I would just like to say that, while Shadoe is a talented announcer, he was ill-suited to do the show. I do think there was a desperation on ABC's part to have someone well-known replace Casey. Casey is IRREPLACEABLE. I have nothing personal against Shadoe or Ryan Seacrest, but replacing Casey is like trying to replace God as the center of the universe. What happened to the show in it's later years was just SHAMEFUL, not telling listeners that they were changing charts from the Hot 100 to the Radio Monitor chart. It may have made sense financially, but it alienated longtime listeners. No wonder it went off the air in the mid 1990's.
I wasn't usually a fan of LDD's but I do remember a close friend of Neil Tennant of the 80's dance duo "The Pet Shop Boys" dedicating "West End Girls" to him as well as telling the story of Tennant's early struggles in the music business. I also liked another LDD from a guy in Australia who had visited the U.S. and started his letter with "G'Day Casey". Another one was from a guy in New York State to his high school buddy who moved here to Minnesota who had both started up a disc jockey service. The guy dedicated "Dance Hall Days" by Wang Chung to him. That was the show where Charlie Van Dyke filled in for Casey as was the Australian LDD.
I heard the ending of his last show on "You Tube". He sounded either frail or choked up. It was like the last episode of the "Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson.
How many of you want to see Casey get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer? I know that Dick Clark (God rest his soul) is in there. It would be a shame if Casey weren't inducted.
These outtakes and transcriprts where Casey is swearing up a storm are such a scream. I'm sure Casey never imagined how huge they would be in a few short years. I remember hearing a story of how U2 were singing in a bar with drunken patrons and one of them requested "Let's Twist Again" by Chubby Checker and how Casey would end up singing the song off-key. Another time Casey sung the refrain of "Falling In Love Again" by Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine adding the comment, "And you know why I don't sing".
There will never be another disc jockey like Casey Kasem. Casey is really the last of the big name disc jockeys in the U.S. or elsewhere. There will still be radio personalities, no doubt, but I do think that the days of commercial/terrestrial radio's domination are coming to an end, given the rise of Internet and satellite radio. I also think that sooner or later, there will be some kind of backlash because a lot of the songs are so unmemorable. I don't think that a lot of that will really hold up twenty years from now because a lot of them are so shoddily or poorly written.
I have nothing personal against Ryan Seacrest, but anyone replacing Casey as the host of "AT40" reminds me of the film "Bruce Almighty", where God gives Jim Carrey's character his powers. I haven't really listened to the radio very much in years, partly because of the fact that 10% of the population owns 90% of all the radio stations in the country. In a 2004 magazine interview, Prince was saying that the reason why there was nothing happening musically in Minneapolis was because nothing was local anymore. Personally, terrestrial/commercial radio isn't really fun to listen to anymore. I occasionally listen to public radio, but do believe that my options as a listener are being severely limited.
I left a message for Durkee himself saying he should write a new edition regarding Casey leaving AT40 for the second and final time as well as it's most recent history.
The impact that Casey had on my life was tremendous. Listening to AT40 was like going to church every Sunday. Casey was like the "Mutual of Omaha" of broadcasting: he was a person you could count on, which, unfortunately, you don't really have a lot these days. And also, Casey is a fantastic storyteller, ranking right up there with Mark Twain and radio humorist Garrison Keillor. In fact, I would either retell the stories verbatim to classmates or my older sister. Sometimes, if it was a story on one of her favorite acts, I would rewind the tape and we would listen to the story together. There will never be another personality quite like Casey Kasem. I think that his hometown of Detroit should name a street after him or erect a statue of him. If you agree with me on that point, don't hesitate to leave me a message.
Yeah, I would just like to say that it was great that Casey made a guest appearance on "The Sixx Sense". Kerri Kasem teaming up with Nikki Sixx is a wild combination. It's like Alice Cooper and/or Marilyn Manson teaming up with Lisa Marie Presley or the offspring of one of the Beatles.
Yeah, I would just like to say that I read the rbr.com article on "AT40" and it's 40th Anniversary. I do take offense to the notion that countdown shows are "passe'" because AT40 itself is still going strong. However, I will also say that there will never be another personality quite like Casey Kasem. He is the last of the big name d.j.'s.
Yeah, I first heard AT40 in 1981. My older sister's radio was on and I heard it from her room. The first #1's I heard were "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" by Chicago and "Abracadabra" by the Steve Miller Band.