We’re in the process of putting together a celebration in honor of the first FM Classic Rock radio station in America – WMMQ in Lansing. Thirty years ago, we signed on this station, and the format has grown ever since. The amazing thing is that as you scan Nielsen ratings over the past couple of years, the Classic Rock has actually gotten stronger, finding new audiences and fans.
And that’s a reminder that there’s voracious interest in Classic Rock artists and groups – the ones that have stood the test of time. One of the reasons the format has endured is that the fans who grew up with the music in real time back in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s have often passed stories about the music, the artists, the concerts, and the moments to their kids.
And the ways in which radio tells those stories behind the songs is an ongoing topic in radio. While the onslaught of the PPM methodology may have squelched the industry’s appettie for spoken word feature programming on music stations, the rise of the Internet and digital assets have made it easier and smarter for radio to present the Classic Rock narrative in various forms.
And there are many clever and insightful ways to tell those stories that often the backstories that explain how artists in the ’60s and ’70s created the music we enjoy today. Today’s post takes a look at three different approaches from three very different types of backstorytellers: a long-time voice artist, a studio engineer, and a radio journalist.
One of radio’s best is Nick Michaels whose Deep End radio show explores the full scope of Classic Rock. Nick has been one of the leading voices in the backstorytelling movement. It’s more than Nick’s compelling voice – it’s his writing, his passion, and his delivery that’s so special.
>Email recipients: click here to watch Nick Michaels’ video<
Christian Hand is a producer, studio engineer, and musician, and regular contributor to the Mark In The Morning Show on KSWD/Entercom in Los Angeles. Christian features track-by-track breakdowns of great Classic Rock songs. But the magic is that he’s the consummate tour guide, walking the listener through musical nuances they’ve never experienced, despite hearing some of these songs thousands of times over the years.
In a unique way, Hand spins untold backstories that are surprising and insightful, taking listeners inside the recording studio and the minds of Classic Rock musicians, producers, and writers.
Here, he is doing his analysis of a Led Zeppelin classic:
>Email recipients: click here to listen to Hand dissect Led Zeppelin’s “What Is & What Should Never Be”<
But great Classic Rock backstorytelling can come from anywhere, including a political correspondent. That’s right – last week, NPR’s Don Gonyea gave his public radio audience the chance to experience something unique – the story behind the misguided early takes of Bob Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone.”
>Email recipients: click here to listen to the story of Bob Dylan<
Don takes the release of Dylan’s new Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965-1966 to tell the story of the making of “Like A Rolling Stone” in a feature called “The Day Dylan Got It Right.” Anyone can buy this album. But Don used his reporting skills to take something ordinary and turn it into something extraordinary.
He tracked down Al Kooper to provide color for the story of how a Hammond organ, a new time signature, and the ambition of a hungry young studio musician led to the recording of one of the greatest Classic Rock songs ever made.
Broadcast radio should take note of the potential of Classic Rock backstorytelling, whether on-air, online, via podcast, or other delivery mechanism.
Apple is. So is Pandora and Spotify.
All three services are integrating spoken word, DJs, and other once-exclusive radio techniques to enhance their audio channels. They realize that just providing music catalogues and playlists is a limiting business model. It’s the stories behind the songs, the curation, and the presentation that make the difference.
Great backstorytelling from passionate music guides never goes out of style. In many ways, that’s the backstory behind Classic Rock’s decades of success.
Thanks to another great storyteller, Harvey Ovshinsky, for letting me know about Don Gonyea’s Dylan piece.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Great blog today(and EVERY day), Fred. So, let’s address WHY classic rock radios stations DON’T ‘tell stories’ about their songs: It’s all about the Benjamins. It costs valuable production studio time to produce vignettes, not to mention who’s gonna voice it…and “what’s in it for me” from the voice and the sales department.
Well, here’s a novel idea: SELL ‘EM.
