Casey Kasem American Top 40

[RGMike]

Agreed on the quality of "Back Together Again."  As the follow-up to the #1 "Rich Girl," though, I guess it confused people.

chk out this wiki item on Dean Friedman's Ariel:

The record label which produced "Ariel" insisted Friedman change the song's second verse which refers to the eponymous Ariel as "a Jewish girl", believing that radio stations might use it as an excuse not to play the record. The third verse was also removed to make the single shorter for radio. The management company received threats from the Jewish Defense League protesting against the edit and, at Friedman's insistence, the original version was put on the album.

The guitar solo on "You're My World" sounds like it wants to break off into "Harlem Nocturne" or "A Town Without Pity."

And I wish I could share Mike's love of "Ariel."  To me it's a fun one to hear once in a while, but I remember inducing pearl-clutching from Mike a few years ago when I called it as much a novelty as "Back When My Hair Was Short."  (TANC!)

It's certainly a song that's very much of its time-and-place. If you were a 22-year-old NY music/radio geek in 1977 (as I was), you'd've probably loved it. It was a turntable hit at prog WNEW-FM (in its unedited version) and was the sort of song the 'NEW deejays tended to champion. That it made the Top 40 at all was something of miracle to those of us who dug it. I still think that chorus has a glorious hook.

But the "WTF?" of the week: Casey says that the #1 Soul song was Ree-Ree's cover of "Break It To Me Gently", which peaked at #85 pop -- Aretha's biggest pop flop of her Atlantic career!

ETA: KFRC pulled another switcheroo and moved Casey back to 8am again, to make room for an infomercial about prostate health.  Guess these days radio stations aren't about to turn down money.

[RGMike]

Agreed on the quality of "Back Together Again."  As the follow-up to the #1 "Rich Girl," though, I guess it confused people.

chk out this wiki item on Dean Friedman's Ariel:

The record label which produced "Ariel" insisted Friedman change the song's second verse which refers to the eponymous Ariel as "a Jewish girl", believing that radio stations might use it as an excuse not to play the record. The third verse was also removed to make the single shorter for radio. The management company received threats from the Jewish Defense League protesting against the edit and, at Friedman's insistence, the original version was put on the album.

The guitar solo on "You're My World" sounds like it wants to break off into "Harlem Nocturne" or "A Town Without Pity."

And I wish I could share Mike's love of "Ariel."  To me it's a fun one to hear once in a while, but I remember inducing pearl-clutching from Mike a few years ago when I called it as much a novelty as "Back When My Hair Was Short."  (TANC!)

It's certainly a song that's very much of its time-and-place. If you were a 22-year-old NY music/radio geek in 1977 (as I was), you'd've probably loved it. It was a turntable hit at prog WNEW-FM (in its unedited version) and was the sort of song the 'NEW deejays tended to champion. That it made the Top 40 at all was something of miracle to those of us who dug it. I still think that chorus has a glorious hook.

Here's a lovely YouTube-ing of "Ariel" -- the looong version with the missing verses.  maybe you'l like it better or at least understand the ruckus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGFW9jCFml4

[Gazoo]

Here's a lovely YouTube-ing of "Ariel" -- the looong version with the missing verses.  maybe you'l like it better or at least understand the ruckus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGFW9jCFml4

Dunno if this counts as a TANC, but I mailed my rent yesterday - and noticed that the LLC that owns my building is in Paramus!

[RGMike]

Here's a lovely YouTube-ing of "Ariel" -- the looong version with the missing verses.  maybe you'l like it better or at least understand the ruckus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGFW9jCFml4

Dunno if this counts as a TANC, but I mailed my rent yesterday - and noticed that the LLC that owns my building is in Paramus!

only if they're friends of 'BAI.

[Gazoo]

Here's a lovely YouTube-ing of "Ariel" -- the looong version with the missing verses.  maybe you'l like it better or at least understand the ruckus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGFW9jCFml4

Dunno if this counts as a TANC, but I mailed my rent yesterday - and noticed that the LLC that owns my building is in Paramus!

only if they're friends of 'BAI.

Ha!

Tangentially musically, it was check #910 ... i.e., the one after 909.

[Wayback]

This weekend Casey70's does Mike's fave year, June 9, 1973:
http://www.whnn.com/goout.asp?u=http://www.whnn.com/Article.asp?id=583277&spid=

[RGMike]

This weekend Casey70's does Mike's fave year, June 9, 1973:
http://www.whnn.com/goout.asp?u=http://www.whnn.com/Article.asp?id=583277&spid=

DAMN! we just miss hearing "Back When My Hair Was Short", which spent its only week in the 40 the previous chart. But we do get the mighty 'berries and their dreamy "Let's Pretend" and goodies from the Divine Miss M, Charlie Rich, Barbara Fairchild, Gladys K, and Perry Como with his lovely Don McLean cover. Plus the Independents' great lost soul hit "Leaving Me" and -- LAWD! -- Granny and the O-hi-O Players gonna tell ya 'bout a worm!

[RGMike]

I see that Premiere, Casey's syndicator, announced this week that they would discontinue his current countdown shows (American Top 10 , American Top 20) as of July 4th wknd. The '70s and '80s retro shows will continue.

[Gazoo]

Some eccentric action on this chart: two songs that had peaked and fallen out of the 40 rebound into it again (Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Out of the Question," Jud Strunk's weaksauce "Daisy a Day"), while the Top 10-bound "Kodachrome," after debuting the previous week at 28, slides 2 to 30.

WOS to Elvis's "Steamroller Blues," not so much bad as unnecessary and tedious.  Would have rather heard the flip, "Fool" (this was a 2-sided hit).

[Gazoo]

Some eccentric action on this chart

A-ha, Casey just explained: this week they recalibrated their chart formula.

[Tinka Cat]

Loggins and Messina's Thinking of You (comin' in at number 24) sounds like it inspired Let Your Love Flow, made famous by the Bellamy Bros.

[Gazoo]

Loggins and Messina's Thinking of You (comin' in at number 24) sounds like it inspired Let Your Love Flow, made famous by the Bellamy Bros.

That one was NTM.  Yeah, I can totally hear that.

[Gazoo]

ACCKKK!!  I know Mike loves it, but "Playground in My Mind" is a genuine HFH in my book.  WOS.

[Gazoo]

Ay-yi-yi-yi!  Sylvia's "Pillow Talk" is in at #6.  First time I've heard it in years.  She'd offered it to Al Green, who politely declined.

[Tinka Cat]

ACCKKK!!  I know Mike loves it, but "Playground in My Mind" is a genuine HFH in my book.  WOS.

yes, and more of WOS than Elvis here.  That slow 12 bar blues of Steamroller gets old for me a lot, and I tend to get bored when a song stays in that structure.  But Elvis has more of a "right" to sing it w feeling than James Taylor!  heh

weird, my stream just jumped back from Hocus Pocus (#8) to Elvis again (#25). 

I'm Doing fine Now by Ne wYork City is very Spinners-esque, eh?