Not all of the radio people I talk to think of WLIT (93.9 Lite FM) Chicago as Soft AC. They’re not called “The Breeze” like iHeart Media sister KISQ San Francisco, or many of the stations launched during the Soft AC boom five years ago. The most prominent “Lite FM’ is co-owned WLTW New York, which is very much not a Soft AC station these days. Having returned to the Lite-FM handle after six years as bright AC “93.9 My FM” seems to have made it a less noticeable change for the industry.
But WLIT has turned out to be one of the most enduring of the “relaxing favorites” stations. In the just-released February ratings, they were up 7.3-8.0, rebounding from the leveling off of their 14.8 holiday book share. In doing so, WLIT found more than a niche, even with the presence of the more eclectic WRME (87.7 Me-TV FM), one of the stations that first drove the movement toward older, softer gold-based stations.
At the outset, I heard more of the “Cats in the Cradle”/”You’re So Vain”/”Laughter in the Rain” ‘70s on Lite FM than I do now. Those songs are less prominent, but still show up 1-2x a week according to Mediabase.
I always appreciate WLIT during the holiday season. They’re usually among the first launches, and the switchover is always good radio. I took a Fresh Listen to Lite-FM after the February numbers, hearing PD Mick Lee in afternoons, and appreciated the similar attention to detail. I’ve railed against generic device promos; Lite FM has a produced “power intro” for “Oh Sherrie” in which Steve Perry models smart speaker usage for listeners.
Here’s WLIT on March 20 at 3:45 p.m. during a two-hour commercial free bloc. The station was promoting a Janet Jackson ticket giveaway.
- Michael Jackson, “Rock With You”
- Bryan Adams, “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You”
- Peter Gabriel, “In Your Eyes” (the long version)
- Cyndi Lauper, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”
- Enrique Iglesias, “Hero”–with a stager: “the only station in Chicago that plays this relaxing favorite”
- Steve Winwood, “Higher Love”
- Edwin McCain, “I’ll Be”
- Juice Newton, “Angel of the Morning”
- Righteous Brothers, “Unchained Melody”
- Simple Minds, “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”
- Tina Turner, “What’s Love Got to Do With It”
- Pink, “Try”
- Bill Withers, “Lean on Me”
- Chicago, “Will You Still Love Me”
- Steve Perry, “Oh Sherrie”
- Christina Aguilera, “What a Girl Wants”
There are only a few ‘80s Classic Hits titles on WLIT that in any way push the definition of “relaxing favorites” and most of them are core titles on other stations that bill themselves as Soft AC as well. Even so, there’s still a wide berth between Lite FM and the “timeless and memorable” mix of ‘60s oldies and ‘70s soft pop that MeTV-FM helped foster. Lite FM’s relaunch seemed to affect some of the surprisingly big shares that Me-TV FM was pulling. In February, they were up 1.7-2.0 but have been as high as a 2.5 in the last six months. But ‘60s/early ‘70s has proven itself to be more than a niche in Phoenix, Tucson, Buffalo, and elsewhere. It’s possible both stations may find a place as older-skewing stations dominate PPM.
Here’s Me-TV-FM at 7:15 p.m., March 20:
- Cyrkle, “Turn Down Day”
- Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine, “Words Get in the Way”
- Alexander Courage, “’Star Trek’ Theme”—part of a sponsored feature on TV themes
- Neon Philharmonic, “Morning Girl”
- Chic, “Good Times”
- Mamas & the Papas, “Monday, Monday”
- Jennifer Warnes, Right Time of the Night”
- Rita Coolidge, “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher”
- Kokomo, “Asia Minor” (with an “oh wow” sweeper)
- Stevie Wonder, “You Are the Sunshine of My Life”
- Eric Carmen, “Hungry Eyes”
- Dusty Springfield, “The Look of Love”
- Neil Diamond, “I Am, I Said”
- Dan Fogelberg, “Hard to Say”
- Beatles, “Yesterday”
