Are 1998-2003 broadcasts of American Top 40 with Casey Kasem gone forever? Or were they hidden somewhere all along?

[victorres43]

Numerous radio stations have aired rebroadcasts of American Top 40 countdowns from the 70s and 80s.

But, although Casey Kasem hosted American Top 40 from 1998 to 2003/4, recordings from that era have yet to become available, be it to broadcasters or to the general public. At least, that's what it seems like.

From 1996-2002, pop music was at its highest point since the 80s, but hip-hop and rock were also popular. And during Kasem's final years doing American Top 40, there still were long distance dedications. Imagine Bette Midler being sandwiched between P Diddy and Blink-182. (Then again, the likes of Celine Dion were still prominent on Top 40 radio during the late 90s/early 00s.)

Broadcasts from 1998-2003 are hard to find, but perhaps we are looking at the wrong places.

 

[ContinuousWave]

Shannon Lynn would probably be able to answer that but I don't think he's on here.. I'll ask on the Facebook group

 

[vw86]

Shannon Lynn has all of the shows available. You can purchase them legally through his Charis Music Group. A few of the shows have occasionally been offered as "bonus" shows in the Classic AT40 syndication package (shows such as Casey's last AT40 from 2004, the Y2K special, the Top hits of the 90s, etc) and the holiday AT10 shows are offered every Christmas. A special Halloween themed AT10 from 2007 was even offered one year for Halloween weekend as a bonus show. The shows (as well as all of the Shadoe shows and Westwood One Casey's Top/Hot/Countdown) are available for legal purchase through Shannon. They just aren't aired.

 

[Seltzer]

Have the Casey Westwood One shows from 1989 to 1998 ever been available for syndication?

 

[genius]

Casey’s AT40 shows in those final three years sounded horrible with the whole show just feeling and sounding outdated at the time. I would never listen to those airings again, not even for the “nostalgia” factor.

 

[101tm]

Have the Casey Westwood One shows from 1989 to 1998 ever been available for syndication?

This! I’ve always wondered if these were anywhere.

 

[vw86]

They are not available for syndication. The Westwood One years of Casey's shows (as well as the Shadoe years of AT40) have never been cleared for rebroadcast, and from what Shannon Lynn has alluded to, never will be. The years of Shadoe on AT40 and Casey at Westwood One coincide with some of the least remembered years of CHR. The 70s and 80s (especially 80s) shows in the syndication packages continue to do extremely well for Premiere, but nobody is banging down the door to hear Top 40 countdowns from 1991. Never knowing these shows would see a second life, they actually wound up quite lucky having the original run encompass the prime years of 1970-1988 that would make the most sense to revist all these decades later.

 

[Kelly A]

One can only hope.

 

[ksradiogeek]

They are not available for syndication. The Westwood One years of Casey's shows (as well as the Shadoe years of AT40) have never been cleared for rebroadcast, and from what Shannon Lynn has alluded to, never will be. The years of Shadoe on AT40 and Casey at Westwood One coincide with some of the least remembered years of CHR. The 70s and 80s (especially 80s) shows in the syndication packages continue to do extremely well for Premiere, but nobody is banging down the door to hear Top 40 countdowns from 1991. Never knowing these shows would see a second life, they actually wound up quite lucky having the original run encompass the prime years of 1970-1988 that would make the most sense to revist all these decades later.

Personally, I’d rather hear Dees’ archived shows instead…but that’s just me.

 

[Kelly A]

Not to speak ill of the dead; even back when he was still around doing the show, I just never cared for it. Mainly because I knew from people in the industry who worked with him that he was a complete a**hole.

 

[JeremyAndrews]

Personally, I’d rather hear Dees’ archived shows instead…but that’s just me.

Those are available for syndication

 

[vw86]

Rick Dees shows from the 80s, 90s and 2000s are available. The affiliate count when compared to classic AT40 isn't even close. The Casey replays have several hundred affiliates. The retro Dees shows combined, at most, have maybe 20 or 30. The 2000s shows have exactly one affiliate, and all three packages (80s, 90s & 2000s) only have 52 retro shows that then re-air each year. You can also download the Rick Dees app and listen to an 80s, 90s and 2000s show each week (different ones than the radio rebroadcasts).

It's amazing how poorly they hold up compared with the AT40 shows.

 

[ksradiogeek]

Those are available for syndication

Oh I knew that already. I tried advocating my PD to add old Dees shows, but he declined.

 

[gr8oldies]

Casey’s AT40 shows in those final three years sounded horrible with the whole show just feeling and sounding outdated at the time. I would never listen to those airings again, not even for the “nostalgia” factor.

Sadly. Casey's voice was sounding very elderly (which was especially weird since the more youthful sounding Casey shows from the 70s and 80s were still airing.

 

[radiofan2023]

Not to speak ill of the dead; even back when he was still around doing the show, I just never cared for it. Mainly because I knew from people in the industry who worked with him that he was a complete a**hole.

All he wanted was to see those pictures Don promised him….and no uptempo records before a death dedication.

 

[Kelly A]

All he wanted was to see those pictures Don promised him….and no uptempo records before a death dedication.

No, he was pretty much an insufferable a*shole most of the time. To be fair, part of that may have been the effects of undiagnosed early-onset Alzheimer's disease. But I guess we'll never know.

 

[Charles CHRles]

@victorres43 @Kelly A @ksradiogeek
Feel free to PM me if you want links to full episodes of Casey's Top 40, American Top 40 the Shadoe years, or the relaunched Casey version from 98-2003.

 

[davideduardo]

Casey’s AT40 shows in those final three years sounded horrible with the whole show just feeling and sounding outdated at the time. I would never listen to those airings again, not even for the “nostalgia” factor.

Of course, that was when the show was under different ownership than when Tom Rounds owned it.

 

[Kelly A]

@victorres43 @Kelly A @ksradiogeek
Feel free to PM me if you want links to full episodes of Casey's Top 40, American Top 40 the Shadoe years, or the relaunched Casey version from 98-2003.

No thanks. As mentioned, I never cared for that show.

 

[vw86]

Sadly. Casey's voice was sounding very elderly (which was especially weird since the more youthful sounding Casey shows from the 70s and 80s were still airing.

Casey still sounded like himself in 1998 when he relaunched the American Top 40 brand with what was essentially a continuation of the Westwood One "Casey's Top 40" show. He still sounded pretty good on his last edition of AT40 in January 2004 before Ryan Seacrest took over.

Casey continued to host the Hot AC and AC "American Top 20" and "American Top 10 until July 4, 2009. He started to sound naturally older during the 2004-2006 time period, but he definitely sounds rough if you go back and listen to a 2008 or 2009 show.