 FM is located about 50 miles east of the original WLIR in Garden City, many of the station's fans in New York City, southwestern Connecticut , southern Westchester County , New York, northeastern New Jersey and even

1210-476: A more conservative music library than hot AC-leaning stations. In particular, Chicago's WLIT did not have its airstaff talk over the beginning and endings of songs (in contrast to the hot AC-leaning WFYR ), and played Bob Seger 's " We've Got Tonite " but not " Old Time Rock and Roll " (which was part of WTMX 's playlist). The director of a soft AC station in Connecticut, WEZN-FM , told Warren that he had barred

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1320-659: A more pop-influenced, uptempo style than the typical AC fare of previous years, also featuring production values reminiscent of the Motown sound and the so-called Wall of Sound that dominated the soul-heavy pop charts of the early 1960s, when the Easy Listening chart was first introduced. The earlier years of the decade also saw alternative and indie rock acts such as Wilco , Feist , The 1975 , Imagine Dragons , Mumford & Sons , Of Monsters and Men and The Lumineers quickly becoming AC mainstays, although these were eventually replaced by rhythm-based rock bands such as Panic! at

1430-472: A more uptempo direction. In 2017, Inside Radio reported that soft AC had the third-largest decrease in US stations offering the format over the past decade (at 128), ranking behind only adult standards and oldies —a shift credited to aging demographics and a major boom in the wider-appealing classic hits format (which saw the largest overall increase over the same period). Consultant Gary Berkowitz argued that

1540-491: A new antenna at a location five miles to the west of the original. On October 11, 2007, WLIR-FM began simulcasting on a translator in Manorville, W245BA (96.9 FM), expanding its coverage area into western Suffolk County and a portion of eastern Nassau County. On November 18, 2007, this simulcast of WLIR-FM ended with the new simulcast of 98.5 WBON, "La Fiesta", taking over the 96.9 frequency. On January 3, 2008, partly because of

1650-488: A pop music and cultural phenomenon in the US associated with the Second British Invasion . The term was used by the music industry and by American music journalists during the 1980s to characterize then-new movements like new pop and New Romanticism . Many new pop artists created music that sweetened less commercial and experimental aspects with a pop coating. Entryism became a popular concept for groups at

1760-408: A radio station that everybody goes, 'I'm okay with that'." The increasingly downtempo direction of pop hits in the mid-to-late 2010's also helped to attract additional listeners. Hot AC stations typically keep a larger body of recent hits in rotation than those with rigid, chart-driven formats like CHR and urban contemporary . As these stations' playlists have become concentrated towards airing only

1870-601: A series of breakups, the Smiths had broken up, Spandau Ballet had gone away, and people were just shaking their heads going, 'What happened to all this new music?' " Theo Cateforis contends that the New Music evolved into modern rock that while different, retained New Music's uptempo feel and still came from the rock disco/club scene. In the UK, indie bands adopted "the kind of jangling guitar work that had typified New Wave music ", with

1980-521: A similar "lite" format by choosing certain tracks (both hit singles and album cuts) of popular artists. By the late 1960s hard rock had been established as one of the rock genres leading hard rock and soft rock to became distinct popular forms in the rock scene, and as major radio formats in the US. Soft rock was often derived from folk rock, using acoustic instruments and putting more emphasis on melody and harmonies. Major artists included Carole King , Cat Stevens , James Taylor and Bread . In

2090-421: A similar playlist to hot AC stations, but with a broader rotation of classic hits from past decades. Soft adult contemporary formats have a more conservative sound oriented primarily towards adult women, urban AC focuses on R&B and soul music that appeal to African American adults, and rhythmic AC focuses on dance music and other rhythmic genres. Hot adult contemporary (hot AC) radio stations play

2200-617: A stronger lean towards modern rock and pop rock . In the 1990s and early 2000s, modern AC was typically targeted towards women, with Mike Marino of KMXB in Las Vegas describing the format as reaching "an audience that has outgrown the edgier hip-hop or alternative music but hasn't gotten old and sappy enough for the soft ACs." The format typically focused on female rock acts such as Shawn Colvin , Sheryl Crow , Indigo Girls , Jewel , and Sarah McLachlan , and folk rock -influenced bands such as Counting Crows and The Wallflowers . Today,

2310-643: A wide range of popular music that appeals towards the 18–54 age group; it serves as a middle ground between the youth-oriented contemporary hit radio (CHR) format, and adult contemporary formats (such as "mainstream" and soft AC) that are typically targeted towards a more mature demographic. They generally feature uptempo hit music from the last 25 years with wide appeal, such as pop and pop rock songs, while excluding more youth-oriented music such as hip-hop . Older music featured on hot AC stations usually reflects familiar and youthful music that adults had grown up with. Likewise, material from legacy pop acts such as

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2420-470: A year after its original release, became a sleeper hit on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 and Hot 100 due in part to strong hot AC airplay). The popularity of the hot AC format prompted many mainstream AC stations to add uptempo music to their playlists, while still maintaining a deeper rotation of older hits than hot AC stations. Modern adult contemporary refers to AC formats with

