I listened to KHITS Sunday morning, and the old AT 40 sounded pretty good.

My questionj is, did he provide the show for free to stations, as long as they included his commercials, or did he receive cash on top of the airplay?

That was a long time ago. It was probably all barter.

I can't answer your question since I wasn't in the business at the time. However I can give you a behind the senses look at how AT 40 was set up in the beginning.

When "American Top 40" began on Saturday July 4, 1970 and through the 70's it had no sponsors or spots within the broadcast sold by Watermark, Inc. the distributor. There were 10 minutes per hour in two minute breaks with an added :60 at the top of the hour for stations to fill.

This continued until Watermark was purchased by abc Radio in 1979 and AT 40 became a program of its American Contemporary Network. At that point abc took 6 minutes for its national spots, giving local stations 6 minutes to fill. This was also divided into 2 minute breaks.

When did AT Top 40 change over to "caseys top 40". Because my only memories of listening to Casey kasem was in the late 80's, early 90's, and it was called "Casey's Top 40.

Amother question I have is, I thought only one station per city can run only one Casey Kasem show?? Doesn't k103 already have Caseys Top 10 on sundays???

In 1988 Casey Kasem couldn't reach an agreement with abc Radio on his contract. So Casey moved to "Westwood One" but abc owned the name "American Top 40". Westwood One came up with "Casey's Top 40". Kasem also couldn't use Billboard's Top 40 music chart as a reference, he began using "Radio & Records" CHR chart.

That's right! Kasem moved to Westwood One and created "Casey's Top 40" (which premiered in eary 1989 and Z100 aired the show between 1989 and 1996). ABC hired Shadow Stevens to replace Kasem on "American Top 40" in 1988. Stevens' run only lasted for seven years because "American Top 40" was cancelled in 1995.

"AT40" rise from the grave in 1998 when AMFM Radio Corporation brought the rights to "AT40" and signed Kasem to host the show. Therefore, Kasem left Westwood One that year! Then, AMFM was merged or brought by Clear Channel. The rest is history!

It was a long time ago, but if memory serves, the rate structure was based on market size. KORI FM (Ex KSLM FM) picked up AT40 in the Salem market when KBZY dropped it, in 1971 or '72.

So is American top 40 completely gone from all top 40 stations around the country??? While he does sounnd way too old to be doing top 40, he was much better than that ass clown Ryan Seacrest. That guy is horrible. Its too bad Rick Dees is getting droped from Most top 40 stations, in favor of Ryan Seacrest. I always thought Rick Dees Weekly top 4o was entertaining.

So is American top 40 completely gone from all top 40 stations around the country??? While he does sounnd way too old to be doing top 40, he was much better than that ass clown Ryan Seacrest. That guy is horrible. Its too bad Rick Dees is getting droped from Most top 40 stations, in favor of Ryan Seacrest. I always thought Rick Dees Weekly top 4o was entertaining.

I think Ryan Ass-crest took over for Casey Kasems "american Top 40.
Its too bad a lot of top 40 stations are no longer playing Rick Dees Weekly top 40. As far as I know Z100 is no longer carrying Rick Dees Weekly top 40. It was one of the better syndicated Countdown shows.

When I was programming T40 I preferred Scott Shannon's show. Much funnier, much better production and my listeners loved it.
Anyone know what has become of his show?

Here's the link to the classic Casey AT40 outtakes.
http://www.fadetoblack.com/outtakes/index1.html

I heard Rick Dees on a station in the Australian outback last month! It was great. I don't remember the last time I heard his show, but he's still got it!

Dodger...'Scott Shannon's Rockin' American Top 30 Countdown'. I ran that show on Z100...on record. YIKES...THAT was a long time ago.

ran it on records too. ya baby, vinyl rocks!

...and what history is the rest?

