Contemporary hit radio
Encyclopedia
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format
that is common in the United States
, United Kingdom
, Canada
and Australia
that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts. There are several subcategories, dominantly focusing on rock
, pop
, or urban music. Used alone, CHR most often refers to the CHR/pop format. The term Contemporary Hit Radio was coined in the early 1980s by Radio & Records
magazine to designate Top 40 stations which continued to play hits from all musical genres such as pop music splintered into Adult contemporary, urban contemporary
and other formats.
The term Top 40 is also used to refer to the actual list of hit songs, and, by extension, to refer to pop music
in general. The term has also been modified to describe Top 50; Top 30; Top 20; Top 10; Hot 100 (each with its number of songs) and Hot Hits radio formats, but carrying more or less the same meaning and having the same creative point of origin with Todd Storz
as further refined by Gordon McLendon
as well as Bill Drake
. The format became especially popular in the sixties as radio stations constrained disc jockeys to numbered play lists in the wake of the payola
scandal.
remixes of popular songs with perhaps some current hits from the dance charts. Pure dance-music radio stations (as opposed to CHR/rhythmic and Rhythmic AC formats such as MOViN) are not very common but tend to have loyal audiences in the markets where they do exist. Examples include WPTY on Long Island, NY and KNHC in Seattle.see also: Dance/Mix Show Airplay
and R&B
. There are subtle differences between CHR/rhythmic and the urban contemporary
format; urban stations will often play R&B and soul
songs that CHR/rhythmic stations will not, and CHR/rhythmic stations, despite playlists heavy with urban product, sometimes have white disc jockeys and formatic elements resembling CHR/Pop, which includes R&B or hip-hop influenced pop and/or dance tracks. WWPR
in New York
, WGCI in Chicago
, and KMEL
in San Francisco are among the most successful CHR/urban stations in the United States. WBBM-FM
in Chicago
, KYLD in San Francisco, WQHT in New York
, and KPWR
in Los Angeles
are among the most successful CHR/rhythmic stations in the U.S. and among the pioneers of the format.
, Beyonce
, Flo Rida
, Britney Spears
, Usher, Kanye West
, T.I.
, or Ne-Yo
while still shying away from hardcore hip hop. Examples include WWMX in Baltimore, MD and WKRQ
in Cincinnati, OH
, which both report as Hot AC to Nielsen BDS and Mediabase
. WSTR-FM and WWWQ in Atlanta, GA
, KHMX in Houston, TX, and KVUU
in Colorado Springs, CO
also fall in the Adult CHR category, but are listed in R&R and Mediabase as CHR/Pop reporters. The Adult CHR format is sometimes utilized by stations which are heritage Top 40/CHR outlets in their respective markets which have been in the format since the 1970s or 1980s (such as WKRQ) or FM successors to former AM Top 40s (Cumulus
-owned WKFR-FM in Kalamazoo, MI and WHOT-FM
in Youngstown, OH are two examples). This format contains a strong focus on current, contemporary and recurrent hits as well as placing a minority of older tunes onto the playlist. see also: Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
, urban
, alternative
and rock hits, and sometimes country
crossover as well. Often referred as "Top 40"; in terms of incorporating a variety of genres of music, CHR/Pop is the successor to the original concept of Top 40 radio originated in the 1950s. WHTZ
and WXRK in New York City
, KIIS
and KAMP in Los Angeles
, KKHH in Houston, WKSC-FM in Chicago
, WHYI
in Miami, KDWB
in Minneapolis, and WFLZ in Tampa, FL are the best-known CHR/Pop stations in the U.S. see also: Top 40 Mainstream
and Modern AC titles in an upbeat presentation. Examples include WIXX in Green Bay, WI
, and KLAL in Little Rock, AR
.
There are also ethnic variations, such as CHR/español (Latin pop
), and CHR/Tejano (Tex-Mex and Tejano
) which are commonly found in Arizona
, Texas
, California
, and Mexico
. In Greater China (People's Republic of China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong), there is also Mandopop
and Cantopop
which are the top 40 variants in that language.
