The Infinite Dial

I heard an interesting segue earlier this week on WRNJ Hackettstown, N.J., a small-market AM that is doing a cross between Oldies and Soft AC.

It was Brenda Russell's "Piano In The Dark," cold segued into Peggy Lee's "Fever."

They were both jazzy. They were both atmospheric. "Fever" has the sort of distinctive opening that sounds okay coming out of anything (except maybe Godsmack, and even then you could make a case for it working in a goofy way).

It was a segue you could hear on a lot of restaurant tapes.

But not a segue you could expect to hear often on the radio.

"Piano In The Dark" is one of those songs that has floated away at Mainstream AC (too soft) and Urban AC (too pop). You might still hear it on Smooth Jazz, but that's getting harder in a lot of places.

"Fever" is a mainstay of Adult Standards, but those stations have disappeared in most places. It's from what Casey Kasem used to call the "rock era" (1958), but few Oldies stations would see it as an oldie, and, besides, how many records from 1958 still endure at Oldie, er, Classic Hits stations these days. (Again, a smart Smooth Jazz station might have played it as well.)

As last week's debate against "songs that don't test" continues in the Ross On Radio pages, this segue was a good example of why "radio law" is meant to be broken . . . strategically.

If you heard an Oldies station that played too many outliers from the Soft AC or Adult Standards world too often, it might not be what you came for. But together, the two songs were undeniable.

I'm a big fan of strategically breaking radio law. I'm also a big fan of strategically using records that don't test on the radio.

The only problem with the latter is that "oh wow" songs don't stay "oh wow" for very long. When WCBS-FM New York was "Jack-FM," I remember getting to the point where I was actually tired of hearing "Fox On The Run" by the Sweet or "I Was Made For Loving You" by Kiss on the radio -- and I'm one of those people who was never in the least ashamed about liking them. But if you think it's not exciting to hear "Sweet Home Alabama" six times a week, imagine how fast "Don't Misunderstand Me" by Rossington Collins Band loses its "oh wow" value.

Breaking radio law on a regular basis without diminishing returns takes a lot of work. That's why many programmers never try. And it's hard to understand that if you only need to come up with enough "oh wow" songs for a weekly show or jocking at a party/club. But I'm glad people try, and Brenda-meets-Peggy justified the effort.