WMRO (1560 AM , "Magic 1560") was a radio station licensed to and serving Gallatin, Tennessee . The station was locally owned by Scott, Leslie, and Sandra Bailey of Classic Broadcasting, Inc. The station's studios and transmitter facilities were located a half–mile north of downtown Gallatin.
82-435: The station was last branded as "Magic 1560" and aired the satellite-fed adult contemporary music format from Cumulus Media. On Sundays, church services, religious programs, Sunday afternoon gospel music, and local programming focusing on Gallatin area were aired. On September 12, 2014, the station changed its format from hot adult contemporary to a mainstream adult contemporary format. The Second Thursday Corporation received
164-620: A "Non Student" Volunteer in 1981, then to 88.5 WVCP at Volunteer State College taking radio courses from instructor Howard Esparvnik, at the same time working in the Commercial Radio Business in the Nashville Market. In January 2020, and after years of owning and operating WMRO, Scott Bailey retired from Terrestrial Radio after a bit over 40 years. On January 8, 2020, long-time Sunday afternoon DJ on WMRO, Wayne Akins, had died after an extended illness. Wayne Akins had previously been
246-530: A Construction Permit was fIled to relocate the station to Gallatin, TN. The new site was the former site of 1130 WAMG, Gallatin (now WYXE). The WMRO call letter sign had previously belonged to a station in Aurora, Illinois , for the previous 30 years (see below). Today, that station's call sign is WBIG, and still continues to serving the Aurora, Illinois area. On Saturday, February 19, 1994, with its new call sign of WMRO,
328-466: A Sunday Afternoon Gospel Music DJ at another area local AM station, but found his home at 1560 WMRO where he remained a very important asset to the station. Wayne Akins was from Westmoreland, TN. In the fall of 2018, the land and studio building on which WMRO's tower was located was sold by Classic Broadcasting. Classic Broadcasting could not pay the bank lein Citizens Bank of Lafayette, Tennessee had on
410-672: A basic format employing a verse–chorus structure . The format 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,
492-470: 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,
574-407: 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
656-511: 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
738-476: 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
820-659: 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
902-472: 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
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#1732858838028984-426: A new slogan, "Today's Best Hits". In December 2006, majority control of Classic Broadcasting was transferred from William E. "Bill" Bailey to Timothy Scott Bailey. On February 7, 2007, William E. "Bill" Bailey died. Bill was Scott's father and Sandra's husband. However, with Scott Bailey as President and General Manager, with Leslie Bailey, (Scott's wife) Vice President, and Sandra Bailey (Scott's mother) Secretary,
1066-408: 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
1148-521: 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
1230-421: 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
1312-520: A soft AC station before flipping to hot AC the following month. Over time, some stations have gradually adjusted their playlists to include more recurrents from the 1980s and 1970s (although not to the same extent as other "soft oldies" formats, such as MeTV FM , which have also grown in popularity). Meanwhile, some classic hits and mainstream AC stations have increasingly aired songs that had historically been considered staples of soft AC. WVOL Too Many Requests If you report this error to
1394-617: 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,
1476-504: A three tower directional pattern. Originally, the WWGM call sign stood for the Wonderful World of Good Music. Later on after a format change, the call sign stood for the Wonderful World of Gospel Music. After nearly four years of operation as WWGM, the station filed for bankruptcy in 1968. Crawford Broadcasting bought the station at auction for $ 105,000 later that year—though it did not become
1558-643: 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
1640-470: 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
1722-445: Is a form of radio -played popular music , ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad -heavy music of 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
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#17328588380281804-519: 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
1886-408: 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
1968-520: 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
2050-519: 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
2132-541: 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
2214-467: 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
2296-501: 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
2378-590: 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
2460-453: 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
2542-675: 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
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2624-499: 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 ,
2706-671: 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
2788-475: 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
2870-588: 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
2952-556: 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
3034-536: 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
3116-425: 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
3198-447: 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
3280-729: 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
3362-537: The FCC cancelled the station's license on August 28, 2019. During the last two hours WMRO was on, Scott Bailey dropped the Adult Contemporary Format, went live playing classic rock with classic R&B of the 70s and 80s. The last song played on WMRO according to Scott Bailey was "Slow Ride" by Foghat. After the song ended, he shut the transmitter off. Adult contemporary Adult contemporary music ( AC )
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3444-638: 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
3526-498: The WWGM License was signed by Lindsey Christian Broadcasting's vice president, Faye Lindsey and Classic Broadcasting's President, William E. "Bill" Bailey. The deal was approved by the FCC on October 25, 1993, and the transaction was consummated on October 28, 1993. The new owners of WWGM, Classic Broadcasting, William E. "Bill" Bailey, Sandra Bailey, and Scott Bailey had the FCC change the call letters to WMRO on November 9, 1993 and
3608-469: The air that morning. William "Bill" and Sandra Bailey are the parents of Scott Bailey. All three were owners of WMRO. Former WQQK 92Q Program Director Jay Dubard got with the Baileys and gave WMRO its station moniker name, Magic 1560. On April 1, 2006, the station flipped to a Hot Adult Contemporary music format because of the area's changing demographics as a Nashville bedroom community and another station in
