A legendary voice and countdown king silenced forever.
http://m.rollingstone.com/music/news/radio-legend-casey-kasem-dead-at-82-20140615
All I can say is Zoinks. As Casey was a Voice Over in the cartoon world as Shaggy on Scooby Doo in addition to his American Top 40 countdown show syndicated for decades.
Also his work is Robin in the cartoon version of Batman and Alex in Josie and The Pussycats. I believe he even did the Ford commercials for a while, but am not sure, however, he did show announcements for NBC during closing sequences when networks use to have them ending all programs.
This man was an American institution. There were many weekends I would listen to American Top 40 Countdown throughout the 1970's and 1980's. I would even listen to it when a specific day was replayed on my Sirius XM this past year on XM 7--the 70's station.
It is a shame how his final days were handled, with the infighting among the family members.
What I will remember is his legendary voice announcing the hits of the time, his cartoon voiceovers, his "Long Distance Dedications", and his most famous saying ever: "Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars."
R.I.P. Casey! :-(
It seems fitting that news of his passing came on a Sunday morning, since I spent so many Sunday mornings listening to him on American Top 40 during my formative years. RIP Casey, and as always - keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars.
I listened to that show every week 1978-1986 and wrote every song down. Great childhood memories.
I remember his shows on radio when there was a 66 WNBC in NYC who syndicated his program in that particular market. It now brings back memories of the day, when WNBC was playing music on AM Radio. Plus it was that station that made stars out of Imus and Howard Stern as both had their shows on that station on weekdays. Casey was on Sundays always.
I also remember how narrow minded we were in my class back in the 80's as we all had to listen to Classic Rock back then. Any top 40, Disco, R & B, or anything else you would get picked on if you admitted you liked at all, especially the Bee Gees! Yes the memories of him brought back the times.
Sirrius Sirius/XM Channel 7 (70s on 7) often does rebroadcasts of the old American Top 40 shows and they will likely continue do so. Last night, it was a Casey Kasem/AT40 tribute on the station.
Quote from: PHLBOS on June 16, 2014, 12:15:21 PM
Sirrius/XM Channel 7 (70s on 7) often does rebroadcasts of the old American Top 40 shows and they will likely continue do so. Last night, it was a Casey Kasem/AT40 tribute on the station.
I wish Sirius would do his '80s rebroadcasts on the '80s channel.
Depends on who owns the rights. Right now CBS who owns Sunny FM does reruns of his classic countdowns in Orlando as part of their retro 80s stuff. It might be that scenario.
I'm more familiar with his voiceover work, but I started listening to AT40 on the car ride home from church around 2001 or 2002. I wasn't looking forward to Ryan Seacrest replacing him in 2004, but when that day came, the local station started broadcasting... American Top 20 with Casey Kasem instead! Such was his influence that the station would rather switch shows than switch hosts. :nod:
Quote from: spooky on June 16, 2014, 07:40:40 AM
It seems fitting that news of his passing came on a Sunday morning, since I spent so many Sunday mornings listening to him on American Top 40 during my formative years.
It would be more fitting if his show aired this Sunday morning and every Sunday morning at 2... TWO?!
Quote from: Mr. Matté on June 16, 2014, 01:56:38 PM
Quote from: spooky on June 16, 2014, 07:40:40 AM
It seems fitting that news of his passing came on a Sunday morning, since I spent so many Sunday mornings listening to him on American Top 40 during my formative years.
It would be more fitting if his show aired this Sunday morning and every Sunday morning at 2... TWO?!
ponderous, man.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCS96PUnUZE
Casey Kasem had appearances in DIsco Fever in 1978.
Not unexpected, sadly. :(
MB886
FM 105.3 in San Diego "The Walrus" rebroadcasts AT40 of the 70's remastered on Sunday mornings at 7AM
Casey Kasem's American Top 40 was carried (I think from inception in 1970) on WPGC AM and FM in the Washington, D.C./Maryland/Virginia market, and it quickly caught on, airing frm 9 AM to 12 Noon on Sundays.
I was not a loyal listener, but I did still listen to it frequently.
Kasem had a great voice for radio (IMO, much better than talkers like Larry King and Limbaugh).
I used to love listening to his show every weekend as a teenager growing up in the Windy City. RIP Casey :(
He was one of a kind. Can say the same to Dick Clark and Andy Griffith. Who are some other one of a kinds yall grew up with?
Quote from: spooky on June 16, 2014, 02:03:56 PM
Quote from: Mr. Matté on June 16, 2014, 01:56:38 PM
Quote from: spooky on June 16, 2014, 07:40:40 AM
It seems fitting that news of his passing came on a Sunday morning, since I spent so many Sunday mornings listening to him on American Top 40 during my formative years.
