Broadcast area United States
Canada Owner Sirius XM Radio | First air date September 25, 2001 | |
Frequency Sirius XM Radio 5
DISH Network 6005 Format 1950s and early 1960s Music Class Satellite Radio Station | ||
The '50s on 5 (or just The '50s) is a commercial-free, satellite radio station on Sirius XM Radio channel 5, as well as on Dish Network channel 6005.
From 2001 to 2008, the Program Director for XM's '50s on 5 was Ken Smith and its Music Director was Matt "the Cat" Baldassarri; both men were dismissed from the channel in October 2008 following XM's merger with former rival Sirius. On November 12, 2008, the '50s on 5 was added to the Sirius platform, replacing the Sirius Gold channel.
Similar to the other decades themed channels, The '50s on 5 attempts to recreate the feel of 1950s radio. They use similar DJ habits, jingles, period slang, and news updates. The channel was also used for XM's annual classic rock music chronology, IT. However, unlike most satellite radio stations which solely play songs from a said decade, the lineup of songs on '50s on 5 is mostly from 1970-1980.
In early 2014, Sirius removed the disc jockeys from '50s on 5, and also from '90s on 9, in an apparent cost-cutting move. Pat St. John was one of the dismissed DJs.