3690-460: The area praised Scott, Leslie, and Sandra Bailey for playing more of a "Hot Adult Contemporary" Hit Music format. One was Jack Williams, former owner of competitor WHIN Radio in Gallatin. Jack Williams was very supportive of the format change. In fact, Jack Williams is family related to Scott, Leslie, and Sandra Bailey. In 2007, WMRO also aired a weekly program called "Music Business Radio", produced at
3772-730: 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
3854-401: The building and land to a private individual. During this time, Classic Broadcasting's Consultant Engineer, James A. (Jim) Turvaville filed and applied for WMRO to have "Special Temporary Authority" to operate at 200 watts as a daytime–only station with a long wire antenna from Scott and Leslie Bailey's home. In a letter dated August 31, 2019, Scott Bailey returned WMRO's license to the FCC;
3936-463: The construction permit for a new AM radio station in Nashville in 1962. Originally assigned the call letters WSTH. However, the station signedon with the new call sign of WLVN signed on April 1, 1963, as "The Nashville Sound", focusing entirely on recordings made in the city. WLVN relaunched as full-service WWGM on September 25, 1964. The station broadcast with 10,000 watts during the daytime only, with
4018-556: The county switching to an oldies format. The last oldies song played was " Wooly Bully " from Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs . The first song played with WMRO's new hot adult contemporary format was “Let Love In” by the Goo Goo Dolls. Owner/General Manager Scott Bailey made the format change that day at 5 PM. Despite a format change, WMRO retained its well-known moniker name, Magic 1560, but adding
4100-428: 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
4182-460: 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
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#17328588380284264-511: 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
4346-505: The evolution of pop/rock music. Adult contemporary tends to have lush, soothing and highly polished qualities where emphasis on melody and harmonies 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
4428-412: 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
4510-437: 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
4592-540: 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
4674-529: 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
4756-590: 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
4838-498: 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
4920-428: The land and building only. Classic Broadcasting, under then President and General Manager, William E. "Bill" Bailey purchased the building, property and tower site on November 13, 1991, through an IRS auction. It was the former site of 1130 WAMG (now WYXE ). In 2018, the bank allowed Classic Broadcasting to sell the property and building only to pay off the lein. Classic Broadcasting (Scott, Leslie, and Sandra Bailey) sold
5002-408: 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
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#17328588380285084-407: 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
5166-507: The licensee until 1970—and said that if the equipment manufacturers that WWGM owed money would not make arrangements with it, the group would build a new facility. Second Thursday also held a construction permit for an FM station on 92.9 MHz, sold separately, that was finally built in 1976 as WZEZ , now WJXA. In September 1986, Dean A. Crawford Broadcasting Co. reached an agreement to sell WWGM to Lindsey Christian Broadcasting Company, consisting of Faye and her husband Rudy Lindsey. The deal
5248-427: 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
5330-414: 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
5412-738: 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
5494-487: 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
5576-539: 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
5658-549: 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
5740-450: 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
5822-456: The station signed on at 8 AM and began playing an oldies music format. Little Richard, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Bobby Darin, The Spinners, Rolling Stones, and The Turtles were among some of the artist played. There was a slight mix of disco music like the Bee Gees, Donna Summer, and Abba were played as well. Scott Bailey, then part-owner of WMRO, signed on the station, and was the first DJ to hit
5904-512: The studios of WRLT (Lightning 100) in Nashville, that promotes local bands, artist and writers. Lightning 100 DJ Dan Buckley worked with WMRO Owner/General Manager Scott Bailey to air Music Business Radio on WMRO to a reach much larger audience. On September 12, 2014 at 10 AM, the station changed format from Hot Adult Contemporary to Mainstream AC. WMRO kept its moniker name, slogan, and logo, "Magic 1560, Today's Best Hits" with its format change. The first song played on WMRO's new Mainstream AC Format
5986-400: 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
6068-410: 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
6150-552: The three pushed on to keep WMRO, Magic 1560 going with serving the community and its Hot Adult Contemporary Music Format (Current Top 40 for Adults) and the station gained popularity in the Gallatin/Sumner County Community with a new audience. Scott Bailey was quoted by saying they were playing a music format that just wasn't done on AM Radio. A few area broadcasters who liked the previous oldies format mock Scott Bailey for WMRO's format change, but other broadcasters in
6232-504: 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
6314-421: 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
6396-401: 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
6478-547: Was "I Love Rock-n-Roll" by Joan Jett and The Blackhearts. Before buying WMRO, Scott Bailey was an air personality known as "Scott the Rock" at Nashville's WVOL (1470 AM) and WQQK (92.1 FM) known as 92Q, with a love for its Urban Contemporary Format. He did "short stints" at 103.3 WKDF, 880 WMDB, 88.1 WFSK in Nashville; 1270 WQKR, Portland, Tennessee; and 1570 WLBQ Morgantown, Kentucky. Scott Bailey began his radio career at WRVU-FM 91.1 at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, as
6560-417: 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
6642-406: Was approved by the FCC on November 25, 1986, and the transaction was consummated on December 16, 1986. Throughout this era, the station was identified as a religious-oriented radio station, playing "traditional Christian music and programs." In April 1993, Lindsey Christian Broadcasting Company reached an agreement to sell WWGM's license to Classic Broadcasting, Inc. The contract agreement to transfer
6724-482: 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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