WDRC-FM drops "Oldies" for "Big Hits"

[Howard Glazer]

After a couple of weeks during which the air personalities were
noticeably omitting the "Oldies" in "Oldies 102.9," WDRC-FM Hartford has
relabeled itself "Big Hits 102.9 DRC-FM," playing "the Biggest Hits of
the '60s and '70s." On air, the station is being announced as "Big Hits
one oh two nine," with no "point."

Interesting that this past December, DRC-FM replaced its traditional
listener-voted top 300 of all time with a chronological countdown of all
the No. 1 songs of the '60s. The top 300 was consistently top-heavy with
'50s favorites of longtime listeners -- songs such as "Hound Dog," "Rock
Around the Clock" and especially "In the Still of the Night," which
often ranked No. 1 in the listener vote. I wonder if out-of-timeframe
hits like these will now be forgotten by DRC-FM, or relegated to the
Sunday Night Sock Hop show, it that show is even allowed to continue.

Oh and the DRC-FM Web site has been blown up. All that's left is a logo
"102.9 DRC-FM" and the slogan "Hits of the '60s and '70s."

And so oldies -- at least by that name -- disappear from the Hartford
airwaves. How long will Boston's Oldies 103.3 hang on to its moniker?

Howard