, who was the director of radio station KOWH
-AM in Omaha
, Nebraska
in 1951. At that time typical AM radio programming consisted largely of "block programming" — pre-scheduled, sponsored programs of a wide variety, including radio drama
s and variety shows. Local popular music hits, if they made it on the air at all, had to be worked in between these segments. Storz noted the great response certain songs got from the record-buying public and compared it to the way certain selections on jukebox
es were played over and over. He expanded his domain of radio stations, purchasing WTIX-AM
in New Orleans
, Louisiana
, gradually converted his stations to an all-hits format, and pioneered the practice of surveying record stores to determine which singles were popular each week. Storz found that the more people heard a given song on the radio or from the jukebox, the more likely they were to buy a copy; a conclusion not obvious in the industry at the time. In 1952 he purchased what was then WLAF-AM in Lafayette Indiana and constructed WAZY-AM/FM which is still the longest running Top 40 FM in existence to this day. In 1954, Storz purchased WHB
-AM, a high-powered station in Kansas City
, Missouri
which could be heard throughout the Midwest and Great Plains, converted it to an all-hits format, and dubbed the result "Top 40". Shortly thereafter WHB debuted the first top 40 countdown, a reverse-order playing of the station's ranking of hit singles for that week. Within a few years, Top 40 stations appeared all over the country to great success, spurred by the burgeoning popularity of rock and roll
music, especially that of Elvis Presley
. A 1950's employee at WHB, Ruth Meyer, went on to have tremendous success in the early to mid-60's as program director of New York's premiere top 40 station at that time, WMCA.
Storz Broadcasting Company consisted of six AM radio stations, all featuring Top 40 in the sixties.
of Dallas
, Texas
is regarded as the person who took an idea and turned it into a mass media marketing success in combination with the development in that same city of PAMS
jingles. McLendon's successful KLIF
in Dallas, which went Top 40 around 1953 or 1954, soon became perhaps the most imitated radio station in America. With careful attention to programming, McLendon presented his stations as packages to advertisers and listeners alike. It was the combination of Top 40 and PAMS jingles which became the key to the success of the radio format itself. Not only were the same records played on different stations across America, but so were the same jingle music beds whose lyrics were resung repetitively for each station to create individual station identity. To this basic mix were added contests, games and disc jockey
patter. Various groups (including Bartell Broadcasters), emphasized local variations on their Top 40 stations.
Gordon McLendon would operate approximately a dozen and a half AM, FM and TV stations at various times, experimenting with formats other than Top 40 (including Beautiful Music
and all-news).
also developed the Top 40 format for radio station WABC
in New York City
which was then copied by stations in the eastern and mid-western United States such as WKBW
and WLS
.
built upon the foundation established by Storz and McLendon to create a variation called Boss Radio
. This format began in California in early 1961 at KSTN (Stockton), then in 1962-63 at KYNO (Fresno), in 1964 at KGB (San Diego), and finally to KHJ
Los Angeles
in May 1965, and was further adapted to stations across the western USA. It was later broadcast by American disc jockeys as a hybrid format on Swinging Radio England
which broadcast from onboard a ship anchored off the coast of southern England
in international waters
. At that time there were no commercial radio stations in the UK, and BBC radio offered only sporadic top 40 programming. Other noteworthy North American top 40 stations that used the "Drake" approach included KFRC
in San Francisco; CKLW
in Windsor, ON; WRKO
in Boston; WHBQ
in Memphis, TN; WOLF
in Syracuse, NY; and WOR-FM in New York City. Most listeners identified Boss Radio with less talk, shorter jingles and more music.
" stations of the late 1970s and early 1980s attempted to revitalize the format by refocusing listeners' attention on current, active "box-office" music. Thus, Hot Hits stations played only current hit songs - no oldies unless they were on current chart albums - in a fast, furious and repetitive fashion, with fast-talking personalities and loud, pounding jingles. In 1977, WTIC-FM
in Hartford, CT, dropped its long-running classical format for Joseph's format as "96 Tics" and immediately became one of the top radio stations in the market. The first Joseph station to use the term "Hot Hits" on the air was WFBL
("Fire 14", which played its top 14 hits in very tight rotation) in Syracuse, NY, in 1979. Then WCAU-FM
in Philadelphia switched to Hot Hits as "98 Now" in the fall of 1981 and was instantly successful. Other major-market stations which adopted the Hot Hits format in the early 1980s included WBBM-FM
Chicago, WHYT (now WDVD
) Detroit, WMAR-FM (now WWMX) Baltimore, KITS
San Francisco, and WNVZ
Norfolk.
took the formats of Gordon McLendon, Boss Radio and PAMS jingles to the United Kingdom in the form of Wonderful Radio London, (A Pirate Radio Ship) and subsequently revolutionized the popular music format. On 14 August 1967 The Marine Offences Act was introduced in the UK and the Pirate Stations were shut down.
