Howard: If I was them (CBS Radio) tomorrow I'd put on the old CBS-FM Oldies and make $30 million a year and not have to deal with any nonsense...Let me tell you something. You talk about an error and destroying a radio station. If you've got a moneymaker like CBS-FM which is a no-brainer to run, why mess with it? It makes $30 million a year. Granted, it used to make $40 million a year. So maybe profits were on the downswing.

Robin: Still, that's a considerable amount of money.

Howard: That is a considerable amount of money. And then when it stops making money, you change it. But there were a lot of people who'd support it.

Artie: Every construction site I ever worked on, the only thing the young guys and the old guys could agree on, radio-wise, was CBS-FM. They'd just throw that on all day. The young guys could deal with the music; the old guys could deal with the music. Just put CBS-FM on.

Howard: I gotta tell you something. I couldn't listen to CBS-FM for three minutes.

Artie: I like a lot of the old songs.

Howard: Well, good. It would torture me. My point is, when I see the bottom line, it made $30 million. I'd sit and put my feet up on the desk and have fun. If I was the head of the company, I'd say, today I'll have lunch with my buddy while I'm making $30 million for doing nothing. I'd stop trying to re-invent the wheel...And if the format starts to show some cracks, maybe update the music a little. Move it to the 60s and 70s as opposed to that 50s b.s.

Well somebody at CBS Headquarters must still be a Howard fan because on Thursday, July 12, 2007 at 1:01 PM (the station's spot on the dial) they went to the very format Howard laid out on his show with music from the 60's, 70's and 80's (as "opposed to that 50's b.s.") The first song: The Beach Boys' "Do It Again."

In the station's official press release they stopped short of calling it an "oldies" station. It read: "Programming to feature the greatest hits of the 60s, 70s and 80s, an array of classics from the CBS-FM archive vault, and highlights from the station's Hall of Fame."

Pretty close to Howard's format, right?

The release went on to say: "Beginning with songs from the Beatles, Motown and the Beach Boys, and continuing through the late 80s, CBS-FM will feature hit music from artists such as Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Earth Wind & Fire, Rod Stewart, the Bee Gees, Chicago, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Frankie Valli, and John Mellencamp, among many others."

DJ Bob Shannon kicked things off and guess what? He sounded great! So did all the jingles and production. This is serious and more than a radio station. Like The Yankees, The Rockettes, and the Statue of Liberty, this is part of the big town …New York City! Broadway Bill Lee was on next doin' his thing during the fling while the singers sing. Tune in during afternoon drive to understand that jive!

And what did they play on the very first day?

GREAT, GREAT, STUFF that you just don't hear on the radio too much these days like: Earth, Wind & Fire: "Sing A Song" … Glenn Frey: "The Heat Is On" … Diana Ross & The Supremes: "Someday We'll Be Together" … Dobie Gray: "Drift Away" … Donna Summer: "Last Dance" … George Benson: "On Broadway" … Elton John: "Honky Cat" … Argent: "Hold Your Head Up" … First Class: "Beach Baby" … Frankie Valli: "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" … Freda Payne: "Band Of Gold" … Fontella Bass: "Rescue Me" … Donovan: "Mellow Yellow" … Bachman-Turner Overdrive: "Takin' Care Of Business" and on and on and on.

IT WORKS!!!!

The station never sounded better. You can analyze it to death and some will complain because they're not hearing "In The Still of the Night," but it's 2007 and this is going to be a very very big success.

I will listen often.