What show are you listening to right now?

[dukelightning]

Don't know that urban hit from 1994. The last AT40 in the US was 2 weeks later, until it resurfaced in 1998. Shadoe was off 3 weeks in June and July 1994 btw. But those 2 weeks in July were after it was canceled in the US so no one here knew that. I think the 9/30/95 show is the only one out of the 12 that Donna Lewis was #1 that I have not heard.
Today it is the 6/16/01 AT40. I like all the years that Casey hosted in the second run of AT40. Hard to pick my fave year. 2001 is a transition year from the lack of hip hop prior to it to a lot more hip hop. Highest debut is such a song, "Get Ur Freak On" and a fave. Like all of Missy's hits.
Casey says that Rob Thomas was surprised that he became a pop star because he failed chorus class and keyboard class in high school. "Mad Season" is their hit and the title track from a great CD. Like all of M20's hits too with "Bent" from that CD being my fave by them.
Another production error when Casey says 'here is this week's American Top 20 trivia quiz'. These quizzes on AT40 are more challenging than the quizzes during the CT40 days. This one had Casey asking was it Elvis, John Lennon or Bob Dylan who was named in the lyrics of 3 #1 hits in the 90s. It was Dylan who was named in "Right Here, Right Now", "Mr. Jones" and "Only Want to be with You". The commercial was by Jo Dee Messina. I was listening to country back then and my fave hit by her was about to be released. Talking about "Bring on the Rain", the long version with Tim McGraw whose wife has a song in this countdown. That's Faith Hill and "There You'll Be" which I like as much as Jo Dee's hit.
My fave song is "Baby Come Over" and this newer version that AT40 started playing a few weeks earlier. Mentioned it being a transition year. A YouTube comment about this song is it's the last breath of the cheesy, happy, fun late 90s. Well said although they are implying that what was to come going forward was not so fun. Maybe not but it's just as good IMO.
Casey says that the Cars and REM had hits titled "Drive" but my fave hit with that title is the one in this show by Incubus.

[freakyflybry]

AT40 from April 16, 1988 with Keri Tombazian guest hosting.

It's always a pleasure to hear the guest-hosted shows, especially with a rare female DJ guest-hosting. I think she did a good job in Casey's shoes that week. Had no idea she's been doing a lot of voiceover work in animation lately, appropriate considering that Casey did a bunch of cartoon voices in his day as well.

I enjoyed the LDD tribute to Andy Gibb, where "I Just Want To Be Your Everything" was played, and the story about dreaming (which had been told many times by Casey himself too) to tie into "dream" songs - two of which were in the countdown - "Dreaming" by OMD and "Shattered Dreams" by Johnny Hates Jazz.

And of course, she had to Rickroll the AT40 listeners again that week as "Never Gonna Give You Up" was on its way down

[dukelightning]

I enjoyed the 2 shows Keri did, the other in 1983 IIRC. It's the CT40 from 6/29/91 for me. Casey makes a good point that After 7's "Nights Like This" which kicks off the countdown is reminiscent of the 60s Motown sound.
An out of season hit for Simple Minds is "See the Lights" with the lyric, 'summers gone winter is in your eyes'. This should have been a fall hit to make those lyrics more timely. Of course my fave by them is a fall hit, "Alive and Kicking".
Not sure this has ever happened before or since. The last week on AT/CT40 for Styx with a countdown song is as a LDD for "Love at First Sight".
Good question about the album with most gold singles. There was a 7 way tie for second with 4 of them released in 1988 or 89 and the other 3 by a brother and sister. Michael's Off the Wall and Thriller and Janet's Control. No mention of Bad. The one with the most had 6 and that was Janet's Rhythm Nation. "State of the World" was not released and the only one of the 7 that were released that did not reach gold status was "Come Back to Me". I will guess that she still holds that record.
The powerful, passionate voice of Mariah Carey is what Casey said after "I Don't Wanna Cry". Could have said that after "How Can I Ease the Pain". These are simply 2 emotional songs that grab you.

[dukelightning]

