Streaming’s Two Most In-Demand Stations Return

If you open the streaming player for Classic Hits WAKY Louisville, you’ll see a handful of comments from over the years. “I can’t listen to WAKY. Not streaming in my area. Disappointed. Not sure why it doesn’t work.” “WAKY not streaming in my area either. I am very disappointed too, and I’m not sure why either.”

“Most radio stations like WLNG Long Island and others stream worldwide. Would you all please consider doing this? You can certainly use it to brag about your website numbers for sales. The cost should not be that much. Thanks.”

Finally, from about 10 weeks ago: “I finally found the right Android app for my phone and iPad. [I’m] able to enjoy WAKY all of the time now.” That’s because WAKY is available nationally again. And last month, PD John Sebastian announced that KOAI (The Wow Factor 95.1/94.9) Phoenix, another longtime reader favorite, is again available everywhere.

For years, those two stations have been prime examples of streaming radio’s paradox. Those stations most likely to attract a worldwide following are also the ones most likely to be geoblocked by owners who can’t profit by having one. KOAI was widely available for a year before restricting its stream. WAKY briefly came back through a loophole — it began simulcasting on a former sister station’s frequency — then disappeared again. 

There are many stations specializing in a wider and/or older version of Oldies like WAKY and KOAI these days. Many of those stations have carved out respectable niches in their markets, at least 12-plus. A few have been No. 1 in their market. There are numerous streaming choices, including WLNG, for the oldies not played in your market. KDRI (The Drive) Tucson, Ariz., has also captured the attention of Ross on Radio readers. But WAKY and KOAI were special challenges because they were harder to hear. Now both are back to prompt a “Fresh Listen.”

Every version of the ’60s/’70s format is somebody’s slightly different vision. John Sebastian’s KOAI is jockless, mixing mostly the hits that you would have heard on the Oldies format everywhere 20-25 years ago with the Classic Rock that you still hear (minus the ’90s). It is “Wow” more in breadth than depth. Ben Bailey’s WAKY still goes further back/deeper in the ’70s than most but also plays some Classic Hits ’80s mainstays.

On WAKY’s Wayback Weekends, however, you might hear “Nothing but a Heartache” by the Flirtations, “Walk Right Back” by the Everly Brothers, or “Everything That Touches You” by the Association. In general, WAKY remains in cheerful violation of Classic Hits law, and yet is first or second in its market. (In March, it traded places with Country WAMZ, going 6.3-5.9 for second.) 

It’s also fitting that the first voice I heard when I was able to stream WAKY again was John Quincy. A longtime Charleston, S.C., programmer, Quincy was also responsible for a tribute website to the original WAKY 790 AM, a legendary Top 40 through the late ’70s that was part of its market’s distinctive musical history. Shortly after retiring in Charleston late last year, Quincy joined the “new” WAKY as a part-timer. When I listened again on Monday night, he was filling in as well.

WAKY still plays vintage jingles and has other presentational connections to both its old AM and early FM selves. When I heard Quincy this week, he was doing the Casey Kasem-like song teasers (e.g., “Dr. Hook’s last No. 1 hit of the ’70s) that I wrote about in my early articles on the station more than a decade ago. (Here’s what I last wrote about the station in 2019.)

Early-’60s Louisville vocal group the Monarchs are part of an upcoming Budweiser concert series; one of the current group members also owns a funeral home that advertises on the station. Former WAKY-AM PD Johnny Randolph was the afternoon driver until his death in 2020. Now, market veteran Chris Randolph (no relation) is middayer.

Here’s WAKY in regular format with Quincy on June 9 at 9:45 p.m.:

• Meatloaf, “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad”
• Cyndi Lauper, “Time After Time”
• Rick Derringer, “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo”
• Abba, “Waterloo”
• Survivor, “Eye of the Tiger”
• Pointer Sisters, “Jump (For My Love)”
• Leo Sayer, “When I Need You”
• Dr. Hook, “When You’re in Love With a Beautiful Woman”
• Simon & Garfunkel, “Sounds of Silence” — staged with a “greatest hits of all time” jingle
• Elton John, “Mama Can’t Buy You Love”
• Doobie Brothers, “Takin’ It to the Streets”
• Go-Go’s, “We Got the Beat”

Here’s WAKY on its Wayback Weekend, May 4 at 3:30 p.m.:

• Box Tops, “Soul Deep”
• Crests, “Sixteen Candles”
• Neon Philharmonic, “Morning Girl”
• Johnny Rivers, “Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu”
• Four Seasons, “Sherry”
• Shirelles, “Foolish Little Girl”
• Free, “All Right Now”
• Temptations, “I Wish It Would Rain”
• Turtles, “Elenore”
• Rugbys, “You, I”
• White Plains, “My Baby Love’s Lovin’”
• Who, “Pinball Wizard”
• Bobby Vinton, “Blue Velvet”
• Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose, “Too Late to Turn Back Now”
• Yardbirds, “I’m a Man”
• Supremes, “Reflections”
• [Buddy Holly & the] Crickets, “That’ll Be the Day”

The Wow Factor was positioned from the start as a station that intended to target and sell 55-plus listeners but ended up being a surprise 6-plus winner in the early ’20s, peaking at a 6.2 share. Recently, its overall numbers have looked more niche: 2.5-2.2 in the April PPM. I also noticed (relatively) longer stopsets when I tuned in this time. Modifying a promised 3-minute cap, some hours now can feature a shorter break plus a five-minute stopset.

The Wow Factor remains one of our best-assembled radio stations, between Sebastian’s unique imaging and the station’s sense of how often disparate records fit together. I wouldn’t have thought of “Yesterday Once More” by the Carpenters as a song that sounded good starting a sweep, but when you hear it that way, you do hear how attention-getting those first few notes are. Some now consider that a ridiculous thing to pay attention to, but industry people have noticed.

Here’s The Wow Factor just before 10 a.m. on June 10:

• Bob Seger & Silver Bullet Band, “Night Moves”
• Four Seasons, “December ’63 (Oh What a Night)”
• Bachman-Turner Overdrive, “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet”
• Association, “Never My Love”
• Toto, “Africa”
• Bee Gees, “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart”
• Journey, “Wheel in the Sky”
• Don McLean, “American Pie”
• Michael Jackson, “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough”
• ZZ Top, “La Grange”
• Beatles, “Lady Madonna”
• Billy Joel, “You May Be Right”
• Carpenters, “Yesterday Once More”
• Eagles, “One of These Nights”
• Neil Sedaka, “Laughter in the Rain”