“I cried a couple of times editing those first logs.”
That was an AC program director talking about scheduling holiday music this year. I’ve been wondering how the audience will respond to Christmas music in this holiday season like no other. Hearing “I’ll be home for Christmas/if only in my dreams” or “through the years, we all will be together/if the fates allow” makes anybody a little wistful.
Some stations tried holiday music in the early days of COVID-19. Those experiments were short-lived. One Christmas music fan told me she didn’t want to be reminded of happier times. But the years when there might be a reason not to listen to Christmas music usually turn out to be its biggest ever. This year, the consensus is that listeners need a little Christmas. Right. This. Very. Minute. Station flips have been running 7-10 days ahead of last year.
How AC stations are handling COVID in their Christmas programming parallels how they are handling it overall—some are trying to acknowledge listeners’ challenges; some are trying to be a respite. Here is a “First Listen” to some early launches, and how those stations acknowledge their surroundings.
“For more than twenty years, the tradition continues,” said the sweeper on Christmas music’s first and most copied success story. Paul Kelly was on P.M. drive, and also on “Hidden Gem” vignettes; (one was that the first radio broadcast in 1906 was a Christmas concert and featured “O Holy Night”). The station was also participating in iHeart’s nationwide “Christmas Cash.”
KESZ acknowledged the different nature of this Christmas three times over the course of the hour. Two were attitude sweepers—“the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg is a welcome change from the smell of Lysol Wipes and hand sanitizer. Am I right?” Kelly also did a break about how Walmart was acknowledging fewer gatherings this year by selling smaller turkeys “if it’s just you and the core group.”
Here’s KEZ at 4 p.m., Nov. 11:
- ‘N Sync, “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays”
- Sarah McLachlan, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
- Ronettes, “Sleigh Ride”
- Vince Guaraldi Trio, “O Tannenbaum”
- Burl Ives, “A Holly Jolly Christmas”
- Ray Conniff, “Twelve Days Of Christmas”
- Michael Bublé, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
- Jose Feliciano, “Feliz Navidad”
- Daryl Hall & John Oates, “Jingle Bell Rock”
- Gene Autry, “Here Comes Santa Claus”
- Andy Williams, “Most Wonderful Time Of The Year”
- Jewel, “Winter Wonderland”
- Nat “King” Cole, “Deck The Halls”
- David Foster, “Carol of the Bells”
- Taylor Swift, “Last Christmas”
- Percy Faith, “We Need A Little Christmas”
Maybe it was because I heard the first hour of Christmas programming, but B101—also a holiday powerhouse—was candid about what kind of year we’re having. “2020 has definitely made my naughty list this year,” said Santa Claus, in the promo that kicked off the format change. “But Mrs. Claus, the elves, and I have been social distancing for this very occasion . . .it’s time to bring happiness and joy back to the Delaware Valley!” In the same promo, an elf quips, “We’ve been using hand Santa-tizer!” “Smells like whiskey,” says another.
B101’s first hour promo included a teaser for a Google Nest Audio giveaway as well as a promo for its annual school Christmas choir competition. This year, the promo noted, it was okay to submit smaller groups or even a soloist. The tag was “so join us in saving this challenging year, with prizes and choirs and holiday cheer.”
The first hour was launched by morning team Jenn & Bill. They probably would have done that in a normal year, but there’s something very 2020 about a morning team being on after 10 a.m., although the team’s Bill Tafrow went solo after the first break. Here’s B101 at 10 a.m. on Nov. 12.
- Burl Ives, “A Holly Jolly Christmas”
- Paul McCartney, “Wonderful Christmastime”
- Dean Martin, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
- Taylor Swift, “Last Christmas”
- Johnny Mathis, “We Need A Little Christmas”
- Amy Grant, “Winter Wonderland”
- Bing Crosby, “White Christmas”
- John Cougar Mellencamp, “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”
- Gene Autry, “Up On The Housetop”
- Madonna, “Santa Baby”
- Leroy Anderson, “Sleigh Ride”
- Andy Williams, “Happy Holidays/It’s The Holiday Season”
- Mariah Carey, “All I Want For Christmas Is You”
- Thurl Ravenscroft, “You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch”
- Stevie Wonder, “Someday At Christmas”
- Kelly Clarkson, “My Grown-Up Christmas List”
Christian AC stations talk to listeners about their challenges throughout the year. So it followed that Star 99.1 would be forthright about this holiday season. “2020 is a year we’ll never forget,” declared a two-voice sweeper. “We’re here to help you end it on a high note. With songs to remind you of what’s really important—faith, family, and love.” Another sweeper began with “after the year this has been . . .” followed by the hook from “We Need A Little Christmas.”
Star 99.1’s holiday show is virtual this year. It’s Danny Gokey, Natalie Grant, Mandisa, Lilly Goodman and other acts on Nov. 21. The station is also conducting a holiday blood drive on Nov. 24. Middayer Brenda Price talked about the blood drive, and the safety protocols that went with it. “One of the most important things we can do as a nation is come together and take care of each other,” she said.
Here’s Star 99.1 at 10 a.m., November 12:
- Big Daddy Weave, “Christ Is Come”
- Matthew West, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
- Chris Tomlin, “Joy To The World”—an uptempo pop/punk version
- Johnny Mathis, “The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year”
- John Denver & Muppets, “12 Days of Christmas”
- Francesca Battistelli, “Messiah”
- Elvis Presley, “Blue Christmas”
- Lauren Daigle, “O Holy Night”
- Ben Rector, “The Thanksgiving Song”
- Carpenters, “Home for the Holidays”
- Michael W. Smith, “Welcome To Our World”
- Dean Martin, “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”
- Burl Ives, “A Holly Jolly Christmas”
- Amy Grant, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
- Vince Guaraldi Trio, “O Tannenbaum”
- Andy Williams, “Happy Holidays/It’s The Holiday Season”
- MercyMe, “Joseph’s Lullaby”
- Drifters, “White Christmas”
KRTO (Mega Hits 97.1) Santa Maria, Calif.
KRTO is Rhythmic Hot AC. But veteran programmer Steve Clem has been involved with programming Christmas music for 25 years, including the then-Clear Channel’s Soft AC stations in the early 2000s. So theirs is a hit-driven, traditional-leaning mix along the line of the iHeart Media Christmas stations. Clem is also producing the station’s imaging, with an emphasis on listener drops about holiday traditions.
Here’s “Christmas 97.1” at 11:15 a.m., November 12:
- John Lennon, “Happy Xmas/War Is Over”
- Carpenters, “Merry Christmas Darling”
- Mannheim Steamroller, “Carol Of The Bells”
- Vince Guaraldi Trio, “Christmas Time Is Here”
- Leroy Anderson, “Sleigh Ride”
- Frank Sinatra & Cyndi Lauper, “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”
- Jimmy Buffett, “Mele Kalikimaka”
- Ray Conniff, “Frosty the Snowman”
- Bing Crosby, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”
- John Legend f/Esperanza Spalding, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
- Johnny Mathis, “Have A Holly Jolly Christmas”
- Mariah Carey, “All I Want For Christmas”
- Gene Autry, “Here Comes Santa Claus”
- Tony Bennett, “Winter Wonderland”
- Josh Groban, “Believe”