It would be more fitting if his show aired this Sunday morning and every Sunday morning at 2... TWO?!
ponderous, man.
They do this to him every time.
Quote from: roadman65 on June 16, 2014, 08:20:30 AM
I remember his shows on radio when there was a 66 WNBC in NYC who syndicated his program in that particular market. It now brings back memories of the day, when WNBC was playing music on AM Radio. Plus it was that station that made stars out of Imus and Howard Stern as both had their shows on that station on weekdays. Casey was on Sundays always.
It was a wild station to the end. I remember well WNBC's last day, after which the new first-of-its-kind all-sports station WFAN moved down the dial from 1050.
QuoteI also remember how narrow minded we were in my class back in the 80's as we all had to listen to Classic Rock back then. Any top 40, Disco, R & B, or anything else you would get picked on if you admitted you liked at all, especially the Bee Gees! Yes the memories of him brought back the times.
It was not until the late 80s, IIRC, that the marketing concept "classic rock" came about. Prior to that it was just "rock," but rock had splintered so many ways that it was hard to target the various markets without categorizing them. Contrast this with "alternative," an already-broad category that the marketers blew out in the early 90s to include all manner of crap that never would have fallen under that banner a couple of years earlier.
Back on topic, Casey's brilliance was being able to deliver copy on all kinds of genres with clarity and (on mic, anyway) respect. He may have screwed his reputation by the way he treated the folks in the booth, but he was very talented broadcaster, a dying breed.
Considering how long this guy had been a DJ, I would have loved to get his opinion/perspective on the quality of music of today vs past times. I have no idea what his opinion would have been on this, but considering what mine is one the matter; think about this:
You started DJ-ing because you loved all the wonderful music that was coming out at the time you started. Then, all of a sudden, music goes down the toilet, and turn into a bunch of awful noise that you can't stand. But, this is the only career you know, and you are stuck playing they awful s*** that passes for music today, and you have to pretend to like it to please you boss and audience. I think it would be a rather unpleasant situation to be in. Being forced to listen to a lot of the "music" made from the 90's-today would be like a form of torture to me.
I used to do a good impression of Casey on my college radio station. When my "Casey" signed off, he would always say, "Keep your feet off the coffee table and keep reaching for your wallet".
If you don't have the money or the patience to wait until the weekend to hear the AT40 reruns on Sirius/XM, iheartradio.com has a 24/7 AT40 Channel which goes back & forth between the 70s and the 80s (just put Casey Kasem in the search box). It's about the only good thing iheartradio's owner, Clear Channel, has ever done for it's listeners,
Although for how much CC has destroyed AM & FM radio in the last 15 years, calling their website/app "I Heart Radio" is a true oxymoron! If Casey Kasem is playing ALL the Top-40 songs on his show, why isn't Clear Channel doing the same on it's Oldies/Classic Hits stations???
I would have respected him a lot more if he had played real music instead of the pop garbage that made up the lion's share of the music played on his show.
Quote from: bugo on June 17, 2014, 11:07:37 AM
I would have respected him a lot more if he had played real music instead of the pop garbage that made up the lion's share of the music played on his show.
This kind of respect is an expensive commodity in the music industry. That is, it pretty much will cost you the chance to earn any money.
I am a radio junkie, and everyday listen to great DJs play shows with creative, deep, and wide-ranging playlists. But none of them get paid for it. This is not considered a monetizable way of conducting radio these days.
Whether or not you respected Casey Kasem, his show was
specifically about what was popular in a given week. It was basically like the news. And if he didn't want to do it that way, they'd have just gotten someone else who would.
Quote from: bugo on June 17, 2014, 11:07:37 AM
I would have respected him a lot more if he had played real music instead of the pop garbage that made up the lion's share of the music played on his show.
Your parents probably said the same thing about your music tastes as well.
People are very opinionated about their music tastes. Doesn't matter what it is; everyone elses's music sounds like crap.
It's easy to find people that agree to your tastes as well. And that group of people will sit around and say how their music was the best music of all time.
Quote from: jeffandnicole on June 17, 2014, 12:38:22 PM
Quote from: bugo on June 17, 2014, 11:07:37 AM
I would have respected him a lot more if he had played real music instead of the pop garbage that made up the lion's share of the music played on his show.
Your parents probably said the same thing about your music tastes as well.
People are very opinionated about their music tastes. Doesn't matter what it is; everyone elses's music sounds like crap.
It's easy to find people that agree to your tastes as well. And that group of people will sit around and say how their music was the best music of all time.
There are lots of folks that listen to and appreciate lots of different kinds of music. However, as much as I hate to let folks off the hook for these things, the stupid way music is marketed more or less urges people to embrace the attitude you describe.
