''
'
40
s Junction'' is a commercial-free music channel on the
Sirius XM Radio platform, broadcasting on channel 73; as well as ''
Dish Network
DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV. A ...
'' channel 6073. The channel mainly airs
big band
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...
,
swing
Swing or swinging may refer to:
Apparatus
* Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth
* Pendulum, an object that swings
* Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus
* Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse
* Swing rid ...
, and
hit parade
A hit parade is a ranked list of the most popular recordings at a given point in time, usually determined either by sales or airplay. The term originated in the 1930s; ''Billboard'' magazine published its first music hit parade on January 4, 1936 ...
music from 1936 to 1949, with occasional songs from the early-1950s. Until May 7, 2015, the station was known as ''
'
40
s on 4'', with programming being broadcast on channel 4, as part of the "Decades" line-up of stations. It was later rechanneled to be nearer to stations featuring similar genres of music, such as ''
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
'' and ''
standards Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object th ...
''. During its first four months on Ch. 73, the station was known simply as ''
'
40
s''. The station was rebranded as ''40
s Junction'' on August 13, 2015.
The ''40
s Junction'' name, and the station's longtime nickname, "The Savoy Express", refer to the
passenger train
A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...
−travel common in the 1940s. The name also lends reference to the popular 1941 jazz song
Chattanooga Choo Choo. The original "Station Master" (Program Director) for the channel was
Marlin Taylor, with Bob Moke serving as Music Director. Both have since departed, and the channel is currently programmed by Human Newman. The "voice" of the channel is
Lou Brutus
Lou Brutus (born November 10, 1962) is an American radio personality, program director, voice-over talent, musician, and photographer. He is best known as the host of the nationally syndicated rock radio programs '' hardDrive with Lou Brutus'' a ...
, who models his announcing style after that of
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
staff announcer,
Ken Carpenter. In keeping with the railroad theme, the station's logo now features a train itself.
History
XM once described the channel as follows:
''Climb aboard the Savoy Express for a trip to yesterday and the sound of swing. Revel in the heyday of the big bands and the hits of the '40s. All aboard, Track 4!''
The current channel description reads:
''Hep Cats and Swingeroos, here comes the Savoy Express. Crooners serenade, and harmony groups join forces with orchestras to play everything in 'the book'. From Benny Goodman and Bing Crosby, to Doris Day and Count Basie, hear the hits from the '40s and beyond.''
Similar to other XM "Decades" stations, prior to the
2008 merger with Sirius, the '40
s channel was initially programmed to recreate the feeling of the '40s era. This was accomplished by broadcasting big band/swing music; recreated newscasts in which fictional reporter "Ed Baxter", voiced by Bill Schmalfeldt, would report on the day's top stories in a year from 1936 to 1949, as if they were current now; countdowns of the top 3 hit songs from the current week in a year from 1936 to 1949; World War II–era, patriotic songs;
Spike Jones's joke novelty recordings; along with such features as the ''Record Museum'', which played tracks from any year between 1920 and 1935. During
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
season, director Bob Moke would regularly introduce and play all of the Academy Award nominated songs for a particular year between 1936 and 1949.
From November 16 through December 25,
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
, ''
'40
s on 4'' would be preempted for ''Holiday Traditions'', a seasonal program devoted to popular
Christmas music
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...
from the 1940s to the 1960s. In
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, the channel was again preempted for ''Holiday Traditions'', this time starting November 15, and extending through January 1, 2011. The following year, 'Holiday Traditions'' appeared on its own channel (147), from November 14, 2011 to January 2, 2012.
Previously featured programs included ''Harmony Square'', a 1-hour presentation of
barbershop music that aired on Sunday afternoons and evenings; ''Big Band Jump'', a syndicated weekly program, hosted by
Don Kennedy, that specialized in Big Band music and the stories behind it; and a weekly program devoted to vintage,
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
radio shows, such as ''
Philco Radio Time
''Philco Radio Time'' was an old-time radio radio series starring entertainer Bing Crosby. The series ran over ABC Radio with episodes airing from October 16, 1946–June 1, 1949. The series also was syndicated for a period of time over the ...
'' and ''
Kraft Music Hall
''The Kraft Music Hall'' was a popular old-time radio variety program, featuring top show business entertainers, which aired first on NBC radio from 1933 to 1949.
Radio
''The Kraft Program'' debuted June 26, 1933, as a musical-variety progra ...
''.
The channel was also used for XM's annual pop-music chronology,
IT, from 2002 to 2007. From August 2011 to August 2013,
Jonathan Schwartz, formerly of XM's
High Standards
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift to ...
and
Siriusly Sinatra
Since 2008, Sirius XM Radio has had a similar channel lineup, with a few differences based on whether the individual has a Sirius, XM, or SiriusXM radio. For technical reasons, separate radios continue to be manufactured for the separate services ...
stations, was heard daily on ''
'40
s on 4'', playing a mixture of classic and contemporary
pop standards recordings.
From March 26 to June 25, 2014, ''
'40
s on 4'' was temporarily replaced by the ''
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...
Channel''. This change was ill-received by many of the station's fans; many of whom cancelled their subscriptions or demanded refunds from Sirius XM as a result.
Channel 4 was occupied by
Pitbull's Globalization Radio when the '40s channel moved to Channel 73.
"More changes at KRTH, big band station replaced with ‘Pitbull’s Globalization’"
from ''Los Angeles Daily News
The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado-based Digital First Media.
The offices of the ''Dai ...
'' (August 31, 2015)
While known as "40s", the station logo featured the previous logo, but the ''on 4'' text was removed.
Internet Player
The Internet player can be adjusted to play faster music (i.e. Swing), or slower music (i.e., Traditional Pop).
References
External links
SiriusXM: '40s Junction
{{DEFAULTSORT:40s
Sirius Satellite Radio channels
XM Satellite Radio channels
Sirius XM Radio channels
Decades themed radio stations
Radio stations established in 2001