The British Broadcasting Corporation where chosen by the UK Government to come up with a Station to replace the Pirates, And so in 1967 BBC Radio 1 started broadcasting having employed many of the DJ's from the Pirate stations (Tony Blackburn, Kenny Everett & John Peel Etc.) and obtained re-sings of the PAM's Jingles.
In fact it was Tony Blackburn who played the first Pop record on Radio 1, The Move. Flowers In The Rain.
Radio format
A radio format or programming format not to be confused with broadcast programming describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve...
that is common in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts. There are several subcategories, dominantly focusing on rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, or urban music. Used alone, CHR most often refers to the CHR/pop format. The term Contemporary Hit Radio was coined in the early 1980s by Radio & Records
Radio & Records
Radio & Records was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It originally started out as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006, up until its final issue in 2009.-History:The company was founded in 1973 and...
magazine to designate Top 40 stations which continued to play hits from all musical genres such as pop music splintered into Adult contemporary, urban contemporary
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
and other formats.
The term Top 40 is also used to refer to the actual list of hit songs, and, by extension, to refer to pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
in general. The term has also been modified to describe Top 50; Top 30; Top 20; Top 10; Hot 100 (each with its number of songs) and Hot Hits radio formats, but carrying more or less the same meaning and having the same creative point of origin with Todd Storz
Todd Storz
Robert Todd Storz is credited with being the father of the Top 40 radio format, which Gordon McLendon then went on to perfect with great commercial success during the 1950s and 1960s.-Biography:...
as further refined by Gordon McLendon
Gordon McLendon
Gordon Barton McLendon was a radio pioneer and pirate radio broadcaster. He has been coined the Maverick of Radio. McLendon is widely credited for perfecting, with great commercial success, the Top 40 radio format during the 1950s and 1960s which was first invented by Todd Storz and for developing...
as well as Bill Drake
Bill Drake
Bill Drake , born Philip Yarbrough, was an American radio programmer who co-developed the Boss Radio format with Gene Chenault via their company Drake-Chenault.-Early career:...
. The format became especially popular in the sixties as radio stations constrained disc jockeys to numbered play lists in the wake of the payola
Payola
Payola, in the American music industry, is the illegal practice of payment or other inducement by record companies for the broadcast of recordings on music radio, in which the song is presented as being part of the normal day's broadcast. Under U.S...
scandal.
CHR/dance
Playing danceElectronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
remixes of popular songs with perhaps some current hits from the dance charts. Pure dance-music radio stations (as opposed to CHR/rhythmic and Rhythmic AC formats such as MOViN) are not very common but tend to have loyal audiences in the markets where they do exist. Examples include WPTY on Long Island, NY and KNHC in Seattle.see also: Dance/Mix Show Airplay
CHR/rhythmic or CHR/urban (CHuRban)
Focusing on hip-hopHip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
and R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
. There are subtle differences between CHR/rhythmic and the urban contemporary
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
format; urban stations will often play R&B and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
songs that CHR/rhythmic stations will not, and CHR/rhythmic stations, despite playlists heavy with urban product, sometimes have white disc jockeys and formatic elements resembling CHR/Pop, which includes R&B or hip-hop influenced pop and/or dance tracks. WWPR
WWPR-FM
WWPR-FM, also known as "Power 105.1", is an urban contemporary radio station that features hip hop and R&B licensed to New York City that serves the Greater New York area....
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, WGCI in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, and KMEL
KMEL
KMEL is an Urban Contemporary-formatted radio station located in San Francisco, California, and owned by Clear Channel Communications....
in San Francisco are among the most successful CHR/urban stations in the United States. WBBM-FM
WBBM-FM
WBBM-FM, known on air as "B96", is a Rhythmic Contemporary outlet in Chicago, Illinois with a Rhythmic based playlist. The station is owned by CBS Radio and broadcasts at 96.3 MHz with an ERP of 4.2 kW. WBBM's main competition is WKSC-FM "103.5 Kiss FM", as well as urban rivals WGCI-FM &...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, KYLD in San Francisco, WQHT in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and KPWR
KPWR
KPWR is a commercial radio station located in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area on an analog signal and in HD Radio...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
are among the most successful CHR/rhythmic stations in the U.S. and among the pioneers of the format.
Adult CHR
These stations typically are hybrids of the Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR/pop) and the Hot AC formats. Some Adult CHR stations may play pop-friendly rhythmic, dance or hip hop titles from artists such as RihannaRihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
, Beyonce
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
, Flo Rida
Flo Rida
Tramar Dillard , better known by his stage name Flo Rida , is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He released his debut album, Mail on Sunday, in March 2008. His debut single "Low", featuring T-Pain, was a #1 hit for ten weeks in United States in early 2008. Two other singles resulted from...
, Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
, Usher, Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
, T.I.
T.I.
Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. , better known by his stage name T.I., is an American rap artist, film and music producer, actor and author. He is also the founder and co-chief executive officer of Grand Hustle Records....
, or Ne-Yo
Ne-Yo
Shaffer Chimere Smith, Jr. , better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. Beginning his career as a songwriter, Ne-Yo penned the hit "Let Me Love You" for singer Mario...
while still shying away from hardcore hip hop. Examples include WWMX in Baltimore, MD and WKRQ
WKRQ
WKRQ, known on-air as Q102, is a radio station located in the Cincinnati, Ohio area and broadcasts at 101.9 FM. Its transmitter is located in Cincinnati. It carries an adult top 40 format and is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting.-History:...
in Cincinnati, OH
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, which both report as Hot AC to Nielsen BDS and Mediabase
Mediabase
Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analytical tools for radio and record industry professionals...
. WSTR-FM and WWWQ in Atlanta, GA
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, KHMX in Houston, TX, and KVUU
KVUU
KVUU is a Hot AC radio station in the Colorado Springs, Colorado, area that is known by its moniker "My999". It was known for many years by its previous moniker, "K-View 99.9".-99.9 FM history:...
in Colorado Springs, CO
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
also fall in the Adult CHR category, but are listed in R&R and Mediabase as CHR/Pop reporters. The Adult CHR format is sometimes utilized by stations which are heritage Top 40/CHR outlets in their respective markets which have been in the format since the 1970s or 1980s (such as WKRQ) or FM successors to former AM Top 40s (Cumulus
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
-owned WKFR-FM in Kalamazoo, MI and WHOT-FM
WHOT-FM
WHOT-FM is a commercial radio station in Youngstown, Ohio, USA, broadcasting at 101.1 MHz with a Top 40 format. It is one of seven radio stations in the Youngstown market owned by Cumulus Broadcasting. Its transmitter is located in Youngstown...
in Youngstown, OH are two examples). This format contains a strong focus on current, contemporary and recurrent hits as well as placing a minority of older tunes onto the playlist. see also: Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
Adult Top 40 is a variation on the United States Billboard charts...
CHR/pop (also known as Mainstream CHR)
Plays popPop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, urban
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
, alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
and rock hits, and sometimes country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
crossover as well. Often referred as "Top 40"; in terms of incorporating a variety of genres of music, CHR/Pop is the successor to the original concept of Top 40 radio originated in the 1950s. WHTZ
WHTZ
WHTZ — branded Z100 — is a commercial pop/contemporary hit radio radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey serving the New York metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications...
and WXRK in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, KIIS
KIIS-FM
KIIS-FM is a Los Angeles, California, USA-based radio station with a partial Top 40 musical format. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications. KIIS is also simulcasted on KVVS in Rosamond, at 105.5 MHz...
and KAMP in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, KKHH in Houston, WKSC-FM in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, WHYI
WHYI
WHYI-FM, better known as Y-100, is a heritage FM Top 40 contemporary hit radio station that broadcasts at 100.7 MHz. Its city of license is Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Y-100 broadcasts at an effective radiated power of 98,000 watts from its 1,005 foot transmitter, which is located on the...
in Miami, KDWB
KDWB
KDWB-FM is an American commercial radio station broadcasting in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota, the radio format was known for over fifty years as a major contemporary hit radio Top 40 pop music outlet. Its transmitter is located in Shoreview, Minnesota. It broadcasts in 5.1 cinema-quality...
in Minneapolis, and WFLZ in Tampa, FL are the best-known CHR/Pop stations in the U.S. see also: Top 40 Mainstream
CHR/rock
Stations with this format are similar to the Adult CHR and Mainstream CHR/pop formats, but also incorporate Modern RockModern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
and Modern AC titles in an upbeat presentation. Examples include WIXX in Green Bay, WI
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
, and KLAL in Little Rock, AR
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
.
There are also ethnic variations, such as CHR/español (Latin pop
Latin pop
Latin pop generally refers to pop music that has what may be perceived a Latin American influence...
), and CHR/Tejano (Tex-Mex and Tejano
Tejano music
Tejano music or Tex-Mex music is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Mexican-American populations of Central and Southern Texas...
