RE: Commercials 103.3

["elipolo@earthlink.net" <elipolo@earthlink.net>]

Most Oldies stations play the short (single) version of "Light My Fire" 
by The Doors, as it was the only version played on Top-40 radio in the 
60's. 

Most Classic Rock stations play the long (album) version, as it was the 
version played on FM album rock radio in the late 60's. 

Oldies stations nowadays emulate 60's/70's Top-40 radio and play 45 
(single) short versions. Classic Rock stations are somewhat of a distant 
decendent of "FM underground" album rock radio and will (sometimes) play 
album versions. 

Top-40 radio in the 60's played 45's. The record companies knew that 
Top-40 radio wouldn't play songs that were considered too long. Some 
album cuts and longer versions didn't infiltrate into some certain Top-40
stations until the early 70's when they were trying to compete with the 
"hipper" FM album rockers that had recently become the sucessful trend. 

And, teenyboppers snapped up the 45's of "Light My Fire" like hotcakes in 
summer 1967! The short version was one of the top pop hits of the year! 
Jim Morrison was marketed as a teenage heartthrob at first, his picture 
was all over "16 Magazine". Psychedelic rock albums with extended cuts 
were still considered somewhat esoteric, for those older newfangled weird 
"hippie types". Top-40 listeners still mostly wanted quick, snappy songs, 
they generally weren't interested (yet) in zoning out to long, psychedelic 
jams. 

When "Light My Fire" came out in summer '67, all the rock stations here 
were still Top-40. WMEX, WBZ, and WRKO (AM & FM) all played the short 
version. WBCN didn't begin playing "underground" album rock until March 
of '68. But, that wasn't the first place I heard the long version on air.

Since I didn't buy The Doors first album when I was 10 years old, I 
didn't even know there was a long version of "Light My Fire" until I 
heard it played on the MIT college station WTBS (now WMBR) in fall '67, 
a few months after the short version hit the Top-40 charts. It blew my 
little mind at the time.

Eli Polonsky 


>Date: Sun, 29 Sep 2002 04:22:15 -0700 (PDT)
>From: Bob Nelson <raccoonradio@yahoo.com>
>Subject: Commercials 103.3
>
>...the version of "Light My Fire" that was played was the SHORT version)...

>Date: Sun, 29 Sep 2002 14:16:21 -0700 (PDT)
>From: Roy Lawrence <lawrencemedia@yahoo.com>
>Subject: Re: Commercials 103.3
>
>WODS played the edited version of "Light My Fire" by the Doors? yuck!!!...

>Date: Sun, 29 Sep 2002 18:17:49 -0400
>From: SteveOrdinetz <steveord@bit-net.com>
>Subject: Re: Commercials 103.3
>
>You mean the same 3:00 ***HIT SINGLE*** version that many on this list 
>grew up listening to?  Every oldies station I've ever heard plays that 
>version.  They're not trying to be a classic rocker!  Maybe they ought 
>to play the long version of "In A Gadda Da Vida" too.



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