Casey Kasem American Top 40

[Gazoo]

Hahaha: "It's not the vocals" - Casey Kasem makes fun of the improbable success of John Travolta's swing-and-miss attempt at "Let Her In."

[Gazoo]

Casey's '80s go back to July 15, 1983, from the sublime ("It's a Mistake") to the ridiculous ("Hot Girls in Love"!).

[RGMike]

Hahaha: "It's not the vocals" - Casey Kasem makes fun of the improbable success of John Travolta's swing-and-miss attempt at "Let Her In."

For some reason the Wisconsin station started their AT40 a half-hour later than usual, so I just got home in time to hear the Carpenters' most unjustly ignored single, "I Need To Be In Love" -- yes, I believe you did, Karen.  And your song deserved to get a LOT higher than its #25 peak.

And now I get to hear the rest of what Gaz was talking about a few posts back.

[Wayback]

This weekend (7/19-20) AT40-The 70's goes wayback to July 25, 1970:
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?sid=22371&nid=119

[RGMike]

This weekend (7/19-20) AT40-The 70's goes wayback to July 25, 1970:
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?sid=22371&nid=119

OMFG! that's only the fourth show he ever did! (AT40 premiered on the 4th of July 1970.) Def looking forward to this -- Gaz will be sorry he was on the road this weekend.

[Gazoo]

This weekend (7/19-20) AT40-The 70's goes wayback to July 25, 1970:
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?sid=22371&nid=119

OMFG! that's only the fourth show he ever did! (AT40 premiered on the 4th of July 1970.) Def looking forward to this -- Gaz will be sorry he was on the road this weekend.

Got back Saturday night in time to tune in on Sunny 101.5 in South Bend.  Marvelous stuff, including the l-o-n-g intro with the Three Degrees' unhinged-lead take on "Maybe."  And "Tell It All, Brother" is really something - how were the First Edition perceived culturally and critically at the time?  It was many years before I heard about them (3WS didn't have them in rotation), so I'm kinda curious.

Meanwhile, the '80s countdown goes to this week in 1980, when the Dirt Band (no more getting down to the Nitty Gritty) debuted at 40 with the anesthetized, lobotomized "Make a Little Magic."

[Gazoo]

And now the original recording of Benny Mardones' "Into the Night," perhaps my guiltiest of guilty pleasures.  It's comically oversung and the "she's just 16 years old / 'leave her alone,' they said" line is the creepiest opening ever, yet I have a weird romanticization of it.  I wish I could sing like that, even if I would choose not to.

[RGMike]

This weekend (7/19-20) AT40-The 70's goes wayback to July 25, 1970:
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?sid=22371&nid=119

OMFG! that's only the fourth show he ever did! (AT40 premiered on the 4th of July 1970.) Def looking forward to this -- Gaz will be sorry he was on the road this weekend.

Got back Saturday night in time to tune in on Sunny 101.5 in South Bend.  Marvelous stuff, including the l-o-n-g intro with the Three Degrees' unhinged-lead take on "Maybe."  And "Tell It All, Brother" is really something - how were the First Edition perceived culturally and critically at the time?  It was many years before I heard about them (3WS didn't have them in rotation), so I'm kinda curious.

Wow, wow, wow. Where do I begin on this one?  Maybe it's because it's the first 1970 show we've heard in this series, but the nostalgia factor (for me) is off the, er, charts. The number of "lost hits" was astounding -- the 2 you mentioned plus

"Trying to Make a Fool of Me", Delfonics (I've only ever heard this on KPOO)
"Go Back", Crabby Appleton (a great Raspberries-ish rocker 2 years before the 'berries first single; boy did we all think CA had a big career ahead)
"Mississippi", John Phillips (this was once a Morey semi-regular in '70 sets, but not in years and years)
"Love Land", Watts 103rd St Rhythm Band (boy did I LURVE ths back in the day)
"Silver Bird", Mark Lindsay (a rather shameless "Arizona" clone, it's really only half a song -- needs another verse -- but a swell flashback anyway)
"Save The Country", the 5th Dimension getting more resids for Ms. Nyro, bless 'em.
"Why Can't I Touch You?", the late great Ronnie Dyson
"Lay a Little Lovin...", Robin Macnamara (both he and Dyson were Hair vets)
"Song of Joy", Miguel Rios (One of Beethoven's biggest pre-Walter Murphy hits)

...And that was just the first half!

As to your First Edition question, Gaz... They were considered more pop than rock and therefore were ignored by "serious" prog-FM stations, but their quartet of message hits ("Ruby, Don't Take Your Love...", "Reuben James", "Tell it All" and "Heed The Call") is still impressive IMHO.

[RGMike]

TANC: after hearing what Casey called the "4 'O' 'O-o-h Child'" (even though it only has 2 'O's), JJ plays their earlier hit "Baby Make Me Feel So Good", when they were still The Five Stairsteps and Cubie.  And didya know the flip of "O-o-h Child" was their cover of the Beatles' "Dear Prudence"? It was orig the A-side, and it flopped, so they turned the single over and the rest, as they say...

[SFGuy]

This weekend (7/19-20) AT40-The 70's goes wayback to July 25, 1970:
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?sid=22371&nid=119

OMFG! that's only the fourth show he ever did! (AT40 premiered on the 4th of July 1970.) Def looking forward to this -- Gaz will be sorry he was on the road this weekend.

Even though I hate early 1970's music, I think I would listened to his premiere show from 4th of July 1970 just to hear how his first show came off.

[RGMike]

This weekend (7/19-20) AT40-The 70's goes wayback to July 25, 1970:
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?sid=22371&nid=119

OMFG! that's only the fourth show he ever did! (AT40 premiered on the 4th of July 1970.) Def looking forward to this -- Gaz will be sorry he was on the road this weekend.

Even though I hate early 1970's music, I think I would listened to his premiere show from 4th of July 1970 just to hear how his first show came off.

in 1975, on AT40's 5th anniv, they re-ran the first show in its entirety. I was kinda hoping they'd run it this year. And I meant to mention last nite that hearing such an early episode, Casey is still trying to find his groove, and his voice/delivery are much faster and gruffer; it would take a few years for him to get into that trademark more-syrupy personality.

[Gazoo]

"Song of Joy", Miguel Rios (One of Beethoven's biggest pre-Walter Murphy hits)

Truly one of the most WTF?! pop hits of all time.  "Bombastic" and "audacious" are really the only words that could describe that production.  Like they devised 6 arrangements - and then decided to use ALL of them.  So glad I finally heard it in its entirety.

[RGMike]

This week: Casey's '70s flashback is to July 22, 1978:

http://www.mynorthwest.com/?sid=22371&nid=119

Get ready to boogie-oogie-oogie!

[RGMike]

This week: Casey's '70s flashback is to July 22, 1978:

http://www.mynorthwest.com/?sid=22371&nid=119

Get ready to boogie-oogie-oogie!

Highlights so far:

Bruce's "Prove it all Night" at its shamefully inadequate peak of #33, Macca's "I've Had Enough", in which he tells Linda to STFU and stop being a  back-seat driver (talk about trying to write lyrics below your class!), the always fab "King Tut", Ms Flack's long-forgotten "If Ever I see You Again" (a movie theme from the guy who wrote "You Light Up My Life"), and Babs' equally-forgotten "Songbird".

[Gazoo]

#38: Quincy Jones's first Top 40 charting single under his name, with vox from Valerie Simpson and a tastefully restrained Chaka Khan: "Stuff Like That."  New to me; dug it.