) which are commonly found in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. In Greater China (People's Republic of China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong), there is also Mandopop
Mandopop
Mandopop is a colloquial abbreviation for "Mandarin popular music." It is categorized as a subgenre of commercial Chinese-language music within C-pop. Mandopop was the first variety of popular music in Chinese to establish itself as a viable industry. As the name implies, Mandopop features songs...
and Cantopop
Cantopop
Cantopop is a colloquialism for "Cantonese popular music". It is sometimes referred to as HK-pop, short for "Hong Kong popular music". It is categorized as a subgenre of Chinese popular music within C-pop...
which are the top 40 variants in that language.
Todd Storz
Credit for the format is widely given to Todd StorzTodd Storz
Robert Todd Storz is credited with being the father of the Top 40 radio format, which Gordon McLendon then went on to perfect with great commercial success during the 1950s and 1960s.-Biography:...
, who was the director of radio station KOWH
KCRO
KCRO 660 AM is an Omaha, Nebraska area Salem Communications - owned Christian radio station that can be heard during the day as far south as Missouri and Kansas and North into parts of Minnesota and South Dakota. KCRO airs national programs hosted by such people as Hank Hanegraaff, Jay Sekulow,...
-AM in Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
in 1951. At that time typical AM radio programming consisted largely of "block programming" — pre-scheduled, sponsored programs of a wide variety, including radio drama
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
s and variety shows. Local popular music hits, if they made it on the air at all, had to be worked in between these segments. Storz noted the great response certain songs got from the record-buying public and compared it to the way certain selections on jukebox
Jukebox
A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media...
es were played over and over. He expanded his domain of radio stations, purchasing WTIX-AM
WIST (AM)
WIST is a combo news/sports talk station based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The locally owned & operated station is an affiliate of Fox Sports Radio and broadcasts at 690 kHz with a power level of 10,000 watts daytime and 5,000 watts nighttime.The facilities of the station, previously called...
in New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, gradually converted his stations to an all-hits format, and pioneered the practice of surveying record stores to determine which singles were popular each week. Storz found that the more people heard a given song on the radio or from the jukebox, the more likely they were to buy a copy; a conclusion not obvious in the industry at the time. In 1952 he purchased what was then WLAF-AM in Lafayette Indiana and constructed WAZY-AM/FM which is still the longest running Top 40 FM in existence to this day. In 1954, Storz purchased WHB
WHB
WHB is a commercial sports radio station in Kansas City, Missouri, and is known as the first full-time Top 40 station in the country...
-AM, a high-powered station in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
which could be heard throughout the Midwest and Great Plains, converted it to an all-hits format, and dubbed the result "Top 40". Shortly thereafter WHB debuted the first top 40 countdown, a reverse-order playing of the station's ranking of hit singles for that week. Within a few years, Top 40 stations appeared all over the country to great success, spurred by the burgeoning popularity of rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
music, especially that of Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
. A 1950's employee at WHB, Ruth Meyer, went on to have tremendous success in the early to mid-60's as program director of New York's premiere top 40 station at that time, WMCA.
Storz Broadcasting Company consisted of six AM radio stations, all featuring Top 40 in the sixties.
Gordon McLendon
Although Todd Storz is regarded as the father of the Top 100 format, Gordon McLendonGordon McLendon
Gordon Barton McLendon was a radio pioneer and pirate radio broadcaster. He has been coined the Maverick of Radio. McLendon is widely credited for perfecting, with great commercial success, the Top 40 radio format during the 1950s and 1960s which was first invented by Todd Storz and for developing...
of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
is regarded as the person who took an idea and turned it into a mass media marketing success in combination with the development in that same city of PAMS
PAMS
PAMS , based in Dallas, Texas, was the most famous jingle production company in American broadcasting. It produced identification packages for radio stations around the world, as well as some commercial music.-History:The company was founded by William B. Meeks, Jr. PAMS (an acronym for Production,...
jingles. McLendon's successful KLIF
KLIF
KLIF is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Dallas, Texas, USA. The station is owned by Cumulus Media. KLIF broadcasts a conservative-leaning news/talk radio format to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.-Call sign history:...
in Dallas, which went Top 40 around 1953 or 1954, soon became perhaps the most imitated radio station in America. With careful attention to programming, McLendon presented his stations as packages to advertisers and listeners alike. It was the combination of Top 40 and PAMS jingles which became the key to the success of the radio format itself. Not only were the same records played on different stations across America, but so were the same jingle music beds whose lyrics were resung repetitively for each station to create individual station identity. To this basic mix were added contests, games and disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
patter. Various groups (including Bartell Broadcasters), emphasized local variations on their Top 40 stations.
Gordon McLendon would operate approximately a dozen and a half AM, FM and TV stations at various times, experimenting with formats other than Top 40 (including Beautiful Music
Beautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
and all-news).
