'50s Gold (formerly The '50s on 5 or just The '50s) is a commercial-free,

satellite radio Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a ''broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than ter ...

station on

Sirius XM Radio Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

channel 72, as well as on

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 6005. From 2001 to 2008, the program director for XM's The '50s on 5 was Ken Smith, and its music director was Matt "the Cat" Baldassarri. Both men were dismissed from the channel in October 2008 following XM's merger with former rival

Sirius Sirius is the list of brightest stars, brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek language, Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinisation ...

. On November 12, 2008, The '50s on 5 was added to the Sirius platform, replacing the Sirius Gold channel. Similar to the other decades-themed channels, '50s Gold attempts to recreate the feel of 1950s radio. It uses similar DJ habits, jingles, period slang, and news updates. The channel was also used for XM's annual Pop Music music chronology, IT. However, unlike most satellite radio stations which play songs solely from a specific decade, the lineup of songs on '50s Gold is mostly from 1954 to 1963, a decade that spans from the start of the

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

era to immediately before the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on b ...

. 40s Junction carries the early 1950s playlist alongside the late 1930s and 1940s music. In early 2014, Sirius removed the disc jockeys from The '50s on 5, and also from

'90s on 9 The '90s on 9 (or just The '90s) is the name of Sirius XM Holdings, Sirius XM Radio's 1990s commercial-free music channel, heard on Sirius XM channel 9 and Dish Network channel 6009. The channel focuses mostly on hit-driven R&B, Hip-Hop, Rock, Da ...

, in an apparent cost-cutting move.

Pat St. John Pat St. John (born February 12, 1951) is an American radio personality and voice-over artist. He began his radio career on Windsor, Ontario's CKLW (800 AM) in 1969 and 1970, followed by WKNR (1310 AM) in late 1970 to early 1972, followed by WRIF FM ...

was one of the dismissed DJs. As of 2020, 50s on 5 carries some limited hosted programming, including a show by

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...

, ''In the Key of Neil'' with Neil Sedaka, the terrestrially syndicated ''Cool Bobby B's Doo Wop Stop'', and The Pink And Black Days with Alex Ward. In October 2021, SiriusXM announced that the station would move to channel 72 on the SiriusXM service on November 3, and that the station's name would simultaneously change to 50s Gold.

Core artists

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

* Fats Domino * Chuck Berry *

Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter and actor. From age eight he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he bega ...

Buddy holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

* Everly Brothers *

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...

The Platters The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The ac ...

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937), known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

References

External links

SiriusXM: '50s Gold
{{DEFAULTSORT:50s on 5 1950s in music Sirius Satellite Radio channels XM Satellite Radio channels Sirius XM Radio channels Radio stations established in 2001 Decades themed radio stations