Casey Kasem American Top 40

[kahunaburger]

   Listening to 3am CDT Sunday broadcast.  I'm just like "The man on the block raised by rock  who plays records all the time" Ray Davies sings about in "Rock n Roll Fantasy".  Spooky!  "Oh Darlin'" is a pretty good Beatles remake by Robin Gibb from a dreadfully awful movie that should have never been made.  Great voice.  "Just What I Needed" by the Cars is playing now, great debut by a great band.

[Gazoo]

Casey's '80s this week hit August 15, 1981.  Robbie Patton's "Don't Give It Up" is NTM - I just read that Christine McVie co-produced.

[Gazoo]

Alabama's "Feels So Right" was also NTM.  This was when the Top 40 felt dominated by country and AC, just before the '80s British Invasion.

[Gazoo]

I have no memory of Kenny Rogers' "I Don't Need You."  Most forgotten Top 3 hit of the decade, I'd imagine.

[RGMike]

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. 

My friend, you get the "Good Ears!" award this week. That is indeed Chaka (along with Ashford & Simpson) on the QJ hit. And Ms Ladd's only hit was produced by Gary Klein, who also did Dolly's "Here You Come Again", as well as that godawful Streisand "Prisoner (Captured By Your Eyes)" thing at #39. His 15 minutes were winding up right about then, I guess.

And the Ladd woman wasn't the only Cheryl represented: Seger's "H'wood Nights" is his ode to Cheryl Tiegs. In all, a most entertaining chart for me. BOSes to Anne Murray's "You Needed Me", one of the loveliest ballads of the era; JPY's "Love is in the Air" (still amazing that Vanda & Voung are behind that); Toby Beau's much-maligned "My Angel Baby"; and Chris Rea with the orig 45 version of "Fool If You Think it's Over" , which I hope you stuck around long enuf to hear.

and of course, most cheezetastic to the Village Peeps: they GOTS to be a mucho mucho Macho!

But too bad that first-ever long-distance dedication revolves around Neil D's "Desiree". And WOS to Loggins & Nicks, "Whenever I Call You Goat"

[SFGuy]

Casey's '80s this week hit August 15, 1981.  Robbie Patton's "Don't Give It Up" is NTM - I just read that Christine McVie co-produced.

This is the same show that XM radio played. Unlike you, when I heard the Kenny Rogers song, I did remember it.

[Wayback]

This weekend (8/22-23) on Casey70's it's Aug 28, 1976:
http://www.oldies1033.com/pages/5031563.php

[Tinka Cat]

This weekend (8/22-23) on Casey70's it's Aug 28, 1976:
http://www.oldies1033.com/pages/5031563.php

looks good,  lots of stuff I don't immediately recognize in the bottom part of the chart.  I was really into EJ and Kiki's sugary Don't Go Breaking My Heart, one of the first MP3 I searched for when that technology showed up. 

[RGMike]

This weekend (8/22-23) on Casey70's it's Aug 28, 1976:
http://www.oldies1033.com/pages/5031563.php

looks good,  lots of stuff I don't immediately recognize in the bottom part of the chart.  I was really into EJ and Kiki's sugary Don't Go Breaking My Heart, one of the first MP3 I searched for when that technology showed up. 

Beware Red Sovine's treacly, godawful country spoken-word record "Teddy Bear" at #40. *shudder*

But OMG, Henry Gross' delightful "Springtime Mama" (as far from "Shannon" as he could've gone, short of heavy metal), hooray for Candi Staten Island and the fabulous Lady Flash, and proxy-of-Gaz for Silver's "Wham Bam", thank you m'am.

[Tinka Cat]