Rick Sklar
In the early 1960s Rick SklarRick Sklar
Rick Sklar was an American radio program director, who while at New York City's WABC was one of the originators of the Top 40 radio format....
also developed the Top 40 format for radio station WABC
WABC (AM)
WABC , known as "NewsTalkRadio 77 WABC" is a radio station in New York City. Owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of Cumulus Media Networks...
in New York City
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
which was then copied by stations in the eastern and mid-western United States such as WKBW
WWKB
WWKB is an AM radio station in Buffalo, New York that operates on a frequency of 1520 kHz. It is owned and operated by Entercom Communications. The station carries a progressive talk radio format. Declaring itself as A New Voice, A New Choice, The Voice of the New Majority; WWKB carries a number...
and WLS
WLS (AM)
WLS is a Chicago clear-channel AM station on 890 kHz. It uses C-QUAM AM stereo and transmits with 50,000 watts from transmitter and towers on the south edge of Tinley Park, Illinois....
.
Bill Drake
Bill DrakeBill Drake
Bill Drake , born Philip Yarbrough, was an American radio programmer who co-developed the Boss Radio format with Gene Chenault via their company Drake-Chenault.-Early career:...
built upon the foundation established by Storz and McLendon to create a variation called Boss Radio
Boss Radio
Boss Radio was the name of two radio programming formats, both launched in the early 1960s: One in the United States, and one in the United Kingdom. Although the names were the same, the formats were quite different.-Boss Radio in the United States:...
. This format began in California in early 1961 at KSTN (Stockton), then in 1962-63 at KYNO (Fresno), in 1964 at KGB (San Diego), and finally to KHJ
KHJ (AM)
KHJ Radio in Los Angeles, California broadcasts Spanish-language entertainment programming as La Ranchera. It was also one of America's most formidable Top 40 radio stations in the 1960s and 1970s as 93 KHJ before changing its format in 1980....
Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in May 1965, and was further adapted to stations across the western USA. It was later broadcast by American disc jockeys as a hybrid format on Swinging Radio England
Swinging Radio England
Swinging Radio England was a top 40 offshore commercial station billed as the "World's Most Powerful" that operated from 3 May 1966 to 13 November 1966 from a ship in the North Sea, three and a half miles off Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, England...
which broadcast from onboard a ship anchored off the coast of southern England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in international waters
International waters
The terms international waters or trans-boundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems , and wetlands.Oceans,...
. At that time there were no commercial radio stations in the UK, and BBC radio offered only sporadic top 40 programming. Other noteworthy North American top 40 stations that used the "Drake" approach included KFRC
KFRC (defunct)
KFRC was a radio station in San Francisco, California in the United States, which made its first broadcast on Wednesday, September 24, 1924, from studios in the Hotel Whitcomb 1231 Market Street. KFRC originally broadcast with 50 watts on the 270 meter wavelength , then moved to 660 kHz. in...
in San Francisco; CKLW
CKLW
CKLW is a 50,000 watt AM radio station broadcasting on 800 kHz and located in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and serving Windsor and Detroit. Additionally, its signal can be heard as far west as Belding, Michigan; as far east as Batavia, New York; as far south as Edgewood, Kentucky; and as far...
in Windsor, ON; WRKO
WRKO
WRKO is a radio station based in Boston, Massachusetts, currently owned by Entercom. Its transmitter is located in Burlington, Massachusetts, next to the Burlington Mall.-1920-1940:...
in Boston; WHBQ
WHBQ (AM)
WHBQ is an AM radio station in Memphis, Tennessee, in the United States of America. Its frequency is 560 kHz. Although today it broadcasts sports news exclusively, the station became famous in the 1950s for playing rhythm and blues....
in Memphis, TN; WOLF
WOLF-FM
WMVN is a Rhythmic Adult Contemporary radio station serving the Syracuse market. WMVN operates at 100.3 MHz on the FM dial. A separate translator, W243AB, serves the city of Syracuse, New York on the 96.5 frequency...
in Syracuse, NY; and WOR-FM in New York City. Most listeners identified Boss Radio with less talk, shorter jingles and more music.
Mike Joseph and Hot Hits
Mike Joseph's "Hot HitsHot Hits
Hot Hits was a radio format created by consultant Mike Joseph in the 1970s. That concept, which helped spur the birth of what is now known as CHR, also revitalized the Top 40 format and would play a role in bringing the format to the FM band throughout the 1980s.The concept was to play only the...
