Zapoleon Media Strategies

20/08/2026

It's National Radio Day and I'm celebrating the great programming team at KZZP in 1988

OM Todd Fisher MD Gene "Bean" Baxter, Consultant Jerry Clifton and me

20/08/2026

𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝘀 80% 𝗼𝗳 18-34𝗣 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸!

From my friend, music & media expert Michelle S

18/08/2026

𝗠𝘆 𝗠𝗼𝗺, 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝘆𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻 𝗞𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗲!

When I was 13 in 1965 I was living with Mom and Dad in Stamford Connecticut during the British Invasion The most popular kid in 7th Grade at Turn Of River Junior High, George Voss, who always had cute girls around him I remember asking him what his secret was. He simply said

“Just listen to Cousin Brucie at 77 WABC and learn about the hits”

and so I began listening at night to Cousin Brucie discovered Pop music and radio and it became my lifelong obsession.

Shortly thereafter in 1966 Mom and Dad split up and I moved with Dad to Los Angeles and Mom and sister Anne moved to New York. In LA my good friend Jeff's Dad, was former WBZ Boston personality, then Filmation Animation(Archies Fat Albert Groovy Ghoolies) CoFounder Norm Prescott let me have his Billboard magazines every week so I still kept up with the music charts on WABC and the programming staff at WABC.

Flash forward to 1970, My Mom a former runner-up for Miss Tennessee, still looked at least 15 years younger than her age in her mid 50s was living in New York near Columbus Circle in Manhattan.

While mom often dated younger men but in New York she was dating a fast talking New Yorker her own age. Stan Kreshower was former head saleman at the NY Times, Stan was exceptionally bright, and knew just about everyone in New York which I’d find out soon enough. Stan was also a very kind man and he certainly loved Mom.

I visited my mom at least every year Spring or Summer for several weeks. This trip in the Spring during my senior year of high school, when I arrived at mom’s apartment, Stan was there. As we were hanging out he asked me “What do you want to do while you are here in New York this trip?”

Even 5 years removed from Mom and Dad’s split I was still angry about the separation, so I wasn't a big fan of Stan. I remember saying "Stan, you couldn't do anything for me I'm very interested in".Yes I was really really being a brat!

Typical positive Stan he just smiled and said "C’mon kid what do you want to do". Thinking he'll never EVER GET THIS ONE done!
I gave him my biggest dream request and said "OK Stan I want to meet idol Cousin Brucie!" To my surprise he laughed and said "Give me an hour". He came back 15 minutes later and said "Let's go kid", I said "Where?"...Stan said "To Meet Cousin Brucie. of course!"

I laughed and said "Sure you are”!" So we got in a cab and 15 minutes later we were at WABC. I remember getting nervous now saying C'mon Stan the jokes gone far enough! Stan smiled knowing he was getting to me, saying Guy, I thought you wanted to meet Cousin Brucie!

When we arrive at the WABC building I say "C'mon Stan, the joke has gone far enough", Stan chuckled saying" Kid, I thought you wanted to meet Cousin Brucie?"

We go to get into the elevator and a woman steps in and its Music Director Sonja Jones next to us. .. Stan goes to the front desk and says “Stanley Kreshower and guest to meet Bruce Morrow, he's expecting us”

My mouth dropped open....

I hear Cousin Brucie on the radio, "77 WABC Let It Be The Beatles WABC Its 6:50 WABC Chime Time (D**g!)"

Minutes later he goes to break...and my God, he's coming out of the studio! He walks over to Stan and gives him a big bear hug, and my eyes are popping out of my head!

Brucie smiles and says to me, "Stan told me about your bet...he was my manager in the fifties when I was starting out and arranged appearances for me at sockhops..."

Then Brucie invited me to hang out with him in the 77WABC studios...I was in shock, I couldn't believe I was really there with my idol Cousin Brucie! He invited me into the studio to watch him broadcasting on the legendary 77 WABC, it was the thrill of my life

And yes I certainly had alot more respect for Stan after that!

Looking back I realized that God often puts certain people in your life to guide your future, Stan Kreshower was definitely one of those people!!

Picture below Cousin Brucie then Dad Mom and baby Guy

17/08/2026

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿, 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗶𝘅 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘀

Matt Bailey on his Graphsaboutsongs com does a brilliant graphic analysis of why and how songs just hang around for a year or more on the charts

Last year Billboard put a time limit on how long a song can stay in the Hot 100, finally retiring Teddy Swims alone Control...AND STILL the biggest songs stay on the Hot 100 remains seemingly FOREVER

"A typical song now spends twice as long among Spotify's biggest hits than it did a year ago
Why are more people playing the same old songs forever(on Spotify)"

While radio has increasingly hung on to the biggest hits, "on streaming services, where fans are in control of their music, those fans are increasingly picking the same old songs over newer releases, too."

