Phil Collins, Elton John, and Gloria Estefan dominated Adult Contemporary radio back in the 1980s and '90s, yet have disappeared from modern radio. Seemingly, the only time you ever hear them is at the grocery store or your local CVS. This blog remembers the music, the stories and the quirky characters from my days working in Adult Contemporary radio.
Sunday, November 4, 2018
Janet Jackson "Together Again"
After graduating from college in 1999, I returned to my part-time DJ job at Windy 100 (WNND-FM) in Chicago. At that time, the upstart Adult Contemporary radio station was about a year old and had already eaten away at 93.9 Lite-FM's (WLIT-FM) stronghold on the market. The heritage radio station continued to present itself as an at-work radio station that shuffled through a "safe" playlist of ballads and without talk (DJs with personality). By contrast, Windy 100 pounded their mantra of "No Lite, Sleepy, Snoring, or Boring" music. While the station certainly did play some soft music (see "My Heart Will Go On"), it surrounded those songs with more upbeat tunes. Lite-FM eventually followed Windy 100's lead and added more contemporary and uptempo songs like "Together Again" from Janet Jackson -- music that the old Lite-FM would never play. By 2000, Windy 100 overtook The Lite in key demographics which led to a revolving door of personnel changes at 93.9 including their longtime Program Director and numerous on-air voices.