New radio formats don’t just pop into existence randomly as the brainchild of some mad genius sitting in a radio laboratory experimenting. While that is part of it, new formats are born out of societal forces that create an opportunity, which is then recognized by a mad genius.
When we started Xtreme Radio in Las Vegas, Alternative music was sliding into a pop-leaning phase, disenfranchising male listeners. At the same time, a wave of heavier music led by Rage Against the Machine and Korn was capturing fans as grunge ran out of steam. That moment didn’t last forever, but the timing was right, and we were able to ride the wave to ratings success.
Classic Rock was born out of a similar set of circumstances. Current Rock music had been taken over by hair metal acts that older fans weren’t attached to. While the Rock music baby boomers grew up on had been left behind. In this case, the mad genius was Fred Jacobs, who saw the power of Rock from the ‘60s and ‘70s to move audiences.
Last week, we spoke with Howard Kroeger, who pioneered Adult Hits with Bob-FM. In that case, he points to Napster as the cultural force that led to a new format. At that time, people who were either older Generation X or younger Baby Boomers didn’t have a station focused on their experience.
At the same time, Napster came along and broke down walls between musical genres. “It altered our taste buds,” says Kroeger. “Everybody was already busy putting mixtapes together, but all of a sudden, with Napster, putting Tom Petty next to the Clash next to ABBA was fine.”
Kroeger also pioneered Hank-FM, which was born out of a time when Nostalgia was running rampant: the Covid pandemic. That interest in comfort food mixed well with a strong body of popular music that was missing from the radio, ‘90s Country, which he says, “was just a rocket waiting to take off.”
Now he’s on to a new project, and while it’s not exactly a new format, it’s more than just a version of Classic Rock. Welcome to The Temple of Rock.
The impetus, Kroeger says, is the continuing cultural interest in Classic Rock music. “This is the 21st-century version of Strauss, Tchaikovsky, and Beethoven. These artists will be around for a long time.” As evidence, he points to artists selling their catalogs for huge sums of money. With the prices being paid for this body of work, Kroeger says, “you know somebody’s planning for a long shelf life for the format.”
He also points out that, thanks to online music services, a seemingly endless stream of biopics and a lack of great new Rock music, new generations keep discovering Classic Rock. “There was a Rolling Stone article about this phenomenon back in 2006,” says Kroeger. “If you were fourteen then, you’re 33 today and know exactly who Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and Jimi Hendrix are.
That’s where Temple of Rock comes in. Described as “a celebration of the music,” it is designed to tap into the ongoing legacy and continue to honor the music for years to come. But more than just a flavoring of the format we know, Kroeger says it’s a full-fledged Rock format built on the sturdy pillars Classic Rock provides.
And the interpretation won’t be narrow, because Kroeger believes that as the music ages, the tribalism mellows. “As we get older, we mellow out, and I actually think Classic Rock is widening,” says Kroeger. “Bands that listeners might once have railed against aren’t so bad today. “The Sex Pistols were there to take the piss out of The Who and these other bands, but now they’re being played on the same format.”
That also creates a chance for discovery of songs and artists that have been lost to the ravages of time and music testing, “There are artists out there that don’t get played anymore, but they should,” says Kroeger. At the same time, he’s also embracing newer artists that have commonalities with Classic Rock. He promises that Alternative music from the ’90s can be found in the temple with Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Stone Temple Pilots playing prominent roles.
Also typical of a Kroeger project, imaging plays a big role in the Temple of Rock. The gist, he says, falls somewhere between Wayne’s World and Monty Python and includes Gregorian chants, monks, and dark castles with torches burning in the hallways, “but it’s not macabre, it’s fun.”
Considering the Temple of Rock is built not only on a strong musical foundation but on a career’s worth of lessons learned building the Bob and Hank formats, it sure feels like when the temple opens its doors, a lot of people will stop in to pay tribute to the high priests of Classic Rock.
To experience the Temple of Rock click here.
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Mike Stern is a Classic Rock columnist and Features writer for Barrett Media. He has been with Jacobs Media consulting stations in the Classic Rock, Rock, Alternative and AAA world for more than a decade. Prior to that he programmed stations in Chicago, Detroit, Denver Las Vegas and other markets. He also worked as News/Talk Editor for Radio and Records, wrote about Top 40 Radio for Billboard Magazine and had his own radio talent coaching business called Talent Mechanic.
