More than 30 years ago, a radio station in Albuquerque, New Mexico made the switch from new age to classic rock. KLSK-FM owner and DJ John Sebastian alerted listeners to the format switch by broadcasting Led Zeppelin‘s “Stairway to Heaven” for 24 hours straight. The police were called to the station twice and many listeners were outraged. However, it made for excellent ratings that day.
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Allegedly, listeners called the station thinking the DJ had suffered a heart attack and possibly died, leaving “Stairway to Heaven” on a loop. Others apparently thought the station had been taken over by terrorists and the DJ was being held hostage. Speaking with Ultimate Classic Rock in 2015, John Sebastian confirmed these rumors.
“I think everything in there sounds correct. I can’t think of anything that isn’t accurate,” he recalled, “I remember it vividly.” When asked about the police showing up, he said, “I think they did show up twice. I don’t remember exactly what all the rumors were. There were lots of them, which was the whole idea, to get word of mouth spread—and it certainly worked.”
New Mexico Radio Station Subject to Police Visits After Playing “Stairway to Heaven” for 24 Hours Straight
According to Sebastian, the radio station had loyal local listeners as a new age station, but essentially, “it just wasn’t making that much money.” Sebastian facilitated the format change to bring a wider audience to KLSK, and the “Stairway to Heaven” stunt definitely brought in the listeners.
The incident “spread the word so rapidly that even though we had like half a signal compared to the other Albuquerque stations, we went from nowhere to second in the market within just a couple of ratings periods,” Sebastian recalled. “It really helped to get us off the ground, just by doing something as radical as playing ‘Stairway to Heaven’ over and over again.”
KLSK overhauled its playlists and format, which set the groundwork for the shift in listeners. What really brought them success, though, was Sebastian’s interesting move with “Stairway to Heaven.” Allegedly, many people kept listening to KLSK during the “Stairway to Heaven” hours because they wanted to know when they would stop playing it. Who would have thought you could annoy people into listening to your radio station?
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