2530-411: Is accentuated. It is usually melodic enough to get a listener's attention, abstains from profanity or complex lyricism, and is most commonly used as background music in heavily-frequented family areas such as supermarkets , shopping malls , convention centers , or restaurants . Like most of pop music , its songs tend to be written in a basic format employing a verse–chorus structure . The format

2640-519: Is another subgenre of radio programming that is distinct from the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart as it exists today, despite the apparent similarity in name. In response to the pressure on Hot AC, a new kind of AC format cropped up among American radio recently. The urban adult contemporary format (a term coined by Barry Mayo ) usually attracts a large number of African Americans and sometimes Caucasian listeners through playing

2750-607: Is heavy on romantic sentimental ballads which use acoustic instruments such as pianos , saxophones , and sometimes an orchestral set. However, electric guitars and bass are also usually used, with the electric guitar sound relatively faint and high-pitched. Additionally, post-80s adult contemporary music may feature synthesizers (and other electronics, such as drum machines ). An AC radio station may play mainstream music, but it usually excludes hip hop , house/techno or electronic dance music and some forms of dance-pop and teen pop , as these are less popular among adults,

2860-408: Is not usually considered a specific genre of music; it is merely an assemblage of selected songs from artists of many different genres . Adult contemporary traces its roots to the 1960s easy listening format, which adopted a 70–80% instrumental to 20–30% vocal mix. A few offered 90% instrumentals, and a handful were entirely instrumental. The easy listening format, as it was first known, was born of

2970-504: The NME championed the post-punk movement in late 1970s, has been credited as an influential voice in the development of new pop following the dissipation of post-punk, advocating "overground brightness" over underground sensibilities. Around this time, the term " rockist " would gain popularity to disparagingly describe music that privileged traditionalist rock styles. According to Pitchfork ' s Jess Harvel: "If new pop had an architect, it

3080-520: The Backstreet Boys , Jason Mraz , John Mayer , and Pink is prominent within the format. The "hot AC" designation began to appear in the 1990s; the term described adult contemporary stations with a more energetic presentation and uptempo sound than their softer counterparts. An early example of the format, Houston's KHMX Mix 96.5 , climbed from 14th place in the market to third in the six months after its launch. The station's format and branding

3190-519: The Carpenters , Dionne Warwick , Barry Manilow , John Denver , and Olivia Newton-John found it harder to have major Top 40 hits as the 1980s wore on, and due to the influence of MTV, artists who were staples of the Contemporary Hit Radio format, such as Richard Marx , Michael Jackson , Bonnie Tyler , George Michael , Phil Collins , Laura Branigan and Journey began crossing over to

3300-590: The Frankie Goes to Hollywood single "Relax" just six days after its U.K. release, six months before the record company released it in the United States. The station arranged with a record store in London to get same-day air delivery of new records (years before this was the norm) from Heathrow Airport ; WLIR music director Rosie Pisani would drive the 12 miles (19 km) to nearby JFK on Thursday afternoons to pick up

3410-541: The Jonas Brothers and Halsey began to be featured on AC stations more than on top 40 stations. In radio broadcasting, adult contemporary is divided into several sub-formats, each with their own musical direction and demographic targeting. Hot adult contemporary formats generally feature an uptempo rotation of recent hits that appeal to a wide adult audience. A station formatted as "adult contemporary" with no qualifier, also referred to as "mainstream" AC, generally has

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3520-541: The NYC CBGB movement starting in the late 1970s, with Denis closely following publications like NME , always wanting to stay ahead of what was trending with new music across the globe. It was a perfect solution to what was needed in New York, since none of the other stations were going to "touch that stuff" On August 2, the format switch occurred, and the station featured new wave (McNamara "hated" that term because he felt it

3630-745: The North Shore Towers in Floral Park, New York . WLIR was founded in 1959 by John R. Rieger. It was licensed to Garden City, New York on the frequency 92.7 FM and played a mix of Broadway show tunes , jazz and light classical music from a basement studio in the Garden City Hotel. In spring 1970, announcers Richard Neer and Mike Harrison convinced Rieger to change to a progressive rock radio format , with Harrison as program director. This meant playing obscure artists, playing album cuts instead of just hit singles, and having disc jockeys speak in

3740-507: The Pretenders , jangle pop bands such as Orange Juice , and American MTV stars such as Michael Jackson . Stephen Holden of the New York Times wrote at the time that New Music was more about its practitioners than their sound. Teenage girls and males that had grown tired of traditional "phallic" guitar driven rock embraced New Music. New Music was a singles oriented (both 7 inch and

3850-560: The Second British Invasion of New Pop acts in America in 1983, singer Martin Fry of ABC described it as "an explosion that came out after punk rock swung through Britain – a whole generation that was kind of interested in making music that was more polished. That obviously led to a golden age with Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet , the Human League , ABC, Depeche Mode , many bands like that. We were all

