Casey Kasem American Top 40

[RGMike]

WOS Neighborhood's cheezeball cover of "Big Yellow Taxi"

oh lord, that was painful.  Felt like they were channeling Up With People and Lawrence Welk's singers.  I've never heard that before, and I know why!

the only thing worse is Counting Crows' version    But yeah very sanitized and middle-American, down to the lyric change -- "took away OUR old man", rather than Joni's "...MY old man"; see, they're a bunch of kids from a broken home, not some hippie living with her boyfriend!  Sheesh.

[Gazoo]

WOS Neighborhood's cheezeball cover of "Big Yellow Taxi"

oh lord, that was painful.  Felt like they were channeling Up With People and Lawrence Welk's singers.  I've never heard that before, and I know why!

the only thing worse is Counting Crows' version    But yeah very sanitized and middle-American, down to the lyric change -- "took away OUR old man", rather than Joni's "...MY old man"; see, they're a bunch of kids from a broken home, not some hippie living with her boyfriend!  Sheesh.

I bought that 45 from a street vendor many years ago, never having heard it, and agreed with you both.  The B side is a cover of a Free Design song, "You Could Be Born Again."

[RGMike]

"Tricky Dick, stop yo' shit!!" uber-BOS3 Lamont Dozier, of course -- has there ever been another Top40 hit in which a sitting president is dissed by name/nickname? Maybe something Vietnam-related that mentioned LBJ?

Well, there was Sting's rebuke of Reagan in "Russians" ...

but damn - I've been listening to FAB a few more times on YouTube.  What a great groove.

can't believe we forgot CSNY's "Ohio", "tin soldiers and Nixon's comin'"

[RGMike]

Yo, Billy Ocean -- get the hell away from my "love zone".

VHM to Double with the Europop cheeze of "Captain of Her Heart". Casey mispronounced their name as "dubble"; we'd later learn it was pretentiously prounounced "doo-BLAY". Ah, Eurotrash...

Holly Knight wrote some fine hits for other people -- Tina's "Better Be Good to Me", Rod the Mod's "Love Touch" and Scandal's "the Wah-wee-uh" among them -- but her band Device gets a WOS for the awful "Hanging on a Heart Attack".

Another VHM to Mike & the Mechanics' forgotten "Taken In". Haven't heard this in ages.

[RGMike]

BOS1 Kymaxx, lookin' for a "Man-Sized Love" -- well, who isn't?  One of my fave singles that summer.

VHMs to JCM in his "Rumbleseat", and 2/4 of the Monkees with "That Was Then..."

WOS DLR's "Yankee Rose" -- can't help thinking the record company said "enuf with this pop stuff - and shitcan the Louis Prima nonsense. Give us something that sounds like Van Halen"

I surely have not heard Regina's "Baby Love" since the '80s ... notice how all the Madonna clones had 3-syllable names? Re-gi-na, Sta-cey-Q, etc.

[RGMike]

I surely have not heard Regina's "Baby Love" since the '80s ...

ditto Gavin Christopher's "One Step Closer To You", a completely generic mid-'80s pop tune.  OMFG: Gloria Loring & Carl Anderson's sappy soap-opera theme!

BOS2 the fabulous Blow Monkeys.

At the time I thought it was kinda crazy for the Outfield to wanna sound like Boston in 1986... but hey, it worked for 'em.

[RGMike]

WOS2 Journey's justifiably forgotten "Suzanne".

BOS3 PSBs, "Opportunities".

BJ has a modrin woman -- maybe he should fix her up with Mr Roboto.

Woo Woo Woo!  VHM Jeffrey Osbourne, "You Should Be Mine (The Woo Woo Song)"

ah, the sweet freedom of Mr McDonalds' much-sampled movie sndtk hit.

[RGMike]

her first name ain't "Baby" -- it's "Janet". "Miss Jackson" if ya NASTY!  BOS4 JJ, Jam & Lewis at the peak of their powers.

And yet another hit you never hear: VHM and proxy of Gaz to Wham! with "Edge of Heaven".

WOS3 Genesis' invisible crust.  The heartbreak of psoriasis?

VVHM to the still-audacious lyric of Timex Social Club's "Rumors"

Damn, I have to leave shortly, so I'll miss Rod's "Love Touch" and the uber-fab Jermaine Stewart.  BOS5-in absentia to "We Don't Have to take Our Clothes Off".

[RGMike]

a little late this week, but here's yer heads-upses...

AT40: the '70s goes to Aug 25th 1973!

http://www.charismusicgroup.com/Cue%20Sheets/08-25-73.pdf

Great Soul nuggets from Curtis M, Joe Simon, Tyrone Davis, Bobby W, Don Covay, Johnnie Taylor and Ree-Ree, not to mention Ms King's lovely "Believe in Humanity"

and Casey's '80s is from Aug 24th 1985

http://www.charismusicgroup.com/Cue%20Sheets/08-24-85.pdf

[Gazoo]

a little late this week, but here's yer heads-upses...

