What we do in radio is art. Most don’t consider it a true art form but great radio is a performance art. With art, choosing whom is “the best” gets murky. People will choose a favorite artist then declare that artist “the best”.
In sport, quantifiable scoring determines “the best”. The team that scores the most is obviously determined “the best”. Rancor will ensue all through digital platforms, contesting if the winning team or individual is truly “the best”. One look at The X posts after Fernando Mendoza won The Heisman Trophy Saturday night supports it. Was he “the best” player in 2025? He took the trophy home to Bloomington but debate on “the best” rolls on.
Taylor Swift
You don’t have to be the best to be remarkable. Stumbling through various polls on social media, we often see whom is “the best” singer by genre, era or sex. One such poll about Taylor Swift held comments about her place as “the best” female singer of all time.
Personally, Karen Carpenter, Ann Wilson and Whitney Houston clearly top Taylor as much better singers. In fact, Chappel Roan is noted as having perfect pitch and the best pop vocalist today according to Vocal Coach Tim Welch in THIS video.
Taylor Swift built her empire on marketing and connection. She isn’t hailed as the greatest vocalist of her generation. But Taylor is undeniably the most successful female artist of all time. She understands her target audience, writes songs that tell personal, relatable stories, and markets herself with authenticity. Her entire career is proof that being remarkable is about owning a point of view, steamrolling forward with writing while performing relentlessly, and making her audience feel deeply invested in her brand.
John Daly
In golf, you say the name John Daly and his picture instantly pops into your head. John Daly’s brand is remarkable. He’s far from “the best” in his field. From the day he won The 1991 PGA Championship as a ninth alternate at Indiana’s Crooked Stick Golf Course, the hard drinking and chain smoking Daly’s brand was born.
Today Daly remains competitive in most major golf championships, still smoking regularly but the beer can is replaced with a Diet Coke. His uniqueness comes from the fact that he never tried to fit golf’s traditional mold. When the sport prized restraint, polish, and predictability, Daly arrived with raw power, unapologetic personality, and a swing that looked improvised. By being himself, Daly expanded golf’s audience, eluding the titles of “the best’ and built his remarkable brand in a sport built on conformity.
Radio is littered with remarkable brands that fall by programming standards short of “the best”.
Dick Biondi
For those who need schooling, Dick Biondi introduced the Beatles at The Hollywood Bowl. He is feted in the Radio Hall of Fame with air work featured in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Dick hosted the first nationally syndicated music show in the country. His list of “firsts” is long.
As a personal friend and his longest tenured Program Director, I said this in front of the late Dick Biondi more than a few times. His air work was far from ”the best”. Dick‘s high-energy and fast-paced style fit 1960’s radio perfectly. He brought humor, spontaneity, and a sense of fun that made listeners feel like they were part of the show rather than just hearing songs stacked back-to-back. His shows were appointment listening, blending music, bits, audience interaction, and a contagious sense of excitement.
However, Dick was not “the best” on-air talent of all time. Far from it. Dick wasn’t a Drake Boss Jock and often times was plain sloppy on-air. If Dick didn’t brand himself early in his career with magnetic audience connection, no programmer, including me, would hire him solely on his air check. Dick walked on intros, ran a lazy board and often defied programmer’s instructions. However, throughout his remarkable career all he wanted to do is connect with his listener. That’s it. That was The Dick Biondi Brand.
Remarkable
When it comes to remarkable brands that broke the mold of their predecessors, here’s three historical examples.
WCBS-FM (New York City)
WCBS-FM was a time machine with personality. Oldies outlets, including the one I programmed in the 1990’s, pared the Music Matrix to tight, repetitive playlists. Led by legendary programmer Joe McCoy, CBS-FM placed personality first and leaned-forward into storytelling along with heritage talent.
CBS-FM was the original Adult Hits station with an eclectic but wildly successful mix of Madonna, Motown and Mersey Beat. Sprinkle in The Rat Pack, New York only staples, and Hall of Fame Talent like Harry Harrison and Cousin Brucie, and it gave the brand familiarity and human connection. Remarkable.
KROQ (Los Angeles, California)
The World Famous (1980’s) KROQ broke the Alternative mold while embracing punk, new wave, and alternative music before it was commercially viable. KROQ developed a personality-driven culture around Top 40 talent, importing Kevin & Bean from Phoenix while developing a distinctly Southern California attitude.
KROQ played the hits and also broke artists. The station shaped culture and became a lifestyle brand. Kevin Weatherly’s KROQ built success developing relationships with artists first while major labels looked to KROQ for the temperature on emerging artists. The SOUND came from the atmospherics and not typical research.
WXRT (Chicago, Illinois)
Norm Winer’s 93-XRT was as free-form as its location in an earthy facility on West Belmont in Chicago. Under Winer (who joined in 1979) 93-XRT created a unique trail-blazing balance of classic rock and ongoing new artist discovery. The sound was adult without being monotone and eclectic without being chaotic.
Most credit 93-XRT with defining AAA as a format. The brand trusted their hosts on music selection, ran with a deep playlist and championed local music discovery. 93-XRT felt curated rather than programmed. Remarkable.
Closing
As we wrote in October 2024 from Yasmine Khosrowshahi: “A good personal brand helps people recognize your name. A great one helps them explain it to someone else.”
All the remarkable brands outlined above open a file in your brain, reflecting their unique characteristics. Remarkable ideas are everywhere. Executed well, tops “the best” – every time.
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Kevin Robinson is a passionate award-winning programmer, consultant and coach – with multi-formats success all over the country. He has advised numerous companies including Audacy (formerly Entercom Communications), Beasley Broadcast Group, Westwood One, Midwest Communications, Townsquare Media, Midwest Family Broadcasting Group, EG Media Group, Federated Media, Kensington Media, mediaBrew Communications, Starved Rock Media, and more. He specializes in strategic radio cluster alignment, building lean-forward tactics and talent coaching – legacy and entry-level – personalities.
Known largely as a trusted talent coach, Kevin is the only personality mentor who’s coached three different morning shows on three different brands in the same major market to the #1 position. His efforts have been recognized by The World Wide Radio Summit, Radio & Records, NAB’s Marconi, and he has coached CMA, ACM and Marconi Award-winning talent. He is also in The Zionsville High School Hall of Fame as part of the 2008 inaugural class. Kevin is an Indiana native – living near Zionsville with his wife of 39 years, Monica and can be reached at kevin@robinsonmedia.fm.