3960-467: The Soul Solution mix of Toni Braxton 's "Unbreak My Heart". In its early years of existence, the smooth jazz format was considered to be a form of AC, although it was mainly instrumental, and related a stronger resemblance to the soft AC-styled music. For many years, George Benson , Kenny G and Dave Koz had all had crossover hits that were played on both smooth jazz and soft AC stations. During

4070-504: The "Dare To Be Different" slogan as intellectual property, so WDRE's moniker became "New Music First". The "Screamer of the Week" feature became "Shriek of the Week", but WDRE remained committed to new music as they introduced new bands into the next decade, such as Nine Inch Nails and Nirvana . In 1991, the station changed its moniker again, this time to "The Cutting Edge of Rock". The explosion in popularity of grunge and alternative rock in

4180-501: The 1940s and early 1950s. After 1965, differences between the Hot 100 chart and the Easy Listening chart became more pronounced. Better reflecting what middle of the road stations were actually playing, the composition of the chart changed dramatically. As rock music continued to harden, there was much less crossover between the Hot 100 and Easy Listening chart than there had been in the early half of

4290-590: The 1960s. Roger Miller , Barbra Streisand and Bobby Vinton were among the chart's most popular performers. One big impetus for the development of the AC radio format was that, when rock and roll music first became popular in the mid-1950s, many more conservative radio stations wanted to continue to play current hit songs while shying away from rock. These middle of the road (or "MOR") stations also frequently included older, pre-rock-era adult standards and big band titles to further appeal to adult listeners who had grown up with those songs. Another big impetus for

4400-424: The 1970s went on, many rock stations drifted toward more commercial album-oriented rock formats. WLIR would buck this trend by playing the increasingly popular punk rock and new wave music genres that were being ignored by other rock stations in the United States. The first official confirmation of Lennon's death apparently came from WLIR's news director Steve North, according to North and DJ Bob Waugh. North

4510-461: The 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening , pop , soul , R&B , quiet storm and rock influence. Adult contemporary is generally a continuation of the easy listening and soft rock style that became popular in the 1960s and 1970s with some adjustments that reflect the evolution of pop/rock music. Adult contemporary tends to have lush, soothing and highly polished qualities where emphasis on melody and harmonies

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4620-453: The 1980s, soft rock songs still enjoyed a mild success thanks to Sheena Easton , Amy Grant , Lionel Richie , Christopher Cross , Dan Hill , Leo Sayer , Billy Ocean , Julio Iglesias , Bertie Higgins , and Tommy Page . No song spent more than six weeks at No. 1 on this chart during the 1980s, with nine songs accomplishing that feat. Two of these were by Lionel Richie, " You Are " in 1983 and " Hello " in 1984, which also reached No. 1 on

4730-675: The 1980s, the soft AC format was positioned as being a more upbeat version of easy listening that would appeal better to a younger audience, mainly by excluding instrumental beautiful music . Easy listening stations had begun shifting to the format out of concern that their existing programming would not appeal to the current generation of listeners. In a 1990 article, James Warren of the Chicago Tribune characterized soft AC stations as being "as middle-of-the-road and unthreatening as modern media get", with personalities that were encouraged to be as inoffensive and "low-profile" as possible, and

4840-499: The 1980s. The growth of AC was a natural result of the generation that first listened to the more "specialized" music of the mid-late 1970s growing older and not being interested in the heavy metal and rap/hip-hop music that a new generation helped to play a significant role in the Top 40 charts by the end of the decade. Mainstream AC itself has evolved in a similar fashion over the years; traditional AC artists such as Barbra Streisand ,

4950-671: The 1990s and early 2000s such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera were added to the rotation of most AC stations. As trap music and similar styles of hip-hop began dominating top 40 stations during the last years of the 2010s, AC stations began picking up rhythmic artists like Rihanna , Lady Gaga , Ellie Goulding , Taio Cruz and Pitbull as well as EDM artists like Avicii , Daft Punk , Calvin Harris , David Guetta and Tiesto . Meanwhile, younger artists like Camila Cabello , Justin Bieber , Selena Gomez , Ariana Grande , Nick Jonas and

5060-475: The 1990s, to improve their appeal among changing demographics, some soft AC stations began to widen their playlist to include selections from contemporary acts with 80s, & 90s, musicians & bands such as Bon Jovi , Bryan Adams , Celine Dion , Roxette , Mariah Carey , Eric Clapton , Phil Collins , Elton John , Cher , Whitney Houston , Journey , and Queen . On the other hand, by 1996, New York's WLTW had begun to phase out its softer music in favor of

5170-588: The 2000s, country music / countrypolitan musicians such as Kelly Clarkson , Clay Aiken , Billy Joel , Garth Brooks , Shania Twain , LeAnn Rimes and Carrie Underwood scored hits on soft AC, particularly in Southern states. A popular trend in the late 1990s and 2000s was remixing dance music hits into adult contemporary ballads, especially in the US, (for example, the "Candlelight Mix" versions of " Heaven " by DJ Sammy and Yanou , "Listen To Your Heart" by D.H.T. , and " Everytime We Touch " by Cascada ). Key to

