AT 20 and AT 10 to end on July 4-5th, 2009

[Mike Schwartz]

Just read this on All Access..

"Kasem's American Top 10 and Top 20 To End On July 4th Holiday

Downsizing The Countdowns
PREMIERE RADIO NETWORKS has announced that it will cease producing AMERICAN TOP 10 and AMERICAN TOP 20.with CASEY KASEM as of the weekend of JULY 4th-5th.
CASEY KASEM's AMERICAN TOP 40 - 'The 70s and CASEY KASEM's AMERICAN TOP 40 - The '80s will continue to be distributed and broadcast by PREMIERE RADIO on more than 200 radio stations around the world.

For more information, contact PREMIERE'S affiliate relations representative at [phone]. "

Casey was my favorite, I guess I will now listen to Rick Dees instead. This is such sad news coming one day after the demise of Radio and Records.

[musicfanpete]

Geez! Talk about a one two punch of bad news! But you figured Casey was going to end things sooner or later. I thought maybe his son would take over though. Oh weel! :(

[johnnywest]

Worst news I've heard all year :(

[Adam (UTR)]

Gosh, I had such a good day and then I got this news. I guess it was inevitable, but it's so sad. I'll have to record the show.

[cartman2002]

This is sad, but not as sad as the announcment of R&R shutting down.

Maybe the stations who aired At20 and At10 will air At40: The 70s, At40: The 80s or...........

Ryan Seacret's Hot AC version of American top 40.

[Hot AC Archiver]

My guess is some stations will replace AT20 with Ryan's AT40, but some stations won't because the show lasts 4 hours.

[Hervard]

Too bad he couldn't hold out for another year, so the end of those shows would come 40 years after starting off the AT40 series. Oh well, that's the breaks.

I agree about this being a one-two punch of bad news. And bad things tend to happen in threes, so brace yourself for possibly more bad news coming tomorrow...

[johnm1120]

I had a feeling AT20 would end this year because so few stations still play it, but AT10 too... worst week in radio since January 2004 :(

[Hervard]

Jun 4, 2009 19:06:44 GMT -5 Hot AC Archiver said:

My guess is some stations will replace AT20 with Ryan's AT40, but some stations won't because the show lasts 4 hours.

Perhaps some of the stations that don't want a four-hour show will replace AT20 with Randy Jackson's Hit List, since that's three hours long, like AT20. That's a much fresher show than Seacrest's AT40 anyway - although there are recurrents on the chart, they don't tend to stick around as long. While it's true that the Hit List chart only goes down to 30, Seacrest's chart has songs that hang around at or around #30 for weeks and weeks on end. Hit List tends to get rid of recurrents sooner, although if they use a recurrent rule, I'm not sure what it is. Nevertheless, newer songs hit that chart before they even attain Breakout status on AT40, so I would definitely recommend Randy Jackson's Hit List as a replacement for AT20.

As for AT10, I don't know - as far as I know, after July 4, there won't be any kind of Mainstream AC countdown in existence.

[musicfanpete]

Jun 4, 2009 20:27:41 GMT -5 Hervard said:

Jun 4, 2009 19:06:44 GMT -5 Hot AC Archiver said:

My guess is some stations will replace AT20 with Ryan's AT40, but some stations won't because the show lasts 4 hours.

Perhaps some of the stations that don't want a four-hour show will replace AT20 with Randy Jackson's Hit List, since that's three hours long, like AT20. That's a much fresher show than Seacrest's AT40 anyway - although there are recurrents on the chart, they don't tend to stick around as long. While it's true that the Hit List chart only goes down to 30, Seacrest's chart has songs that hang around at or around #30 for weeks and weeks on end. Hit List tends to get rid of recurrents sooner, although if they use a recurrent rule, I'm not sure what it is. Nevertheless, newer songs hit that chart before they even attain Breakout status on AT40, so I would definitely recommend Randy Jackson's Hit List as a replacement for AT20.

As for AT10, I don't know - as far as I know, after July 4, there won't be any kind of Mainstream AC countdown in existence.

The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 chart is a lot fresher too. Of course, there are no "rules" on his chart, but at least the recurrents leave his chart sooner as well.

