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Post by Mike Schwartz on Jul 8, 2009 8:15:05 GMT -5
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Post by UnknownEric on Jul 8, 2009 10:10:43 GMT -5
I agree with the article that, to a lot of people, Casey came off as square. But to me, he wasn't square, he just took the music seriously. Which is what I loved about him. When I would listen to, say, Rick Dees, it seemed like the show was about him and the music was secondary. With Casey, the music and the countdown always came first. And to a music obsessive like myself, that was refreshing.
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Post by Mike Schwartz on Jul 8, 2009 11:19:00 GMT -5
I agree with the article that, to a lot of people, Casey came off as square. But to me, he wasn't square, he just took the music seriously. Which is what I loved about him. When I would listen to, say, Rick Dees, it seemed like the show was about him and the music was secondary. With Casey, the music and the countdown always came first. And to a music obsessive like myself, that was refreshing. The comments about Casey being "a square" actually predate the onset of AT 40 in 1970. At the Reel Radio website, you could hear an hour or so of his afternoon show on LA's CHR giant KRLA from 6/16/67 and you can judge for yourself. www.reelradio.com/dj/krla061667.html#ckkrla061667Hearing Casey promote the Monterery Pop Festival '67, while playing Gerry and the Pacemakers leads one to conclude that he was out of his element as the late 60s music scene was changing. In his book Dream House, author Bill Earl cited the changes of that era as being one of the prime reasons why KRLA cleaned house and let Casey and others like Charlie O'Donnell leave. |
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Post by mrjukebox on Jul 8, 2009 11:55:07 GMT -5
Just read two of the four articles on Casey Kasem that have appeared in the NY Times-I found it interesting that he granted an interview for the profile from 1990 but that he didn't wish to be interviewed for the article that appeared in today's edition of the Times-I wonder if Casey is literally the shy,retiring type.
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Post by Mike Schwartz on Jul 8, 2009 14:05:09 GMT -5
Just read two of the four articles on Casey Kasem that have appeared in the NY Times-I found it interesting that he granted an interview for the profile from 1990 but that he didn't wish to be interviewed for the article that appeared in today's edition of the Times-I wonder if Casey is literally the shy,retiring type. It was not hard for me to understand. I noted in the ABC interview the comments of his wife about why he wanted to quietly exit the scene. I just assumed that the difference between the 1990 profile and the situation with his departure in July 2009 was night and day both professionally and personally. In 1990 his new Westwood show (just Casey's Top 40 then) was growing in audience and might have even overtaken American Top 40 in both numbers of affiliates and total listenership by the time of the interview. Leaving behind these two spinoff shows this summer-and with the recent affiliate drop offs noted elsewhere on this board, had to have left him with a heavy heart. The countdown world has also shifted much over the past 20 years, so that their overall prominence in the industry is less then was once the case. |
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Post by mrjukebox on Jul 8, 2009 15:54:49 GMT -5
The article from ABC News hinted at the fact that there is a huge burnout factor with songs that spend more than 5 to 10 weeks at #1-Casey definitely found fault with that-How many times can you stand to listen to "I'm Yours" before screaming "I've had enough"!
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Post by Mike Schwartz on Jul 9, 2009 4:53:18 GMT -5
I agree with the article that, to a lot of people, Casey came off as square. But to me, he wasn't square, he just took the music seriously. Which is what I loved about him. When I would listen to, say, Rick Dees, it seemed like the show was about him and the music was secondary. With Casey, the music and the countdown always came first. And to a music obsessive like myself, that was refreshing. The comments about Casey being "a square" actually predate the onset of AT 40 in 1970. At the Reel Radio website, you could hear an hour or so of his afternoon show on LA's CHR giant KRLA from 6/16/67 and you can judge for yourself. www.reelradio.com/dj/krla061667.html#ckkrla061667Hearing Casey promote the Monterery Pop Festival '67, while playing Gerry and the Pacemakers leads one to conclude that he was out of his element as the late 60s music scene was changing. In his book Dream House, author Bill Earl cited the changes of that era as being one of the prime reasons why KRLA cleaned house and let Casey and others like Charlie O'Donnell leave. I was in touch with the author since I posted this piece and he fine tuned my remarks on Casey and the changes which were overtaking both Casey and popular music/culture during that time. Since he is the only person who I am aware of who has actually met with Casey, was the author of the authoritative history of radio during that era and who was once known as the official KRLA historian, I thought that it would be helpful to present the actual words of Bill Earl here on this chapter of Casey's career. Please check his link from the blogspot site for more reading (and great pictures and