Double dipping today with the CT40 from 6/14/97 now. That 1991 show featured the last week in the countdown for Styx. This one is in between 2 such shows. Bruce Springsteen's last week was the week before and in their next to last week are the Bee Gees. Casey told how Maurice Gibb really liked Paul McCartney's "Mull of Kintyre" which was a huge hit in the UK with 9 weeks at #1. Liked the bagpipes and sampled those sounds in "Alone". Asked why he did not play them instead, he said it would be like playing an octopus.
Both debuts involve artists who also had hits in the 70s and 80s, Aerosmith and Stevie Wonder who dueted with Babyface on a song they co-wrote, "How Come How Long", about spousal abuse. That's a unique duo. Stevie had hits consistently for 25 years and then when his run of hits ended with "Skeletons', Babyface took over first with his only hit with the Deele "Two Oaccasions" and then his solo hits accounting for the next 10 years.
Interesting story about the Cardigans whose melodic sounding hits hide their dark side which is revering heavy metal bands. They had covered 2 Black Sabbath songs on their albums. This led to Ozzy Osbourne attending his first concert in 12 years when he went to one of their shows and heard them play "Iron Man". He liked how a petite gal was singing such a dark themed song. Going to hear that song after the countdown.
Casey is at it again with the 'in the countdown for months' statements, twice saying a hit had been in for 6 months. But when he said that "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" had been at #6 for a month, that may have been a first especially in the middle of the year. I assume it was there for 4 weeks. Why not say that? Strange how he got into this months thing in the mid 90s.

[dukelightning]

Wow the next 80s show has just been revealed and it's not 1988. I may have to do what freakyflybry did and listen to one myself. For now though, it is a year later when Casey was still near his 1988 peak. So it's the CT40 from 6/17/89 and he mentions a lot of the summer concert tours coming up then. 2 of note were the original Jefferson Airplane who had just finished recording their album. No hits from it however. Would have been a unique situation had there been a hit from then as Starship did have a hit in the summer of 1989. Could have hits by 2 groups with people who were members of both bands. Another tour of note that summer was Ringo Starr who Casey said was going to be on tour for the first in 23 years, since the Beatles last tour. I don't think John Lennon had been on tour since either. Seem to remember that when he performed with Elton John at Madison Square Garden in 1974 as a result of a bet they had about John hitting #1, that it was his first live performance since the Beatles played atop the Apple records building in 1969.
Speaking of the Beatles, Casey told how the Bangles came to be. An ad was placed in the classifieds asking for musicians who were into the 3 Bs....the Beatles, Byrds and Buffalo Springfield. Casey had mentioned that the 3 Bs were supposed to be Back, Brahms and Beethoven. Not according to the Bangles!
Also said that Love and Rockets were influenced by the vocals on Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side" for "I'm Alive". Yes I can certainly hear that influence on it.
Forgot to write above with all the Beatle stuff that Paul kicked off the countdown with his last hit "My Brave Face".
A double mistake when Casey says that Cyndi Lauper will be 36 on Monday, June 20th. There is no such date in 1989, the 20th was on Tuesday. And her birthday is on June 22nd.
Marking this down. There was no story before the #1 song. I have heard about 90% of the CT40 and second run AT40 shows that Casey did and I cannot remember another one when there was no story before #1. The last story he told was before Bobby Brown at #3 when he talked about him building a dance/rec center for kids. I have heard a few Hot AC and AC shows with no story before #1 but there was a story before #2. So this may be the only show Casey ever did from 1989 on with the last story before the #3 song. Of course there were many shows in the first run of AT40 with the last story even earlier than that.

[dukelightning]

Still somewhat shocked by the end of the last show I heard earlier. I have heard about 800 shows that Casey or a guest host for him has done from 1989 to 2009 and that 1989 show is the first one in which no story was told before either the #1 or #2 song if my memory serves me. Been listening to these shows for over 10 years so it's possible I forgot a show or 2.
I will bet all the tea in China that there will be a story at the end of this show, the CT40 from 6/19/93. It will be Janet at the top I know that. By the way, it was the second week at #1 for New Kids on that 1989 show so there should not have been a dearth of stories to tell about them. It was like a lot of the first run AT40 shows with Casey reviewing the other chart #1 hits before playing the #1 song. Another last week on AT/CT40 for a major artist. This time it is Queen and one of my faves by them, "Somebody to Love" live with George Michael taking the place of the late Freddie Mercury.
Everyone knows about the period when Aerosmith was down in the depths of alcohol and drugs. Casey told a story about what happened to Steven Tyler a few times when he was drugged up. Once he was supposed to fly from Boston to Los Angeles and got on the wrong plane and ended up in Tampa. Another time, he called for a limo to come to his house and forgot all about it. 2 days later he went out the front door and the limo was still there. The driver was familiar with Steven's drug use so stayed there the whole time. And another time Steven was walking around his neighborhood and could not figure out which house was his and ended up checking into a hotel around the corner!
Except for "Somebody to Love" and a couple others, the better songs are in the second half of the show IMO starting with "Living on the Edge". Some sleepfests before that such as "Hero". 2 of those better songs in the second half are by SWV, a week after both of them were in the top 10.
Yep, story about Janet was of her rescuing an abandoned dog.

