When you have spent over fifty years in radio, you accumulate an encyclopedic knowledge of music. You remember the B-sides, the regional breakouts, the obscure album cuts, and the one-hit wonders that vanished overnight.<\/p>\n\n
Therein lies the trap.<\/p>\n\n
An insightful industry essay titled "Why Knowing Too Much Music Can Hurt Your Station"<\/i> highlighted a fundamental truth: Programmers remember everything; listeners don’t.<\/b><\/p>\n\n
A colleague recently suggested consulting website rankings for the "top songs of each decade." While those charts are fine on paper, there is no substitute for having lived it. I grew up on this music and spent decades watching it move audiences in real time. The playlists of CHUM, CFTR, and CKGM are etched into my DNA—and CFQR 600's Classic Top-40 sound is a direct reflection of that heritage.<\/p>\n\n
Too many program directors fall into the habit of programming for their own refined tastes. We get excited by deep cuts, forgetting that the vast majority of listeners tune in for one simple reason: familiarity.<\/b> They want the songs they already know and love. One enthusiastic caller requesting an obscure 1978 track does not outweigh thousands of listeners who will turn the dial if the momentum stalls.<\/p>\n\n
The Montreal Difference<\/b><\/p>\n\n
It is also vital to understand that Montreal was culturally distinct from every other major broadcast market during the Classic Top-40 era. While Toronto radio was heavily shaped by upstate New York signals out of Buffalo and Rochester, Quebec dials were blanketed by powerhouse border signals from New York city and New England.<\/p>\n\n
More importantly, the bilingual cultural crossover created regional smash hits that you wouldn't find on a standard American chart. In Montreal, "Lady Marmalade"<\/i> belonged to Nanette Workman just as much as Labelle. Andy Kim’s take on "Be My Baby"<\/i> was a massive local anthem, alongside Anne Murray’s legendary string of hit covers. You cannot program Montreal from a generic national chart; you have to understand the local ear.<\/p>\n\n
Research vs. Memory<\/b><\/p>\n\n
Great programming is built on discipline and data, not ego. Back when major market budgets allowed, we ran twice-yearly auditorium tests with 1,000 songs, keeping only the top 400 scoring tracks.<\/p>\n\n
The data taught us humility. A song reaching #1 in 1980 does not guarantee it holds test value today. Tastes evolve, and a music playlist is like a living, breathing entity<\/b> that must constantly be refreshed, tested, and updated.<\/p>\n\n
While classic Top-40 formats often lock down tight rotations of 800 to 1,000 songs, our broader library runs deeper, making the balance between variety and familiarity essential.<\/p>\n\n
The Architecture of the Clock<\/b><\/p>\n\n
Building a winning 14-song music hour requires structural rules that may or may not be enforced by the music director:<\/p>\n\n
No two slow songs back-to-back.<\/b><\/p>\n <\/li>\n No two female vocals in a row.<\/b><\/p>\n <\/li>\n No two Canadian selections back-to-back.<\/b><\/p>\n <\/li>\n Tempo and texture drive every transition.<\/b><\/p>\n <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n Insert more silly rules, variations and restrictions here...<\/p>\n\n To make the sound cohesive, the non-Canadian library of roughly 1,800 titles is organized into three distinct tiers:<\/p>\n\n Power Classics (~250 songs):<\/b> The undeniable, instant-recognition anthems that command the volume knob—tracks like "Beat It"<\/i> by Michael Jackson, "September"<\/i> by Earth, Wind & Fire, and "Roxanne"<\/i> by The Police. We launch out of the top-of-the-hour news with a Power Classic to immediately set the benchmark.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n Secondary (~400 songs):<\/b> High-testing staples sitting just below power rotation—think Donna Summer’s "Dim All the Lights"<\/i> or Earth, Wind & Fire’s "Getaway."<\/i><\/p>\n <\/li>\n Classics (~1,200 songs):<\/b> The seasoning of the station. These are the nostalgic "gut-feel" tracks you love hearing once every few weeks—Barry Manilow’s "Mandy"<\/i> or The Cars' "Touch and Go."<\/i><\/p>\n <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n The Think Tank: Never a One-Man Show<\/b><\/p>\n\n In a competitive market like Montreal, you cannot program in a vacuum, nor should you attempt to be everything to everyone. You stay true to the lane.<\/p>\n\n Above all, building a great station cannot be a one-man show. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the trusted minds in my daily think tank, whose distinct viewpoints keep our playlist sharp and honest:<\/p>\n\n Ted Silver:<\/b> A seasoned programmer who built some of Montreal's dominant #1 stations and understands market psychology and competitive flow inside out.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n Dan Tremblay:<\/b> Veteran of Quebec City’s legendary FM93 during its dominant years, who brings an invaluable perspective on cross-cultural appeal and how songs resonate through a French lens.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n Our daily debates dig deep: Is Cheap Trick’s "Surrender" too jarring for mid-morning office listening? Does Gordon Lightfoot’s "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" belong strictly in daytime dayparts? Does a British Invasion feature extend into the '80s?<\/i> Having Ted and Dan challenge ideas and bring their own deep experience ensures the music connects with the audience, not just my own instincts.<\/p>\n\n Next Time<\/b><\/p>\n\n Curating the international hits is only half the battle. Managing our 650 Canadian selections—and exploring why Quebec's CanCon heritage is unlike anywhere else on the continent—deserves a log of its own.<\/p>\n\n Daniel Coulombe<\/b><\/p>\n\n daniel@cfqr600.com<\/i><\/p>\n\n <\/i><\/p>\n\n <\/i><\/p>\n\n For a trip back to the golden era of Top 40 broadcasting that defined this sound, check out this CKGM 98 Montreal 1975 Aircheck<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n This vintage broadcast captures the unmistakable pacing, energy, and tight music rotation of classic Top-40 radio in Montreal.<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/1755\/6a63adaa957f3ce9b04.jpg","author":{"name":"Daniel Coulombe"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.cfqr600.com\/_app_pages\/stations\/5807\/blogs\/posts\/86083"}]}\n
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