40 years of American Top 40!

[radiogeek07]

Are they doing a special show this weekend, and if so, what are they doing?

 

[lovejamminoldies]

Giving away tickets to Gaga I think? Or Rihanna? Who knows, I'm too lazy, but you could check at40.com?

 

[CatCall]

They should bring in Casey Kasem and let him host the show, or at least co-host with Seacrest.

 

[radiorama1]

"And that's A-T 40's look at ___________, as the countdown continues."

"And that's A-T 40's look at ___________, as the countdown rolls on."

"The hits get bigger as the numbers get smaller!"

"A-T 40 is heard in the 50 states and around the world on GREAT radio stations such as ______, _______, and _______."

"So Casey... would you please play ________ by ________ ?"

"______, here's your Long-Distance Dedication."

"Radio stations are playing them, record stores are selling them, and A-T 40 counts 'em down!"

"We have a total of _ debuts on the countdown this week, which means we need to say goodbye to _______ ... and now, for the highest of this week's _ debuts..."

"We don't stop 'til we reach the top!'

'...And now... ON with the countdown."

Happy 40th to a LEGEND. And agreed, they should bring back Casey for one week. 8)

 

[kenrayc]

"And that's A-T 40's look at ___________, as the countdown continues."

"And that's A-T 40's look at ___________, as the countdown rolls on."

"The hits get bigger as the numbers get smaller!"

"A-T 40 is heard in the 50 states and around the world on GREAT radio stations such as ______, _______, and _______."

"So Casey... would you please play ________ by ________ ?"

"______, here's your Long-Distance Dedication."

"Radio stations are playing them, record stores are selling them, and A-T 40 counts 'em down!"

"We have a total of _ debuts on the countdown this week, which means we need to say goodbye to _______ ... and now, for the highest of this week's _ debuts..."

"We don't stop 'til we reach the top!'

'...And now... ON with the countdown."

Happy 40th to a LEGEND. And agreed, they should bring back Casey for one week. 8)

I still like listening to Caseys classic AT 40 of the 70s and 80s every weekend, the one on last night was the top songs of 1980 done July 1987.

 

[El Grecko]

"And that's A-T 40's look at ___________, as the countdown continues."

"And that's A-T 40's look at ___________, as the countdown rolls on."

"The hits get bigger as the numbers get smaller!"

"A-T 40 is heard in the 50 states and around the world on GREAT radio stations such as ______, _______, and _______."

"So Casey... would you please play ________ by ________ ?"

"______, here's your Long-Distance Dedication."

"Radio stations are playing them, record stores are selling them, and A-T 40 counts 'em down!"

"We have a total of _ debuts on the countdown this week, which means we need to say goodbye to _______ ... and now, for the highest of this week's _ debuts..."

"We don't stop 'til we reach the top!'

'...And now... ON with the countdown."

Happy 40th to a LEGEND. And agreed, they should bring back Casey for one week. 8)

I still like listening to Caseys classic AT 40 of the 70s and 80s every weekend, the one on last night was the top songs of 1980 done July 1987.

The show with Casey used to be such a weekly radio EVENT. Can't say it's the same with Seacrest.

That said, I did hear Seacrest acknowledge Casey during the show this weekend, which was nice.

 

[johnbasalla]

It's hard to have it be "an event" when, at least in the Cleveland, Ohio market, it airs Saturday morning beginning at 6AM. That being said, the final two hours are on at a reasonable time. My favorite song on this first "American Top 40" is "WESTBOUND #9" by FLAMING EMBER, a song about a guy leaving his town because of all of the lies, and corruption... like "the Deacon looking up Bobbie Sue's dress". If you listened to Casey's son doing the hourly opening announcement on "American Top 40 - The '70s", I believe I heard him say "For the week ending July 11th, 1970".
So, that would mean either (A), the first show was next week, or (B) they used the Billboard chart from July 11th before it was published. I liked the countdown shows better then when whatever was selling was what you heard. Now, being format-centric, there is a sameness that takes away the "oh, wow" factor. So, the best thing to do is to listen to different countdown shows, as that's the way to hear the full range. Not enough time? Listen to parts of them.

 

[CatCall]

During the 40th anniversary show Seacrest did acknowledge how he admired Casey's ability to really describe an artist, so the listener could get a good feel for who they are. I think it's funny he should say that as nowadays he rarely gets into any detail about who the artist is, where they come from, etc. (For example, Jason Derullo has had a song on the charts now for almost a year and I hardly know anything about him thanks to Seacrest.) The show now usually centers on about 4 celebrity interviews (1 per hour), and the music chart is secondary, or treated like an afterthought.

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And here's the first AT40 show from July 1970:

40: END OF OUR ROAD - MARVIN GAYE
39: SILVER BIRD - MARK LINDSEY
38: SPILL THE WINE - ERIC BURDEN
37: GO BACK - CRABBY APPLETON
36: I JUST CAN'T HELP BELIEVING - B.J. THOMAS
35: SPIRIT IN THE DARK - ARETHA FRANKLIN
34: MISSISSIPPI - JOHN PHILLIPS
33: WESTBOUND #9 - FLAMING EMBER
32: IT'S ALL IN THE GAME - FOUR TOPS
31: SAVE THE COUNTRY - FIFTH DIMENSION

30: OHIO - CROSBY, STILLS, NASH AND YOUNG
29: EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL - RAY STEVENS
28: CHECK OUT YOUR MIND - IMPRESSIONS
27: QUESTION - MOODY BLUES
26: SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED - STEVIE WONDER
25: SUGAR, SUGAR - WILSON PICKETT
24: TEACH YOUR CHILDREN - CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG
23: WHICH WAY YOU GOIN' BILLY - THE POPPY FAMILY
OLDIE: LITTLE OLE MAN - BILL COSBY
22: LOVE ON A TWO-WAY STREET - MOMENTS
21: MISSISSIPPI QUEEN - MOUNTAIN

20: MAKE IT WITH YOU - BREAD
19: ARE YOU READY - PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC
18: LOVE LAND - CHARLES WRIGHT & THE WATTS 103RD STREET RHYTHM BAND
17: TIGHTER & TIGHTER - ALIVE AND KICKING
16: MY BABY LOVES LOVIN' - WHITE PLAINS
15: A SONG OF JOY - MIGUEL RIOS
OLDIE: HELLO DOLLY - LOUIS ARMSTRONG
14: UNITED WE STAND - BROTHERHOOD OF MAN
13: GET READY - RARE EARTH
12: OOH CHILD - STAIRSTEPS
11: GIMME DAT DING - THE PIPKINS

10: HITCHIN' A RIDE - VANITY FAIR
OLDIE: SPINNING WHEEL - BLOOD SWEAT & TEARS
9: THE WONDER OF YOU - ELVIS PRESLEY
8: THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD - BEATLES
7: CLOSE TO YOU - CARPENTERS
6: LAY DOWN (CANDLES IN THE WIND) - MELANIE
5: BAND OF GOLD - FREDA PAYNE
4: RIDE CAPTAIN RIDE - BLUES IMAGE
3: BALL OF CONFUSION - TEMPTATIONS
2: THE LOVE YOU SAVE - JACKSON FIVE
OLDIE: SATISFACTION - ROLLING STONES
1: MAMA TOLD ME NOT TO COME - THREE DOG NIGHT