 | |
| Broadcast area | United States Canada |
|---|---|
| Frequencies | Sirius XM Radio 71 Dish Network 6071 |
| Programming | |
| Format | 1940-1949 and (occasionally) 1950–1953 Music |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Sirius XM Radio |
| History | |
First air date | September 25,2001 |
| Technical information | |
| Class | Satellite radio station |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
'40s Junction is a commercial-freemusicchannel on theSirius XM Radio platform, broadcasting on channel 71; as well asDish Network channel 6071. The channel mainly airsbig band,swing, andhit parade music from 1940 to 1949, with occasional songs from the early-1950s. Until May 7, 2015, the station was known as'40s on 4, with programming being broadcast on channel 4, as part of the "Decades" line-up of stations. It was later rechanneled to be nearer to stations featuring similar genres of music, such asjazz andstandards. During its first four months on Ch. 71, the station was known simply as'40s. The station was rebranded as40s Junction on August 13, 2015.[1]
The40s Junction name, and the station's longtime nickname, "The Savoy Express", refer to thepassenger train−travel common in the 1940s. The name also lends reference to the popular dance hall in Harlem during 1940s called The Savoy Ballroom, where the Lindy Hop and "Jitterbug" dancing was born. The original "Station Master" (Program Director) for the channel wasMarlin Taylor, with Bob Moke serving as music director. Both have since departed, and the channel is currently[when?] programmed by Human Numan. The "voice" of the channel isLou Brutus, who models his announcing style after that ofBing Crosby staff announcer,Ken Carpenter. Brutus worked as Sr. Director of Music Programming, overseeing the content for a long and diverse lineup of channels.[2] He was subsequentlylaid off from SiriusXM amongst a company wide reduction of staff in March of 2023. In keeping with the railroad theme, the station's logo now features a train itself, based on the 1940s Reading Railroad's sleek stainless steel streamliner called the "Crusader", which operated between Philadelphia and Jersey City, NJ. Trains were the primary mode of distance transportation in the '40s. Airline travel wasn't fully developed and cost prohibitive to the masses.
XM once described the channel as follows:
Climb aboard the Savoy Express for a trip to yesterday and the sound of swing. Revel in the heyday of the big bands and the hits of the '40s. All aboard, Track 4!
The current channel description reads:
Hep Cats and Swingeroos, here comes the Savoy Express. Crooners serenade, and harmony groups join forces with orchestras to play everything in 'the book'. From Benny Goodman and Bing Crosby, to Doris Day and Count Basie, hear the hits from the '40s and beyond.
Similar to other XM "Decades" stations, prior to the2008 merger with Sirius, the '40s channel was initially programmed to recreate the feeling of the '40s era. This was accomplished by broadcasting big band/swing music; recreated newscasts in which fictional reporter "Ed Baxter", voiced by Bill Schmalfeldt, would report on the day's top stories in a year from 1936 to 1949, as if they were current now; countdowns of the top 3 hit songs from the current week in a year from 1936 to 1949; World War II–era, patriotic songs;Spike Jones's joke novelty recordings; along with such features as theRecord Museum, which played tracks from any year between 1920 and 1935. DuringAcademy Award season, director Bob Moke would regularly introduce and play all of the Academy Award nominated songs for a particular year between 1936 and 1949.
From November 16 through December 25,2009,'40s on 4 would be preempted forHoliday Traditions, a seasonal program devoted to popularChristmas music from the 1940s to the 1960s. In2010, the channel was again preempted forHoliday Traditions, this time starting November 15, and extending through January 1, 2011. The following year,Holiday Traditions appeared on its own channel (147), from November 14, 2011 to January 2, 2012.[3]
Previously featured programs includedHarmony Square, a 1-hour presentation ofbarbershop music that aired on Sunday afternoons and evenings;Big Band Jump, a syndicated weekly program, hosted byDon Kennedy, that specialized in Big Band music and the stories behind it; and a weekly program devoted to vintage,Bing Crosby radio shows, such asPhilco Radio Time andKraft Music Hall.
The channel was also used for XM's annual pop-music chronology,IT, from 2002 to 2007. From August 2011 to August 2013,Jonathan Schwartz, formerly of XM'sHigh Standards andSiriusly Sinatra stations, was heard daily on'40s on 4, playing a mixture of classic and contemporarypop standards recordings.
From March 26 to June 25, 2014,'40s on 4 was temporarily replaced by theBilly Joel Channel.[4] This change was ill-received by many of the station's fans; many of whom cancelled their subscriptions or demanded refunds from Sirius XM as a result.[5]
Channel 4 was occupied byPitbull's Globalization Radio when the '40s channel moved to Channel 71.[6]
While known as "40s", the station logo featured the previous logo, but theon 4 text was removed.
An early version of the SiriusXM app included a feature which allowed tempo to be adjusted to play faster music (i.e. Swing), or slower music (i.e., Traditional Pop), which has been discontinued.[citation needed]