Casey Kasem American Top 40

[RGMike]

I'd never realized that the J5 and Isaac Hayes versions of "Never Can Say Goodbye" were contemporaneous.  I'd've thought a bigger lag between the former and the latter.

Clifton Davis made a whole lotta residuals that year.  Fabulous stuff, and I'm looking forward to hearing Brenda & the Tabulations' Fan-Tab-Yoo-Luss "Right on the Tip of My Tongue" -- "Didn't you KNOW?? Couldn't you SEE IT???"

Lawd, but this one was a treat.  I hadn't heard Paul Humphries' "Cool Aid" since '71 -- I was gonna call it a rip-off of "Put it Where You Want It", but then I realized it pre-dates "PIWYWI" by a year!  And 37 years later, and I still can't tell if Joe Cocker is saying "This is madness!" near the end of his semi-coherent "High Time We Went". Don't forget the lemonade lime? Wha??

Not only 2 versions of "Never Can Say Goodbye", but 2 of "I Don't Know How To Love Him" as well -- and the chart is 2 weeks away from a 2nd version of "You've Got a Friend" when Roberta and Donny debut. Other highlights: The Osmonds get the shameless-soundalike follow-up award with "Double Lovin'" (and how that one passed Mormon censorship muster I'll never know) at #15; Donny returns at #10 with "Sweet & Innocent", and is followed by the Patridges' lovely "I'll Meet You Halfway"; and Karen & Richard do right by Paul Williams once again.  Trivia: No less than 4 double-sided hits in the 40: Ms. King at #1 with "It's Too Late"/"I Feel The Earth Move", ReeRee's "Bridge Over Troubled Water"/"Brand New Me", The Guess Who's "Albert Flasher"/"Broken" and the aforementioned Zho Co-Kair's "HTWW" was backed with "Black-Eyed Blues". I've never heard the Guess Who or Cocker B-sides, and I suspect I never will.

BTW, this was the period of AT40 when Casey would play a track from the #1 LP each week -- separate and apart from any hit singles from the album that might be charting.  (One week I remember hearing "Everything's Alright" or somesuch deep cut from JCS!). Sounds like they've been editing those out of these "classics".

[RGMike]

The '80s set rewinds us to 1988, when Van Halen were debuting with the forgettable "Black & Blue" and Steve Winwood was debuting with the Booker-T-able "Roll With It."

classic late-'80s mixture of greatness (TTD's "Sign Your Name"; Eric Carmen's unfairly forgotten "Make Me Lose Control", Lita Ford's fab "Kiss Me Deadly", Brenda Russell's "Piano in the Dark" and Mr Astley's Together Forever" at #1!) and awfulness (JJ Fad's "Supersonic" -- "Stupid-sonic", as I used to call it -- as well as White Lion, Richard Marx, Cheap Trick, and of course Debbie Gibson's uber-shameless ripoff of "Careless Whisper", "Foolish Beat").

[RGMike]

The '80s set rewinds us to 1988, when Van Halen were debuting with the forgettable "Black & Blue" and Steve Winwood was debuting with the Booker-T-able "Roll With It."

classic late-'80s mixture of greatness (TTD's "Sign Your Name"; Eric Carmen's unfairly forgotten "Make Me Lose Control", Lita Ford's fab "Kiss Me Deadly", Brenda Russell's "Piano in the Dark" and Mr Astley's "Together Forever" at #1!) and awfulness (JJ Fad's "Supersonic" -- "Stupid-sonic", as I used to call it -- as well as White Lion, Richard Marx, Cheap Trick, and of course Debbie Gibson's uber-shameless ripoff of "Careless Whisper", "Foolish Beat").

As long as we're BOS'ing AT40: BOSFRA to Casey's bi-lingual edit of Gloria Estefan's "Anything For You" -- in either language, it's still the Best. Karen Carpenter. Imitation. EVAH!  And I dug hearing EJ's "I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That" as an extra.

[RGMike]

And speaking of rarities: the version of Lita Ford's "Kiss Me Deadly" that Casey played substituted "I didn't get a break" for "I didn't get laid" in the opening line -- I don't think I was even aware there was a "radio-friendly" edit.

[Gazoo]

And speaking of rarities: the version of Lita Ford's "Kiss Me Deadly" that Casey played substituted "I didn't get a break" for "I didn't get laid" in the opening line -- I don't think I was even aware there was a "radio-friendly" edit.