5280-556: The 2000s, the AC market gained an increased presence in the music industry, as its radio formats were popular nationwide—Smooth jazz and "Urban AC" stations were ubiquitous in the East Coast, while Soft rock and "adult standards" stations were common in the Midwest, and pop-oriented "Hot AC" and "world music"/Hispanic AC stations were easily found in the West Coast and the "Sun Belt". This led to

5390-536: The AC chart during this time. In 1996, Billboard created a new chart called Adult Top 40 , which reflects programming on radio stations that exists somewhere between "adult contemporary" music and "pop" music. Although they are sometimes mistaken for each other, the Adult Contemporary chart and the Adult Top 40 chart are separate charts, and songs reaching one chart might not reach the other. In addition, hot AC

5500-425: The AC charts with greater frequency. Collins has been described by AllMusic as "one of the most successful pop and adult contemporary singers of the '80s and beyond". However, with the combination of MTV and AC radio, adult contemporary appeared harder to define as a genre, with established soft-rock artists of the past still charting pop hits and receiving airplay alongside mainstream radio fare from newer artists at

5610-447: The AC charts. In addition to Celine Dion , who has had significant success on this chart, other artists with multiple number ones on the AC chart in the 1990s include Mariah Carey , Phil Collins , Michael Bolton , Bryan Adams , Whitney Houston and Shania Twain . Newer female Adult album alternative singer-songwriters such as Sarah McLachlan , Natalie Merchant , Jewel , Melissa Etheridge and Sheryl Crow also broke through on

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5720-729: The Disco , Neon Trees , X Ambassadors , Sheppard , Bastille , American Authors , Fitz and the Tantrums , Foster the People , Twenty One Pilots , Walk the Moon and Milky Chance . During the middle of the decade, newer artists such as CeeLo Green , OneRepublic , Rachel Platten , Christina Perri , Andy Grammer , James Bay , Sara Bareilles , Shawn Mendes , Sia , Sam Smith , Gavin Degraw , Charlie Puth and Colbie Caillat as well as acts that were popular in

5830-615: The FCC revoking Phoenix Media's 15-year "temporary" license in 1987. As a result of this revocation, Jarad Broadcasting wrested control of the broadcast license for frequency 92.7, taking ownership on December 18, 1987. The permanent license did not include the call letters, so the new licensee operated with the call letters WDRE , while Phoenix Media brought the WLIR call letters to an AM radio station in Rockland County, New York . Phoenix Media also took

5940-582: The Hot 100. In 1989, Linda Ronstadt released Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind , described by critics as "the first true Adult Contemporary album of the decade", featuring American soul singer Aaron Neville on several of the twelve tracks. The album was certified Triple Platinum in the United States alone and became a major success throughout the globe. The Grammy Award -winning singles, " Don't Know Much " and " All My Life ", were both long-running No. 1 Adult Contemporary hits. Several additional singles from

6050-591: The NeoBreeze format was dropped, and the WLIR alternative format returned. Jeff Levine was at the station from 2006 to 2007. During that time, WLIR had a safe, almost hot adult contemporary sound, similar to that of WPLJ , and carried broadcasts of New York Islanders hockey games. On December 26, 2006, BusinessTalkRadio.net president and CEO Michael Metter announced the purchase of three Long Island radio stations: alternative WLIR-FM (107.1 FM), classic rock WBON (98.5 FM), and Top 40/rhythmic WDRE (105.3 FM). WBON

6160-423: The New York market, major concert promotions and popular dance club promotions. The station's FCC license had been changed to a special temporary authority in 1972 as the result of slow-moving legal battle that had gone dormant later in the 1970s. The legal battle escalated when the station became more valuable, with new entities (not involved in the original 1972 battle) getting involved after 1982, culminating with

6270-497: The United States. Unlike in Great Britain, attempts prior to 1982 to bring new wave and the music video to American audiences had brought mixed results. During 1982, New Music acts began to appear on the charts in the United States, and clubs there that played them were packed. "I hated the phrase 'new wave'. It sounded too trendy and could be gone in a year" In reaction to New Music, album-oriented rock radio stations doubled

6380-648: The WLIR.FM domain name, which used the same call sign of WLIR-FM. In November 2020, WLIR.FM changed its name to WDAREFM.com (Dare FM), and continues to broadcast the same alternative music and WLIR personalities that it has done for the last 15 years. After five years of production, the documentary entitled Dare to Be Different - WLIR: The Voice of a Generation by Ellen Goldfarb debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2017. It details WLIR's history, program director Denis McNamara and team's August 1982 format change,

6490-407: The alternative music, air personalities, sounders, jingles, shrieks and screamers, along with the new music of the present day. In 2016, WLIR.FM began simulcasting on WPTY-HD3 . The simulcast ended in 2020. 107.1 WLIR-FM , which hadn't broadcast alternative music since 2008, was sold to Red Apple Media Inc. , and began simulcasting most of WABC's programming. Red Apple objected to the site's use of

