On March 1, Marlin Broadcasting’s 106.9 WCCC Hartford shifted from Active Rock to a broader Rock mix as it added more Classic Rock titles to its playlist.

At the time station PD Michael Picozzi told the Hartford Courant, “Today at 5 p.m. through Tuesday at noon we begin non-stop, non-interrupted program of 1069 greatest rock songs of all time. And then we start using an expanded library that will include older rock music from rock stars like Eric Clapton, ZZ Top and Stevie Ray. We will still be playing new rock music but old rock as well for a broader audience of listeners. The Rock isn’t going anywhere.”

That didn’t sit well with the existing listener base of the station. A group called “Save The Rock: CT Radio” was launched to protest the music changes. The group held a rally outside the studios of the station this past Friday at which Marlin head Woody Tanger told the protesters that the station would begin to daypart some of the previously dropped music back in.

By Monday, longtime station PD Picozzi was out of a job. Music Director/Middayer was promoted to PD to fill the role Picozzi had held since 1998. Describing the changes at the station over the past month Tanger told the Courant, “We have put the welcome mat out to men and women 35 and older. We have eliminated the music that was most offensive to the most people.”

It’s too early to tell how the changes have affected the station’s fortunes. Prior to the musical shift WCCC was on a slight upswing ratingswise moving 2.4-2.6-2.8-3.3-3.4 6+ over the past five monthlies, but still among the lowest rated stations in the Hartford market.

Here’s an hour of WCCC music at 9:30 this morning:
Pop Evil – Purple
Led Zeppelin – The Ocean
Pearl Jam – Daughter
ZZ Top – Cheap Sunglasses
Rainbow – Man On The Silver Mountain
Seven Mary Three – Cumbersome
Slash – Anastasia
AC/DC – Highway To Hell
Scorpions – Big City Nights
Tom Keifer – Solid Ground
Van Halen – Can’t Stop Lovin’ You