Remember Garth Brooks? Alan Jackson? Reba McEntire? How about Faith Hill? Sure, you do—all Country Stars who had tremendous success and received extensive radio play in the 1990s.
Brooks recently had a sold-out run with his “Garth Brooks/Plus One” residency in Las Vegas. McEntire was a coach on “The Voice” last season. George Strait broke a record by playing to 110,905 fans at Kyle Field in College Station, TX.
It is evident that there is an appetite for these artists and their music. But when did you last hear any new music from them on the radio? In some cases, those artists are recording new products that the radio seems uninterested in playing.
In the documentary “Tennessee Whiskey: The Dean Dillon Story,” Strait said, “If I cut the best song in the world right now, I don’t think the radio would play it either. I always said to myself, ‘I’m not going to be mad when that happens to me.’ Because I saw it happen to Merle (Haggard), I saw it happen to George (Jones) and other artists. Radio just quit playin’ ’em. I was going, ‘What the hell? Where’s Merle’s records this month or this year?’ I still wanted to hear ’em. And so that’s the kind of thing that happened to me as well.”
Why?
Part of it is what I call Music Rows disposable artist syndrome, and I could probably write a dozen columns about that. It’s not new; it goes back to artists like Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings.
Let’s focus on ‘90s Country and its place on the radio today. I looked at Mediabase and a major market Country station that is successful in the ratings and one whose programming I have long admired. I was over 100 deep into a gold search before I picked up Tim McGraw and the first song from the ‘90s. It received two spins the previous week.
I understand that the competition for spots on your playlist is intense. You are constantly being asked for adds, conversions, and, of course, everyone’s favorite, “Push Week.”
Is the new artist you are adding today, who has a good chance of being dropped by their label in the next year, a better choice than George Strait? Doubtful.
Country radio needs to get reacquainted with the ‘90s. Your listeners haven’t forgotten them. How many shows do Garth and George Strait have to sell out to prove that to you?
Cole Swindell’s 2022 hit “She Had Me At Heads Carolina” was based on the stems of JoDee Messina’s 1996 hit “Heads Carolina Tails California.”
A station I was listening to recently played Morgan Wallen, Jason Aldean, and Dylan Scott back-to-back. I would toss a sound coding challenge flag on that. It’s here that ‘90s Country can be your not-so-secret sauce.
Let’s go back to the Wallen, Aldean, and Scott example. Would the set sound better if it had been Wallen, Alan Jackson “Chattahoochee,” Aldean, and Scott? You can include the ‘90s while maintaining your integrity in the short listen and be very low on risk aversion.
These songs don’t have to and shouldn’t make up more than a small sampling of your playlist. What about every other hour? When you play them, make them unique. Ring the bell with special imaging and let them be a little seasoning for your playlist.
Classic Country Hank-FM recently launched in Las Vegas. I have heard some exceptional imaging setting up songs, artists discussing their songs, and the imaging reflecting the era.
The key is presenting the music without sounding “old.” Everything else you do is with a contemporary presentation. Don’t present them as old; present them as special.
Country’s Radio Coach John Shomby told me, “I can tell you that a good song is a good song is a good song. Plenty of 90’s tunes have stood the test of time, so I’d play the best of those.”
93XTU Philadelphia PD Mark Razz: “I mix it in. There’s definitely a place for it. I certainly have enough 90s Country to satisfy the audience. I researched that a lot in our comprehensive music tests.”
If you are worried that your target audience is too young to be familiar with them, don’t forget the in-the-back of the parent’s car going to Grandma’s experience. It is why I can still sing the words of every Johnny Cash and Marty Robbins song.
So, “Write This Down,” get the “Dust Off The Bottle,” give the audience “This Kiss,” and don’t worry about “T-R-O-U-B-L-E.”
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Jeff Lynn serves as Editor of Barrett Media’s Music Radio coverage. Prior to joining Barrett Media, Jeff spent time programming in Milwaukee, Omaha, Cleveland, Des Moines, and Madison for multiple radio groups, including iHeartMedia, Townsquare Media, NRG Media, and Entercom (now Audacy). He also worked as a Country Format Editor for All Access until the outlet shut down in August 2023.
To get in touch with Jeff by email, reach him at Jeff@BarrettMedia.com.