6600-421: The amount of new acts they played and the format "Hot Hits" emerged. By 1983, in a year when half of the new artists came out of New Music, acts such as Duran Duran , Culture Club and Men at Work were dominating the charts and creating an alternate music and cultural mainstream. Annie Lennox and Boy George were the two figures most associated with New Music. In an interview with CBS News discussing

6710-473: The arrival of the Smiths characterised by the music press as a "reaction against the opulence/corpulence of nouveau rich New Pop" and a "return to a different vision of 'new pop', the Postcard ideal." Adult contemporary music Adult contemporary music ( AC ) is a form of radio -played popular music , ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad -heavy music of

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6820-730: The brand (among others) being adopted by competitors such as Entercom . Industry analyst Sean Ross argued that older demographics were becoming more lucrative due to changes in listening habits among younger audiences, which prefer digital platforms such as music streaming services over linear terrestrial radio, and also noted how mainstream AC was dependent on the Top 40 charts to break new songs. Current soft AC stations have continued to feature recurrents such as Michael Bolton , Celine Dion , Elton John, Fleetwood Mac , Hall & Oates , and Whitney Houston, while contemporary musicians such as Adele and Michael Bublé have also become modern fixtures of

6930-428: The current hits at a given time, hot AC airplay can build and sustain a song's popularity over a long-term period. This effect has been credited in helping build an audience for early singles from new acts such as Adele , Rachel Platten (" Fight Song ", which gained prominence for its use during Hillary Clinton 's 2016 US presidential election campaign ), and Max Schneider (whose 2016 single " Lights Down Low ", over

7040-429: The defense of "real rock" against new music. An American reaction against European synthpop and "haircut bands" has been seen as beginning in the mid-1980s with the rise of heartland rock and roots rock . Richard Blade , a disc jockey at Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM , speaking of the late 1980s said, "You felt there was a winding-down of music. Thomas Dolby 's album had bombed, Duran Duran had gone through

7150-460: The disc made the AC Top 10 as well. The album won over many critics in the need to define AC, and appeared to change the tolerance and acceptance of AC music into mainstream day to day radio play. The early 1990s marked the softening of urban R&B in the shape of new jack swing, at the same time alternative rock emerged and traditional pop saw a significant resurgence. This in part led to a widening of

7260-511: The early 1970s, softer songs by The Carpenters , Anne Murray , John Denver , Barry Manilow , and even Barbra Streisand , began to be played more often on "Top 40" radio. Top 40 radio stations played the Top 40 hits regardless of genre. As the texture of much of the music played on Top 40 radio began to soften, the Hot 100 and Easy Listening/AC charts became more similar. Easy Listening radio began playing songs by artists who had begun in other genres, such as rock and roll or R&B . Much of

7370-497: The early 1980s, British journalists had largely abandoned "new wave" in favor of other terms such as "synthpop", and in 1983, the term of choice for the US music industry had become "new music". In the wake of the punk rock explosion of the late 1970s, the new wave and post-punk genres emerged, informed by a desire for experimentation, creativity and forward movement. Music journalist Paul Morley , whose writing in British music magazine

7480-471: The early 1990s led to a period of turmoil. The synthpop -based music on which much of the station's playlist was based was now out of fashion. Alternative rock artists that formerly were played almost exclusively on the station were now being heard on many rock and pop music stations. In 1992, WDRE started simulcasting its programming with what was 103.9 WIBF-FM Jenkintown, Pennsylvania , which later became WDRE Jenkintown/Philadelphia. In 1995, WDRE created

7590-625: The era. In addition to the live concert series, WLIR promoted local bands such as the Good Rats . Neer and Harrison departed for progressive-rock WNEW-FM in 1971. The air staff in the early '70s included program director Ken Kohl, George Taylor Morris , Jim Cameron, Joel Moss, Malcolm Davis (later a longtime Boston radio host as "Austin from Boston" on WODS ), Charlie Ahl ( WPLJ , WHN and WCBS-FM NYC as Chris Charles), Dave ("The Wrench") Friedman, Ray White, Earle Bailey, production director Ben Manilla, and public-affairs producer Heather Schoen. As

7700-412: The evolution of the AC radio format was the popularity of easy listening or " beautiful music " stations, stations with music specifically designed to be purely ambient . Whereas most easy listening music was instrumental, created by relatively unknown artists, and rarely purchased (especially as singles, although Jackie Gleason 's beautiful music albums sold well in the 1950s), AC was an attempt to create

7810-558: The first alternative rock network, known as the "Underground Network" and consisting of the following stations: Notes: Four years after WIBF became WDRE's first affiliate, the Underground Network was disbanded. In 1996, WDRE switched to an adult album alternative (AAA) format, brought back Malibu Sue (who had been fired earlier by then-program director Russ Mottla), reverted its call letters back to WLIR and changed its moniker to "The Island". That same year, WDRE Philadelphia became

7920-437: The format during the 2010s. These developments helped to expand the popularity of the format among younger listeners such as millennials ; Nielsen Audio ranked hot AC as the third most-popular format among millennials, behind pop and country music . Of the format's expanding demographic reach, WOMX-FM program director Dana Taylor stated that hot AC stations "may not be the radio station that everybody agrees on, but it's

