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Post by OldSchoolAT40Fan on Oct 27, 2011 6:45:39 GMT -5
I have recorded the finale of the original run of AT40 on audio cassette way back in 1995 (hard to believe it's been nearly 17 years already), and I must say, it was an emotional one.
I do admit, I was totally shocked when I heard Shadoe Stevens mention "Welcome to the last American Top 40" at the beginning of the broadcast. I didn't even know it was coming to begin with. Rightfully so, seeing that the Internet was probably only in the beginning stages at that time. Though because of the Internet, I was fully prepared for the finale of AT20 in 2009.
The final #1 song was Boyz II Men's On Bended Knee, and then Shadoe Stevens mentioned it was the end of the road for AT40 (must be a play on words, seeing that Boyz II Men had a hit called End of the Road a few years beforehand).
And the show went out the same way John Davidson's Hollywood Squares - another show that Shadoe once worked on - did, with a group of people singing their version of Happy Trails To You. It was a sad day for die-hard fans of AT40 like myself. But at least we had Casey Kasem to wake up to on weekends with Casey's Top 40, so all was not lost.
But really, it wasn't the end of the road for AT40. Casey Kasem brought the AT40 name back on the air after a 3-year hiatus. He remained host until January 2004, at which point Ryan Seacrest took over and turned my taste for such program upside down. Though some of the new songs is pretty good, but not as extensive as my taste for 1980s music.
But I do have to ask, why did the original run of AT40 get axed? Was it due to low ratings, or was it due to some other issue at hand that prompted such cancellation?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2011 7:47:30 GMT -5
The show domestically was axed the year before. ABC began distributing Rick Dees's show. There was good reason for this. AT40 had become at best the third most heard countdown in the USA as far as clearances and listeners. Had this been 1985, that would have been fine. But by 1994/1995 stations fragmented and typical top 40 radio stations were dropping. Internationally though I'm not sure. I think the show was still heard in multiple countries and was very popular overseas. All I can think of is perhaps the revenue it was generating from just overseas might not have been justifying the expense. I also recall in Robs book, something about the company was more I interested in pursuing some other type of show at the time. Been 9 years since I read it so Im foggy on that too.
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Post by OldSchoolAT40Fan on Oct 27, 2011 10:20:30 GMT -5
Yes, I agree. To me, the music genre was not that great during the 1990s. Nothing but Pearl Jam and Nirvana everywhere you tune into the radio, and if not that, smooth R&B jams by artists such as Toni Braxton, to name one artist, were popular during that time. What a way to follow up a great decade for music like the 80s - with a decade for awful music, to some people - including I. I must admit, I am more a fan of 1980s music and anything upbeat. Count me in for some disco as well. Even some of the mainstream rap and hip-hop is pretty good, but is nothing compared to the 1980s. I'm glad the music turned around for the better by the turn of the century, and I can see why AT40 is doing really well with Ryan Seacrest at the helm. In fact, Ryan Seacrest had a slightly longer run as host of the current run of AT40 than did Casey Kasem - Casey Kasem hosted the current run for 6 years, while Ryan will be entering his 8th year as host come January. I also recall in Robs book, something about the company was more I interested in pursuing some other type of show at the time. Been 9 years since I read it so Im foggy on that too. , maybe? |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2011 10:27:48 GMT -5
Yes, I agree. To me, the music genre was not that great during the 1990s. Nothing but Pearl Jam and Nirvana everywhere you tune into the radio, and if not that, smooth R&B jams by artists such as Toni Braxton, to name one artist, were popular during that time. What a way to follow up a great decade for music like the 80s - with a decade for awful music, to some people - including I. I must admit, I am more a fan of 1980s music and anything upbeat. Count me in for some disco as well. Even some of the mainstream rap and hip-hop is pretty good, but is nothing compared to the 1980s. I'm glad the music turned around for the better by the turn of the century, and I can see why AT40 is doing really well with Ryan Seacrest at the helm. In fact, Ryan Seacrest had a slightly longer run as host of the current run of AT40 than did Casey Kasem - Casey Kasem hosted the current run for 6 years, while Ryan will be entering his 8th year as host come January. And he'll be doing it for many years to come. Yes, the R&B issue was really getting on my nerves in 93 with Boyz II Men, Shai, H-Town, etc. My best friend liked all of that. We were in the high school chorus together and when he was practicing Happy Birthday in that R&B style I got frustrated and walked out of the room. I had reached my breaking point at that moment. I may have been having a bad day which contributed to it, don't remember exactly. Don't get me wrong. I like a lot of those songs but it was just the inundation of it all the time that got old to me then. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2011 10:30:24 GMT -5