Ha, I noticed that too.  And I'd forgotten how much "Supersonic" sounded like "Cars With the Boom."

[Gazoo]

XM has added Rick Dees' show from the 80's and 90's on weekends now too as well as Casey's show.

I'd be interested in hearing a few of those.  It was Dees's more casual and celebutastic take on the show that informed Ryan Seacrest's current embarrassment of the concept.

[Gazoo]

Debbie Gibson's uber-shameless ripoff of "Careless Whisper", "Foolish Beat").

I remember distinctly thinking this at the time - and being 15 myself at the time, I could totally understand her urge to turn songwriting into a homework exercise: "imitate George Michael by writing a ballad of regret and using a title that appears offhandedly in a verse rather than prominently in the chorus."  She got an A for her efforts, goody two shoes that she was about it all.  The sonic equivalent of student council president, for better and for worse.

[Wayback]

This weekend (6/14-15) AT40-The 70's visits June 18, 1977. The playlist:
http://www.whnn.com/goout.asp?u=http://images.radcity.net/5874/2753814.pdf
Also see:
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?sid=22371&nid=119

[SFGuy]

XM has added Rick Dees' show from the 80's and 90's on weekends now too as well as Casey's show.

I'd be interested in hearing a few of those.  It was Dees's more casual and celebutastic take on the show that informed Ryan Seacrest's current embarrassment of the concept.

80's are on at 6AM on Saturday's and 90's are on at 6AM on Sunday's. If you are up at that time and don't have XM, you could listen on AOL's website through their radio page. AOL's website must have deal with XM.

[Gazoo]

'70s BOS to Joe Tex, "I Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)."  OMGWTF to Babs, "My Heart Belongs to Me."

[RGMike]

'70s BOS to Joe Tex, "I Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)."  OMGWTF to Babs, "My Heart Belongs to Me."

"you done broke mah hip!"

I set the alarm for the first hour, since I didn't want to miss Dean Friedman. Went back to sleep after his delightful "Ariel" (I'll forever be disappointed by your lukewarm reaction to it; I figured it'd be right up your alley -- Fountains of Wayne should do a cover).  Nice to hear minor Carpenters, ED&JFC, the GREAT "Lukenbach, Texas", and Ms Reddy's fine Cilla Black cover. And another week with multiple versions of the same song: Maynard Ferguson's "Gonna Fly Now" is forgotten by everyone but me. I'll catch the rest on the replay tonight. The Babs is surely one of my 2 or 3 fave singles of hers.

[Gazoo]

'70s BOS to Joe Tex, "I Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)."  OMGWTF to Babs, "My Heart Belongs to Me."

"you done broke mah hip!"

I set the alarm for the first hour, since I didn't want to miss Dean Friedman. Went back to sleep after his delightful "Ariel" (I'll forever be disappointed by your lukewarm reaction to it; I figured it'd be right up your alley -- Fountains of Wayne should do a cover).  Nice to hear minor Carpenters, ED&JFC, the GREAT "Lukenbach, Texas", and Ms Reddy's fine Cilla Black cover. And another week with multiple versions of the same song: Maynard Ferguson's "Gonna Fly Now" is forgotten by everyone but me. I'll catch the rest on the replay tonight. The Babs is surely one of my 2 or 3 fave singles of hers.

I was actually going to post on "Ariel"!  I wish I could warm up to it, but to my ears it's only Gun Hill Road's "Back When My Hair Was Short" with different period details.  But I'm on board with you on Helen Reddy For The World's great work on "You're My World" and the rare uptempo Carpenters.  "Lucille" at #5 brought back memories; it was a favorite of my dad's (he used to tell a joke whose payoff line was "you picked a fine time to leave me, loose wheel").

[Gazoo]

Casey's '80s go to June 6, 1987 this week.  I was in and out of the room, so I missed a lot of it, but BOS to the unfairly forgotten Expose with "Point of No Return," and WOS to the meathead liberation anthem "I Know What I Like" from Huey Lewis and the News. 

[Gazoo]

HM to Smokey's comeback hit, "Just to See Her."  Nice songwriting if a dated arrangement.

[Gazoo]

OMG!  BOS2 to Herb Alpert's "Diamonds," which I'm not sure I've heard in 20 years.  And I'm still not clear on whether Janet Jackson actually appeared on this record.