Radio’s ‘behind the music’ feature–can be sold to clients who believe in our product(classic rock) and the passion it inspires. It can run a couple of times a day on air…AND…in the web stream in addition of those ‘bonus’ cuts loaded in. They can also be uploaded on your radio station APP as a “Stories from the Vault” feature, for instant listening.
Yeah, I love this idea, Fred.
We may not all be “Nick Michaels”…but we can tell a story OUR way.(LOVE Nick, btw).
Couldn’t agree more, JC. It may cost more to make this kind of radio, but it’s becoming more obvious every year that this is the way FM radio needs to stand out. And when you’re in a format rich with amazing music and iconic artists, it’s a blessing. Thanks for the wisdom and the comment.
Hi Fred…
Terrific article. I am constantly amazed at the longevity of the Classic Rock and Classic Hits format.
In 2003 I came up with a similar conclusion: Why does this body of music have such “great legs”, it never seems to get too old? And THAT was 12 years ago. I was actually developing the first All Comedy Radio format in Los Angeles, but was telling one of my top comedy writers about a concept that I had called “Every Song has A Story”…essentially that every truly great Rock-era song had an organic “story”…and “how cool it would be” to tell those story’s in vignette form. Something that would LITERALLY make the songs sound FRESH again. My writer, Al Perrotta, and I started researching and writing those stories. It does take Time and a lot of it…its not a turn-key deal, but it became a passion project of ours.
Fast forward to 2013, ten years after the original “Every Song Has A Story” concept…and ten years of research and writing…and now producing…and we have come up with “ROCKBOOK”. A collection of hundreds of 40-50 second vignettes that tell “the story” of so many of the great Classic Rock songs of the 60’s and 70’s. I Copyrighted the name “Rockbook”…and purchased the URL “RadioRockbook.com”.
By that time I’d joined my longtime friend and associate Lawrence Amaturo, in acquiring a 6 station group in California Wine Country, Santa Rosa. One of our market leaders is “97.7 The River, Classic Rock for The North Bay”. We started sprinkling in the Rockbook vignettes that we’d conceived and “built” over the previous ten years, onto The River programming, in all day parts. We featured the voice of Kelli Gates, former co-host with Mark and Brian at KLOS for over ten years…and local production genius, Jeff Davis.
We went into full production in 2013 and have since developed a very fresh way to make these hits have new lives. We have even developed a way to “sell” them to sponsors without jeopardizing the purity of the content or the drama of the story-telling.
I would certainly invite you to sample what we’ve developed at radiorockbook.com…and offer your feedback. The Al Kooper story of Dylan’s Like A Rolling Stone was one of the first we did several years ago. We’re not sure how we’ll roll these out nationally, but we have intent to do so…as the “heavy lifting” has been done…12 years worth so far…but doing new “stories” every week.
I hope you’ll take the time to check out radiorockbook.com and offer your feedback. Sincerely, Michael O’Shea
Michael, great to hear from you. I will most definitely check out these features, and invite our readers to do so as well. This is smart stuff, and the kind of things Classic stations need to do to keep the music sounding fresh, especially up against playlist services. We never dreamed of the day when every great Classic Rock/Hit song ever recorded would be available on-demand on a device the size of a pack of cigarettes. How radio presents and showcases these great songs, artists, and times could tell a story of its own of the medium’s survival. Thanks again.
Michael, these are well done! Congrats!
Thanks Fred. They’ve made a HUGE difference on 97.7 The River here in the SF North Bay. I can never listen to “Get Back”, “Like A Rolling Stone” or dozens of others the same. The beauty of this genre’ of music was that the songs were NOT assembly-line produced. Virtually all of them DID have a story…an organic development. CSNY’s story behind “Ohio” is compelling and dramatic. Its fun to tell the stories and do so in a way that doesn’t really interrupt the format or the flow. I don’t even want to tell you how much a client paid us to OWN the concept for a year . Thanks again. M.O.