"Today, we’re analyzing how long songs stay on the Spotify 200 chart in the U.S. and how it’s changed from 2019 through today. The change isn’t subtle."

https://open.substack.com/pub/graphsaboutsongs/p/why-songs-are-hanging-around-forever?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=8a6m0s

11/08/2026

𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟵𝟯 𝗞𝗛𝗝 𝗠𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗔 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗼

I was in love with hit music since I was 13 and living in Stamford Connecticut listening to Cousin Brucie. My love grew into an obssession with the radio station that would change my life 93 KHJ Los Angeles

I grew up fascinated with the Top 40 radio format. Consultant Bill Drake, Program Director Ron Jacobs and Music Director Betty Breneman had the biggest influence in my career with their creation of the aforementioned 93 KHJ certainly one of the greatest radio stations of all times(if not the greatest)

I spent every moment I could listening to 93 KHJ and trained myself to be able to predict the songs that would become hits listening and studying 93 KHJ's weekly Boss 30 I truly believed I could be successful in the music industry or in radio (but back in the 60s so did a million other kids)

My obsession with radio drove my dad crazy because I already had a busy life, on Van Nuy's Birmingham High School championship swim team. Most importantly Dad wanted me to get A’s in school so I could get into an Ivy league college like Yale and have a professional career(even following in his footsteps in the clothing industry(where he ran Judy’s then Nobby’s clothing stores)

So Dad thought I was totally wasting my time with my radio obsession. But that all changed with a contest that was part of the
the 93 KHJ Non-Stop Contest. I had always tried to win them dialing the last digit on our rotary phone and trying to time it so it called KHJ at the exact moment they had asked for listeners call in to win. I had even actually been a contestant with chance to win and go on the deck of the Starship Enterprise for KHJ’s StarTrek contest but didn’t win and got the consolation prize "Leonard Nimoy's presents: Mr. Spock's Music From Outer Space"

In the summer of July 1969 93 KHJ was giving away Ford's brand new car model “the Ford Maverick” on their "A Maverick A Day contest on KHJ" Like all the major 93KHJ contests I tried to enter the contest. I called into Charlie Tuna who was doing mornings on 93/KHJ and amazingly got through at 7am to become of the last of the 24 qualifiers for that day. I was off to the first day of Summer School at nearby Taft High School having to retake Chemistry.

I had to head off to be in class at 8am so I couldn’t listen at home to the drawing. But I did take my transistor radio which I hid in my book satchel. Charlie Tuna was still on and getting ready to pick the winner. Charlie was teasing the drawing for the Maverick as class began but teasing dragged on "the contest drawing was coming up in just a few minutes"…I groaned.

The teacher of the Summer School Chem Class was the same teacher who taught the Chem class I flunked, at Birmingham High, Mr Wyatt. So I was very nervous about trying to listen to the drawing on my little beige transistor radio as they kept on teasing then delaying the drawing for about 20 minutes.

Finally more than 20 minutes after 8am, Charlie Tuna was drawing the winner. And suddenly Mr Wyatt was coming down the aisle looked at me and said "Zapoleon what are you doing! Take your book!" So I freaked out and threw my transister radio in my bag and didn't hear the winner.

But I honestly did think I'd heard my name and that I had won the car. I whispered to some friends in the class who laughed and said to me "You're full of sh*t"

Luckily, I was sitting toward the back of the class and as the class continued outside the window I saw my best friend Bart Holiday, whose summer school class had just recessed and I waved at him. He came over and I asked him to call my Dad and my sister Anne Zapoleon Most to see if I won, he got my sister who told him the answer. About 20 minutes later he came back to the window outside my classroom and I was sitting near the back of the room

Well, Class was still going on but I could see him mouthing these magic words "Guy, you won!!" I was in shock. My sister tells me that their eyes grew as wide as saucers and When I got home from Summer School my Dad said to me "Hey maybe this "Radio thing" could work out for you, son". It was the moment my Dad began to believe more in my radio dream.

Dad, Anne and I were thrilled to go down to Galpin Ford to pick up my Anti-EstablishMint colored Maverick. That was 52 years ago. Here's the promotion photo from 93/KHJ celebrating the 5 winners, I am all the way to the left, Charlie Tuna of course in the middle.

