Mar 23, 2014 6 min read

Oldies radio ain’t what it used to be.

Please pardon the “ain’t,” if only as a nod to a multitude of memorable oldies such as “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,” “Ain’t She Sweet” and “Ain’t That Peculiar.”

Unfortunately, ain’t no way you’ll be hearing those songs on the radio anytime soon.

When the concept of oldies radio began, it consisted primarily of music from 1955 to 1963. Slowly, post-1963 Motown and soul were added to the mix, then ’60s pop, rock and psychedelic songs were blended in as well. By the mid-’90s, many oldies stations had expanded to include tunes through 1972, but “American Pie” was as modern an oldie as was deemed to be appropriate on most radio stations.

Last week, there was a report that at least one oldies station was playing Katy Perry’s “Roar.”

The beginning of the end began about five years ago, when the “oldies” moniker was dropped in favor of “classic hits,” and ’70s and ’80s songs pushed the bulk of original oldies to weekend specialty shows.

A recent Nielsen BDS Radio survey confirms that not one song from the 1950s is among today’s top 100 selections played on oldies radio. And just three songs from the 1960s make the cut: “Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones, “Brown-Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison and “Mrs. Robinson” by Simon & Garfunkel. No Beach Boys. No Beatles. No Motown.

Please understand that I ain’t gonna eat out my heart anymore about the disappearance of the vast majority of ’50s and ’60s music. Their time has come and gone. This particular column isn’t about memories, sentimentality or reluctance to change. It’s about preserving a sense of music history.

A good song is a good song.

Ask your kids or grandkids to name some of their favorite performers. Odds are very good that along with Katy Perry, Bruno Mars and Maroon 5, artists such as the Beatles, Stevie Wonder and the Beach Boys will be mentioned. If youngsters are into rock music, odds are even greater their favorites are culled from the ’60s – especially the Rolling Stones, the Doors and Creedence Clearwater Revival. For a multitude of reasons we won’t detail here, rock ‘n’ roll did indeed die some time ago, and few will argue the fact the height of rock’s creativity was in the 1960s.

While baby boomers are very much guilty of disregarding their parents’ music, post-baby boomers are not. Their iPods often include an eclectic mix of eras and genres. (If iPods had existed in the ’60s, they would not have been loaded with tunes by Rosemary Clooney, Eddie Fisher or Glenn Miller).

Indeed, extensive radio research confirms that today’s youth have a much broader respect for music than their elders. Selected ’60s music still tests better than some ’70s and ’80s songs, even within radio’s primary target of women in the 25- to 49-year-old group.

So why are those ’60s hits so hard to find on the radio? Simply put, those who program the music are looking at the age of the song instead of its durability, no matter that younger audiences still count “Light My Fire,” “Soul Man” and “Respect” among their favorites. Somebody thinks those 1967 songs are too old – even if 99 percent of the listeners has no idea in what decade they were recorded, let alone what year.

Another 1967 song, “Brown-Eyed Girl,” has been among the most requested songs on radio since it was released. Does anyone singing along realize it’s 47 years old? Of course not. Yet some oldies radio programmers are now pulling the song because it doesn’t fit an image.

One might ask, “What image?” Shouldn’t oldies radio’s image be to provide the listener with great music?

Pittsburgh’s classic hits station, WWSW, has a slightly better-than-average record of culling songs from the ’60s – a whopping 5 percent. It lists five tunes from that era among its 100 most played: “The Letter,” “Brown-Eyed Girl,” “Mony Mony,” “Daydream Believer” and “For What It’s Worth.” Good songs all. But there are so many more.

As a nation, we don’t burn books because they are too old. We don’t put art into storage because it’s outdated. We don’t stop watching movies when they reach an imaginary expiration date.

Why should we dispose of good music just because it’s from the “wrong” decade?

One of classic hits’ most-played songs – “Sweet Home Alabama” – turns 40 this year. Two of radio’s other monster oldies, “Margaritaville” and “Don’t Stop Believing,” will hit that plateau soon as well. No doubt, their digital days are numbered.

The music blasting out of my son’s room while I wrote this included “Hey Jude,” “Touch Me,” “Pretty Woman” and “Johnny B. Goode.” Obviously he wasn’t listening to the radio.

Ain’t that a shame.

Despite its reluctance to include early classics on its play list, WWSW was top dog in the most recent radio ratings. It was followed by WDVE, WRRK, WKST, KDKA-AM, WDSY, WLTJ, WBZZ, WXDX and KDKA-FM.

With binge viewing of old and new television series the rage, Comcast upped the ante for this year’s Xfinity Watchathon Week, which offers free viewing of 130 series from 48 premium, cable and broadcast networks.

The shows will be available to all subscribers, no matter the level of their subscription. Among the series available from episode one are “Bates Motel,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “The Walking Dead” “Game of Thrones,” “The Good Wife,” “Friday Night Lights,” “Parks & Recreation” and “Parenthood.”