[Hervard]

That's true. However, that's a four-hour show and stations that want to keep things consistent might not want a show that long. I can't think of any other three-hour Hot AC show besides Randy Jackson's Hit List. That one would be especially ideal for Hot AC stations that occasionally play older hits (which most of them do), since there are about five or six Hitlist Extras, and, excluding the "I-Pod Pick Of The Week", all of them are songs from the past.

[patstop40]

I kinda figured AT20 was on the way out. Premere has more intrest in Ryan Seacrest than Casey. But why cancell AT10. Right now that is the only AC countdown show and if I'm correct has great ratings and affiliates. My question is Premere Radio Networks is cancelling AT10 but does this really mean Casey is quitting? Couldn't he jump to a new company and only do the one show the AC chart? He couldn't call it AT10 or Casey's Countdown, because I think Westwood One owns the name Casey's Countdown. He could call it Casey's Top 10 or something. I serriously thought Mike was taking over since he has been guest hosting alot for the last year. Sometimes every 3-4 weeks. My last question is why the hell did they fire Casey and not Ryan lol

[at40forever]

I'm absolultely shocked to hear that! :oWhy are they doing this?!? >:(

I think it has something to do with the economic meltdown.

Well for whatever reason, I'm definitely gonna miss listening to Casey's voice on both charts (as well as the year end countdown specials) and I have been listening to him since 1999.

I'm absolutely gutted to hear this :'(

[patstop40]

Ya why quit in mid-year why not let Casey finish out the year and end with the year end charts. Casey could do the top 30 of 2009. His last show should be the top 30 or 40 of the 200's. It makes NO SENSE to quit durring the year. The thing I will miss the most is his Long Distance Dedications. There is and probibly will never be any radio show that will have dedications anymore. I imagine that Casey will continue to be the voice of Shaggy for Scooby Doo, but this will not be the same. I am shocked at R@R but not as much as AT10. I have listened to Casey since 1993. Premere is making a huge mistake. I would even listen to a Mike Kasem show if Casey quit, but AT10 should continue. Lastly, I will miss Casey's trademark message to his fans every week. "Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars."

THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE WONDERFUL YEARS OF GREAT RADIO CASEY AND THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE MEMORIES.

[radiobrett]

I guess what we don't know is if Casey is leaving on his own terms, or if Premiere is forcing him out. AT20 has been dropping in affiliates lately, but AT10 is still going strong. Since they are continuing with the 70s and 80s shows, Casey obviously wont be going to another network. If he was going to jump networks, he would take his 70s and 80s shows with him.

I truly hope this was Casey's decision, but if it it wasn't I simply wish him all of the happiness in the world. I'm not sure what kind of health he is in these days, you never seem him on TV or in any apperances anymore. Mike has filled in a lot lately, the last being 2 back to back weeks last month. Perhaps Casey is just ready to call it a day and retire...

Regardless, this was a huge shock this morning and a major bummer. We have 10 shows left, 5 AT20 and 5 AT10. Let's enjoy them for what they are, as there will never be a broadcaster quite like Casey ever again.

[radiobrett]

Jun 4, 2009 18:17:31 GMT -5 johnnywest said:

Worst news I've heard all year :(

Agreed. I have always dreaded this day, and now here we are. Casey is what got me into radio and he is one of my idols. Without his show, the music wont be the same.

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

:( Sad.... :(

I'd love to have the final show for AT20 for Hot AC (and maybe AC as well).

If someone records it, I'd be willing to put it on my server for a few weeks.

[Cerebro]

Geez...what a crappy week this has been. First R&R, now this. :'(

I always knew this day would come sometime (Casey turned 77 this year, so he's not getting any younger), but to finally see it in print is a bit of a punch to the gut. I've loved listening to Casey every since I discovered Casey's Top 40 back in 1992. I was thrilled when he brought back the AT40 name in 1998. I kind of fell out of touch with Casey's shows after he left AT40 in 2004, but still listened to AT20 on occasion.

Thanks, Casey, for 39 great years of "counting 'em down". I think my signature pretty much sums up my final thoughts. \/ (Wouldn't put it any other way)

Jun 5, 2009 19:20:03 GMT -5 Rose "Payola" Nylund said:

:( Sad.... :(

I'd love to have the final show for AT20 for Hot AC (and maybe AC as well).

