`now, It's All Gravy' For Wyoming Valley West

Antoinette Martone 
November 15, 1997 
Antoinette Martone, Formerly Of Rock Street, Hughestown, Died Saturday At The 
Hospice Care Unit, Heritage House V.n.a., Wilkes-barre.

By VAN ROSE; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Tuesday, November 18, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





WILKES-BARRE- "Louie Louie." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Louie Louie." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Louie Louie." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Louie Louie." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Louie Louie." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Louie Louie." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Louie Louie." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Louie Louie." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Louie Louie." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tired of it yet? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Certainly, the listeners of WSGD-FM (94.3)/WDLS (93.7) appear to be. Cool
94 has been besieged with hundreds of complaints since it launched a five-day
"Louie Louie" marathon last Friday at midnight. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And that's just what station officials were counting on. It's part of a
promotional gimmick for a refocusing of the oldies' format, which begins
Wednesday afternoon. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We're trying to call attention to the fact that we're making a major
change in our oldies' for mat," said Bill Betts, president of Citadel
Broadcasting. "What better way than restricting airplay to the 18 versions of
`Louie Louie?' " &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 That would include such diverse versions as the classic 1963 version by The
Kingsmen to the one by the University of Wisconsin marching band. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Previous to the "Louie Louie" fest, Cool 94's format included oldies
ranging from the 1950s to the 1980s. Beginning Wednesday, 85 percent of the
songs will be from 1960 to 1968, according to Betts. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "This is the result of a lot of studies and the advice of a top
consultant," Betts said. "What we learned was that music changed drastically
in 1967 when The Beatles released `Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.'
That's when things started getting weird." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The "Louie Louie" gimmick might be temporarily costing the station some
listeners, but it hasn't lost any revenue, Betts said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We told our advertisers about it in advance and most of them agreed to go
along with it," Betts said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Betts said the station offers a sympathetic approach to callers complaining
about the "Louie Louie" gimmick. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "People call up and say, `You've got to be kidding,' " Betts said. "We tell
them `Yea, we're basically kidding.' We know it's a pretty cruel joke, but
it's about to end." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

`louie Louie'? It Gotta Go Now