Was it a sign I was going to be in radio maybe but all I know was I was blessed by God.....winning a car on my favorite radio station and convincing my Dad that maybe there was something to my obsession with radio and that it might "pay off"

07/08/2026

𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝟱 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗛𝗼𝘁 𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲
By Melinda Newman

Country music has never held this many of the top spots on the all-genre chart at once — here's why

1 Country’s streaming popularity continues to attract younger fans who are streaming-savvy, leading to a growing increase in streaming numbers for the genre. For years, country lagged behind its pop and R&B/rap counterparts when it came to streaming, but the genre has been steadily catching up, according to Luminate.

Additionally, all five entries, like so many country songs these days, easily bridge both pop and country, broadening their appeal beyond any one genre.

2. Ella Langley is one of the chart’s most dominant artists, across both streaming and radio.

3. No artist has dominated both the pop and the country charts over the last few years like Morgan Wallen

4. I Knew It, I Knew You” has been touted as Taylor Swift’s return to her country music roots 20 years after she launched her career in the format.

5. Women have struggled to get airplay at country radio and seldom reached the top 10 of the Country Airplay chart as solo artists. But that’s changing. Between Lainey Wilson, Langley, Megan Moroney (whose Cloud 9 debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 earlier this year), and now Stella Lefty(Boston), women are standing tall.

Five Reasons country music has the Top 5 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 with Ella Langley, Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallen

31/07/2026

𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗕𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗴𝗹𝗶𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 "𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱" 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗻𝘆 𝗜𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘂𝗽 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀

My good friends and industry legends, renowned radio programmer "Your Duke" Dave Sholin Sholin and veteran record executive Rick Bisceglia , bring you their new podcast featuring legendary American music executive Don Ienner who ran Sony Columbia and Arista

Career Overview

𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗗𝗮𝘆𝘀 (0:56 - 4:08): Don Ienner began his journey in the mailroom at Capitol Records. He spent his evenings listening to demos and attending live shows, which allowed him to develop an ear for hits. He eventually moved to CAM Productions and became heavily involved in the studio side of the business.
𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀(1:10 - 16:59): Alongside his brother Jimmy Ienner, Don launched Millennium Records. This was a period of high-intensity work where he focused on singles, edits, and radio promotion to ensure their artists succeeded.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀(17:12 - 24:11): Joining Arista Records in 1983, Ienner worked closely with Clive Davis. He was instrumental in revitalizing the label during a lull, applying a "bull in a china shop" approach to leadership that helped launch the careers of superstars like Whitney Houston.

𝗦𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 & 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 (30:38 - 42:47): At age 36, Ienner became the youngest president in the history of Columbia Records. During his long tenure, he oversaw a transformation of the label, working with legends like Mariah Carey, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen. He emphasizes that his success came from having 20,000+ hours of experience, allowing him to understand every role within the company.

𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗽𝗵𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆: 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 Ienner shares that he was never a slave to release schedules; he insisted that a record was only ready when it was "right," a principle he learned from Clive Davis (25:24 - 26:12).

𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗰𝘆: A core tenet of Ienner’s career was telling artists and staff the truth—even when it was difficult—regarding whether a record was failing or needed a change, rather than giving false hope (4:42 - 5:04).

𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀: Following his music career, Ienner moved into the restaurant and real estate industries, where he applies the same team-based leadership and drive for excellence that he used in the music business (1:03:36 - 1:08:27).

In this episode, legendary music executive Don Ienner joins Dave Sh...

27/07/2026

𝟒 𝐓𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟔𝟎𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐦 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥/𝐕𝐚𝐧 𝐍𝐮𝐲𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐨

My high school Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, had a number of very famous people come out of it especially in show business. Sally Field(my next door neighbor at the Balboa Biltmore apartments) Cindy Williams, Jermaine Jackson, Bobby Sherman, Diane Warren, and Terry Gilliam(Monty Python)

We also had quite a stellar group of kids part of our high school radio station KBHS who want on to very successful careers in radio and TV. There was my best friend Jeff Prescott who became a legendary morning man at Rock/Alternative radio KGB and 91X San Diego

Joe Klein who after a stint as a Top 40 DJ, became a commercial production success doing many radio and tv commercials for music artists.

Then you had Tom Straw who after success as a Top 40 program director in St Louis went on to become a very successful Television producer of Night Court Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Dave's World, Grace Under Fire, Cosby, Whoopi, and Nurse Jackie.

and me.