" stations of the late 1970s and early 1980s attempted to revitalize the format by refocusing listeners' attention on current, active "box-office" music. Thus, Hot Hits stations played only current hit songs - no oldies unless they were on current chart albums - in a fast, furious and repetitive fashion, with fast-talking personalities and loud, pounding jingles. In 1977, WTIC-FM
WTIC-FM
WTIC-FM is a radio station primarily serving the Hartford, Connecticut market, though its signal can be picked up throughout most of Connecticut and into Springfield, Massachusetts. It currently broadcasts a Hot Adult Contemporary format. It is located on the dial at 96.5 MHz...
in Hartford, CT, dropped its long-running classical format for Joseph's format as "96 Tics" and immediately became one of the top radio stations in the market. The first Joseph station to use the term "Hot Hits" on the air was WFBL
WFBL
WFBL, located at 1390 kHz on the AM dial, is a talk and news radio station owned by Buckley Broadcasting and serving the city of Syracuse, New York....
("Fire 14", which played its top 14 hits in very tight rotation) in Syracuse, NY, in 1979. Then WCAU-FM
WOGL
WOGL is an FM radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.The station plays mostly post 1964 pop leaning Oldies positioned Classic Hits music, including Motown, soul and rock and roll spanning roughly 1964–1985. An occasional pre-1964 song is played. WOGL is owned by CBS Radio...
in Philadelphia switched to Hot Hits as "98 Now" in the fall of 1981 and was instantly successful. Other major-market stations which adopted the Hot Hits format in the early 1980s included WBBM-FM
WBBM-FM
WBBM-FM, known on air as "B96", is a Rhythmic Contemporary outlet in Chicago, Illinois with a Rhythmic based playlist. The station is owned by CBS Radio and broadcasts at 96.3 MHz with an ERP of 4.2 kW. WBBM's main competition is WKSC-FM "103.5 Kiss FM", as well as urban rivals WGCI-FM &...
Chicago, WHYT (now WDVD
WDVD
WDVD is a hot adult contemporary radio station in Detroit, Michigan, broadcasting at 96.3 MHz on the FM dial. WDVD's studios and offices are located in the Fisher Building near downtown Detroit. WDVD's transmitter is located in Oakland County in Royal Oak Township at 8 Mile Road and Wyoming Avenue...
) Detroit, WMAR-FM (now WWMX) Baltimore, KITS
KITS
KITS is a San Francisco, California, USA-based radio station broadcasting at 105.3 MHz. The station is owned by CBS Radio and programs a modern rock format. The station also broadcasts on HD channel L2, locally on Comcast cable channel 986, and is streaming online.-Hot Hits:The station's...
San Francisco, and WNVZ
WNVZ
WNVZ is a Rhythmic Contemporary Hit Radio formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, serving Hampton Roads. WNVZ is owned and operated by Entercom.-1967 to 1972 , Country as WTID-FM:...
Norfolk.
Don Pierson
Don PiersonDon Pierson
Donald Grey Pierson was a businessman and civic leader in Eastland, Texas. He founded the British pirate stations Wonderful Radio London, Swinging Radio England and Britain Radio during the 1960s...
took the formats of Gordon McLendon, Boss Radio and PAMS jingles to the United Kingdom in the form of Wonderful Radio London, (A Pirate Radio Ship) and subsequently revolutionized the popular music format. On 14 August 1967 The Marine Offences Act was introduced in the UK and the Pirate Stations were shut down.
The British Broadcasting Corporation where chosen by the UK Government to come up with a Station to replace the Pirates, And so in 1967 BBC Radio 1 started broadcasting having employed many of the DJ's from the Pirate stations (Tony Blackburn, Kenny Everett & John Peel Etc.) and obtained re-sings of the PAM's Jingles.
In fact it was Tony Blackburn who played the first Pop record on Radio 1, The Move. Flowers In The Rain.
See also
- List of music radio formats
- Top 40 Mainstream
- Urban Top 40
- List of Number 1 Hits (USA)
- Radio CarolineRadio CarolineRadio Caroline is an English radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly...
, pirate radioPirate radioPirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
offshore station (1964–present) broadcasting off the coast of EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. - Wonderful Radio LondonWonderful Radio LondonRadio London, also known as Big L and Wonderful Radio London, was a top 40 offshore commercial station that operated from 16 December 1964 to 14 August 1967, from a ship anchored in the North Sea, three and a half miles off Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, England...
, a rival pirate radioPirate radioPirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
offshore station to Radio CarolineRadio CarolineRadio Caroline is an English radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly...