8030-540: The format is fairly uncommon, with KTCZ in the Minnesota Twin Cities and KMXP in Phoenix, Arizona being some of the few modern AC stations left. The Soft adult contemporary format typically targets women 25–54 and at-work listening. Soft AC playlists are generally conservative in comparison to hot AC, focusing on pop and power ballads , soft rock , and other familiar, light hits. Upon its establishment in

8140-529: The format until the early 1970s), new age songs and most pre-1964 artists were gradually phased out from AC radio throughout the early to mid-1990s. Unlike the majority of 1980s mainstream singers, the 1990s mainstream pop/R&B singers such as All-4-One , Boyz II Men , Christina Aguilera , Backstreet Boys and Savage Garden generally crossed over to the AC charts. Latin pop artists such as Lynda Thomas , Ricky Martin , Marc Anthony , Selena , Enrique Iglesias and Luis Miguel also enjoyed success in

8250-590: The format. In addition, the soft AC sound has diversified to include more songs that are "safe and universal" but not necessarily "soft", with Ross presenting examples such as Simple Minds ' " Don't You (Forget About Me) ", the retroactively-defined genre of yacht rock , and noting that KSWD in Seattle—one of the stations that had launched in the soft AC "boom" of the late-2010s—had featured dance- and synth-pop songs such as " Poker Face ", " Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) ", and " Uptown Funk " in its final days as

8360-487: The future, a format change was needed. Program director Denis McNamara recommended to the station's owner that he choose one of two formats, either progressive adult contemporary music or new music . Although adult contemporary seemed commercially appealing, new music was chosen because it was more in step with the "dare to be different" campaign being used to promote the new format and it was more "fun". Denis and his staff were also playing pieces of new music from England and

8470-498: The hits had become established. An article on MTV 's website by Corey Moss describes this trend as: "In other words, AC stations are where pop songs go to die a very long death. Or, to optimists, to get a second life." As adult contemporary has long characterized itself as family-friendly, "clean" versions of pop songs began appearing on the AC chart, as were the cases of " Perfect " by P!nk , and " Forget You " by Cee Lo Green , both in 2011. AC radio's shift into more mainstream pop

8580-522: The homophobic slur " faggot " to describe New Music musicians. The 1985 Dire Straits song " Money for Nothing ", which hit number 1 in the United States, contained the line "The little faggot with the earring and the make-up" and used the term "faggot" several other times. The lyrics were taken verbatim from the language of a New York appliance store worker whom lead singer Mark Knopfler had observed watching MTV. Assistant professor/author/musician Theo Cateforis stated these are examples of homophobia used in

8690-543: The influence the station had and its battles with the FCC. The station's staff, musical firsts and fans are documented. After the premiere, A Flock of Seagulls , the Beat 's Dave Wakeling and the Alarm played live sets. Many WLIR personalities have had continued success and notoriety both on and off the air. Some of these include: New Pop " New music " is a roughly equivalent but slightly more expansive umbrella term for

8800-408: The late 2000s, certain pop songs began entering the AC charts instead, generally after having recently fallen off the Hot 100. Adrian Moreira, senior vice president for adult music for RCA Music Group , said, "We've seen a fairly tidal shift in what AC will play". Rather than emphasizing older songs, adult contemporary now began playing many of the same songs as top 40 and adult top 40 , but only after

8910-407: The late-1970s. This led to specialized radio stations that played specific genres of music, and generally followed the evolution of artists in those genres. On April 7, 1979, the Easy Listening chart officially became known as Adult Contemporary, and those two words have remained consistent in the name of the chart ever since. Adult contemporary music became one of the most popular radio formats of

9020-427: The market, not only allowing to cater to more niche markets, but it also became customary for artists to make AC-friendly singles. At the same time, the genre began adopting elements from hard rock as tastes were shifting towards louder music, while AC stations in general began playing more rock acts. "Softer" features such as light instrumental music (carried over from the beautiful music format—many AC stations carried

9130-414: The music recorded by singer-songwriters such as Diana Ross , James Taylor , Carly Simon , Carole King and Janis Ian got as much, if not more, airplay on AC stations than on Top 40 stations. AC stations also began playing softer songs by Elvis Presley , Linda Ronstadt , Elton John , Rod Stewart , Billy Joel , and other rock-based artists. Soon after, the adult contemporary format began evolving into

9240-454: The new music format. According to McNamara, the "entire music industry was looking upon 'LIR and that 'LIR marketplace of New York City and Long Island as one of the hippest music areas of the world. People used to refer to it as the gateway to America if you were an upcoming artist." WLIR's success had grown the profits of its operators, 1959 founder John R. Rieger and his partner Elton Spitzer's Phoenix Media Corp., with an increasing share of

