Casey's Top 40
Encyclopedia
Casey's Top 40 was a CHR/Pop music countdown that was hosted by Casey Kasem
and distributed by Westwood One
from 1989-1998. Kasem joined Westwood One when he was unable to reach an agreement with ABC Radio Networks in 1988, who was the distributor of American Top 40
at the time.
CHR/Pop radio airplay chart (making it feature exactly the same song positions as the Rick Dees Weekly Top 40
, which used the same chart at the time). Kasem's dedication letters segment was now called "Request and Dedications."
Initially, Casey would call the program "CT40", just like he would call his former show "AT40"; however, a lawsuit from ABC ordered Casey and Westwood One to refrain from using the short form name, as it sounded too similar to "AT40". (A country chart show, Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40
, have called themselves "CT40" since beginning in 2005, without opposition.) Ironically ABC did not take issue with the "Casey's Coast to Coast" jingles although it used a different melody than the one used on AT40.
chart. In November 1994, Casey's Hot 20 premiered and highlighted the top 20 songs on R&R's
Hot Adult Contemporary chart which the trade paper began in April of the same year. At the same time, Casey's Countdown began to highlight only the top 20 AC songs of the week.
) to revive American Top 40, and offer American Top 20 to AC and Hot AC radio stations. During the show's final weeks, guest hosts filled in for the "vacationing" Casey Kasem, even though he already left Westwood One for good following the dispute.
On the last two editions of these countdown shows (on March 14 and 21, 1998), no mention of Casey was made, and the shows were renamed "The Top 40 Countdown", "The Top 20 Countdown" and "The Hot 20 Countdown". The intent was for Westwood One to establish countdown shows to compete with the new AT40 in the future; however, after the last show on March 21, 1998, Westwood One never carried on with that idea.
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
and distributed by Westwood One
Westwood One
Westwood One was an American radio network and was based in New York City. At one time, it was managed by CBS Radio, the radio arm of CBS Corporation, and Viacom and was later purchased by the private equity firm The Gores Group...
from 1989-1998. Kasem joined Westwood One when he was unable to reach an agreement with ABC Radio Networks in 1988, who was the distributor of American Top 40
American Top 40
American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...
at the time.
Similarities between CT40 and AT40
Casey's Top 40 was similar to Kasem's old AT40 show featuring Kasem's trademark voice, teasers, and trivia on the songs and artists (including the "stretch" stories) but rather than using the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart, it used the Radio & RecordsRadio & Records
Radio & Records was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It originally started out as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006, up until its final issue in 2009.-History:The company was founded in 1973 and...
CHR/Pop radio airplay chart (making it feature exactly the same song positions as the Rick Dees Weekly Top 40
Rick Dees Weekly Top 40
Rick Dees' Weekly Top 40 is an internationally-syndicated radio program created and hosted by American radio personality Rick Dees. It is currently heard on over 200 radio stations worldwide and the American Forces Network. It is distributed domestically by Citadel Media Networks and...
, which used the same chart at the time). Kasem's dedication letters segment was now called "Request and Dedications."
Initially, Casey would call the program "CT40", just like he would call his former show "AT40"; however, a lawsuit from ABC ordered Casey and Westwood One to refrain from using the short form name, as it sounded too similar to "AT40". (A country chart show, Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40
Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40
Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40 is an American country music radio countdown show hosted by former American Country Countdown host Bob Kingsley. The show is produced by Kingsley's KCCS Productions and distributed by Dial Global. It uses the Mediabase Country Singles chart as its source...
, have called themselves "CT40" since beginning in 2005, without opposition.) Ironically ABC did not take issue with the "Casey's Coast to Coast" jingles although it used a different melody than the one used on AT40.
Casey's Countdown is born
Due to the decline of CHR radio in the 1990s and a handful of Adult Contemporary stations carrying Casey's Top 40, Westwood One created an Adult Contemporary version of the program in 1992 called Casey's Countdown, which featured the top 25 AC hits from the R&RRadio & Records
Radio & Records was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It originally started out as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006, up until its final issue in 2009.-History:The company was founded in 1973 and...
chart. In November 1994, Casey's Hot 20 premiered and highlighted the top 20 songs on R&R's
Radio & Records
Radio & Records was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It originally started out as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006, up until its final issue in 2009.-History:The company was founded in 1973 and...
Hot Adult Contemporary chart which the trade paper began in April of the same year. At the same time, Casey's Countdown began to highlight only the top 20 AC songs of the week.
Casey Kasem leaves Westwood One
All three shows continued until 1998 when Kasem left Westwood One following a dispute, in which Casey wanted to rename "Casey's Top 40" as "American Top 40", after getting the rights to the name from ABC, since Shadoe Stevens' AT40 had been off the air for over three years. Westwood One refused, so Kasem took himself and the AT40 name to startup radio network AM/FM Radio Networks (which was absorbed into Premiere Radio NetworksPremiere Radio Networks
Premiere Networks is an American radio network. It is the largest syndication company in the United States based on popularity of programming...
) to revive American Top 40, and offer American Top 20 to AC and Hot AC radio stations. During the show's final weeks, guest hosts filled in for the "vacationing" Casey Kasem, even though he already left Westwood One for good following the dispute.
On the last two editions of these countdown shows (on March 14 and 21, 1998), no mention of Casey was made, and the shows were renamed "The Top 40 Countdown", "The Top 20 Countdown" and "The Hot 20 Countdown". The intent was for Westwood One to establish countdown shows to compete with the new AT40 in the future; however, after the last show on March 21, 1998, Westwood One never carried on with that idea.
Sources
- Durkee, Rob. American Top 40: The Countdown of the Century. ISBN 0-02-864895-1. New York City: Schirmer Books, 1999. Accessed December 10, 2007.