WXPN Counts Down 885 Greatest Covers
• For over 20 years, heritage Triple A 88.5 WXPN/Philadelphia has crowdsourced and broadcast unique year-end 885-song countdown lists, making it one of the most ambitious and longstanding programming events across the entire medium. Last year, the station featured the “885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century,” preceded by 2023’s “885 Greatest Songs by Women.”
Tomorrow morning, Dec. 4, at the stroke of 8am ET, WXPN will kick off the “885 Greatest Cover Songs,” counting down the covers that flip the script, turn a classic inside out, or breathe new life into a tune you thought you knew best. At the same time, WXPN will launch an 885 Greatest Cover Songs Quiz for listeners to test their knowledge, for example, “Who wrote ‘Hallelujah?'” The popular end-of-year special programming will commence each morning and culminate with the No. 1 pick on the evening of Dec. 11. Listeners can follow along on air and online in real time on XPN.org.
This year, WXPN listeners showed up in record numbers, with over 10,000 cover songs submitted. Ahead of the countdown, the entire WXPN programming staff has also shared their lists of top 10 cover songs.
WXPN Acting PD Jim McGuinn explains, “The idea for a cover songs countdown really sparked during a Throwback Thursday theme when the audience response was electric. It reminded us how much people love hearing a great song reimagined. The enthusiasm around this year’s theme has been incredible — you can feel how strongly listeners are connecting with these versions. The playback is going to be a blast, with unexpected choices, big listener passion, and a few fun surprises along the way.”
McGuinn added, “What I love about cover songs is that you already know them, but the right version makes the familiar feel fresh. With listeners turning out in record numbers to vote, we can’t wait to kick things off at 8am and count all the way down from No. 885 to No. 1. And for anyone who misses the daytime excitement, we’ll have nightly ‘post-game’ recaps with highlights and fun stats.”
Pictured, above, (l-r): WXPN midday host Mike Vasilikos, Land of the Lost host Robert Drake, and morning host Kristen Kurtis holding their results of the 885 Countdown Quiz, available at XPN.org starting Dec. 4. [Photo Credit: Paige Walter for WXPN]
