A long, subtle format transition

Imagine a radio station taking two or more years to ease into a new format today.  KEZK 102.5 FM, which cornered the St. Louis market on easy listening music in the '70s and '80s, pulled off such a transition in the late '80s and early '90s.  During its years as an easy listening station, it was common to hear 101 Strings, The Hollyridge Strings, Bert Kaempfert, and Paul Mauriat's soft instrumental arrangements of pop songs from various decades.  Near the end of the '80s, however, KEZK set the stage for its long, thought-out transition to a soft rock station.  Instead of switching abruptly between formats, KEZK eased into the transition by gradually increasing the frequency of vocals from such artists as Anne Murray, Neil Diamond, and John Denver.  To ease the transition instrumentally, occasional light jazz instrumentals from artists such as Earl Klugh, George Benson, and Bob James were added to the mix.  Thus, around this time 25 years ago, you might have heard Love Unlimited Orchestra's "Love's Theme," John Denver's "Calypso," and an Earl Klugh instrumental in the same hour.  By the early '90s, the format had morphed subtly into all soft rock.  Looking back, that was a smart way to handle the switch--and appropriate, too, for two formats that pride themselves on being in no hurry to end one song and start another one.