Casey Kasem/Associated Press photo
With all of the attention today on the public memorial service for Michael Jackson, I didn’t want this bit of news to pass unnoticed: radio DJ Casey Kasem has retired after nearly 40 years of counting down the top songs in the land.
A member of the Radio Hall of Fame, Kasem launched his American Top 40 on Independence Day in 1970, when FM radio was the dominant media forum for relatively unknown music artists to reach the general public. A decade later, Kasem became my touchstone in rural Wyoming for what was most popular among my generation every week from coast to coast. I didn’t realize then that the program’s format was slanted toward music favored by white subcultures. Other popular forms, especially hip-hop and rap, would be largely shut out for a long time.
Even as a teenager in isolated ranch country, I viewed Kasem’s patter as stilted and his trademark phrases as a little corny. So I was shocked a few years ago when I came across Kasem on a Valley radio station still doing the same old thing. His style just seemed so out of place while playing modern urban tunes.
It turns out Kasem wasn’t doing exactly the same old thing. He had handed American Top 40 over to American Idol host Ryan Seacrest in 2004. But Kasem continued to do voice work for shorter versions (American Top 10 and American Top 20). Still, time and changing tastes among radio audiences finally have caught up with the 77-year-old Kasem. He announced that Saturday was his last countdown.
“Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.”
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Zoinks! A great entertainer. He’ll be missed but he’s earned a break.