If someone records it, I'd be willing to put it on my server for a few weeks.

I'd love to have the final show, as well. I have Casey's final AT40 stored away. This would also be a keeper.

[StephL]

I just hope that Casey will be given an opportunity to host another Countdown show elsewhere soon whether it is on radio, satellite, or online. Because the statement was made to discontinue the shows rather than a retiring announcemnet, I am more inclined to believe that Casey is not ready to hang-em-up just yet.

On AT10, there have been a couple subtle changes recently: 2 segments of stations mentions instead of 1 and the "Just Beneath the Top-10" addition. Plus this past week, there was no LDD. It would not surprise me at all if the staff knew that Premiere was about to pull the plug.

[shadster]

Jun 5, 2009 19:20:03 GMT -5 Rose "Payola" Nylund said:

:( Sad.... :(

I'd love to have the final show for AT20 for Hot AC (and maybe AC as well).

If someone records it, I'd be willing to put it on my server for a few weeks.

I'll likely record all 10 remaining shows.


Update: I didn't quite get all 10. Totally spaz'd on that 1st weekend after the announcment. And didn't grab the Mike Kasem shows. I did get the next 2 shows. The next to last shows I only have AT20, didnt record AT10's next to last show. And I do have both of the last shows: AT10 & AT20. For a total of 5.

[Hot AC Archiver]

Jun 6, 2009 13:56:35 GMT -5 StephL said:

I just hope that Casey will be given an opportunity to host another Countdown show elsewhere soon whether it is on radio, satellite, or online. Because the statement was made to discontinue the shows rather than a retiring announcemnet, I am more inclined to believe that Casey is not ready to hang-em-up just yet.

On AT10, there have been a couple subtle changes recently: 2 segments of stations mentions instead of 1 and the "Just Beneath the Top-10" addition. Plus this past week, there was no LDD. It would not surprise me at all if the staff knew that Premiere was about to pull the plug.

I know for a fact that some of the staff didn't know of the shows' demise until the same day we heard about it. However, I don't doubt somebody there knew, probably higher on the chain of command.

[jdelachjr2002]

Don't know if this could possibly be related or not but for the last few months, Mike Kasem recorded additional voiceovers for "AT40: The '70's" and "AT40: The '80's". However, the last two weeks three of the four shows used the old Ed McMann voiceovers (6/4/1983, 6/18/1977 and 6/13/1987) and the 6/9/1973 show which Premiere never ran before used a different voiceover guy. Any chance Mike was let go?

[patstop40]

Ok this is what I kinda know. A while back well maybe 3 yrs ago I had sent a email to Ed McMann who recently was the main guest host for Casey. I had told Ed that I liked it when he sat in for Casey. Ed sent me a email back saying that Casey had no choice when it came to his guest hosts, the staff would pick who would guest host if Casey needed one. So it wasnt like Casey saying ok I like Ed or David Perry have him do the show. Casey had no imput. As for Mike no I don't think he got fired. Mike is also a DJ and the only reason he has prob filled in alot is because he is one of the better guest hosts Casey has had. I kinda have a feeling that Casey is done. He wont return to host a new show. Although I dont see Casey going back to Westwood either. Westwood prob wont take Casey back because things didnt end good with them and Casey. If Casey did stay it would to be a host for the AC show. I don't think Casey is staying hes done. I am surprised I thought they would cancell AT20 but Mike would take over AT10. I guess that just ending the show is better even Casey's son as good as he is isnt Casey! Mike could never replace Casey.

[Cerebro]

Jun 6, 2009 13:56:35 GMT -5 StephL said:

I just hope that Casey will be given an opportunity to host another Countdown show elsewhere soon whether it is on radio, satellite, or online.

I suppose that would depend on the circumstances of the cancellations. Was Casey forced out or did he decide it was time to retire? If it's that latter, then we probably won't be hearing him do another countdown show. I don't know how these things work, but the fact that the 70s and 80s AT40 shows will still be airing would suggest that Casey still has some sort of agreement in play with Premiere. I'm hoping we'll get more information as the end approaches.

[shadster]

To answer your question, No, Mike is not fired. The only reason your hearing "Ed McMann" is because the shows in question have allready been featured on AT40 the 80s. Ed did the original drops for the shows in question. No need for Mike to come in an re-do voiceovers done by his predecesor. We'll likely continue to hear Ed V.O.'s as long as they continue to use shows previously aired during Ed's tenure.

