Modern English "I Melt With You"

What the heck happened to The Dove? Since my last visit in March, the soft rock radio station that always sounds locked in a closet dated "1990" has clearly done a music test. Radio stations often "test" hooks of songs and then develop their playlist based on the results. While not an exact science, the methodology continues at most radio stations today.

Clearly The Dove's music test included some participants who were former Disco Queens as I heard more than my requisite fill of Donna Summer, KC & the Sunshine Band and Bee Gees during my stay in Bradenton Beach. Heck, The Dove even added some upbeat '80s tunes like "I Melt With You" from Modern English. All that aside, no part of me is upset that I missed "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" which seemed to play daily last March.

Heatwave "Always and Forever"

Another trip to Florida meant another chance to drive my dad's Buick LeSabre and cruise to The Dove. What's The Dove, you ask? It's home to Tampa Bay's Continuous Lite Favorites (favorites which only seem to span the years 1975-1989). This radio station features core artists like Lionel Richie, Madonna, Chicago, and Billy Joel and is consistently Tampa's most-popular radio station. The format is symbolic of the rise in Soft Adult Contemporary radio stations we saw in 2018.

Enigma "Return to Innocence"

While most teenagers spent their high school Spring break getting drunk on the beaches of south Florida, I spent my high school Spring breaks staying with my grandparents in Bradenton, Florida. Bradenton is about an hour south of Tampa and neighbors the city of Sarasota.  Since my parents didn't have cable at home during my high school years, I got my fill of music videos from MTV and VH-1 during Spring break in between countless trips to the pool and The Outback Steakhouse. One of my many memories from Spring Break 1994 featured "Return to Innocence" from the New Age band Enigma on heavy rotation at VH-1. The relaxing tune seemed destined to be the soundtrack at massage parlors, but instead managed to receive heavy radio airplay across multiple formats. The ear worm turned into a hit song in over a dozen countries.