9350-738: The presence of numerous genres on the AC charts, often crossing to the "pop" charts, winning over many critics in the need to define AC, and increased the tolerance and acceptance of AC music into mainstream day-to-day radio play. Josh Groban 's single " You Raise Me Up " and Michael Bublé 's cover of "Fever" are often cited as key examples of the high production values and ballad-heavy sound that defined 2000s-era AC, often dubbed as "jazz-pop", heavily carrying classical, jazz and traditional pop influences. Artists such as Nick Lachey , James Blunt , Jamie Cullum , John Mayer , Jason Mraz , Norah Jones , Diana Krall , Amy Winehouse and Susan Boyle also achieved great success during this period. During most of

9460-470: The reach of the new antenna, WLIR-FM began simulcasting programming from sister station WDRE (Party 105), fueling speculation that a change in format to ESPN was imminent. On January 21, 2008, WLIR-FM became an ESPN Radio affiliate via a local marketing agreement with New York City radio station WEPN (1050 AM). On February 9, 2011, Jarad Broadcasting of Hampton Bays entered into an asset purchase agreement with Holding Out Hope Church (WLIX Radio) to sell

9570-487: The reading of top-of-hour news headlines, so that listeners wouldn't be tempted to tune away to an all-news station to learn more. Soft AC stations tend to be more selective in their music libraries than other adult contemporary stations, preferring proven songs over current hits. Upon the onset of the format's popularity, core artists typically included singers such as Nat King Cole , Perry Como , Neil Diamond , Barry Manilow , Johnny Mathis , and Barbra Streisand . By

9680-424: The records. WLIR also teamed with Dutch East India Trading, an independent record import company in the neighboring village of Rockville Centre, New York , to bring in test pressings before the finished records were mass-produced. WLIR's listeners could dial in to vote for the "Screamer of the Week", the top new song of the week. New Order , Depeche Mode , Ultravox , Yazoo and Blancmange were early staples of

9790-539: The reformed Fleetwood Mac , whose Rumours (1977) was the best-selling album of the decade. By 1977, some radio stations, notably New York's WTFM and NBC -owned WYNY , and Boston's WEEI , had switched to an all-soft rock format. As Softrock 103 , WEEI was famous for its promotional campaigns, featuring slogans such as " Joni , without the baloni." and " The Byrds , without the nyrds." However, different forms of popular music targeted to different demographic groups, such as disco vs. hard rock , began to emerge in

9900-549: The soft AC format had become increasingly irrelevant in comparison to mainstream and hot AC, due to PPM markets preferring uptempo music. At the same time, however, soft AC began to experience a resurgence. In April 2016, iHeartMedia flipped its San Francisco classic soul station KISQ to soft AC as The Breeze ; as of November 2018, it was the top station in the Bay Area. The trend continued into 2017 and 2018, with iHeartMedia extending its Breeze brand to other soft AC flips, and

10010-450: The sound that later defined it, with rock-oriented acts as Chicago and the Eagles , becoming associated with the format. In addition, several early disco songs, did well on the Adult Contemporary format. Soft rock reached its commercial peak in the mid-to-late 1970s with acts such as Toto , England Dan & John Ford Coley , Air Supply , Seals and Crofts , Dan Fogelberg , America and

10120-451: The station for $ 650,000. On February 17, 2011, Holding Out Hope Church assigned the agreement to Livingstone Broadcasting, Inc. On May 25, 2011, the sale of WLIR-FM to Livingstone was completed. On August 1, 2011, WLIR-FM began broadcasting Christian programming as part of the WLIX Hope radio network. WLIR.FM began streaming online in 2005. It captured the style of the original WLIR, including

10230-465: The station's end on January 9, 2004. On January 9, 2004, Univision bought the 92.7 frequency and other assets for $ 60 million and began simulcasting the Spanish radio format of WCAA Newark, New Jersey on 92.7 under the call letters WZAA . WLIR signed off at noon with a special dance version of " Forever Young " by Alphaville . Andre Ferro would be the last DJ heard on the 92.7 airwaves, followed by

10340-401: The station's owners, this was an attempt to take on satellite radio and MP3 players , which had been cutting into listeners of traditional radio. In an effort to keep WLIR and its alternative music alive, longtime employee and historian Bob Wilson developed the website WLIR.FM and began an internet broadcast of music called "Next Wave". On December 20, 2005, after three months of low ratings,

10450-400: The success of AC in the 2000s was the 25–34 demographic which had outgrown the pop music offerings of the time, most new rock became too alternative and harsh for AC radio and most new pop was now influenced heavily by dance-pop , hip-hop and electronic dance music . At the same time, the music industry also began to focus on older audiences and markets generally considered "niche". During

10560-410: The target demographic . AC radio often targets the 25–44 age group, the demographic that has received the most attention from advertisers since the 1960s. A common practice in recent years of adult contemporary stations is to play less newer music and more hits of the past, even some songs that never even charted the AC charts. This de-emphasis on new songs slows the progression of the AC chart. Over

