Ray Collier is the Music Director for heritage rocker KSHE 95 in St. Louis. He is approaching 30 years with the station.
The important task of curating music for such a legacy brand is something that is not lost on Collier.
“People that I went to high school with used to tell me that I always said that I would work at KSHE someday. I know I never said that because it would be the equivalent of saying, you know, one of these days I’m going to walk on Mars.”
“It feels like a lot on your shoulders sometimes, because I grew up with this station. It was my radio station, and now I’m the one putting it together. I’ve been here long enough that I’ve seen it go through many phases, and it’s still not lost on me what I get to do every day.”
“It’s an awesome toy box to play in. I’ve got every form of rock from the ‘60s through the 2000s, and I get to play it. I get to play songs on the radio at KSHE St. Louis that, outside of this city, no one knows. Or very few people know what it is. The songs that outside of St. Louis didn’t stand the test of time. And that’s an awesome group of songs to play with.”
Could you provide a couple of examples of those songs?
“Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah ‘Lake Shore Drive’ would be one of the ones that comes to mind. Starz ‘Cherry Baby,’ Nantucket ‘Heartbreaker’, these are just songs that are ingrained in St. Louis. But outside of here, people don’t remember them, or they never got a chance to hear them.”
Where is the musical center of KSHE?
“Every music test we seem to get a little younger. I would say the mid to late eighties right now, I’m not saying that the early eighties and the seventies aren’t represented, they most certainly are. But the mid-eighties is where we’re living right now.”
Many Classic Rock and Classic Hits stations struggle to make the ’90s sonically fit. Is that a problem for KSHE?
“I honestly don’t think that we at KSHE have a problem making them fit. The nineties are well-represented. And I think ‘Come As You Are’ coming out of ‘Good Times, Bad Times’ is sonically perfect. Those songs really work well with the type of Classic Rock we play.”
“Classic Hits, I can understand, but we are a little on the harder edge of Classic Rock. So the nineties do work for us.”
So, like in any gold-based format, how do you keep it sounding fresh?
“We have what I would consider to be some of the best jocks working now. And that helps. They know how to lean into it. After we get a music test and we’ve run through it and we’re feeling comfortable with it, we might throw things in there that are more wow-factor songs. Not unfamiliar at all. Just not heard all the time.”
Midwest and regional bands are important to the station.
“I play in regular rotation Head East ‘Never Been Any Reason.’ We will play ‘Roll With The Changes’, but we also play ‘Golden Country.’ We’re REO Speedwagon heavy.”
Can Collier offer any scheduling tips for Classic Rock music directors?
“Don’t get too in the weeds. Use your gut. If you know it works, even if it’s fighting something else, use your best judgment. I’ve sat in some meetings where I thought nobody else felt like we’re overthinking this.”
“When it’s in your blood, when it’s something that, like this music I grew up with, I know my own family.”
In closing, I think it is safe to say Collier loves his job.
“Every day when I walk in here, I’m like, man, I work at KSHE. I’ve been here for almost 30 years. This is insane.”
”It’ll be 29 years in August that I’ve been coming through the doors, and they still seem to think it’s okay. They haven’t taken away my badge. I unlock my office door every morning, and my office is covered in old KSHE memorabilia.”
“I walk in every day and I’m greeted by Sweet Meat, right in my face on the back wall, carved in wood.”
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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.