(1964–1967). - Fab 40Fab 40The "Fab 40" was a weekly playlist of popular records used by the British "pirate" radio station "Wonderful" Radio London which broadcast off the Essex coast from 1964-7.-Basis of the chart:...
, Radio London's top 40 chart - BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
and BBC 1Xtra - Casey KasemCasey KasemKemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
- Rick DeesRick DeesRigdon Osmond "Rick" Dees III is an American comedic performer, entertainer, and radio personality, best known for his internationally syndicated radio show The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown and for the novelty song "Disco Duck." He is a People's Choice Award recipient, a Grammy-nominated...
- Ryan SeacrestRyan SeacrestRyan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks,...
- 92.3 NOW FM (WXRK/New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
) - Z100WHTZWHTZ — branded Z100 — is a commercial pop/contemporary hit radio radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey serving the New York metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications...
(WHTZWHTZWHTZ — branded Z100 — is a commercial pop/contemporary hit radio radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey serving the New York metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications...
/New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
) - 102.7 KIIS-FMKIIS-FMKIIS-FM is a Los Angeles, California, USA-based radio station with a partial Top 40 musical format. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications. KIIS is also simulcasted on KVVS in Rosamond, at 105.5 MHz...
(KIIS-FM/Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
) - 97.1 AMP Radio (KAMP-FM/Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
) - 103-5 KISS-FM (WKSC-FM/ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
) - WFLZ/Tampa, FL
- HOT 89.9CIHT-FMCIHT-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts a CHR format at 89.9 on the FM dial in Ottawa, Ontario under the branding Hot 89.9 The station is owned and operated by Newcap Broadcasting....
(CIHT-FM/OttawaOttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
) - The Net 40The Net 40The Net 40 is a weekly Internet chart show which is broadcast live from the studio's of Sound Liverpool. The show is live each and every Sunday from 3pm until 6pm...
, a worldwide user generated Top 40 internet chart show. - Canadian Hit 30 CountdownCanadian Hit 30 CountdownThe Canadian Hit 30 Countdown, often abbreviated CH30, is a Canadian radio countdown show. It launched on November 6, 2004, on stations owned by Newcap Broadcasting. It is currently Canada's only CHR hit countdown.The show can be heard on CKIX-FM in St...
, it is currently Canada'sCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
only CHRContemporary hit radioContemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
countdown. - Canadian Top 20 Countdown
- The Big Top 40 ShowThe Big Top 40 ShowThe Vodafone Big Top 40 is a chart show broadcast on 140 radio stations in the UK. The chart is based on music download figures provided by iTunes.-Format:...
, This is the UK's number 1 hit music chart. It was previously known as Hit40UKHit40ukHit40UK was a networked Top 40 chart show broadcasting on around 130 UK commercial radio stations every Sunday from 4pm to 7pm. It is now a TV programme shown on 4Music. The radio version was produced in house by Global Radio and Somethin' Else...
. - The Capital FM NetworkThe Capital FM NetworkCapital is a radio network of nine Independent Local Radio stations in the United Kingdom which are owned and operated by Global Radio, launching on 3 January 2011. Capital was previously known as Mix, One, Galaxy and Hit Music at various times...
, Global RadioGlobal RadioGlobal Radio UK Ltd. is a British commercial radio company, the largest in the country following acquisitions of Chrysalis Radio and GCap Media.The company's Chief Executive Officer is Stephen Miron, while the Group Chairman is Charles Allen...
's CHR/Pop network of radio stations in the UK. - The Wave Chart Show, a South WalesSouth WalesSouth Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
hit music chart show. - The World Chart Show with Lara ScottThe World Chart Show with Lara ScottThe World Chart Show with Lara Scott is an independent internationally-syndicated weekly radio program currently hosted by Lara Scott.A typical 2 hour program features 22 songs, consisting of the Top 20 songs, compiled according to reports submitted by its affiliates; and 2 "Border Breakouts", up...
External links
- Choice Hits - a weekly music chart charting the week's top songs.
- The Reel Top 40 Radio Repository - a non profit Internet Museum of this "art form".
- Rock Radio Scrapbook - Canada's aircheck archive celebrating the Golden Years of North American Top 40 radio".
- Hot Hits information site
- Contemporary hit radio at RadioStationWorld
- Tunecaster Online Pop And Rock Music Encyclopedia - United States music charts and popular artists pages.
- Puttin' On The Hits - an ebook by former Top 40 Program Director John Long.
- Boss Radio Forever The History of KHJ Radio, Los Angeles.