Rick Dees is still doing the Weekly Top 40: http://www.rick.com/

And Casey's still counting 'em down - for Hot AC: www.premiereradio.com/shows/view/American_Top_Twenty_Hot_AC.html

"Long Ball Ricky Dees"... I recall his short lived syndicated morning show ended when he left KIIS..Great morning talent- I always enjoyed the Candid Phone and Spousal Arousal segments.

In the 80s Rick was a busy dude.

1. Rick Dees Weekly Top 40
2. Rick Dees American Music Magazine (mon-fri 1 hour music show)
3. Rick Dees Into The Night 11:30 on ABC for a few years. (who would wager it would last as long as it did)
4. A KIIS morning show that lasted around 20 years?

I remember him saying he felt Into The Night failed because he couldn't do the things he wanted to try. He had a pilot made years earlier but apparently lost control of the direction of the show shortly after it started.

I wanted "Into The Night with Rick Dees" to succeed SO bad but it was Painful to watch just as "The Chevy Chase Show" on Fox.

My first job in radio (KAGO/K. Falls, 1977) had me running Casey Kasem's American Top 40, Saturdays from 9am to noon. It was on vinyl then and came in the mail each week. The trick was cueing Casey up after each commerical break. Never mind that it was a 3-4 minute stopset, I just couldn't get it cued up in time. So listeners got to hear..."Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah...Meeeerican.....Top 40.."

Dont forget Rick Dee's Disco Duck.

I had (happily) forgotten Disco Duck, until the other day I heard it on the radio (which someone else was playing so I dont know the station). Since then I haven't been able to get it out of my head.

A few years ago, one of my daughters and some of her friends were talking about the radio, and how thy liked Rick Dees program, and I commented "Oh the guy who did Disco Duck". They had no clue what I was talking about. Until I found a copy and played it for them.

"American Top 20" with Casey Kasem, can be heard on Newport's 102.7 KYTE, Sunday nights at 6:00.

"Rick Dees Weekly Top 40" can no longer be heard in the valley, but it is aired on Coos Bay's Power 107, Sunday nights at 7:00.

Thats too bad. Ryan Seacrests American TOP 40 is awful! Who is the boner who replaced Rick Dees With Ryan Seacrest?
The Rick Dees show had comedy bits and production elements in the show, it was entertaining, Ryan Seacrest is just plain awful. He tries so hard to sound "HIP" it is really painful to listen to.

IF Z100 is dumb enough to drop Rick Dees, why doesn't another station pick him up and start playing his countdown??? THe Buzz would be the best choice. If Im not mistaken Rick Dees also has a hot AC Countdown where he play all the top 40 hits minus the rap! I agree, Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 was a great show, Pretty sad that Ryan Seacrest has replaced him.

The Peak 104.1 in Bend plays Dees countdown. It is actually fairly entertaining.

The Buzz should ditch that Fox countdown and replace it with Rick Dees. That would be a smarter choice!

I've got a Casey Kasem AT-40 question for all posters.

Want to find out which stations in Portland carried the program. This is one thing I never kept track of. I know AT-40 was first carried on KISN. When Kisn disappeared, where did AT-40 move? Was it KPAM AM/FM? I know the program was on KGW by 1987.

I just got the definitive American Top 40 resource. It's a new book by Pete Battistini called "American Top 40 With Casey Kasem (The 70's)". It's an amazing source of trivia and the details for each show are incredible.

I was surprised to see how many mistakes were made on the show. Granted, some are minor goofs like Casey saying a song had been on the charts for 10 weeks when it was actually on for 11. But there are some pretty big ones, like playing the wrong song? And there was in instance in 1975 when they played an un-edited version of the song "Fight The Power" by the Isley Brothers with the lyric ("...by all this bulls**t goin' down...") that one played on around 300 stations.

"And now the answer to Craig's question:"

According to the book, KISN was first mentioned as a new affiliate on April 17th 1971. KGW was first mentioned as a new affiliate September 11th 1976. Wow, 9/11...

I hope you get a chance to tune in the show. This week Casey counts down the Top 40 from this week in 1974. Until then...Keep your hands out of my wallet and keep reaching for the salt.

