One of my fantasies is to take a failing AM radio station, and program it with a music format just to prove it can still succeed. I truly believe AM is not “dead,” just languishing from self-inflicted wounds brought on by neglect — both programming and engineering-wise — and political talk radio.
I would love to take over a station and put in place a format that might be considered adult Top 40. The idea is to appeal to all ages, but not go too extreme. Mix up the music to include primarily contemporary hits, but also feature the best alternative, some country, and killer oldies you don’t normally hear.
My own personal station would highlight that it is on AM. I would run promos starting with someone mocking a listener, then explain how we are better. For example:
“You listen to AM? OK, grandpa!” followed by a narration “We know what you’re going through; we’ve heard it before. But, we here at KHJ” (hey, it’s my fantasy!) “take great pride in being the station that plays the best new music, first. In fact, we have broken more new music and new bands in the last year than all other local stations combined.” A few similar lines would follow, ending with “AM radio for a new generation, 93/KHJ.”
We’d have special weekends, great contests, and be live with real DJs 24/7. The key, though, is that unlike a tribute station or recreation that plays oldies, I’d play primarily new music.
As it turns out, part of my job has already been done, by a station in Pago Pago, American Samoa. KKHJ, on the island at 93.7 FM, has been streaming to the world for many years, and is a station I have written about in the past. But it keeps getting better and better. In fact, the musical approach is exactly what I would do. That it is called “93/KHJ” makes it even better for me … I am a KHJ (930 AM) fanatic, even though it hasn’t been top-40 since November 1980 … not counting the “Car Radio” days.
Playing what they call “American Samoa’s Best Music Mix,” the playlist is quite impressive. Artists include Rihanna, Luke Combs, Dua Lipa, SZA, Lil Nas X, Green Day, Pink, Olivia Rodrigo, Lovely the Band, Chainsmokers, and more. Sundays are “flashbacks,” with hits from the 1980s; nights feature the syndicated John Tesh program playing music mixed with life advice and tips. There is a full morning show called “Samoan Sunrise,” and a news department with hourly local newscasts supported by national news provided by Fox.
Basically, it’s radio like we used to do here. They even have modern jingles, with an occasional blast from the past using the famous “we play it for you on 93/KHJ” long-form jingle as heard right here in the mid 1970s.
This may be among the best top-40 stations in the country, even though it is officially off the mainland, in a U.S. Territory south of the equator. You can hear it online using any radio app, directly at southseasbroadcasting.com/93khj, or on their own South Seas smartphone app.
Keeping in mind I usually don’t like single station apps, I highly recommend the one from South Seas. Download it on for iPhone or Android by searching the app stores for “South Seas Broadcasting.” Well worth it.
South Seas actually sets the standard for apps here; it is superb, primarily because it just works so well — fast and responsive. But it also incudes not just KHJ, the reason I downloaded it in the first place, but the other co-owned stations as well: V-103, playing local island music, The Beat, playing hip-hop and rhythm and blues, and Oldies 93.7, an oldies station that is a secondary HD channel of KKHJ.
The Beat harkens hack to our own Beat heard here, if memory serves right, on 100.3 FM and later 92.3 FM. Like KKHJ’s approach, it’s a modern version of The Beat, playing current music with a full staff and catering to the younger island listeners. Doja Cat, Ice Spice, Offset, 310babii, and Lil John are typical artists.
V103 — The People’s Station — plays Samoan and Polynesian music along with local news in both English and Samoan.
And then there is Oldies 93.7. Not only do they play oldies you generally don’t hear elsewhere, in a mix that I find quite enjoyable. It has a full staff, along with news and even some advertisements … all unusual for an HD sub-channel.
Sonny and Cher, America, The Isley Brothers, Jim Croce, Badfinger, Dean Taylor, The Four Seasons, Donna Summer, and the Righteous Brothers filled out a recent hour.
One thing I noticed on all of these stations is that the DJs seem to be voice-tracked — recorded ahead of time with music added later — but it is done well, and most people probably would not notice. Of note, the DJs never give the time or weather reports; those are inserted between other elements. No doubt this allows the various personalities to live anywhere in the world, making it easier to have a “big city” sound in a very small market.
Give them a listen and let me know what you think.
Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email rwagoner@socalradiowaves.com