- "Classic Hits" redirects here. For 24/7 music formats known as "Classic Hits", see Classic Hits (ABC radio network) or Classic Hits (Jones radio network).
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes oldies and contemporary hit music from 1964-1989. Also included on the format as well are most hits from the pre-1964 era.
The moniker "classic hits" is believed to have its birth at WZLX Boston when consultant Gary Guthrie (see classic rock) and First Media's Dan Mason (now, President of CBS Radio) converted the station from "adult contemporary" and launched a format composed of the hipper tracks from the oldies format (Creedence Clearwater Revival, for example) and the secondary non-single tracks from popular classic albums (Led Zeppelin's "Going to California", for example). The goal was to attract and magnetize two groups of Baby Boomers: those who didn't want the doo-wop and pop they found on the oldies stations, and the ones who didn't like the mid-80s Van Halen and metal-oriented contemporary fodder (i.e., Dokken) on the AOR stations, which also played classics from The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.
Over time, the "classic hits" format has evolved into more of a station's slug line than of a tightly-focused music library shared by the stations who use the moniker. The first branching-off in the late '80s led to stations becoming more "classic rock"-based, and the second reincarnation manifested itself in the premises of the "Jack FM" and the "Arrow" formats. Most of the 21st-century versions, however, are based on a music library mostly consisting of classic rock-style hits from the 1970s, along with R&B and pop hits from the late 1960s through the mid 1980s and is now considered a more appealing name to listeners (and advertisers alike) than the oldies format name.
Variations of the core playlist vary greatly and include playlists composed of only pop-leaning classic rock. Others, while indeed leaning rock, also feature some soul, and Motown music as well. Most "classic hits" stations are heavy on music from the 1970s, with a moderate amount of music from the 1960s, and a decent amount of hits from the 1980s. Some even play occasional 1990's music.
Until the past few years, most Classic Hits stations have either leaned Classic Rock or were actually Classic Rock stations without a lot of hard rock. Many classic hits stations, such as WSRV Atlanta, even play very few pre-1964 songs, focusing instead on classic rock from the '60s, '70s and '80s with occasional R&B and pop songs. Another popular variation of the format is to play music from 1964 through 1979, with the focus on music from the late 1960s and early 1970s. These stations do not lean rock as much. Most of these stations evolved from Oldies formats. Examples include KRTH Los Angeles, WCBS-FM New York (which evolved to Classic Hits and then flipped to Jack FM/Adult Hits before flipping back to Classic Hits), WOGL Philadelphia, KLOU St. Louis, and others. WOGL actually has a slight Rhythmic lean. Some of these stations like WBIG-FM Washington, DC evolved into rock leaning Classic Hits stations. In most cases, pop leaning Classic Hits stations evolved quietly and gradually from being traditional oldies outlets.
Very few "classic hits" stations play pre-1964 music, with an exception of doo-wop music from the 1950s and early 1960s. Commonly-heard pre-1964 songs heard on classic hits stations are the 1963 hits Louie Louie by The Kingsmen, She Loves You by The Beatles, the 1961 hit Stand By Me by Ben E. King, and 1962's Do You Love Me by The Contours, among a few others. WCBS-FM is an example of a classic hits station that plays more pre-1964 oldies than normal (about one per shift during the day and one per hour on overnights and on special feature weekends).
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