I am well deversified in music, although I cannot adapt to rap because it has no melody to it. Casey did play anything that hit the billboard charts no matter what genre it was.
He is going to missed whether you love him or miss him. And yes, he does have a good radio voice as many of today's on air talent do not! Also, to say even when Shadoe Stevens replaced him in the 80s it was not the same either.
Quote from: roadman65 on June 18, 2014, 07:24:25 PM
I am well deversified in music, although I cannot adapt to rap because it has no melody to it.
Have you ever listened to Outkast? Mos Def? Talib Kweli? Lots of rap has plenty of melody. Not all of it is a rapper rapping over a beat.
Guess Casey finally ran out of that youth crème that Johnny gave him during that Police Squad! episode. Seriously, he will indeed be missed. I too grew up listening to Casey Kasem on Sunday mornings in the early to mid 1970s. He was far more informative and entertaining than the local DJs on WRKO in Boston were (yes, WRKO was a pop music format for many years before they switched to talk radio).
Quote from: bugo on June 18, 2014, 07:44:03 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on June 18, 2014, 07:24:25 PM
I am well deversified in music, although I cannot adapt to rap because it has no melody to it.
Have you ever listened to Outkast? Mos Def? Talib Kweli? Lots of rap has plenty of melody. Not all of it is a rapper rapping over a beat.
See my comment above. It's not like there are a lot of radio stations showing people who like country, for instance, that there's rap they might like. DJs who pick their own stuff and go for a freeform show might accomplish this — such people have broadened my horizons tons — but that's primarily the domain of small independents in lucky markets. There's much more money in feeding back to people what they already know. Safe sells.
Quote from: roadman on June 18, 2014, 08:29:07 PM
Guess Casey finally ran out of that youth crème that Johnny gave him during that Police Squad! episode.
Wasn't that Dick Clark?
"Hey Johnny, what can you tell me about ska?"
"I ain't heard nuttin'"
"Will twenty bucks jog your memory?"
Someone said that the golden age of pop/rock music is whenever the listener was 12 years old. (And for me, that's just about true.)
Also, "Your favorite band sucks" is a cliché on some other forums :-)
The golden age of music was when I was in my early '20s (Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Tool, Nine Inch Nails, Alice In Chains (with Layne, the current incarnation is a joke and a great disrespect towards the late Layne Staley), Tori Amos, Tricky, and many more great bands. I graduated high school in 1992 which is the year Nirvana broke into the mainstream. Before that happened, I listened to pop metal like Poison and Def Leppard as far as "heavier" acts like Metallica and Motley Crue. I also loved Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, who I still love. The kids in my grade and the grades older than me like the pop metal stuff. The kids a grade behind me got behind the "alternative" music. I was stuck in the middle, but I identified far more with the "alternative" rock sound.
Casey Kasem was cool! So was Shadoe Stevens who replaced him.
I grew up listening to 'American Top 40' on WOKV and WKRQ.
I'd say the best music was probably around 1984.
Quote from: bandit957 on June 20, 2014, 01:03:33 AM
Casey Kasem was cool! So was Shadoe Stevens who replaced him.
I grew up listening to 'American Top 40' on WOKV and WKRQ.
I'd say the best music was probably around 1984.
Defenders of the Faith and Powerslave came out in 1984.
Quote from: Pete from Boston on June 18, 2014, 09:12:12 PM
Quote from: bugo on June 18, 2014, 07:44:03 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on June 18, 2014, 07:24:25 PM
I am well deversified in music, although I cannot adapt to rap because it has no melody to it.
Have you ever listened to Outkast? Mos Def? Talib Kweli? Lots of rap has plenty of melody. Not all of it is a rapper rapping over a beat.
See my comment above. It's not like there are a lot of radio stations showing people who like country, for instance, that there's rap they might like. DJs who pick their own stuff and go for a freeform show might accomplish this — such people have broadened my horizons tons — but that's primarily the domain of small independents in lucky markets. There's much more money in feeding back to people what they already know. Safe sells.
Quote from: roadman on June 18, 2014, 08:29:07 PM
Guess Casey finally ran out of that youth crème that Johnny gave him during that Police Squad! episode.
Wasn't that Dick Clark?
"Hey Johnny, what can you tell me about ska?"
"I ain't heard nuttin'"
"Will twenty bucks jog your memory?"
Now that I think about it, you're right, it was Dick Clark, not Casey Kasem. Right comment, wrong person.
