Songs you wish you could have heard Casey count down

[woolebull]

Over the years, from 1970-2004, there were many great (and not so great) songs that Casey did not get to count down. Whether it was because they didn't hit the 40, or Casey wasn't there the week (or weeks) that the song was on the 40, we missed out on Casey giving his special touch. What are some of the songs that you wish you could have heard Casey give his touch to?

Here's a few that I wish I could have heard:

"Rapper's Delight" - Sugarhill Gang (January 5 and 12, 1980). The first rap song to hit the Top 40 spent two weeks inside the 40, and Casey missed both weeks. The first week because of the 70's special and the second because he was taking that week off. The song actually had a "star" on 1/5 at 37, moved up a notch to 36 on 1/12 and dropped to 95 on 1/19, the week Casey came back. In fact, I don't know if anyone knows this, but is that the biggest dropper ever for a song who had the week before moved up the chart?

"The Super Bowl Shuffle" - Chicago Bears Shufflin' Crew (Around February 1985). Stalled at position 41 for two weeks. A few weeks ago someone asked what was the fastest turn around between an event happening and a song hitting the Top 40 about it. This would have been an interesting one to throw in the mix (I believe the song was written three months before the song peaked). Would have loved hearing Casey intro this song.

The Fall and Winter of 1988. There were some really good songs that Casey never got to intro for us. I would have loved to hear him sell how big of a deal a song like, "Indestructible" was by the Four Tops. Or how he would have handled (if he was still on AT 40 in the winter of 1988) selling Rob Base and "It Takes Two". Or the thoughtfulness that you know he would have brought to "Thanks For My Child". Not to mention all of the big songs of that time he never got to count down.

The various rap songs on AT 40 in 1991. At least we got to hear him count down Big Daddy Kane, Cypress Hill, Dr. Dre, etc. later in the decade, but I would have loved to have heard a Casey story talking about the fifth ward in Houston as he is getting ready to play Geto Boy's "Mind Playing Tricks On Me", the importance of Ice Cube's work with Yo-Yo on "You Can't Play With My Yo-Yo, and Pete Nice's obsession with baseball collectibles (or his degree from Columbia) when bringing in "Pop Goes The Weasel". Hey, at least CT 40 had "Do The Bartman"...right? Right?

"A Little Less Conversation" - Elvis Presley (featuring JXL) I think that the week was August 16, 2002. Casey was gone for the week, I believe Ed McMann was sitting in, and Elvis made his first appearance on AT 40 in twenty one years. The next week Casey was back, and Elvis had left the building. That one actually frustrated me.

What about other songs that, for whatever reason, Casey didn't get to count down. What songs would you have loved to have heard Casey count down but never got a chance to?

[pointpark04]

All of mine are from 1988:

- "A Groovy Kind of Love" by Phil Collins
- "As Long as You Follow" by Fleetwood Mac (personal reasons)
- "Chains of Love" by Erasure (one of my favorite songs of 1988)
- "Early in the Morning" by Robert Palmer
- "Look Away" by Chicago (if only because it would go on to become the #1 song of 1988 according to Billboard, and I'm sure he could have provided us with some great Chicago stories during its long run)
- "'Til I Loved You" by Streisand and Johnson (Babs' first Top 40 song since 1983 when she peaked at #40 with "The Way He Makes Me Feel")
- "What's on Your Mind" by Information Society

Those would have been fun to hear him intro, to me.

[woolebull]

I would have loved to have heard Casey on those 1988 songs as well. "Chains Of Love" and "What's On Your Mind" were (and still are) two of my favorite songs. I felt slighted never having Casey count them down

I really would have loved to have heard Casey talking about the resurrection of "Red Red Wine". It was a fascinating story that seemed perfect for Casey's storytelling.

[beegee3]

This topic makes me feel kind of sad, especially given the recent news about Casey's health. I was just thinking a month or so ago how much I wish Classic American Top 40 was still around, with Casey as host and the Hot 100 as the source. How much fun Casey would have with novelty hits like Gangnam Style and Harlem Shake (and now The Fox by Ylvis), the stories he could tell about Anna Kendrick's "Cups" (there aren't many people who get an Oscar nomination and THEN have a Top 40 hit), or Casey's special touch on a sad story like Zach Sobiech, who wanted to be a popular singer and had his YouTube hit "Clouds" chart after he passed away, plus to see how he'd answer questions about chart accomplishments (Glee Cast vs. Elvis for most hits). I know that time's gone forever, but I wonder how a vintage Casey would have told the stories about the songs of today.

Sorry to put a downer in your thread. I do agree with your Super Bowl Shuffle wish.

[woolebull]

Oct 11, 2013 18:39:25 GMT -5 beegee3 said:

This topic makes me feel kind of sad, especially given the recent news about Casey's health. I was just thinking a month or so ago how much I wish Classic American Top 40 was still around, with Casey as host and the Hot 100 as the source. How much fun Casey would have with novelty hits like Gangnam Style and Harlem Shake (and now The Fox by Ylvis), the stories he could tell about Anna Kendrick's "Cups" (there aren't many people who get an Oscar nomination and THEN have a Top 40 hit), or Casey's special touch on a sad story like Zach Sobiech, who wanted to be a popular singer and had his YouTube hit "Clouds" chart after he passed away, plus to see how he'd answer questions about chart accomplishments (Glee Cast vs. Elvis for most hits). I know that time's gone forever, but I wonder how a vintage Casey would have told the stories about the songs of today.

Sorry to put a downer in your thread. I do agree with your Super Bowl Shuffle wish.

It's understandable. Any time we mention Casey from this point forward, there will always be a tinge of melancholy. You didn't put a downer at all on my post. It makes me appreciate the times we did get to hear him count down our favorite songs

One other one I thought of: "One" by Metallica. That would have been nice!

