The man with the signature sign-off, "Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars." is calling it a day on the 4th of July 2009.
Kasem founded the popular
American Top 40 franchise in 1970 on the very day that he calls it quits ... 4th of July, hosting it from 1970 to 1988 and then from 1998 to 2004.
i remember being in my teens, gluing my ears to the Redifussion set without fail every Saturday afternoon from 2-6 pm to track The American Top 40.
and i did this every week from late 1979 all the way to 1988.
i still remember fondly how i would jot down each week's entries diligently, and then relate it to my equally crazed buddy (Mak) immediately after the show. In the words of David Lee Roth ... "man, those were good times ... damn good times"
we would then head on downtown in search of the latest releases (records/singles) on vinyls ...
the likes of Journey, Styx, Men At Work, Madonna, etc
regular haunts would be
Plaza Singapura Record Shop, it's neighbouring rival
Supreme Records.
their alternatives would be
Sing Records at Lucky Plaza, Supreme (Lucky Plaza / Centrepoint) ... and if we really feeling the need for it, paying a 'little' more at
The Attic, a record store in Centrepoint shopping centre whose owner's appearance must have come about the closest thing to Bob Dylan that one could find in Singapore lol
i remember only buying no more than 3 records from him all this time : Journey's "Be Good To Yourself" 7" vinyl single, the album "Raised On Radio" a week or 2 later, and GTR's first album of the same name which was a little hard to find at the time since most stores hadn't even heard of the supergroup
then came
DaDa, a nifty little mom and pop record store in the old Funan Centre (now Funan IT Mall)
DaDa was THE place to be when looking for vinyl records in the mid 80s to the early 90s.
my move from vinyl to Compact Discs came about in 1991. first CD was a repurchase of Styx's "Paradise Theatre"
sadly, all the record shops that i frequented in my teens have since wound up their businesses due to the increasing popularity of the CDs, and largely in part due to the falling of prices of these silver discs ...
but back to Casey's American Top 40 ...
well just a little after 8 years, i quit the Saturdays ritual competely
no, i didn't stop cos Casey wasn't at the helm of the countdown show ...
it was down to 2 factors :
1) i was enlisted
2) (pop) music just wasn't the same anymore ... i couldn't understand how the likes of Milli Vanilli could reach the pinnacle of the American pop charts. on hindsight, i suppose my taste in music then was a little ahead of the times lol (and this was before the duo got exposed for lip syncing too)
The Success of American Top 40 :American Top 40 quickly became one of the most popular syndicated radio shows in the country and then around the world. By 1986 the show was featured on more than 1,000 radio stations in 50 countries around the world as well as Armed Forces Radio and the Voice of America. American Top 40 spawned a television spin-off, America's Top 10, that ran from 1980 through 1990 and featured Casey Kasem counting down the week's top 10 hits and playing music videos.
The Demise and Rebirth of American Top 40 :When his contract with ABC Radio, owners of American Top 40, expired in 1989, Casey Kasem left after the two parties could not reach financial agreement on a new contract. Shadoe Stevens took over as new host, and Casey Kasem began his own competing show Casey's Top 40. Casey Kasem proved the most popular, and American Top 40 folded in 1995. Legal control of the name reverted to Kasem, and American Top 40 returned in 1998 with its original host.
The Man with the Trademark Voice :
In addition to his radio shows, Kasem provides the voice of many commercials, has done many voices for Sesame Street, was the voice of NBC, helps out with the annual Jerry Lewis telethon, and most notably, provided the cartoon voice of Robin in Super Friends, Shaggy from Scooby-Doo, Mark on Battle of the Planets, and a number of characters for the Transformers cartoon series of the 1980s.
He is also the voice of "Out of Sight Retro Night" which airs on WGN America, as well as the voice of GM's On-Star navigation/help system.
He even hit #103 on the Billboard Singles Charts in 1964 with "A Letter from Elaina"
On His Planned Retirement, 4th July 2009 :Kasem said in a statement, “Hosting various versions of my countdown program has kept me extremely busy, and I loved every minute of it. However, this decision will free up time I need to focus on myriad other projects.”
For Casey fans who have been “Counting down the hits” with him over the last 40 years, Kasem will not be completely out of earshot, his classic 1970s and 1980s “AT40” syndicated radio countdowns will continue to be distributed by Premiere Radio Networks.
This is not the first time the The “King of the Countdowns’ ” departured from the syndicated radio franchise. After a contractual dispute with the show’s owner, ABC Watermark in 1988, Casey left “AT40.” In 1998 ownership reverted back to Casey and he returned to host the revived version. He later stepped down as host in 2004 and handed the duties over to Ryan Seacrest.
But now at the age of 77, one can't help but accept that he will not return for an encore performance.
Casey Kasem Honors :Casey Kasem was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1992 and the National Broadcaster's Hall of Fame in 1995. Casey Kasem was presented the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) Presidential Award for Sustained Executive Achievement in 2001. In addition, Casey Kasem is continually recognized for his many efforts to fight discrimination against the Arab-American community, his own ethnic group.
He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Radio at 6931 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
Casey's Personal Quotes :"Growing up, I actually wanted to be a professional Baseball player, instead of a radio DJ. Believe it or not."all the sites seem to have left off this quote which i remember rather vividly too ...it comes at the end of his AT40 signature sign-off ..."Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars" "And ... Keep Your Radio Tuned, Right Where It Is"