We all loved 93KHJ On a trip to KHJ with my high school radio station buddies Jeff Prescott and Joe Klein we saw newly arrived Charlie Tuna drive up in his VW bug and Humble Harve who chased us away from the KHJ Studio. We would even visit KLA-FM the UCLA radio station to see Ken Levine who became one of the most successful screen writers with his partner after being a successful Top 40 DJ as Beaver Cleaver at KYA San Francisco, KFMB-FM San Diego, and KTNQ, KIQQ and KHTZ. Which I’m sure helped Tom Straw somehow in his pursuit of a TV career.

Top row #2 Jeff Prescott #3 me
Bottom row #3 Joe Klein #4 Tom Straw

21/07/2026

𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗗𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝟭𝟬 𝟯𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 '𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝘁 𝟭𝟬𝟬

It started with Ella Langley taking the Top 2 spots with Choosin Texas now #1 for 14 weeks tying the record for the longest-running non-holiday No. 1 by a female solo artist. with Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey , coupled with her follow up Be Her at #2

Now for the 3rd time since the Billboard Hot 100 became the industry's standard in August 1958, the top three positions are occupied by country songs you have the Top 3 being Country songs. yes Taylor is Country Pop) In fact five out of the Top 10 this week are from Country artists.

In August of 2023 you had #1 Jason Alden's song, "Try That In a Small Town," Morgan Wallen was at No. 2 with "Last Night" and at No. 3 was Luke Combs' cover of "Fast Car."

You also had in the same month August of 2023 Rich Men North Of RIchmond Oliver Anthony Music Morgan #1 Luke Combs' cover of "Fast Car." was #2 Wallen was at No. 2 with "Last Night" was No. 3

You had previous years where the Top 2 were Country hits first
May 31, 1975: That week's No. 1 song was Freddy Fender's "Before the Next Teardrop Falls," with John Denver's "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" at No. 2.

And for three weeks, from Feb. 21-March 7, 1981, the top 2 was Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" and Eddie Rabbitt's "I Love a Rainy Night." .

You also had Nos. 1 and 3 positions on March 11, 2000 being country songs: "Amazed" by Lonestar at No. 1, and "Breathe" by Faith Hill at No. 3. Faith would go on to reach No. 2, but only after Lonestar fell from No. 1

Throughout the rock and roll era of mid-late 50s and 60s you had many weeks where you had 2 or more Country hits in the Top 10 with one in the Top 5

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗚𝗮𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗼 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀!

Whats interesting are the gaps where there were no 2 Country hits in the Top 10

Rebirth Jan 1964-August 1969(Extremes)
1979(Extremes) and 1980(Doldrums)
1983 through1999!!!!!
2000 through 2022!!!!

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝟱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝟮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝟭𝟬

