Casey Kasem American Top 40

[Gazoo]

Also new to me: Kenny Rogers, "Love or Something Like It," sounding like "Third-Rate Rendezvous" with a touch of "Jamaica Jerk-Off."

[RGMike]

OMG! I never knew Walter Egan was from Queens! Forest Hills, in fact.

And I'd forgotten what a nice record Michael Johnson's "Bluer Than Blue" is. Ditto Toby Beau's "My Angel Baby" -- one of my fave OHWs, and a song that owes more than a little to "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye"... which of course they covered a year later, after their follow-ups to MAB flopped.  They were quite an energetic bunch when I saw 'em open for Bob Seger that fall.

This has also been a good chart for forgotten disco: Love & Kisses' "Thank God It's Friday" and Peter Brown's "Dance With Me".

[RGMike]

And then the punches flew! And chairs were smashed in two! There was blood in a single gunshot -- but just Who. Shot. Who?

Damned if I know, and I don't think Mr Manilow does either.

[RGMike]

That stat about the RSO label holding the #1 spot for 29-out-of-32 weeks (!) is quite astounding.

[Gazoo]

Casey's '80s take us to this week in 1981, where we find that when disco died, it took funk with it.  Just in the 20s we have John Schneider's flimsy take on "It's Now or Never," Ronnie Milsap's "There's No Getting Over Me" (he was big on Pgh radio at the time), and Rosanne Cash's sublime "Seven Year Ache."  And a lot of AC smooveness like Stanley Clarke and (name?)'s "Sweet Baby" and A Taste of Honey's quiet-stormed "Sukiyaki."

[Gazoo]

I wonder if Sheena Easton's "Modern Girl" (here at #18, first time I've heard in 27 years) provided the rhythm bed for the current hit "American Boy" by Estelle with Kanye West.  Sounding similar at this blearily awake hour.

[Gazoo]

For the "I didn't know that!" files: Stars on 45 (in at 12 with what Casey titled as simply "Medley") were produced by the former drummer of Golden Earring.

[RGMike]

And a lot of AC smooveness like Stanley Clarke and (name?)'s "Sweet Baby"

name: George Duke.

Indeed, not only did disco die, but '81 was the year Top 40 radio died from Adult Contemporary-itis.  It would be resurrected 2 years later by Scott Shannon, with some help from the MTV playlist.

[Gazoo]

And a lot of AC smooveness like Stanley Clarke and (name?)'s "Sweet Baby"

name: George Duke.

Indeed, not only did disco die, but '81 was the year Top 40 radio died from Adult Contemporary-itis.  It would be resurrected 2 years later by Scott Shannon, with some help from the MTV playlist.

This is a fascinating subject to me - the sheer magnitude of the playlist overhauls that took place in that period.  I confess that I feel a bit cheated by a teenage upbringing on (over-)formatted radio.

[RGMike]

And a lot of AC smooveness like Stanley Clarke and (name?)'s "Sweet Baby"

name: George Duke.

Indeed, not only did disco die, but '81 was the year Top 40 radio died from Adult Contemporary-itis.  It would be resurrected 2 years later by Scott Shannon, with some help from the MTV playlist.

This is a fascinating subject to me - the sheer magnitude of the playlist overhauls that took place in that period.  I confess that I feel a bit cheated by a teenage upbringing on (over-)formatted radio.

I dunno about playlist overhauls, necessarily... the audience that had grown up with Top 40 radio were aging; their kids had gravitated to FM rock stations.  But those aging boomers were buying and requesting singles -- just not hard-rockin' ones. Thus the rise of Air Supply, for one example, and Top 40 stations began to drift. The most famous Top 40 station in the country, NYC's WABC, switched to talk (in their latter days, they were *very* A/C, even refusing to play "I Love Rock'n'Roll' when it was #1).  2 years later Scott Shannon realized that Top 40 could work on FM and (by smartly mixing some urban tracks with pop hits) he created Z-100. And then MTV's popularity did the rest. Within a year every market had a Z-100 clone.

[Gazoo]

Great history, thanks.  I still wonder, though, when and how the idea arose that people didn't want to hear across-the-board Top 40 on one station (getting, say, LZ, Doobs and Aretha back to back).

[RGMike]

Great history, thanks.  I still wonder, though, when and how the idea arose that people didn't want to hear across-the-board Top 40 on one station (getting, say, LZ, Doobs and Aretha back to back).

It really was a combination of the rise of FM in the '70s (which drew younger rock fans away from AM -- "wow, we can hear Zep and Floyd without Streisand and Tony Orlando!") and the aging of the original Top 40 audience. Once somebody figured out that micro-targeting specific demographics could be more profitable than mass-appeal, the die was cast.

[Wayback]

This weekend (8/2-3) Casey's 70's show is from Aug 7, 1971
Ah yes, memories of summer camp.  The playlist:
http://www.whnn.com/goout.asp?u=http://images.radcity.net/5874/2914212.pdf

[RGMike]

This weekend (8/2-3) Casey's 70's show is from Aug 7, 1971
Ah yes, memories of summer camp.  The playlist:
http://www.whnn.com/goout.asp?u=http://images.radcity.net/5874/2914212.pdf

Wonderful, wonderful!

[Gazoo]

This weekend (8/2-3) Casey's 70's show is from Aug 7, 1971
Ah yes, memories of summer camp.  The playlist:
http://www.whnn.com/goout.asp?u=http://images.radcity.net/5874/2914212.pdf

Wonderful, wonderful!

Tuned in @ #26, shocked that the J5 could debut at 30 with "Maybe Tomorrow," move to 24 this week - but stall at #20 after 4 #1s and a #2.  I love this song, dunno why others didn't.