Not every Top 40 or Hot AC programmer is sure what to do about Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” since its phenomenal Stranger Things resurgence, but many are. “Running Up That Hill” has been serviced, but isn’t being actively promoted to pop, which is often an excuse for radio not to acknowledge a phenomenal record, but this week, BDSradio shows it getting 443 spins (No. 50) at Top 40—where it got about 50 adds this week—and 276 spins (No. 37) at Hot AC.
“Running Up That Hill” would seem to be a gift to the Classic Hits and Adult Hits formats—a “new” ‘80s oldie catapulted into the format mainstream. So far, the gold-based formats have been more tentative. At Adult Hits, it got 28 spins this week, off slightly from 30 last week. At Classic Hits, it’s up from 21 spins to 70. That’s a spin less than “You Are the Woman” by Firefall and “It’s My Life” by Bon Jovi got last week, although perhaps the best comparison is “Blue Monday” by New Order, an Alternative-only hit in 1983 that has become a retroactive classic hit for some stations in some markets.
As somebody who has researched the Classic Hits format for nearly 20 years and tracked the Oldies/Classic Hits evolution through multiple cycles, it’s safe to say that the format is all about songs moving in to and out of prominence. It’s one reason that readers have responded so well to our look at the “Lost Factor” of once major titles. The Top 100 most played Classic Hits include songs that were secondary rotation at best as currents (“Don’t Stop Believin’,” “In the Air Tonight,” “Old Time Rock and Roll”). Some were big hits, but unlikely G.O.A.T. candidates (“Take on Me,” “Your Love,” “(I Just) Died in Your Arms).” At No. 38 is “I Melt with You,” not even a top 40 hit in 1983.
Those songs got to find their place in the firmament over the course of years. Some came back into the pop mainstream by gradually ending up in more CHR gold libraries. When Billy Idol finally became a regular CHR presence, “Dancing with Myself” and “Mony Mony” both found a place at Top 40 stations that had never played them as currents, leading to the live “Mony” at No. 1 in 1987 that basically cemented the studio version’s place in gold libraries.
Over the last decade, a combination of syncs and streaming has propelled more gold titles back into pop culture. How Classic Hits has dealt with them has been both a function of how quickly those songs are coming at them, plus what the format was going to do anyway. Should “Come and Get Your Love” by Redbone have come back into the format because of Guardians of the Galaxy? Those soundtracks happened just as Classic Hits was moving away from the pop ‘70s. (It did seem to further cement the place of “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)” on the radio, though.)
Now, Classic Hits has to deal with songs being given new prominence almost as often as contemporary programmers have to triage new streaming phenomena. “Running Up That Hill” happened just as “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” was leaving. Before PDs could decide what to do with it, Stranger Things had put Musical Youth’s “Pass the Dutchie” back into circulation as well.
As programmers try to parse the Classic Hits multiverse, here are some things to consider that impact not only how we deal with monthly outliers but how we look at our libraries altogether:
The format’s “slide rule” is long broken, or at least bent. We have programmed Oldies, then Classic Hits, for years by determining our target listener’s age in high-school. Those calculations will still explain 80% of what is a playable record for Classic Hits now, but the combination of syncs, streaming, and younger listeners who are less tied to their own era all affect things, and mostly in a good way.
We’ve already stopped programming only for people who remember the songs as currents. The Classic Hits target group is heavily dependent on kids of the ‘90s now. It’s true that the Beatles and Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” are before their time, but so are “I Love Rock & Roll” and “Summer of ’69.” A 35-year-old wasn’t around for any of those songs as currents. Program directors hear more currency in Bryan Adams than the Beatles, but do listeners? Your 17-year-old has likely gravitated to both those songs specifically because neither of them sound like today’s pop.
This coincides with the ongoing discussion about hits vs. variety. On Monday, Classic Hits WCBS-FM New York returned to No. 1 after an ongoing process of tightening its playlist and increasing spins. On Tuesday, KXBG (100.7 Big FM) San Diego continued to grow at No. 1 after promoting variety on the air against much-tighter Classic Hits KXSN (Sunny 98.1), until recently dominant at No. 1 itself. Moving forward, both hits and variety will likely be sustainable positions, and perhaps Classic Hits and Adult Hits will diverge again, rather than sounding as similar as they do now in many places.
With great variety comes great responsibility. I’m already on the record as an advocate of “hits, plus.” I’ve always been a fan of playing enough hits to allow yourself some variety, and playing enough variety to keep the hits from being destroyed. Doing that means taking on extra responsibility as a programmer. Knowing what to do with “Running Up That Hill” or “Pass the Dutchie” is part of the job now for all gold-based programmers, although I hope that acknowledging streaming and syncs won’t be the full extent of their creativity.
Research can help. Outliers don’t wait for your once-a-year music test. PDs are going to have to use their best judgment on a regular basis going forward. But having an ongoing picture of which songs took hold, and which classic hits are growing and declining on a more typical trajectory, is important, too. If you’re not in Classic Hits, “Break My Stride” by Matthew Wilder was a left-field TikTok phenomenon. But it had actually been growing in playability over the years at Classic Hits and AC. I don’t think that Stranger Things has made, say, Olivia Newton-John’s “Twist of Fate” a phenomenon of the same magnitude as “Running,” but I’d still want to ask the listeners.
The Classic Hits multiverse is a good thing for programmers. Classic Rock got all the attention for its infusion of younger listeners, which in turn allowed it to be less self-conscious about pushing out the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. But, of course, the infusion of younger listeners who are open to more music than their own high-school years is a good thing. Classic Hits programmers aren’t used to thinking about “new oldies,” but the nature of the format is really such that we’ve been doing it all along.
