Through the 2022 Christmas season, we’ve listened to a wide variety of holiday radio. We’ve profiled the mainstream AC version of the format (via several of the major groups and some indie stations). We’ve listened to R&B, Christian AC, Classic Hits, and Country versions of the format.
WRR (Classical 101) will transition early next year from its owner, the City of Dallas, to being operated as a non-comm by North Texas Public Broadcasting, owner of the PBS affiliate as well as NPR KERA and Triple-A KKXT (91.7 KXT). The move was intended to reassure nervous listeners that the station would remain Classical.
On Nov. 12, WRR began programming a Classical Christmas format, continuing through January 2. The format also highlights the station’s existing “Caroling in the Arts District,” five days of live remote broadcasts with local choirs. The station is also promising “new programs honoring multiple winter holidays” (including a Hanukah concert from WFMT Chicago).
One thing that becomes very apparent listening to WRR is how much of holiday canon — even with AC’s focus on the Tin Pan Alley era and beyond — comes from classical music. But I wanted to augment my observations with those of some programmers who had a grounding in both Classical and contemporary formats. Both were impressed by WRR to the point of going back to listen on their own, even after sending me their thoughts.
Throwback Hip-Hop/R&B WXBK (The Block) New York PD Skip Dillard, a trained classical musician and childhood prodigy, called WRR “a well-thought-out take on the all-Christmas ACs. I could see it as a model for other Classical stations to follow.” WRR came across to him as “playing the hits,” but also mixing in modern composers (Benjamin Britten) and a few living composers with both unique arrangements of classics and new holiday-themed works in a way that paralleled Classical’s own efforts “to draw new, younger audiences to the concert hall.”
Longtime Hot AC/AC programmer Mike Nelson was also the programmer of three Slacker channels, including Classical Christmas. He also ran a website called Kickass Classical, specifically devoted to making classical music accessible to mainstream listeners. On that score, he was particularly impressed with WRR for being “friendly” but “not stodgy.” Nelson also appreciated the use of John Williams’s Home Alone theme, “Somewhere in My Memory,” in the imaging.
Nelson also thought that WRR had “great separation,” spanning “300 years and almost as many genres — chorale, orchestral, chamber – and textures like horn and symphonic.” That balancing act is always difficult for Classical radio during regular programming, but “in 20 minutes, I felt it all.” Having programmed both AC and Classical, Nelson says, “Christmas is a difficult genre to program. Classical Christmas is even more difficult. But these guys nail it.”
Here’s WRR just before 2 p.m., on Dec. 12 with middayer Amy Bishop, who was referring listeners to the station’s social media, where they could see “Caroling in the Arts District” photos. (The station as also encouraging listeners to sign-up for its e-mail newsletter.) The monitor is shown in ROR style with artist first and composers in parenthesis after the title.
- Choir of Clare College Cambridge, “I Saw Three Ships” (anonymous)
- Susan Slaughter & Holiday Brass, “He Is Born” (anonymous)
- Music Sacra w/Richard Westenburg, “Did Mary Know” (Averre)
- Boston Pops Orchestra w/John Williams, “Holiday Cheer” (medley)
- “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!’
- “The Christmas Song”
- “Jingle Bell Rock”
- “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
- “All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)”
- “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”
- “The First Noel”
- Jean-Yves Thibaudet, “Gymnopedie #2” (Satie)
- Augsburg Chamber Orchestra, “Shepherds Make Haste” (Michael Haydn)
- United States Air Force Symphony Orchestra, “Sheep May Safely Graze” (Bach)
- Galbenkian Choir & Orchestra, “Mass in C Op 86: Gloria” (Beethoven)
- Empire Brass, “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” (traditional)
- Vocal Majority Chorus, “Songs of Christmas” (medley)
- “Christmas Is Coming”
- “Deck the Halls”
- “O Little Town of Bethlehem”
- “The First Noel”
- “Angels We Have Heard on High”
- “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”
- “Joy to the World”
- Joel Rosenberger, “Le Sommeil De L’enfant Jesus (The Sleep of the Baby Jesus)” (traditional)
- Morton Gould & RCA Symphony Orchestra, “Good King Wenceslas” (anonymous)
Here’s a wrap-up of our holiday radio listening so far:
Week 1: AC’s Christmas Leaders – The first stations to go all-Christmas this year: Format pioneer KESZ Phoenix; WTSS Buffalo, N.Y.; WSNY Columbus, Ohio; and WJKK (Mix 98.7) Jackson, Miss. Our overall take was that Christmas was lighter this year, without the need to acknowledge either COVID or a return from COVID.
Week 2: A More Meaningful Christmas – The holiday format as heard on Christian AC WAKW (Star 93.1) Cincinnati and KDUV (Spirit 88.9) Fresno, Calif., the latter doing an unusual mix of Christmas and Christian AC.
Week 3: Christmas on … the Coast – KESZ was the pioneer, but sister KOST Los Angeles’ holiday flip in 2001 was what helped make the format de rigueur for AC radio. We also listened to rival KKGO (Go Country 105) doing its version of the format.
Week 4: A Little Less Mariah? – Okay, I cheated with this title. I only thought I was hearing less of “All I Want for Christmas (Is You)” in the first few days of holiday listening. But I am hearing more Bing Crosby. And this week, we also listened to SiriusXM’s Holiday Soul; Classic Hits WKQC (K104.7) Charlotte, N.C.; and a more contemporary Canadian version at CHQM (Move 103.5) Vancouver.
Some of the other things I’ve written about holiday programming include a favorite all-time interview with Wink Martindale, whose 100 Greatest Holiday Hits of All-Time returns again this year, and whose radio career predates the arrival of rock ‘n’ roll. Nelson is correct that programming the all-holiday format is difficult. (It’s particularly harder this year as even older music further squeezes out the last 30 years.) Here is “What I Learned from Scheduling Christmas Music.” Finally, here’s a playlist of new holiday music as seen in the pages of ROR in recent weeks.
Have a great holiday season. Thank you for being a friend of Ross on Radio in 2022.