10670-484: The then new 12 inch) phenomenon, reverting the 1970s rock music album orientation . During the late 1970s, "New Musick" [ sic ] was one of the labels that was applied to certain post-punk groups. The term "post-punk" was also deployed interchangeably with "new wave". In the New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock (2001), "new wave" is described as a "virtually meaningless" term. By

10780-504: The time. The amount of crossover between the AC chart and the Hot 100 has varied based on how much the passing pop music trends of the times appealed to adult listeners. Not many disco or new wave songs were particularly successful on the AC chart during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and much of the hip-hop and harder rock music featured on CHR formats later in the decade would have been unacceptable on AC radio. Although dance-oriented, electronic pop and ballad-oriented rock dominated

10890-411: The time. New Music acts were danceable, had an androgynous look, emphasized the synthesizer and drum machines , wrote about the darker side of romance, and were British. They rediscovered rockabilly , Motown , ska , reggae and merged it with African rhythms to produce what was described as a "fertile, stylistic cross-pollination". Author Simon Reynolds noted that the new pop movement "involved

11000-421: The vocalists consisted of artists such as Frank Sinatra , Doris Day , Johnny Mathis , Connie Francis , Nat King Cole , Perry Como , and others. The custom recordings were usually instrumental versions of current or recent rock and roll or pop hit songs, a move intended to give the stations more mass appeal without selling out . Some stations would also occasionally play earlier big band -era recordings from

11110-504: The western parts of Long Island itself could not easily receive the station. Many of these areas were closer geographically to other stations occupying 107.1 FM ( WXPK in central Westchester County and WWZY in Long Branch, New Jersey), which hindered reception. On September 12, 2005, WLIR changed formats to a block-sponsored smooth jazz / chill music format known as "FM Channel 107: NeoBreeze". This same block-sponsored type of format

11220-401: The years, AC has spawned subgenres including "hot AC" (or "modern AC"), "soft AC" (also known as "lite AC"), " urban AC " (a softer type of urban contemporary music ), " rhythmic AC " (a softer type of rhythmic contemporary ), and " Christian AC " (a softer type of contemporary Christian music ). Some stations play only "hot AC", "soft AC", or only one of the variety of subgenres. Therefore, it

11330-515: Was [the writer] Paul Morley ." As the 1980s began, a number of musicians desired to broaden these movements to reach a more mainstream audience. In 1980, the New Music Seminar made its debut. It was designed to help young new wave artists gain entrance into the American music industry. The event grew rapidly in popularity and encouraged the shift away from the use of "new wave" to "New Music" in

11440-417: Was a result of the changes on the broadcasting landscape following the 2005–2007 economic downturn and eventual recession , as advertisers preferred more profitable chart-based formats, which meant the demise of many AC-based formulas, primarily those aimed at older audiences, with tastes changing towards more modern music among all age groups. Diminishing physical record sales throughout the 2010s also proved

11550-456: Was a trendy phrase that might be out of style in a year), synth-pop , post-punk , early alternative rock acts and novelty songs . The personalities of the disc jockeys became much more upbeat. The station became known for playing new artists, and occasionally playing singles before other stations. For example, as shown in the 2017 documentary Dare to Be Different - WLIR: The Voice of a Generation (see § WLIR/WDRE legacy ), WLIR played

11660-656: Was best known as an influential radio station that launched the careers of many music acts and disc jockeys from the 1970s through the 1990s. In 1970, it changed to a progressive rock format before switching to a new music / modern rock format in 1982. The station originally broadcast from studios at the Garden City Hotel in Garden City, New York , then 175 Fulton Avenue, Hempstead, New York , 1600 Stewart Avenue, Westbury, New York , and finally, 1103 Stewart Avenue, East Garden City, New York , with its transmitter located at

11770-445: Was doing a special comment on the murder of gun control advocate Dr. Michael J. Halberstam , when an intern ran in with the news about Lennon. North then read the AP wire bulletin and spoke several times with a police contact, who was finally able to confirm Lennon had died at 11:24. Waugh has since released an aircheck from that night. In 1982, it was decided that for the station to move into

11880-481: Was instituted at two other stations owned by the Morey Organization, WLIR's owner. As a result of this change, all of the on-air staff was fired. This truly marked the end of WLIR's unique over-the-air "new music" format after almost three decades. In addition, with the new format, the station would run commercial-free during the day, with the actual airtime during this period paid for by advertisers . According to

11990-471: Was renamed WBZB and flipped to a business talk format on January 2, 2007. The sales of WLIR-FM and WBZB were approved on February 27, 2007. The selling price for WLIR-FM and WBZB was $ 1.75 million for each station, and the total price for all three stations would have been $ 5 million, but the sale was never completed, and WBZB returned to the WBON call letters. In September 2007, WLIR began broadcasting from

12100-482: Was widely replicated by other stations. Many hot AC outlets are among the top stations in their respective market. Initially focused more on pop rock, the format has evolved to reflect changes in the composition of this audience; by the mid-2000s, the format had evolved to include more uptempo pop music, while alternative and indie rock crossovers (such as Foster the People , Imagine Dragons , Lovelytheband , and Twenty One Pilots ) became more prevalent within

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