|
Jingles produced specifically for radio stations were especially popular in the ‘60s and ‘70s. The style has changed, but jingles are still an important part of a station’s format.
Radio station jingles, also called station ID’s, are short pieces of music that feature the station’s call letters. They are creatively produced to help give the station a unique identity and contribute to its overall sound.Most station ID’s are created at studios that specialize in the craft.
A brief history of radio station jingles
One cannot discuss radio station jingles without mentioning the impact of a production company in Dallas, Texas called PAMS.
It’s station ID’s were used extensively by stations around the country from the late ‘50s well into the ‘70s. That was before the age of FM radio; AM radio was enormously popular, especially with young people.
The popularity of AM radio stemmed partially from the prevailing broadcast environment, which focused on entertaining listeners not only with music, but with lots of personality.
The disc jockeys of the era were often celebrities themselves, and were constantly visible in the community. The jocks were given a free hand (within reason) to do and say what they wanted.
Station jingles fit the broadcast climate perfectly and were produced for individual DJ’s, local promotions, weather intros, news intros and much more. The jingles were characterized by full orchestrations, a male and female vocal chorus, and lots of sudden key changes.
After FM radio became dominant, radio station ID’s adapted to the changing broadcast environment. They never went away, but were scaled back to fit the new and more strictly controlled station formats.
Current usage
Today station ID’s are still used, although not as predominantly as they were in the heyday. While packages are produced for every format, it’s common to hear station jingles on contemporary hit radio (CHR), adult contemporary radio (AC), and country music radio.
The musical production in each package conforms to the station’s format. For contemporary hit (top 40) stations, the instrumentation has lots of synthesized sounds and features digitally constructed vocals, sometimes done rap style.
Some AC station IDs employ current pop instrumentation, and other AC packages are reminiscent of the traditional ‘60’s style.
Country radio usually utilizes contemporary country instrumentation.
Types of radio station jingles
The traditional radio station jingle package can include the following types of jingles and ID’s:
- Slow to fast or fast to slow. Bridges songs of different tempos.
- Stab. Very short sung phrase.
- Sweeper. Usually a spoken phrase with music or effects in the background.
- A Capella. Vocals only, no instrumentation.
- Musical beds (instrumentals) with vocals either at the beginning or end. For announcer voiceovers.
- Specialty lyrics. Vocals that feature local landmarks, special promotions, or entities that are unique to the radio station.
- Timely lyrics that mention the time of year or week: weekends, seasons, and holidays.
|
