In Pittsburgh, it’s the unofficial start of summer — not just the Memorial Day holiday weekend but the accompanying WDVE radio countdown of 500 classic rock tunes.

The station calls it “The Memorial Day 500,” and it’s beloved by fans throughout Western Pennsylvania.

“Yes, we are doing the countdown again, starting Friday,” said John Moschitta, program director for iHeartMedia, which owns the station.

In the early going, songs so far include The Clarks’ ”Born Too Late,” Billy Joel’s “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” and Def Leppard’s “Hysteria.”

“The Memorial Day 500” airwaves opened at 1 p.m. Friday on 102.5FM and goes until around 6 p.m. Monday (without overnight coverage). The station has begun playing 500 classic rock ‘n’ roll tunes, from Led Zeppelin to Pink Floyd to Rush and Molly Hatchet to Queen and the Rolling Stones.

#DVEMemorialDay500 kicks off in a few hours! Get your picks in now!https://t.co/w0waYImgrE

— 102.5 WDVE (@DVERADIO) May 28, 2021

Listeners can tune in to see if last year’s winner Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” repeats or another song takes its place like the upset the year before.

The year prior it was Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In the Wall,” which was considered an upset to some listeners.

The countdown returned in 2019 after a more than two-decade absence.

It began Friday after disc jockey Michele Michael’s “Electric Lunch” and goes until midnight. On Saturday, it will open at 9 a.m. during Val Porter’s show and run until midnight. Sunday will be 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and it will begin at 9 a.m. on Monday until around 6 p.m. No guest DJs will be in the lineup.

Local vlogger Paul Petroskey (known as “Weird Paul”), of Brookline, is a diehard fan of the countdown. He has written down every song for years. He will be working on Saturday at Ross Park Mall so he said he won’t be able to listen to it in its entirety. Petroskey said last year was disappointing because it was almost identical to the previous year. He said some songs were only moved a few spots but they were still in a similar order.

“I think ‘Stairway to Heaven’ will be No. 1,” Petroskey said.

No one will know that until Monday.

The format will run similar to past years, Moschitta said. Listeners can offer suggestions here. There is no actual voting of songs, Moschitta said. Most of the staff have input in the list by researching the song’s popularity and how much previous on-air play it has received.

“We will use pretty much the same template as previous years, but that doesn’t mean the list will be the same,” Moschitta said. “Listeners will have to tune in to find out.”

The Memorial Day 500 “is popular because people love lists,” he said. “Any sort of list. This countdown is also a walk down memory lane. They remember a song from that time in their life.”

The list creates plenty of conversation in person and on social media.

“How could this song be this number and that song be that number?” he said. “And with social media, listeners can debate pretty much in real time. And we like to think that when you hear the Memorial Day 500, you know summer is coming.”

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