graphics). "KRLA did NOT let Casey go in August 1967. They simply moved him to the 9-Noon shift (out of his longtime Noon-3 slot) which he just didn't like. He left that shift a month later to just work weekends. That lasted until early 1969 when he left KRLA all together. The DJ that the new PD dept. of KRLA thought kind of square were the American Bandstand sidekick Charlie O'Donnell and Dick Biondi. Both O'Donnell and Biondi were dropped from the lineup in August 1967. Charlie had a tough time in morning-drive to try and follow in Bob Hudson's giant footsteps. He really never had a chance. Biondi's midwest humor didn't match the Monterey Pop vibes. Read the entire story on classsicdjradioscrapbook.blogspot.com/ in the DREAM-HOUSE (history book on KRLA) chapters "Beautiful Balloon" and "New Season." P.S. After Shebang, Casey had bigger career ideas in mind than just KRLA jocking. He had always wanted to be an actor. He did get some TV parts. Casey was very gracious to me when he invited me to his Mulholland Drive home in 1975. I met his wife and mom. He wasn't square at all, in my book. His "bio" act was a brilliant move that gave him maturity... and credibility. His "Sweetheart Tree" was awesome and heartstrings pulling. Evolved into his "Long Distance Dedication" bits on AT40. I DID hear that they brought in Shadoe Stevens because they thought Casey was "perceived" as not as hip to some. But I always liked The Caser. American Bandstand in 1967 had lost the edge and hip relevance that the Monterey Pop festival goers were heavily into. Not Charlie's or Dick Clark's fault. But one had to BE there in 1967 to "get" the tremendous waves of psychedelia and album tracks coming at teens like me from al angles that made Top 40 seem unhip & square. Biondi & O'Donnell both had succcessful careers AFTER KRLA in different ways. O'Donnell is now perhaps the most successful game show annnouncer in history! Way to go, Charlie O! But the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 showed that what was once hip like American Bandstand and O'Donnell & Clark in sharkskin suits in 1964 just was not "where it was at" with the "Flower Children" AFTER Monterey Pop." |
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Post by at40petebattistini on Jul 9, 2009 6:05:44 GMT -5
Mike, many thanks for the additional information. I've always been curious about Casey's time between KRLA and AT40, including when he actually left the station. I believe it's common knowledge that he was pursuing an acting career at that time. And I was hoping to get a few more details but it appears that Bill Earl's "Dream-House..." is out of print and no longer available.
One thing to add -- and you may already know this -- Casey returned to KRLA in October 1970, as a weekend jock. More appropriately, the station added AT40 to their Sunday schedule. I believe that they carried the show for one year, which apparently resolved any issues Casey and the station had with his earlier departure. (According to Rob's book, this ended a contract dispute.) During that 1970-71 time period, KRLA issued weekly record surveys which promoted their air personalities. But I have yet to see one that recognized Casey and/or AT40. By the way, I have a KRLA survey dated January 25, 1971 which featured a picture of their 6-9pm jock -- a guy by the name of Shadoe Stevens.
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Post by Mike Schwartz on Jul 9, 2009 7:57:27 GMT -5
Mike, many thanks for the additional information. I've always been curious about Casey's time between KRLA and AT40, including when he actually left the station. I believe it's common knowledge that he was pursuing an acting career at that time. And I was hoping to get a few more details but it appears that Bill Earl's "Dream-House..." is out of print and no longer available. One thing to add -- and you may already know this -- Casey returned to KRLA in October 1970, as a weekend jock. More appropriately, the station added AT40 to their Sunday schedule. I believe that they carried the show for one year, which apparently resolved any issues Casey and the station had with his earlier departure. (According to Rob's book, this ended a contract dispute.) During that 1970-71 time period, KRLA issued weekly record surveys which promoted their air personalities. But I have yet to see one that recognized Casey and/or AT40. By the way, I have a KRLA survey dated January 25, 1971 which featured a picture of their 6-9pm jock -- a guy by the name of Shadoe Stevens. Pete, I am posting a corrected link as the one that Bill included in his response to my post above is not presently working. classicdjradioscrapbook.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2008-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2009-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=50On this blog, Bill has included excepts from Dream House and lots of pictures and stories about Casey and the other 1110 men. Contact Bill through this blog-as I did yesterday-and he can probably get you a copy of his book, or at least send you the parts of the book that will aid you in your research. I have owned Dream House for 19 years and it resides on my bookshelf next to my copy of "AT 40 the 70s". Personally, both Dream House and your Reflections of a AT 40 Enthusiast section are quite similar in narrative flow and the way in which these cherished audio sources formed a background to your lives (KRLA for Bill and AT 40 for you). |
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