Casey "selling" a number one song

[woolebull]

One of the things I've always loved about Casey was the way he sold the number one song: hyping it up until the crescendo with the timpani and the name of the song. Goosebumps.

However, I noticed something listening to two different countdowns this last month that I found quite interesting: Two totally different sells. Both of the songs were in their first week at number one, so a good sell would be in order. One song got the most minimum sell job of a first week #1 that I have ever heard. After naming the other number 1's, Casey, verbatim, says:

And now on American Top 40, it's time for the brand new number one song in America. (timpani rolls) "Pop Music" by Robin Scott, alias, M. Time: 10 seconds

Whereas Starship with "We Built This City" literally had a hall of fame introduction complete with other songs, their history, and then, as the timpani rolls, a complete naming of everyone in the group! Time: 2 minutes, 3 seconds

Was there ever a "sell" of a # 1 that you totally remember for being awesome or the opposite? I understand that if a song is in its seventh week at #1, the sell job is going to be anti-climatic. However, I found it odd that "Pop Music", in its first week at #1 would get clipped like that.

[Mike]

6-8-85 had a similar short intro to #1. Casey read the #1s on Billboard's other charts, which segued like so:

"And on Billboard's Pop Singles chart, we have a new song at the top!"

Followed immediately by the drumroll.

[woolebull]

Tears for Fears got "M"ed...that's a shame.

[lasvegaskid]

My favorite Casey "sell" was when he'd stress the song had been in the top 40, top 10, #1 etc for xyz "consecutive" weeks even though the vast majority of chart runs were consecutive.

[woolebull]

Oct 16, 2013 15:57:37 GMT -5 lasvegaskid said:

My favorite Casey "sell" was when he'd stress the song had been in the top 40, top 10, #1 etc for xyz "consecutive" weeks even though the vast majority of chart runs were consecutive.

You're exactly right about that! Not counting songs that reemerged years later ("I'm So Excited", "Into The Night") there wasn't a non consecutive week song in the Top 40 between "One Way Or Another" by Blondie in 1979 and "Always and Forever" by Whistle in 1990. And after 1983 there would be no more non consecutive number ones until sometime after 1991. Even in Top 10's, I can't think when the last "non consecutive" weeks in the Top 10 would have been before "Epic" by Faith No More did it in 1990. I'm pretty sure it didn't happen at all in the 80's.

[lasvegaskid]

Another great Casey sell was when he'd go "in just 4 short weeks, the song is already at #..."

[chrislc]

There was one show in the spring of 1976 on which Casey introduced Love Machine (somewhere around #20) and mentioned how long it had been in the countdown and he made it sound like a major event (which it indeed was for those of us who followed the charts). The guy really had a knack for bringing out the goosebumps. I think he was at his best when talking about songs that had been in the 40 for many weeks. He really sold the accomplishment.

[woolebull]

Oct 28, 2013 20:38:57 GMT -5 lasvegaskid said:

Another great Casey sell was when he'd go "in just 4 short weeks, the song is already at #..."

I heard a show in 1998 or 1999, and his intro for one song was, "hitting the top 10 in just 7 short weeks"...and it made me laugh. But it helped me to understand how slow the charts were going at the time.

[lasvegaskid]

Another was when Casey said "this song recently spent xyz weeks way up at #..."

[lasvegaskid]

Another sell was when Casey said a big dropping song was 'still hanging in there after ___ weeks on the countdown'

[lasvegaskid]

Another Casey sell started in the late 70s/80s when they started releasing more songs from an album...this is the 3rd big hit from the album XYZ