"Red @ 104.1 – Music with Class" Signs on in St. Louis (Jan 13, 2004)

Emmis Communications St. Louis announced Red @ 104.1…“Music with Class” signed on from the famous Coronado Ballroom.

The music of the late Frank Sinatra is the king of “Red” artists, but Red @ 104.1 plans to present a hipper, younger-skewing version than the traditional format where Frank is usually heard.

Artists such as Michael BublT, Diana Krall, Norah Jones, Steve Tyrell, Harry Connick Jr., Brian Setzer, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and Rod Stewart will be played alongside the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Bobby Darin, Dean Martin and Frank. The songs and artists will have Red @ 104.1 listeners saying, "That’s Music with Class!"

Red @ 104.1 is not an oldies station, or a standards station, or a nostalgia station. This station plans to deliver a completely new mix of music to St. Louis listeners. The music on this format will paint a picture that everyone can relate to. For some, it's the music they grew up with. For others, they hear it in the movies, at weddings and in commercials. And for the younger group, it's a “retro-thing” that's making its mark in St. Louis.

Jeff Allen is the program director for Red @ 104.1. “It is very rare in radio nowadays to get to launch a brand new concept. We are very excited about this format."

Emmis-St. Louis Vice President of Programming Rick Balis says the appeal of Red @ 104.1 is universal. 20-somethings and 40-somethings plus will find it fun to set their radio to Red @ 104.1.

Emmis-St. Louis cluster VP/GM John Beck adds, “There’s a hole a mile wide for this remarkable music. Retailers such as The Pottery Barn, Starbucks, Restoration Hardware, Eddie Bauer and others have known it for years. They play the music in their stores and wind up selling it to their customers. We love those stores, their music…and their demographics”.

John Beck chose former Emmis exec and President of New Standard Communications, Chuck Hillier, to assist with the launch and to consult the station. Hillier states that, “Unlike older-skewing stations across the country that relegate this stereo, hi-fidelity music to the mono territory of the AM dial, a city like St. Louis finally gets a chance to provide an alternative to the ‘me-too’ music that exists on the FM band. This will recall the classic ‘Vegas’ era, but in a sassy, fun, updated fashion that listeners have longed for, and for which they have long deserved.” Hillier adds, “Let’s face it, this music mirrors the personal music libraries of young professionals everywhere. Leave it to Emmis to give the listener what they want.”

For more on Red @ 104.1, please visit http://www.red1041.com/, WMLL, St. Louis. MO. You can listen to it on the Internet.

Format change heard here: http://radio-info.com/format/stlouis/red1041.ram. WMLL had been stunting with “The Wheel of Music” playing song from all formats, and ironically the last song they played before the launch was Darude's song "Sandstorm!"

St. Louis Radio Info Messageboard: http://www.radio-info.com/mods/posts.php?Cat=&Board=stlouis

For folks that are not in St. Louis that want to check out Red @ 104.1, here's a link to the webcast (Note: It does require a Surfer Network player). http://www.1041themall.com/streaming/index.aspx

Before the format change, WMLL stunted for two weeks of stunting with a "wheel of music" featuring intervals of Oldies, Country and CHR/Pop tunes. At noon on 1/8/04, the wheel "selected" Adult Standards as the format of choice for the station.