#40 “TEDDY BEAR” – Red Sovine
#39 “LAST CHILD” – Aerosmith
#38 “GOT TO GET YOU INTO MY LIFE” – The Beatles
#37 “SPRINGTIME MAMA” – Henry Gross
#36 “ONE LOVE IN MY LIFETIME” – Diana Ross
#35 “YOUNG HEARTS RUN FREE” – Candi Staton
#34 “MOONLIGHT FEELS RIGHT” – Starbuck
#33 “I CAN’T HEAR YOU NO MORE” – Helen Reddy
#32 “I’M EASY” – Keith Carradine
#31 “STREET SINGIN’” – Lady Flash
#30 “AFTERNOON DELIGHT” – The Starland Vocal Band
#29 “GETAWAY” – Earth, Wind & Fire
#28 “SHOWER THE PEOPLE” – James Taylor
#27 “SHE’S GONE” – Hall & Oates
#26 “TURN THE BEAT AROUND” – Vicki Sue Robinson
#25 “WHAM BAM” – Silver
#24 “IF YOU LEAVE ME NOW” – Chicago
#23 “WHO’D SHE COO” – The Ohio Players
#22 “STILL THE ONE” – Orleans
#21 “A LITTLE BIT MORE” – Dr. Hook
#20 “DEVIL WOMAN” – Cliff Richard
#19 “WITH YOUR LOVE” – Jefferson Starship
#18 “ROCK & ROLL MUSIC” – The Beach Boys
#17 “HEAVEN MUST BE MISSING AN ANGEL (PT. 1)” – Tavares
#16 “LOWDOWN” – Boz Scaggs
#15 “LOVE IS ALIVE” – Gary Wright
#14 “SAY YOU LOVE ME” – Fleetwood Mac
#13 “SUMMER” – War
#12 “BABY I LOVE YOUR WAY” – Peter Frampton
#11 “KISS & SAY GOODBYE” – The Manhattans
#10 “THE MASQUERADE” – George Benson
#9 “GET CLOSER” – Seals & Crofts
#8 “A FIFTH OF BEETHOVEN” – Walter Murphy & The Big Apple Band
#7 “PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC” – Wild Cherry
#6 “(SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE) SHAKE YOUR BOOTY” – K.C. & The Sunshine Band
#5 “I’D REALLY LOVE TO SEE YOU TONIGHT” – England Dan & John Ford Coley
#4 “YOU’LL NEVER FIND ANOTHER LOVE LIKE MINE” – Lou Rawls
#3 “LET ‘EM IN” – Wings
#2 “YOU SHOULD BE DANCING” – The Bee Gees
#1 “DON’T GO BREAKING MY HEART” – Elton John & Kiki Dee

[Tinka Cat]

Henry Gross's Springtime Mama is one of the finest Beach Boy imitations I've heard -- at least his falsetto parts. It's great song.  I love the the chord change on the line "Let your smile that gets me crazy" -- very satisfying musical moment for me.

Speaking of Beach Boys -- they can mostly do no wrong -- but they suck the life out of Chuck Berry's Rock and Roll Music esp when compared to the orig. 

Just noticed for the first time this absurd lyric in Hall and Oates' She's Gone:

"Think I'll spend eternity in the city
let the carbon and monoxide choke my thoughts away"

...these guys obviously skipped chemistry class too much.

Boz Skagg's Lowdown is great, but I am now officially adding him to the list of singers who sound like they have a piece of hamburger stuck in their throat (see Molly Hatchett, Madonna on certain passages of Live to Tell and other songs).

[RGMike]

Henry Gross's Springtime Mama is one of the finest Beach Boy imitations I've heard -- at least his falsetto parts. It's great song.  I love the the chord change on the line "Let your smile that gets me crazy" -- very satisfying musical moment for me.

Glad ya liked. "SM" was a cult fave at my college radio station and we were crushed when it stalled out at #37. Mr Gross was a member of Sha-Na-Na and left after he got tired of singing "Teen Angel" every night for 6 or 7 years.  Can't say I blame him.

Hope you managed to avoid "Teddy Bear" -- been years since I heard it; it's got everything: Truckers, CB radio, a dead father (killed in a wreck) and a crippled kid. Sheesh. A #1 country song, natch.  But I didn't remember the story that Red Sovine played the demo for his wife the night before she died of a stroke (!). WOS

Nearly as bad: Aerosmith, rhyming Talahassee with "sassafrassee". Oy.

[RGMike]

Great "Casey" stuff this week: his whatever-happened-to feature on Tiny Tim, and a listener question on OHWs who peaked at #40 with their only hit ("kinda like landing on the moon and then not being able to get the door to your rocket ship open", sez Casey). Amongst the 8 (!) artists who did that are Ashton, Gardner & Dyke ("Resurrection Shuffle") and personal fave GunHill Road ("Back When My Hair Was Short").

Ms Reddy's "I Can't Hear You No More" is one of her minor ones, a bit of what I'd call chickenshit disco -- I didn't recall that it was a Goffin/King comp orig done by Betty Everett!

But all hail Lady Flash, Barry Manilow's backing singers (and former Bette Midler Harlettes, iirc), with the fab "Street Singin'", sounding more than a bit like "New York City Rhythm", which makes sense as it's co-written and co-produced by Mr Manilow. Another college radio fave.

[RGMike]

EWF make a "Getaway" -- I still can't tell, 33 years later, if they're saying "ah know we can, ah know we can" or "on a week-end, on a week-end".

And here's JT to golden-shower the people. Ewww.

[RGMike]

I'd forgotten that Elton & Kiki's "Don't Go Breakin' My Balls" was #1 for 4 weeks.
Casey's vignette about Chuck Berry was cool, but he managed to mispronounce the names of both Lillian Roxon (it's "rocks ON", not "ROCK-sun") and Charlie Gillett ("GILL-it", not "Gillette" -- he's not a razor blade!)

VHM George Benson, "Masquerade"-ing for the princess (Does that mean he dresses up as Anne Bancroft?).  BOS ED&JFC: they're not talkin' 'bout the linen!