From the MCRFB news archives: 1966

Softer Pop Sound Trending Radio Where Mostly ‘Hard’ Top 40 Plays

LOS ANGELES — Frank Sinatra’s mercurial smash, “Strangers In The Night” is an indication to some in the (radio) trade that a softening up of top 40 stations hard rock sound is taking place.

Based on “Strangers” frantic sales pace, indicating the single will be Sinatra’s biggest hit, Reprise general manager Mo Ostin notes that it’s not as tough today to  get on a top 40 station with a product other than a hard rock record as it was previously.

The overwhelming dominance of a hard sound is diminishing, the executive said. “There appears to be a trend for a lot of the hard rock stations to go soft,” Ostin added. “They are diluting their top 40 format with the addition of a mixed blending of material.”

WIP-AM in Philadelphia and KFWB here, for example are playing more adult-oriented music than ever before.

The unequaled acceptance of the latest Sinatra single has created a rush to cover the tune. According to Ostin, the song has been cut in 50 other situations. “Strangers,” written by Bert Kaempfert, was produced by Jimmy Bowen in a commercial style with Ernie Freeman’s arrangement aimed at a top 40 sound.

The single was meant to be a blending for adults and teenagers and the result is successful, Ostin boasted, if a recent Columbus, Ohio, rock station’s phone poll is any barometer. Sinatra was voted the top artist by adult listeners, and among the top five teenage favorites. END

(Information and news source: Billboard; June 4, 1966)