Report: Most '90s Icons Missing From Country Format

Marked by seminal acts like Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson and Brooks & Dunn, the ‘90s were a fertile period for country music, especially the first half of the decade.  So, InsdeRadio today explores why is so little of that iconic music heard on country radio today?

Programmers say much of the decade’s music doesn’t sonically fit with today’s country. “People have moved on from the ‘90s sound,” says Clear Channel-Milwaukee director of programming Kerry Wolfe.

“Right now the flavor of the month is the Florida Georgia Line sound.  But back then, everyone wanted to be Garth.”  The amount of ‘90s heard on country radio varies from station to station. Only about 5% of airplay on Milwaukee’s WMIL, which Wolfe programs, is from the ‘90s, and it’s limited to the creme de la creme — songs that have withstood the test of time from Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney and Toby Keith, who continue to have hits today.

WMIL stays clear of the overtly pop country of the second half of the decade, such as Faith Hill and Shania Twain, which Wolfe believes derailed the format.  Era-defining songs like Garth Brooks "Friends In Low Places", Brooks & Dunn’s “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” and Alan Jackson’s “Chattahoochee” continue to resonate, Wolfe says, even among younger listeners.

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