AT40: the '70s goes to Aug 25th 1973!

http://www.charismusicgroup.com/Cue%20Sheets/08-25-73.pdf

Great Soul nuggets from Curtis M, Joe Simon, Tyrone Davis, Bobby W, Don Covay, Johnnie Taylor and Ree-Ree, not to mention Ms King's lovely "Believe in Humanity"

I have several good friends who were born within a week or two of this.  They'll love it.  (It's strangely fitting that my longtime friend Dave* should arrive as "Future Shock" played.)

[Wayback]

a little late this week, but here's yer heads-upses...
AT40: the '70s goes to Aug 25th 1973!
http://www.charismusicgroup.com/Cue%20Sheets/08-25-73.pdf
Great Soul nuggets from Curtis M, Joe Simon, Tyrone Davis, Bobby W, Don Covay, Johnnie Taylor and Ree-Ree, not to mention Ms King's lovely "Believe in Humanity"

The playlist for the 8/25/73 replay, with Extras and breaks.  I'm liking the Extras:
http://www.whnn.com/goout.asp?u=http://images.radcity.net/5874/4434471.pdf

[Tinka Cat]

American Top 40 - Aug 25th 1973

#40 Future Shock – Curtis Mayfield
#39 So Very Hard To Go – Tower Of Power
#38 There It Is – Tyrone Davis
#37 Natural High – Bloodstone
#36 Behind Closed Doors – Charlie Rich
#35 My Maria – B.W. Stevenson
#34 Theme From ‘Cleopatra Jones’ – Joe Simon F/The Main Streeters
#33 Nobody Wants You When You’re Down & Out – Bobby Womack
#32 Why Me – Kris Kristofferson
#31 The Hurt – Cat Stevens
#30 Believe In Humanity – Carole King
#29 I Was Checkin’ Out – She Was Checkin’ In – Don Covay
#28 Shambala – Three Dog Night
Extra: Half-Breed – Cher
#27 That Lady (Part 1) – The Isley Brothers
#26 Yesterday Once More – The Carpenters
#25 Young Love – Donny Osmond
#24 Diamond Girl – Seals & Crofts
#23 Smoke On The Water – Deep Purple
#22 How Can I Tell Her – Lobo
#21 Angel – Aretha Franklin
#20 Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting – Elton John
#19 We’re An American Band – Grand Funk
#18 Gypsy Man – War
#17 Are You Man Enough – The Four Tops
#16 Loves Me Like A Rock – Paul Simon
#15 Here I Am (Come And Get Me) – Al Green
Extra: Ramblin’ Man – The Allman Brothers Band
#14 If You Want Me To Stay – Sly & The Family Stone
#13 Monster Mash – Bobby (Boris) Pickett & The Crypt Kickers
#12 I Believe In You (You Believe In Me) – Johnnie Taylor
#11 Feelin’ Stronger Every Day – Chicago
#10 Bad, Bad Leroy Brown – Jim Croce
#9 Uneasy Rider – Charlie Daniels
#8 Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose – Dawn F/Tony Orlando
#7 Get Down – Gilbert O’sullivan
#6 Delta Dawn – Helen Reddy
#5 The Morning After – Maureen Mcgovern
#4 Let’s Get It On – Marvin Gaye
#3 Touch Me In The Morning – Diana Ross
Extra: Keep On Truckin’ – Eddie Kendricks
#2 Live And Let Die – Wings
#1 Brother Louie – Stories

[RGMike]

Wow, '73 starts with 4 soul records in a row, before the white(-haired) Charlie Rich comes along with one of those "she's a freak in the dark and keeps her mouth shut in public" songs we were discussing recently.  Lawd don't it make me smile! As does BW Stevenson's "My Maria".  VHM.

BOS Bobby Womack.  VHM Kris K, re-debuting with "Why Me?", so help me Jeezus!

BOS2 the Cat Man -- I was filled with much love for him during this '71-'75 period.

and VHMs to Ms King, believing in humanity (good luck with that) and Don Covay with the 2nd caught-my-wife-cheating lyric of the first hour.

hey 3DN: how does yer light shine when you're in the same countdown with the guy who wrote your hit?

[RGMike]

American Top 40 - Aug 25th 1973


Extra: Half-Breed – Cher

[RGMike]

Hour 2 begins with Casey calling the Isleys "the only group on or off the chart that we can think of, besides the Miracles, who've charted in all 3 decades ('50s '60s '70s)".  And then he mis-identifies their hit as "Meet that Lady", because Billboard had that misprint in their pages for several weeks before they corrected it.

Explicit Lyric Advisory: Seals & Crofts say "part of me/is deep down inside you".  Ouch.