Yes, I agree. To me, the music genre was not that great during the 1990s. Nothing but Pearl Jam and Nirvana everywhere you tune into the radio, and if not that, smooth R&B jams by artists such as Toni Braxton, to name one artist, were popular during that time. What a way to follow up a great decade for music like the 80s - with a decade for awful music, to some people - including I. I must admit, I am more a fan of 1980s music and anything upbeat. Count me in for some disco as well. Even some of the mainstream rap and hip-hop is pretty good, but is nothing compared to the 1980s. I'm glad the music turned around for the better by the turn of the century, and I can see why AT40 is doing really well with Ryan Seacrest at the helm. In fact, Ryan Seacrest had a slightly longer run as host of the current run of AT40 than did Casey Kasem - Casey Kasem hosted the current run for 6 years, while Ryan will be entering his 8th year as host come January. I also recall in Robs book, something about the company was more I interested in pursuing some other type of show at the time. Been 9 years since I read it so Im foggy on that too. , maybe? Maybe, but I am thinking the word express was in it somewhere. |
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Post by Shadoe Fan on Oct 27, 2011 12:43:17 GMT -5
Yes, I agree. To me, the music genre was not that great during the 1990s. Nothing but Pearl Jam and Nirvana everywhere you tune into the radio, and if not that, smooth R&B jams by artists such as Toni Braxton, to name one artist, were popular during that time. What a way to follow up a great decade for music like the 80s - with a decade for awful music, to some people - including I. I must admit, I am more a fan of 1980s music and anything upbeat. Count me in for some disco as well. Even some of the mainstream rap and hip-hop is pretty good, but is nothing compared to the 1980s. I'm glad the music turned around for the better by the turn of the century, and I can see why AT40 is doing really well with Ryan Seacrest at the helm. In fact, Ryan Seacrest had a slightly longer run as host of the current run of AT40 than did Casey Kasem - Casey Kasem hosted the current run for 6 years, while Ryan will be entering his 8th year as host come January. The World Chart Show, maybe? Maybe, but I am thinking the word express was in it somewhere. AT40 was replaced by the World Chart Show, which was distributed by Radio Express. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2011 12:44:13 GMT -5
Ah. Thanks.
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Post by jaxxalude on Oct 27, 2011 14:56:14 GMT -5
Does anyone have a copy of that show that could be borrowed, please?
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Post by OldSchoolAT40Fan on Oct 27, 2011 15:20:54 GMT -5
^ PM coming.  |
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Post by jaxxalude on Oct 27, 2011 16:54:16 GMT -5
I don't know if it was so much the music that was worse during that period or if it was the fact that CHR/Top 40 being on its biggest doldrums phase ever that made the music look worse than it was. Looking at the chart, what we see is that Top 40 radio was torn between very different worlds. On the one hand, it was trying to acknowledge what was then the current Alternative zeitgeist (Green Day, Stone Tempe Pilots, R.E.M., Weezer). On the other, it was also trying to accomodate the kind of "Alternative" that wouldn't be too edgy for its traditional audience (Hootie & The Blowfish, Counting Crows, Gin Blossoms, The Cranberries, Freedy Johnston, Deadeye Dick). On yet another, it was trying to put some Urban into the mix that wouldn't put away the more conservative end of the female target (Boyz II Men, TLC, Toni Braxton, Jade, Ini Kamoze, Zhané, 4 PM). It was also trying to pull in both Boomers and some sort of mainstream rock audience (Tom Petty, Aerosmith, Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge). Even moreso, it was programming dance music as a way of acknowledging some sort of Rhythmic music, so long as it wasn't harder-edged Urban (2 Unlimited, Corona, Real McCoy, Crystal Waters). Finally, it was also trying to appeal to those young adults who had experienced Top 40's renaissance during the mid-to-late 80's (Madonna, Janet Jackson, Bon Jovi, Gloria Estefan, The Pretenders, Vanessa Williams, even Jon Secada himself). Oh, and complete UFO's like Ace of Base, Andru Donalds and that unnecessary remix of that Four Seasons classic!
So yes, it was confusing times down at Top 40 radio land.
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Post by jaxxalude on Oct 28, 2011 18:19:19 GMT -5
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Post by mrjukebox on Oct 28, 2011 19:37:17 GMT -5
"End Of The Road" by Marvin Gaye was the very first song that Casey Kasem played when "AT40" debuted on the Fourth Of July weekend back in 1970-Perhaps that's the song that Shadoe Stevens was alluding to in his introductory comments.
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Post by OldSchoolAT40Fan on Oct 30, 2011 16:38:24 GMT -5
"End Of The Road" by Marvin Gaye was the very first song that Casey Kasem played when "AT40" debuted on the Fourth Of July weekend back in 1970-Perhaps that's the song that Shadoe Stevens was alluding to in his introductory comments. Actually, Marvin Gaye's song was called End of Our Road. I did happen to pick up the AT40 debut today from someone. Yes, I now have both ends of the original run - having downloaded the 1995 finale last week, and now the 1970 premiere. |
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