Speaking of Rickie Lee Jones...

...Her hit, "Chuck E.'s In Love," was one of the tunes KNJZ added to its playlist in May 1995.  The powers that be severed their arrangement with the consultants that month and decided to program the station in-house.  It was an adventurous time to work there, as the playlist started to encompass everyone from Eddie Money to Sarah Vaughan.  I was on the air during the first hour of this new arrangement.  During that hour, the following three songs came up in a row:

• Angel Eyes-Jim Brickman
• Come To Me-Milt Jackson
• Chuck E.'s In Love-Rickie Lee Jones

In my opinion, all three songs are good, but for different reasons.  "Angel Eyes" is a moving, concise new age piano instrumental.  "Come To Me" is a good traditional jazz vibraphone piece.  "Chuck E.'s In Love," as I mentioned in yesterday's post, doesn't fit solidly in any particular category.  It has elements of pop, rock, country, singer-songwriter music, and jazz.

I enjoyed working at a station that would play those three songs in a row, as different as they were.  As for how this musical whiplash went over with listeners, however...I imagine other listeners reacted the way one reader of this blog did.  Around 2 a.m., he called the request line and said, "I've been listening for the past two hours, and I just have one question.  Are you all being let go in two weeks?"

Well, no...We weren't being let go in two weeks.  Three-and-a-half months, later, however...

Unfortunately for those of us who worked there, such an eclectic approach to the music didn't lead to higher ratings.  In September 1995, the station changed formats and personnel, as stations often do.  To this day, I wonder what would have happened if the station had eased into the transition more subtly and adopted the slogan, "Smooth jazz--and more."  No way to know now, alas...Looking back, I have some inkling of how actors on abruptly cancelled TV shows must feel.