[dukelightning]

The 6/16/90 CT40 wrapping up with a couple firsts. The new #1 hit was the first rap #1 song as Casey said about "U Can't Touch This". He did not say this but it is also the first R&R #1 hit that was initially not released as a single. Also of note is that Nikki was up 5 notches in all 4 weeks he had been on CT40 after "Notice Me" debuted. It went 40-35-30-25-20. Wonder the record for that type of thing is. It did not go any further in that pattern. So 4 weeks is the record that would have to be matched. Probably would have to be a 2 or 3 notch climb every week to tie or beat that record.
Casey told a story of how Frank and Nancy Sinatra hit #1 with "Somethin Stupid" and how Nancy had a hard time before that of stepping out of her father's shadow musically. The song that finally got her over the hump was "These Boots Are Made For Walkin". That was in the second hour and then in the 4th hour, Casey told a story of a New Kids concert when a fan threw her boot on the stage in her excitement. One of the guys tripped over it and sprained his ankle. Casey said there were 2 lessons learned from that incident. One that you should always look where you are walking and secondly, that boots are made for walking. Wonder if that was a coincidence that Casey used the same phrase as a song he mentioned earlier in the show. Probably more of that wit that Casey was known for in the late 80s into the early 90s.
The 70s show this week features "Stayin Alive" holding at #13. The week before it had dropped from #2. Got a hit that drops from 2 to 13 in this show and it's Janet's "Alright".
And I am not sure when the Casey's Biggest hits feature started. Might be this week but what was unique about it was that Casey specifically said for each one that it was #1 this week 'x' years ago. So maybe that's the way they did this feature in the beginning. One of those #1 hits was "The Logical Song" which of course was #1 in R&R but not the Hot 100.

[OnWithTheCountdown]

According to Shannon's website (cue sheet listing), the earliest Casey's Biggest Hits is dated 4/7/1990. The earliest cue sheet available is 7/14/1990. Through the vinyl era (2/29/1992), pickings are really slim. But starting in the CD era (beginning 3/7/1992), almost all of them are available.

The date on those cue sheets are for the Monday following that weekend's broadcast.

[dukelightning]

Thanks OnWithTheCountdown. I think they must have started out with just using #1 songs and then after a few months, realized there were too many songs that did not hit #1 which would make for good songs to play so ditched the idea. By the way, playing #1 songs from 'x' years ago sprinkled throughout the show would have been a better choice than playing last week's top 3 back in the AT40 days when they did that i.e. 1982 IMO.

[OnWithTheCountdown]

Apr 26, 2024 19:30:56 GMT -5 dukelightning said:

Thanks OnWithTheCountdown. I think they must have started out with just using #1 songs and then after a few months, realized there were too many songs that did not hit #1 which would make for good songs to play so ditched the idea. By the way, playing #1 songs from 'x' years ago sprinkled throughout the show would have been a better choice than playing last week's top 3 back in the AT40 days when they did that i.e. 1982 IMO.

Right on. I think, just mention last week's top 3 in the open, then like you said, sprinkle extras throughout (#1s or big hits from this week 'x' years ago, like Casey did in the earlier years).

[chrislc]

Apr 27, 2024 16:24:05 GMT -5 OnWithTheCountdown said:

Apr 26, 2024 19:30:56 GMT -5 dukelightning said:

Thanks OnWithTheCountdown. I think they must have started out with just using #1 songs and then after a few months, realized there were too many songs that did not hit #1 which would make for good songs to play so ditched the idea. By the way, playing #1 songs from 'x' years ago sprinkled throughout the show would have been a better choice than playing last week's top 3 back in the AT40 days when they did that i.e. 1982 IMO.

Right on. I think, just mention last week's top 3 in the open, then like you said, sprinkle extras throughout (#1s or big hits from this week 'x' years ago, like Casey did in the earlier years).

I wonder if some affiliates requested a stronger start to the shows. As much as we all love the first hour, I must admit that the average listener was usually less likely to stick around to listen to the #40 #39 and #38 songs of the week.

[OnWithTheCountdown]

Apr 27, 2024 16:33:10 GMT -5 chrislc said:

Apr 27, 2024 16:24:05 GMT -5 OnWithTheCountdown said:

Right on. I think, just mention last week's top 3 in the open, then like you said, sprinkle extras throughout (#1s or big hits from this week 'x' years ago, like Casey did in the earlier years).

I wonder if some affiliates requested a stronger start to the shows. As much as we all love the first hour, I must admit that the average listener was usually less likely to stick around to listen to the #40 #39 and #38 songs of the week.

