Classic Hits (known as Kool Gold until June 17, 2012) is a 24-hour music format produced by

Westwood One Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The co ...

. Its playlist is composed of

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

music from the mid-1960s to mid-1980s, from artists such as

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

The Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...

Hall and Oates Daryl Hall & John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, were an American rock duo formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1970. Daryl Hall was generally the lead vocalist, while John Oates primarily supplied electric guitar and backing vocals ...

and dozens more artists mainly targeted at listeners 45–54. It was known as The Oldies Channel until they changed their name to "Kool Gold" to avoid confusion with the ABC Radio/

Citadel Media Cumulus Media Networks was an American radio network owned and operated by Cumulus Media. From 2011 until its merger with Westwood One, it controlled many of the radio assets formerly belonging to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), whi ...

The True Oldies Channel Scott Shannon's True Oldies Channel (also known more recently as ''The True Oldies Channel: Greatest Hits'') is a radio network begun in the spring of 2004. Originally distributed by ABC Radio Networks via satellite, the service plays a hybrid ol ...

". It was branded as Kool Gold Timeless Classics as part of Dial Global's revamped satellite format group, but has then reverted to its original Kool Gold ident to avoid confusion with Citadel's former Timeless format, which once used the "Timeless Classics" positioner. Its competitors were "Oldies Plus" by Waitt, Classic Hits and

Good Time Oldies Good Time Oldies is a 24-hour music format offered to local radio stations across the country that was originally produced by Jones Radio Networks. After the sales of Jones Radio Networks to Dial Global in 2008, the format was absorbed into D.G.`s ...

Jones Jones or Joneses may refer to: People and fictional characters *Jones (surname), a common Welsh and English surname * List of people with surname Jones, including fictional characters ** Justice Jones (disambiguation) ** Judge Jones (disambiguati ...

; however, those assets were absorbed by

Triton Media Group Triton Digital, LLC, formerly Triton Media Group, is a digital audio technology and advertising company based in the US, with offices in New York, Paris, Montreal, London, and more. The group was formerly owned by E. W. Scripps Company, which sol ...

, leaving ABC Radio/Citadel Media's Classic Hits and The True Oldies Channel the only competitors. Prior to early 2009, the network has now consolidated Jones' "Good Time Oldies" into this satellite feed. The former "Oldies Plus" format was subsequently absorbed into Dial Global's portfolio and now is offered by Dial Global as a locally customized version of the Classic Hits/Pop format. Kool Gold was originally a 1950s and 1960s oldies format produced by Jim Seemiller of Adams Broadcasting and syndicated nationally by

Satellite Music Network Satellite Music Network was the first satellite delivered Radio network, network to provide complete live 24-hour-a-day music programming to radio stations, local stations, under several different formats. History Affiliate stations, mostly i ...

(later by ABC Radio Networks). The programming was produced in Phoenix, AZ beginning in the late 1980s and ending in about 1996. The format concentrated entirely on the first decade of rock & roll and featured a large playlist of more than 1,500 songs. In its heyday, the syndicated programming was broadcast by 50+ affiliate stations. The Kool in the title was borrowed from the call letters of the format's flagship station, KOOL (AM) -- now

KKNT KKNT (960 AM, "960 The Patriot") is a radio station broadcasting a conservative talk radio format in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The station is owned by Salem Communications Holding Corporation, a subsidiary of the Salem Media Group. Stu ...

, 960 kHz—in Phoenix, Arizona. KOOL GOLD was first radio station to syndicate itself 24 hours a day, and created a brand that now is used by more than 50 radio stations in US. In conjunction with KOOL-FM, the stations were nominated for 4 Marconi Awards and won in 1991/92 as best Oldies stations, under the tutelage of Jim Seemiller Stations that once aired the original Kool Gold Format: * KOOL (AM) 960 (Phoenix, AZ) *

KCBQ (AM) KCBQ (1170 AM "The Answer") is a commercial radio station in San Diego, California. It is owned by Salem Media Group and airs a conservative talk radio format. Studios and offices are on Towne Center Drive in San Diego's University City a ...

1170 (San Diego, CA) *

WQAM WQAM (560 AM broadcasting, AM, "AM 560 Sports") is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Miami, Florida. It broadcasts a sports radio radio format, format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. The studios are in Audacy's Miami office on Nort ...

AM 560 (Miami, FL) * KLUP 930 (San Antonio, TX) * WHND 560 AM (Detroit, MI - carried the format in its last several months as an oldies station prior to switching to a Spanish format in 1994)

External links

Classic Hits/Pop - Info from Dial Global
{{Triton Media Radio formats American radio networks Radio stations established in 2010