The Supremes
Even if you only sporadically listen to the radio, you’ve probably noticed that the term “oldies” doesn’t mean what it used to a decade or two ago. The early rock hits of the ’50s and ’60s have been gradually pushed out by the hits of the ’70s and the ’80s; you’re now more likely to hear something from the early days of MTV on an oldies station than you are The Animals. Case in point: Prince, Billy Joel and Phil Collins are just a few of the acts that Milwaukee's most established oldies station, 95.7, has played today.
For those who’ve been complaining the city doesn’t have a “real oldies” station anymore, the Milwaukee Radio Alliance heard you. Today the media company announced the launch of “Milwaukee’s True Oldies Channel 100.3 FM and 1290 AM,” which will emphasize music from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, including “The Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys, Chicago, The Eagles, Neil Diamond and Motown,” according to a press release.
“There has been a true void in the market for a station playing true oldies,” the station’s operations manager Stan Atkinson said in the release. “Music from the ’60s has practically disappeared from the Milwaukee airwaves and we plan on playing the best from that decade as well as the ’70s.”
100.3 FM had previously been known as The Party, a station that specialized in uptempo funk, soul, pop and R&B. The change took place at noon. At 11:50 this morning it was spinning Sir Mix A-Lot; an hour later it was playing “Sugar Sugar” by The Archies. Ah, simpler times.