This might fill in some of the holes. KMJK (106.7) aired Casey's AT-40 from around 83 or 84 to 87. KSKD (105.1) was also airing AT-40 in the mid 80's. Before KMJK, AT-40 was on KCNR (97.1). In the mid 80's, Marion county became part of the Portland Arbitron. In 1987, ABC Radio decided KXYQ should have exclusivity, so KMJK picked up the John Leader Countdown.

KXYQ continued to air AT-40 with Shadoe Stevens as KKRZ picked up Casey's Top 40 on Westwood One around 1989.

There were shipping & handling mistakes too. Sometimes you would get two copies of hour one and no hour two disc. If caught early enough in the week, you could get the correct disc over-nighted to you.

Thanks guys! Boy, I gotta get one of those AT-40 books!

This is what I've pieced together using posted information. If anyone can add or improve this, please do:

KISN (910) April 17, 1971 to August 29, 1976.
KGW (620) September 11, 1976 to ?
KCNR (97.1) ?
KMJK (106.7) 83-84 to 1987.
KGW (620) by October 1987.

105.1 ran AT-40 from at least the mid 80's til about 1991 or 92 (KSKD to KXYQ). If 620AM picked it up again, it would have been after 1992.

So in the late 80's no Portland station was carrying AT-40 except Salem's KSKD or KXYQ?

KXYQ moved to the US Bank tower in 1987 & was the only Portland/Salem station airing AT-40 between 1987 to around 1992-ish.

I got do AT-Forty at KJRB Spokane in 77'. As the asst. engineer who got stuck with the Sunday AM human automation thing, you see. I got pretty good at going thru the jingles and liner/positioners and timing out the ones where you could hit the Tri-Deck Cart machine right after the ATF jingle, play the linerj or a liner/Jingle combo, let the turntable spin and come out on the end of it all with little or no dead air. This all when we didnt have any spots to run or a PSA/Promo logged or just if you got tired of playing the same damn Promo 3 times an hour ! I sat down one Saturday night with the records in the production room and figured out the average length of the cut seperations and then back-timed liner and jingle combinations to suit the program. The trick was how not to walk on the next segment too much so that anyone would notice. It took a few weeks , but I got it down pretty well.

Nobody cared as long as everything was tight and you weren't 'wowing" the record. After all KJRB was the sister station to KJR Seattle, Channel 95 !

So who did we have the first year? KPAM/FM? KGAR? KGW?

I don't think a Portland station carried AT-40 in 1970. A national show of this kind in the rock & roll era had not been tried. I think some stations took a wait and see attitude. Today it's no brainier but in 1970 it might have looked strange to programmers.

I listened to At 40 out of Los Angeles, growing up in Orange County. I don't remembered the station i listened on! Maybe Khj or Kezy 1190?

In the L.A. area in 1974, AT-40 was on KACY Oxnard (1520).

Itsvern: Perhaps you mean KWIZ?

No real LA station ran AT 40? The show was out of Hollywood; it screams 93KHJ!

Hey Craig Adams, would you be interested in a 6 disc (records) of Casey's American Top 40?. It's from 1990 for the week of June 16& 17th. You know you just can't beat those long distance dedications!

My biggest beef with KHITS running the old AT40s is, why the crappy Sunday Morning 7AM time slot? They are advertising it enough, you think they'd choose a time where people might actually be awake enough to listen to the radio.

Yeah I agree, most people are still snoozing at that time. At least start at 8. an hour makes a big difference.

If they started at 8AM, some people attending church would miss the last hour. It's probably a compromise.

Val: Sure! I don't have a show from the 1990's.

Let's connect..I'll email you as soon as I decide what I'm going to wear today..This purple bathrobe I've been wearing is a little tattered, what with all the clove cigarette burns..Craig, trying to stalk you has been hard on my drapes too!

Craig Thinking.........

[Oh My! What the hell have I got myself into this time!]

what was the date when he got mad on the air?