It was sad to hear the news that Casey Kasem had died, though we knew he was suffering from Parkinson's and was at the center of an inheritance battle unbeknownst to him. But there was joy for me as SiriusXM's 70s On 7 ran American Top 40s all day long. It was my perfect Father's Day soundtrack.
Kasem's weekly countdown of the biggest songs in the nation was required listening for me every week no matter where I was, be it home or away at school. By 1973 I'd moved on from top 40 but I still wanted to know what was charting. I still do, though these days I don't have to listen to Ryan Seacrest. I can find the curated Billboard Top 100 on a Spotify playlist.
As I listened to a show from 1971 yesterday I was amazed to hear so many songs that I consider some of my favorites of all time. I was an impressionable youth and Kasem helped galvanize my love of both music and radio.
I still listen to these replays every week on WMJI, Cleveland and on the 70s On 7. For awhile I was recording them and have a decent library of shows on my hard drive.
Interestingly Kasem was the replacement for legendary Cleveland DJ Pete "Mad Daddy" Myers on WJW in 1959. Talk about back to back talent. It was also the station that gave us Alan Freed.
Here's a nice piece from the LA Times Randall Roberts, Casey Kasem: A critic's take on why he mattered.
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