Quote from: thenetwork on June 16, 2014, 11:49:42 PM
If you don't have the money or the patience to wait until the weekend to hear the AT40 reruns on Sirius/XM, iheartradio.com has a 24/7 AT40 Channel which goes back & forth between the 70s and the 80s (just put Casey Kasem in the search box). It's about the only good thing iheartradio's owner, Clear Channel, has ever done for it's listeners,
The American Top 40 Fun and Games (http://at40fg.proboards.com/board/5/american-classics-casey-shadoe-stevens) message board features lists of stations that carry the AT40 rebroadcasts from the 1970s and 1980s. KOKZ in Waterloo, which has a big signal that covers most of the northeast quarter of Iowa, is my go-to station for those -- but unless I'm driving through that part of the state when it's on, I usually catch them via webstream.
One of the appeals of those old AT40 episodes, in my mind, is hearing songs that charted in the top 40 at the time but you don't hear on the radio anymore.
Quote from: iowahighways on June 21, 2014, 10:11:17 AM
Quote from: thenetwork on June 16, 2014, 11:49:42 PM
If you don't have the money or the patience to wait until the weekend to hear the AT40 reruns on Sirius/XM, iheartradio.com has a 24/7 AT40 Channel which goes back & forth between the 70s and the 80s (just put Casey Kasem in the search box). It's about the only good thing iheartradio's owner, Clear Channel, has ever done for it's listeners,
The American Top 40 Fun and Games (http://at40fg.proboards.com/board/5/american-classics-casey-shadoe-stevens) message board features lists of stations that carry the AT40 rebroadcasts from the 1970s and 1980s. KOKZ in Waterloo, which has a big signal that covers most of the northeast quarter of Iowa, is my go-to station for those -- but unless I'm driving through that part of the state when it's on, I usually catch them via webstream.
One of the appeals of those old AT40 episodes, in my mind, is hearing songs that charted in the top 40 at the time but you don't hear on the radio anymore.
If you are interested in real music-geekery, the MIT radio station WMBR has a great show very early Saturday mornings (available for two weeks on the web) called 88 Rewound that plays a single station's top 20 or whatever for a particular week between the 50s and 80s. Not only is it great nostalgia, but there's the interesting (and largely gone) phenomenon of regional variation in the hits.
A radio station here airs the 80s AT40 episodes. Yesterday, after the show, they played a two-hour tribute show hosted by his son Mike and daughter Kerri. Shadoe Stevens made an appearance as well. Also, Ryan Seacrest acknowledged Casey's passing at the beginning of AT40.
Here it is a month after his death, and he hasn't been laid to rest yet.
Quote from: robbones on July 16, 2014, 08:51:13 PM
Here it is a month after his death, and he hasn't been laid to rest yet.
"Our next hit's still sticking around after a month, and doesn't show any signs of stopping. It features a dead DJ, a washed-up blonde actress, and a bitter family rounding out the lineup. Coming in at number nineteen this week, it's the Casey Kasem Saga..."
Quote from: Pete from Boston on July 16, 2014, 09:10:27 PM
Quote from: robbones on July 16, 2014, 08:51:13 PM
Here it is a month after his death, and he hasn't been laid to rest yet.
"Our next hit's still sticking around after a month, and doesn't show any signs of stopping. It features a dead DJ, a washed-up blonde actress, and a bitter family rounding out the lineup. Coming in at number nineteen this week, it's the Casey Kasem Saga..."
Whoa. I wouldn't be saying things like this if I were you. You may think it's a joke or whatnot, but to those who have known Mr. Kasem over the years, I don't think this kind of nonsense will endear you to the legion of Kasem-fanatics (yes, that's right, Kasem-fanatics: those who listened to him on the radio, or have listened to his voice of Shaggy in the Scooby-Doo sagas, that's what I am referring to).
Robbones does make a good point, however, we must remember that sometimes it takes a while to get the proper site mapped out, cut the stone to the family's liking, and when finished, place the stone where it had been marked. It took at least five to six months if my math serves me right for my uncle's burial to be complete. The family had to map out the site, commission a headstone designer, and hire people to place the stone where it had been marked. So, in the interim, do expect Casey's stone to be erected soon. How soon? None of us knows and quite frankly, it's up to the people putting this together and the Kasem family to find a date to properly burry Casey. That's my own take on it.
Quote from: roadman on June 18, 2014, 08:29:07 PM
I too grew up listening to Casey Kasem on Sunday mornings in the early to mid 1970s. He was far more informative and entertaining than the local DJs on WRKO in Boston were (yes, WRKO was a pop music format for many years before they switched to talk radio).
...and was one of the places where Shadoe Stevens worked before becoming Casey's regular substitute.
...and this story gets yet another twist. His body is missing.
All Access (a broadcasting media online newsletter) reports that, despite a restraining order barring Jean Kasem from removing her late husband's body from the funeral home pending an autopsy, his children are alleging that she has removed his body, possibly to Canada. The autopsy might have determined that she was culpable in his death.
http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/131587/report-casey-kasem-body-missing-despite-restrainin?ref=mail_bulletin