In my hometown, the AM radio stations that used to play top 40 songs haven't done so in decades.
The main AM station I used to listen to back in the 1970's and 80's for the latest top 40 hits, stopped playing top 40 hits in the early '90's. For a while they were classic rock, then sports talk radio, now business news.
Are there any top 40 AM radio stations left in North America?
Holy cow, this song from 2000, referencing the "now" media of CDs and DVDs, is now almost as outdated as the 1970s era that they were riffing on at the time!
Pretty much. I mostly listen to CDs in the car (I think I got one of the last models that actually had a good CD sound system in it), but I flip on the radio sometimes too. The only station I listen to is an A.M. talk radio station, WCCO -- they used to have some decent on-air personalities, but now even that's becoming a little spotty.
Is there even such as thing as a "Top 40" anymore -- much less a radio station that plays it?
In my hometown, the AM radio stations that used to play top 40 songs haven't done so in decades.
The main AM station I used to listen to back in the 1970's and 80's for the latest top 40 hits, stopped playing top 40 hits in the early '90's. For a while they were classic rock, then sports talk radio, now business news.
Here's the thing: FM stations have been broadcasting in stereo since the 1960s, while AM radio was mono until the early 1990s. By the time AM went to stereo, so many people owned FM receivers, that nobody was turning to AM for music. AM stations had to adopt talk formats or die.
But I remember the Top 40 format on AM stations up through the mid-1970s, when our car just had an AM radio. Cars were the last bastion of that market.
Another big finger to point at what happened to AM radio is the FCC under the Reagan administration overturned the Fairness Doctrine (in 1987). Mainstream political radio used this de-regulation to their advantage and companies like Clear Channel began a mass land grab of AM in particular.
Now A.M. radio is only good for sports broadcasts and news channels.
Also foreign language broadcasts and religious programming.
I randomly checked about 25 of the 220 50,000-watt AM radio stations in the U.S to see what their format was. Every one was either talk, news, sports, foreign, or religious. None were music of any kind.
I think there's AM radio in the UK, but I've never ever listened to it (& I listen to a lot of radio), it's all digital DAB, which sounds great. My house is full of DAB radios (oh, I do have an old FM radio in the bathroom for a bit of Radio Four when I'm in the bath). I like to listen to the radio when I'm out & have personal DAB radio (Roberts Sports).
I think there's AM radio in the UK, but I've never ever listened to it (& I listen to a lot of radio), it's all digital DAB, which sounds great. My house is full of DAB radios (oh, I do have an old FM radio in the bathroom for a bit of Radio Four when I'm in the bath). I like to listen to the radio when I'm out & have personal DAB radio (Roberts Sports).
I mainly listen to DAB radio as well, I get a pretty good signal where I live and most of the available stations. I know reception can vary for people depending on where they are. The only exception is when I listen to RTE Radio (which I do a lot) as it isn't available on DAB anymore for some reason. I think they said it was too expensive compared to uptake in Ireland.
Absolute Radio (pop music station) in the UK only switched off their AM transmitters at the end of last year, they had been broadcasting on 1215 kHz since the early 90s when it was the original Virgin Radio. Interesting fact I read recently is that in the UK, AM radio accounts for 2% of listening but 35% of radio transmission's energy costs.
I miss driving my car to the sounds of AM broadcasts here in New York. Usually news or mellow music, always sounding like they were a million miles away. Those were really soothing experiences.
Now A.M. radio is only good for sports broadcasts and news channels.
Also foreign language broadcasts and religious programming.
I randomly checked about 25 of the 220 50,000-watt AM radio stations in the U.S to see what their format was. Every one was either talk, news, sports, foreign, or religious. None were music of any kind.
Bob DiMucci, that's interesting that you couldn't find one that still plays music. This change (AM not playing music anymore) is another one of those things that happened hile I wasn't paying attention. Sad in a way. Oh well.
I received my first AM radio for Christmas one year in the mid-1960s. The case boasts that the radio has eight transistors. (This isn't mine, but one on sale on eBay for $40. It probably cost about $12 back in the day.)
