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

Westwood One Westwood One is an American radio network There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many (simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass-media entertainment, and ...

. Its playlist is composed of

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...

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, 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 ...

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

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

Hall and Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

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), which w ...

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 Classic Hits/Pop (Local Version) (formerly known as Oldies Plus) was a 24-hour music format produced by Dial Global, formerly distributed by Waitt Radio Networks and then under the now-defunct Dial Global Local brand. Its playlist, like its sister ...

" by

Waitt Waitt is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Charlie Waitt (1853–1912), baseball player *Chris Waitt (born 1974), filmmaker, musician and writer *Maude C. Waitt, member of the Ohio Senate *Mick Waitt, football coach who managed t ...

Classic Hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980s ...

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 may refer to: People *Jones (surname), a common Welsh and English surname *List of people with surname Jones * Jones (singer), a British singer-songwriter Arts and entertainment * Jones (''Animal Farm''), a human character in George Orwell ...

; 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 Los Angeles. The group was formally owned by E. W. Scripps Company which sold Triton to IHeartMedia in October 2020. The company work ...

, leaving ABC Radio/Citadel Media's

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 network to provide complete live 24-hour-a-day music programming to local stations, under several different formats. History Affiliate stations, mostly in small and medium markets, co ...

(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. Studi ...

, 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) 1170 (San Diego, CA) *

WQAM WQAM (560 AM, "AM 560 Sports") is a radio station in Miami, Florida. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts a sports talk format carrying a mixture of local and CBS Sports Radio programming. Its studios are located in Audacy's Miami office on Nort ...

AM 560 (Miami, FL) *

KLUP KLUP (930 AM) – branded ''930AM The Answer'' – is a commercial conservative talk radio station licensed to serve Terrell Hills, Texas. Owned by the Salem Media Group, the station covers the San Antonio metropolitan area. The KLUP studios an ...

930 (San Antonio, TX) *

WHND WHND (89.7 FM) is a radio station licensed to Sister Bay, Wisconsin, United States, serving the Door County area. The station is part of Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR), and broadcasts WPR's "NPR News and Classical Network", consisting of classical ...

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