Casey Kasem American Top 40

[RGMike]

As I await Casey on Magic 98, their "Saturday Seventies" feature gives me my OMGWTF-of-the-Day, if not the week: Bob Welch's forgotten "Precious Love" from early '79. I cannot remember when I last heard this one. Deserved better than its #19 peak.

ETA: even more OMGWTF-ier is Roger Voudouris' "Get Used to It", also from '79, which I barely remember from hearing it on AT40; it got no NYC airplay that I can recall.

[RGMike]

"Soul Makossa" spends its 3rd and final week (!) in the Top 40 at the shockingly low peak of #35 (!!) -- amazing for such an influential record that was selling like hotcakes as an import thanks to NYC disco play.

And I'm astounded to see "Playground in My Mind" still hanging on at #34 in August; I recall hearing it on NY radio in February when WPIX-FM played it on their weekly make-it-or-break-it new singles feature (listeners gave it a big thumbs up). Still sweet and (IMHO) undeserving of the HFH brickbats it's had tossed at it over the years. Clint Holmes is doing a fine Johnny Mathis imitation here.

And speaking of sweet, Foster Sylvers does his best MJ with "Misdemeanor" -- but since he's on MGM Records, is he really doing a Donny Osmond reject?

[Tinka Cat]

"Soul Makossa" spends its 3rd and final week (!) in the Top 40 at the shockingly low peak of #35 (!!) -- amazing for such an influential record that was selling like hotcakes as an import thanks to NYC disco play.

And I'm astounded to see "Playground in My Mind" still hanging on at #34 in August; I recall hearing it on NY radio in February when WPIX-FM played it on their weekly make-it-or-break-it new singles feature (listeners gave it a big thumbs up). Still sweet and (IMHO) undeserving of the HFH brickbats it's had tossed at it over the years. Clint Holmes is doing a fine Johnny Mathis imitation here.

And speaking of sweet, Foster Sylvers does his best MJ with "Misdemeanor" -- but since he's on MGM Records, is he really doing a Donny Osmond reject?

yes, that Foster Sylvers sounds just like MJ. And speaking of MJ, I only recently learned that he borrowed heavily from Manu Dibango's Soul Makossa refrain "Mama ko mama sa maka makoosa" for Wanna Be Startin' Somethin.'  I had never put that together until I read it in the New Yorker last month:  http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2009/07/06/090706ta_talk_sanneh

[RGMike]

BOS the 4 Tops and the longest, thickest thumbs you evah saw! Nothing like getting the shaft in Africa.

BOS2 Charlie Rich, with his baby who's always a lady unril she get her freak on "Behind Closed Doors"

And BOS3 Gladys & Co, on their Buddah debut, "Where Peaceful Waters Flow", which sadly got ambushed by Motown's simultaneous release of "Daddy Could Swear". I'd forgotten that "WPWF" was a Jim Weatherly compo.

[RGMike]

VHM Ree-Ree's "Angel". That Lobo thing was truly a forgotten hit. And TO & Dawn wonder who's in the strawberry burlesque patch with gypsy Sally. Or something.

[RGMike]

Now I remember hearing this one last year: Casey says Bloodstone are 6 "stone bloods". Casey, I know you're not 100% Caucasian but let's not push it.

Ms Reddy covers Tanya Tucker's country #6 with a gospel flourish. And Casey precedes "Kodachrome" with the story of how the BBC won't play songs that mention commercial products. No mention of Cherry Cola.

[Gazoo]

Now I remember hearing this one last year: Casey says Bloodstone are 6 "stone bloods". Casey, I know you're not 100% Caucasian but let's not push it.

Ms Reddy covers Tanya Tucker's country #6 with a gospel flourish. And Casey precedes "Kodachrome" with the story of how the BBC won't play songs that mention commercial products. No mention of Cherry Cola.

I'm listening on Magic 98 now.  Really nice, even that one-trick wolf Lobo.

[Gazoo]

"Yesterday Once More" is missing from the Carpenters GH comp I have.  Inconceivable!

[RGMike]

"Yesterday Once More" is missing from the Carpenters GH comp I have.  Inconceivable!

shoobie-doo-lang-lang!  That is odd, considering it got to #2 -- I have a double-CD best-of and the only charted hit it lacks is wacky Sedacky's "Solitaire".

I tuned out after "Kodachrome" to watch one of the unfunniest comedies ever filmed, National Lampoon's Movie Madness. Painful.

And now I'm listening to JJ on KPOO and he's playing... "Misdemeanor". But he follows it with Jermaine Jackson's fine, forgotten "That's How Love Goes".

[RGMike]

Belated BOS4 Ms Midler, "Boogie"-ing at the baths, with Barry M in tow!

Charlie Daniels' "Uneasy Rider" always amazes, as he's making fun of the sort of know-nothing redneck he would ulitimately become 15 or 20 years later. But whoever produces these reruns censored the word "fag"! Bet ol' Charlie'd be pissed about that.

And of course I have to VHM Gilbert O's "Get Down", still a delightful pop confection to my ears, and Johnny Taylor's "I Believe in You", which strikes me as quite Womack-esque -- Bobby W hisself would hit the 40 the following week with "Nobody Wants You When You're Down & Out". We also just missed hearing Ms. King's "Believe in Humanity" and Don Covay's "I Was Checkin' In/She Was Checkin' Out".

[RGMike]

Classic deejay wisecrack from '73: "It's nice to see Mrs. McGovern helping to retire the Senator's campaign debt by making records!"  BOS5 Maureen M, after they touched her in the morning to tell her the ship had capsized.

[Wayback]

AT40 on 8/15-16, its Aug 26, 1978; we did not hear this one last year. Playlist:
http://www.957kjrfm.com/pages/events.html?feed=111843&article=4192995

[RGMike]

AT40 on 8/15-16, its Aug 26, 1978; we did not hear this one last year. Playlist:
http://www.957kjrfm.com/pages/events.html?feed=111843&article=4192995

and thank gawd for that! It's a Gibb-n-Grease-fest!

[kahunaburger]

AT40 on 8/15-16, its Aug 26, 1978; we did not hear this one last year. Playlist:
http://www.957kjrfm.com/pages/events.html?feed=111843&article=4192995

  "Rock Roll Fantasy" should've charted higher , it's one of The Kinks best. "Right Down The Line" by Gerry Rafferty was a great followup to "Baker Street".  Same goes for Eddie Money's "Two Tickets To Paradise" which followuped "Baby Hold On". The most cringe worth, god awful song in this countdown has to be "Think It Over" by Charlie's Angels star Cheryl Ladd (worse than anything John Schneider or Bruce Willis ever recorded!!!).  "You" by Rita Coolidge has to be a close second (Rita doing plastic , disco cheese doesn't make it!!!).

[Gazoo]

I had forgotten how "Think It Over" sounded; reminded me of Dolly Parton just a touch.  Only NTM today is Quincy Jones's "Stuff Like That," which I would have thought was Chaka and Rufus.  Interesting trivia from Casey: the Dave Clark Five charted with two different songs called "Everybody Knows."  (I've never heard either one.)  And for an added bonus, modern-day Casey tracked down the writer and recipient of the very first Long-Distance Dedication, which is in this set.