[shadster]

OH yea, by Yellow. Which for some reason, never charted on Billboard

[at40loversince81]

Oh no, sorry to hear about Casey. I wonder if the at40 70s and 80s will no longer be played once he passes. I will be praying that he pulls through and gets better. I would love to have heard him introduce the countdown from the 60s in which the Beatles had 9 of the 10 top records.

[jlthorpe]

For me, there's many songs, including ones already mentioned on this list, such as "Rapper's Delight" (which Casey did mention on the AT40 Y2K special). Also, any song that hit AT40 after Casey left in 1988 and did not appear on CT40. "One" and "Mind Playing Tricks On Me" are good examples, as well as one which hasn't been mentioned yet - "Me So Horny" (imagine how Casey would have handled that song in light of how he handled George Michael's "I Want Your Sex"). And songs that hit the Top 40 after Casey left AT40 in 2004, or hit the Top 40 on the Hot 100 and never charted on AT40. Basically, every song he did not count down at all for whatever reason.

Another example besides "Me So Horny" is the Beatles' "Free As A Bird", which I believe was the Beatles' first Top 40 hit since "Twist And Shout" in 1986, and reached the Top 40 25 years after they broke up. It reached #40 on Radio and Records the week of December 22, 1995 and would likely have been counted down on CT40 but I don't believe it was (I think Casey was doing the Top 100 of 1995 that week).

On the flip side, there's also songs that you're glad you heard Casey mention. I decided to create a thread for that here.

[Dale Latimer]

Oct 12, 2013 17:11:28 GMT -5 at40loversince81 said:

Oh no, sorry to hear about Casey. I wonder if the at40 70s and 80s will no longer be played once he passes. I will be praying that he pulls through and gets better. I would love to have heard him introduce the countdown from the 60s in which the Beatles had 9 of the 10 top records.

Uh, point of order... I don't recall any announcement on Premiere's part regarding the Casey shows.

dL

[1finemrg]

Although I did hear him introduce and play it in the 80s as a part of a tribute to all female rock bands, I wish he could have introduced Fanny's "Charity Ball" when it originally charted. It peaked at #40 in its only week on AT 40, November 6, 1971. It was the first time a substitute host (Dave Hull) appeared on AT 40.

[freakyflybry]

Casey actually did play "Free As A Bird" on CT40 - R&R also had a two-week holiday break.

I kinda wish he would've had the chance to introduce Las Ketchup's "The Ketchup Song" - peaked at #42 in 2002, and was a huge international hit.. would've been cool to imagine how Casey would introduce it (likely with whatever countries it had hit #1 in, or about its dance/comparisons to "Macarena", also a novelty hit out of Spain)

[jlthorpe]

Thanks, freakflybry. Based on the dates, I'm guessing the song appeared on the January 5, 1996 show. Do you know if Casey hosted that one or was there a guest host?

[woolebull]

Oct 14, 2013 6:13:45 GMT -5 jlthorpe said:

Thanks, freakflybry. Based on the dates, I'm guessing the song appeared on the January 5, 1996 show. Do you know if Casey hosted that one or was there a guest host?

The show played on 1/13/96. The song appeared for one week in the 40 on the chart of 12/22/95. Normally CT 40 would adhere to the "one week earlier" charts (they played the Top 40 from the R and R charts from the week before), but when it came to around the end/beginning of the year they were sometimes like three or so weeks off. For example, when the 1/6/96 show played they had the chart data from 12/15/95 and 12/22/95 that had not been played. They used the 12/15/95 data for the 1/6/96 show and the 12/22/95 data for the 1/13/96 show. Then, there was a two week break in the charts (no R and R charts published on 12/29/95 nor 1/6/96) with the next chart dated 1/13/96. That was used as part of the 1/20/96 show.

Because of the "one week old" rule that CT used, it had to be done that way. If not, they would have omitted a countdown.

Here is the AT 40 playlist from 1/13/96, using the R and R chart information from 12/22/95. Again, remember the next chart R and R would publish after 12/22/95 would be 1/13/96, so by the next week on CT 40 (1/20/96) they would be back in line with their normal protocol of "one week earlier" (1/13/96)


www.oldradioshows.com/ct40/011396ct40.pdf

[mkarns]

Oct 13, 2013 20:05:57 GMT -5 jlthorpe said:

For me, there's many songs, including ones already mentioned on this list, such as "Rapper's Delight" (which Casey did mention on the AT40 Y2K special). Also, any song that hit AT40 after Casey left in 1988 and did not appear on CT40. "One" and "Mind Playing Tricks On Me" are good examples, as well as one which hasn't been mentioned yet - "Me So Horny" (imagine how Casey would have handled that song in light of how he handled George Michael's "I Want Your Sex"). And songs that hit the Top 40 after Casey left AT40 in 2004, or hit the Top 40 on the Hot 100 and never charted on AT40. Basically, every song he did not count down at all for whatever reason.

Another example besides "Me So Horny" is the Beatles' "Free As A Bird", which I believe was the Beatles' first Top 40 hit since "Twist And Shout" in 1986, and reached the Top 40 25 years after they broke up. It reached #40 on Radio and Records the week of December 22, 1995 and would likely have been counted down on CT40 but I don't believe it was (I think Casey was doing the Top 100 of 1995 that week).

On the flip side, there's also songs that you're glad you heard Casey mention. I decided to create a thread for that here.

When "Me So Horny" made AT40, Shadoe usually didn't say the title, but just mentioned the 2 Live Crew. Casey would probably have done the same, as with "I Want Your Sex."

[pointpark04]

"Thrift Shop" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis would have been quite fun to hear be counted down by Casey.

I think he would have had fun counting down that song, too.