WLML (Legends 100.3) West Palm Beach was one of my Intriguing Stations of 2014, not the least for launching an Adult Standards station in 2014, particularly one that concentrated on the Great American Songbook, not ’60s MOR or ’70s Carpenters/Barry Manilow soft pop. Pre-COVID, I heard the station regularly on trips to South Florida. Recently, I went back for the first time in several years because of an e-mail from 32-year-old reader Scott Best, who streams it daily in Winnipeg.
Going back to Legends 100.3 also prompted a Fresh Listen to two other Adult Standards stations, a new major-market Smooth Jazz launch, and an Oldies/Standards hybrid.
If you’re looking for local spots as a sign of a niche station’s vitality, and as part of a unique listening experience, there was a tourism ad on Legends 100.3 promoting the Lewis Armstrong House in Queens and another for a local roofer that asked, “Are you tired from nasty letters from your HOA asking you to clean your roof?” One thing that WLML did have in common with other South Florida stations is that the studio is sponsored by local injury attorneys Anidjar & Levine. (On the other hand, that WLML has a sponsorship is impressive.)
Here’s Legends 100.3 around 4 p.m. on August 24:
- Sarah Vaughan, “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered”
- Bobby Darin, “How About You”
- Michael Bublé, “Sway”
- Dinah Washington, “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”
- Manhttan Transfer, “In a MellowTone”
- Billy Stritch, “Lullaby of Birdland” — the hour’s “Spinet Spotlight” piano-showcase song
- Nina Simone, “My Baby Just Cares for Me”
- Mel Tormé, “Hello Young Lovers”
- Bette Midler, “Teach Me Tonight”
- Ann Hampton Calloway, “I’m Gonna Live Till I Die”
- Dean Martin, “In a Little Spanish Town”
- Four Freshmen, “Candy”
- Linda Ronstadt, “Skylark”
KJZY (93.7 Jazzy) Santa Rosa, Calif.
I heard KJZY on 99.1 FM a few days before a sale/frequency swap sent it back to its former 93.7 dial position on August 1. I first heard it in overnights when it was very “Great American Songbook”-oriented. But in mornings, there was more of the R&B that you might hear on a Smooth Jazz station (including Roberta Flack and Aretha Franklin) and some more MOR/Pop. The midday hour I heard was somewhere in between. Here’s KJZY at 1 p.m. on July 26:
- Count Basie, “Little Darling”
- Sade, “The Sweetest Taboo”
- Neil Diamond, “In the Still of the Night”
- Denis Solee, “On Green Dolphin Street”
- Barbra Streisand & Stevie Wonder, “People”
- Otis Redding, “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay”
- Dionne Warwick, “The Second Time Around”
- Jack Jones, “I Will Wait for You”
- Beegie Adair, “Blue Skies”
- Natalie Cole, “I’m Beginning to See the Light”
- David Sanborn w/James Taylor, “Hallelujah, I Love Her So”
- Ella Fitzgerald, “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea”
- Ralph Sharon Trio, “I Get a Kick Out of You”
- Sergio Mendes & Brazil 66, “Mas Que Nada”
- Eydie Gorme, “If He Walked Into My Life”
KWXY Palm Springs, Calif.
Last year, before KWXY was sold, I matched it up against rival 107.3 Mod FM, which was running the post-modern version of Adult Standards that a handful of stations have tried at various points throughout the 2000s. In its early days under new ownership, KWXY was an eclectic mix of standards, oldies and more recent music with retro elements (e.g., the Blasters and the Cramps.) I listened recently, and it was more standards-focused, but also more song-driven (as opposed to original hit versions) than what I heard a year ago. Here’s KWXY at 3:30 on August 16:
- Nat King Cole, “It’s Only a Paper Moon”
- Veronica Swift, “Sing”
- Betty Carter, “Jazz (Ain’t Nothing but Soul)”
- Frank Sinatra, “Come Rain or Come Shine”
- Anita O’Day, “Tea for Two”
- Bobby Darin & Johnny Mercer, “Indiana”
- Sachel Vasandani, “One Mint Julep”
- Jeff Goldblum & Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, “The Thrill Is Gone/Django”
- Astrud Gilberto, “The Girl From Ipanema”
- Dinah Washington, “The Blues Ain’t Nothing but a Good Woman Crying for Her Man”
- Ray Anthony, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”
CIWV (Wave 98.3) Vancouver
It’s not often that you get to write about a new Smooth Jazz station. When the Toronto area’s “The Wave,” lost its FM frequency, owner Durham Radio made good on its promise to continue the format online (then on HD-2) with an airstaff and a continued promotional presence. Now it has a frequency, but it’s at the other end of Canada. “Vancouver’s Coolest Vibe” debuted earlier this summer on a frequency that hosted a short-lived arts/talk format.
Wave 98.3 is hosted throughout the day. It also has a significant amount of promotional activity for a brand-new radio station: an upcoming multi-artist launch party, a “Summer Sundays” show featuring an Earth, Wind & Fire tribute band, and a trip to the Catalina JazzTrax Festival. Here’s Wave 98.3 at Noon on August 25:
- George Benson, “Breezin’”
- Michele Mele, “Hold Back Trigger” (Canadian) (Vocal)
- Cindy Bradley, “Drive”
- Gino Vannelli, “Living Inside Myself” (Canadian) (Vocal)
- Nils, “Pacific Coast Highway”
- Van Morrison, “Only a Song” (Vocal)
- Michael Bublé, “Hollywood” (Canadian) (Vocal)
- Art of Noise, “Moments in Love”
- Breithaupt Brothers f/Kellylee Evans, “Where Are They Now” (Canadian) (Vocal)
- Kim Waters, “Let’s Get on It”
- Chicago, “Firecracker” (Vocal) — not the current Chicago single, but a funkier track reminiscent of “Mercy Mercy Mercy,” the Cannonball Adderley Trio/Buckinghams hit
- Darren Rahn, “Into the Light” (Canadian)
- Ramsey Lewis Trio, “The In Crowd”
- Robert Michaels, “In the Air Tonight” (Vocal) (Canadian) — acoustic Latin guitar cover similar to the live Eagles version of “Hotel California”
WTZQ Asheville, N.C.
I recently featured AM/FM translator combo WTZQ in a story that looked at stations in four-song snapshots. While any four songs will establish the station as eclectic — a perfect station for Ross on Radio readers and fans of deep-library Oldies — I still wanted to share an entire hour. WTZQ still has a significant Adult Standards and ‘60s MOR component. (In other hours, I heard Judy Garland, Pat Boone, and the Highwaymen.) Here’s WTZQ at 2 p.m. on August 1:
- Albert Hammond, “It Never Rains in Southern California”
- Anne Murray, “Daydream Believer”
- Champs, “El Rancho Rock”
- Clarence Carter, “Patches”
- Beatles, “When I’m 64”
- Jimmie Rodgers, “Honeycomb”
- Simon & Garfunkel, “America”
- Bob Seger, “Blue Monday” — Fats Domino cover from the Roadhouse soundtrack
- Teresa Brewer, “Music Music Music”
- Leo Sayer, “More Than I Can Say”
- Elvis Presley, “Green Green Grass of Home” (with an Elvis stager)
- Billy Joel, “Allentown”
- Jay & Americans, “She Cried”
- Seekers, “A World of Our Own”
- Frank Sinatra & Count Basie, “Learning the Blues”
- Rosanne Cash, “Seven Year Ache