April 1957 Party Doll by Buddy Knox #4 and Gone by Ferlin Husky at #10
Feb 1959 All American Boy Bill Parsons(Bobby Bare) was #2 Gotta Travel On Billy Grammer #7
July 1959 Battle Of New Orleans by Johnny Horton was #1 and Waterloo by Stonewall Jackson was #6
Jan 1960 El Paso Marty Robbins #1 Heartaches by the Number Guy Mitchell
Feb 1960 He'll Have to Go Jim Reeves #4, What In The World's Come Over You -Jack Scott #7 Lonely Blue Boy Conway Twitty #8 El Paso -Marty Robbins #10
April 1960 He'll Have to Go Jim Reeves Reeves #3,Sink The Bismarck by Johnny Horton #7
June 1960 Burning Bridges Jack Scott #3 He'll Have to Stay Jeanne Black #6
July 1962 It Keeps RIght On A Hurtin Johnny Tillotson #5 Wolverton Mountain Claude King #7
March 1963 End Of The World Skeeter Davis #2 You're The Reason I'm Living Bobby Darin #3
Nov 1963 I'm Leaving It Up to You-Dale & Grace #4 500 Miles Away From Home-Bobby Bare #10
August 1969 A Boy Named Sue-Johnny Cash #5 Ruby Don't Take Your Love-Kenny Rogers #7
Feb 1971 Rose Garden Lynn Anderson #4 Amos Moses Jerry Reed #8
Mar 1973 Dueling Banjos- Weissberg Mandell #2 Rocky Mountain High John Denver #9
Mar 1973Dueling Banjos- Weissberg Mandell #2 Danny's Song Anne Murray #10
Feb 1974 Spiders and Snakes Jim Stafford #4 Let Me Be There Olivia Newton John #10
Mar 1974 Sunshine On My Shoulders John Denver #4 Spiders and Snakes Jim Stafford #9
June 1975 Thank God I"m A Country Boy John Denver #1 I'm Not Lisa Jessie Colter #8
June 1975 When Will I Be Loved Linda Ronstadt #3 I'm Not Lisa Jessie Colter #6 Thank God I"m A Country Boy John Denver #8
July 1975 Annie's Song John Denver #2 If You Love Me Let Me Know Olivia Newton John #10
Sept 1975 Rhinestone Cowboy Glen Campbell #1 Wasted Days and Wasted Nights Freddy Fender #10
Sept 1975 I'm Sorry John Denver #1 Wasted Days and Wasted Nights Freddy Fender #8
Nov 1977 Blue Bayou Linda Ronstadt #3 Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue-Crystal Gayle #7 Here You Come Again-Dolly Parton #8
Feb1981 9 to 5 Dolly Parton #1 I Love A Rainy Night-Eddie Rabbit #2
July 1981 Elvira Oakridge Boys #5 I Don't Need You Kenny Rogers #6
Aug 1981 I Don't Need You Kenny Rogers #3 Queen of Hearts Juice Newton #8 No Gettin Over Me Ronnie Milsap #9
June 1982 Always On My Mind-Willie Nelson #5 Love's Been A Little Bit Hard Juice Newton #9
March 2000 Amazed Lonestar #1 Breather Faith Hill #3
Aug 2023 Jason Alden's "Try That In a Small Town " #1 Morgan Wallen "Last Night" #2 Luke Combs' "Fast Car." #3
Aug 2023 Rich Men North Of RIchmond Oliver Anthony Music CombsFast Car." #2 Morgan Wallen "Last Night" #3
Jan 2024 I Remember Everything Zach Bryan #5 Last Night Morgan Wallen #8 Luke Combs' "Fast Car #9
June 2024 I Had Some Help Post Malone/Morgan Wallen #1 A Bar Song-Shaboozey #4 Pink Skies Zach Bryan #6
Jan 2025 A Bar Song-Shaboozey #2 I I Had Some Help Post Malone/Morgan Wallen #8
Feb 2025 A Bar Song-Shaboozey #4 Love Somebody Morgan Wallen #10
Feb 2025I'm THe Problem Morgan Wallen #2 A Bar Song-Shaboozey #5

10/07/2026

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱: 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝘀

This episode of "For the Record" features my friends Dave Sholin and Rick Bisceglia the former Head of Promotion at Arista Records reflecting on their experiences working with the legendary music executive Clive Davis

Key takeaways from their discussion include:

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲:𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆(4:26 - 10:42): : Rick describes his transition from radio to the record business, noting how Clive was deeply involved in every detail of the operation. .Rick shares anecdotes where he describes the intense but rewarding environment under Clive Davis Clive was known for being exceptionally prepared, demanding, and deeply involved in every aspect of the record business—from A&R to marketing and promotion. Weekly department meetings were legendary, requiring staff to be ready with precise data about radio airplay and market trends.(8:46

𝗖𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲’𝘀 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗶𝘁𝘀 (13:04 - 17:03): While Clive was famous for his "golden ears," Rick emphasizes that he was also a great listener who valued feedback from his field staff. Clive believed in the power of radio and was open to signing artists based on ground-level data or organic growth in local markets.

𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗘𝗿𝗮𝘀 (19:39 - 21:13): The hosts discuss Clive Davis’s rare ability to evolve with the changing music landscape. He successfully expanded Arista into new genres like country and urban/hip-hop, including pivotal joint ventures with labels like LaFace and Bad Boy Records..

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝘆 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 (23:12 - 24:28): Both speakers reminisce about Clive’s iconic pre-Grammy parties, describing them as a pinnacle of industry social life where music, television, and movie worlds collided.
𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 (27:13 - 27:39): When asked to summarize his experience, Rick expresses how fortunate he feels to have learned from Clive Davis and notes that he will be deeply missed.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻

At the end of the episode (27:26), when asked to describe Clive Davis in a few words, Rick reflects on how "fortunate" he feels to have learned from him and expresses that the industry will truly miss him.
𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀

Rick and Dave's discussion reminds me about how so so many of us in this business wanted to work here because they loved music and wanted to help talented artists achievectheir goals. Both of these legendary gentlemen had great ears and helped break so many hits

In this week's episode of For the Record, Dave sits down with Rick ...