Good point, which is why they likely went that route. I know I wasn't in a position to influence that decision; I was just shy of 4 years old. 😂

[dukelightning]

I am familiar with that point. It was prevalent in the 70s too. Pete's 70s book has an article about the beginning of the shows having a dearth of hits and stations complaining about it.
The show I am listening to has a earth of hits that I would stop and listen to if I was in my car and had reached my destination. That's how I know it's a great song. In fact I counted 14 such songs in a row after Jodeci's "Come and Talk to Me" at 39. Streak finally ended with the week's biggest mover "Just for Tonight"(40 to 25). One of those 14 songs was an R&D "I'll Be There" by the Escape Club. I have mentioned previously that "I'll Be There" and "I Remember You"/"I Will Remember You" (times 2)are the 2 examples of popular R&Ds that had the earlier hit requested and then when the later hits came out, those hits were always played as R&Ds. This is a show that has both "I'll Be There" hits in it with the Escape Club being a R&D for what could be the last time before Mariah's song that is threatening the #1 position becomes the one requested and played all the time. Btw, "I Will Remember You" is also in the show. Amy Grant's song was a R&D many times before Sara McLachlan took over with her IWRY in the late 90s.
This is the CT40 from 6/13/92 and it features a lot of edited songs. 1992 seems to be the 1978 of the 90s meaning that for whatever reason, a lot of songs are edited as I have noticed this on other 92 shows. Not sure if songs were longer that year as was the case in 1978 compared to previous years or what.
With Casey saying that "Baby Got Back" is from the CD titled Mack Daddy, I know that both raps hits in the show are connected to that phrase. It's 'Mac Daddy' that Kris Kross sings in "Jump". Casey told a story about them. Said that 99% of the time that an exchange occurs in a shopping mall, it is a scam. This is an example of the 1% of the time that it was not. Producer Jermaine Dupree ran into the 2 boys of Kris Kross and within seconds, knew that they had something. After they did an on the spot audition for him, he signed them after talking to their parents.
Another song not in the staying in my car to hear it category is last week's #1 hit "Under the Bridge". Like pretty much all the Peppers hits but that's their worst CT/AT40 hit IMO. Good story about the Peppers however. Casey once told a story of how Rod Temperton became a member of Heatwave by listening to a series of R&B songs after he had lied to them saying he was familiar with that music. The Peppers lead guitarist who replaced their previous guitarist who had died of a drug overdose(heard that story on a recent show in which Anthony Keidis went to Mexico for a month realizing it could have been him) had been listening to all their albums over the years. So when he auditioned, he blew them away. Casey also said that he had just quit the band so Bridge is the last hit he plays on.
Next week, Mariah will hit the top with "I'll Be There". It will be one of those strange circumstances. She leapfrogs MJ's "In the Closet" preventing him from hitting the top with a remake of his own song! It will make a difference when all the dust settles because Mariah will end up with 14 #1 hits while he will have 13. Would have had 14 himself but for that leapfrog.

[dukelightning]

The CT40 from 6/22/96 has another example of an album title that has no title track being sung in a song. It's "You Learn" with Alanis Morrisette and the line 'like a jagged little pill'. Jagged Little Pill is the album that includes #7 and #6 in this show with "Ironic" the first one. I have noticed that in the CT40 days and also AT40 the second run when an artist has back to back songs, there is either a commercial break, an LDD or a long story between the 2 hits. Not sure why that is but Casey told a long story about drug problems in the music industry in between Alanis' 2 songs. Stone Temple Pilots had to cancel an entire tour because Scott Weiland was into drugs too much. Cost them over a million. Steven Tyler and Anthony Keidis, after overcoming their own drug habits, were spokesmen for a group of 300 people.
Are there any other top 40 artists from Frankfurt, Germany other than the Scorpions and La Bouche? If not, then I have heard the only artists from there to reach AT/CT40 this weekend. Because the Scorps were in the 80s show and La Bouche has their 2 top 10 hits in this show. Totally different acts musically but their 3 hits that I heard in the last 24 hours are all faves. A half year in the countdown is what Casey said about "Be My Lover" after kicking off the show by saying that the Goo Goo Dolls' "Name" had been in for 9 months. 2 examples of not saying how many weeks hits had been in the countdown.
Eric Clapton's 2 biggest hits of the 90s are in the first hour. "Tears in Heaven" is an R&D and "Change the World" is the highest debut. Second and third biggest hits for him behind "I Shot the Sheriff". Second highest debut was "Tha Crossroads" with Casey saying that it had sold a million copies. That last statement is a reflection of charts being based on airplay instead of sales and airplay. I doubt if Casey ever said such a thing about a debut during the first run of AT40.

[freakyflybry]

Alice Merton, who hit in 2018 with "No Roots", is also from Frankfurt - it got #27 on the Billboard Mainstream Pop Chart and #13 on Hot AC. She's about the only artist I can think of with quadruple citizenship (Germany, UK, Canada, Ireland) to hit the charts. She's also expressed connections to the USA and France, but doesn't have citizenship in those countries.