[radiobrett]

Mike Kasem will be guest hosting this weekend's AT20 and AT10. Guess we only have 3 more Casey hosted shows left, if that.

[jdelachjr2002]

Thanks Shadster and Brett on the Mike Kasem issue. If I'm not mistaken, looking at WHNN's cue sheet for the 6/19/1976 show (which Premiere never ran before) I saw some mentions of PetSmart in the show's open and close as well as the mention of Bose as the #1 song sponsor. I think Mike will probably do the voiceovers for the 6/19/1976 show at least. The 6/23/1984 "AT40: The '80s" show was already run back in 2007 so we may or may not still hear the Ed McMann voiceovers for that one. We'll find out on Friday when KQLL airs the '80s show.

[patstop40]

Does anyone know if Mike will be doing a LDD this weekend? I hope so, if they have already droped the LDD'S and there are none for the last 4 remaining weeks I will be ticked at the AT20 staff >:(

[hotacfan69]

Did Casey really retired or was he pushed out the door by Premire Radio

[Cerebro]

Jul 5, 2009 11:20:43 GMT -5 hotacfan69 said:

Did Casey really retired or was he pushed out the door by Premire Radio

This link was posted in a different thread:
abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=8007180&page=1
Looks like the decision was his.

Broadcasting Legend Casey Kasem Counts Down for Final Time
Radio Pioneer and Voice of Scooby-Doo's Shaggy Might Write His Memoir

By JOEL SIEGEL and DAN HARRIS
July 5, 2009

The news came as a shock to Casey Kasem's fans.

"We began the weekend of July 4, 1970, and after 39 years this will be our final countdown," Kasem said matter-of-factly on his "American Top 20" radio show over the weekend.

And so, with no hoopla and hardly any advance notice, the 77-year-old broadcasting legend counted down the hits one last time, quietly pulling the plug on a weekly ritual for his legion of loyal listeners.

It is, in many ways, the end of an era

Kasem was the last of the big-time DJs, a legacy that includes Alan Freed and Wolfman Jack, personalities who brought music to Americans when radio was king.

"Casey Kasem ... Dick Clark ... I really felt like these guys were a part of my family. You get this connection when you're listening to them or when you're watching them," said Ryan Seacrest, who took the mic as host of Kasem's signature "American Top 40" show five years ago. Kasem continued to host two spinoffs, "American Top 20" and "American Top 10."

Kasem pioneered the countdown format on radio. He always included biographical details, little tidbits mainly, about the musicians. And there were those long-distance dedications, thousands of them, through the years.

Kasem also has voiced over countless commercials and given life to so many cartoon characters, most famously as the voice of Scooby-Doo's faithful sidekick, Shaggy.

But it was his work as the king of countdowns that brought him a star, in 1981, on Hollywood's Walk of Fame and entry, in 1992, into the Radio Hall of Fame.

Jeannie Kasem said her husband ended "American Top 20" and "American Top 10," both of which counted down adult contemporary music hits, because he wanted time to pursue other projects, including possibly writing a memoir.

Radical changes in the radio business also were a factor, associates said. Adult contemporary music charts no longer change much from week to week, in part because stations that play such music have adopted smaller and smaller playlists. That brought a degree of monotony to Kasem's countdowns in recent years.

"I think it was probably a gradual process. Charts are changing, stations are changing, the networks are changing, radio itself is changing, and I think, you know, the pendulum swings back and forth," Jeannie Kasem said." You just have to be willing to jump ship and try something new."

Kasem's voice will not disappear from the airwaves entirely. Weekly rebroadcasts of his Top 40 programs from the 1970s and 1980s will air on more than 200 stations.

Kasem let the world know he was getting out of the countdown business through a brief, mostly overlooked, news release a few days ago.

"Hosting various versions of my countdown program has kept me extremely busy, and I loved every minute of it. However, this decision will free up time I need to focus on myriad other projects," he said in the release. "The 70's and 80's versions of "American Top 40" have experienced phenomenal station and audience growth over the last year and I'm sure they will continue to be successful."

He has declined requests for interviews about his decision.

"He's never been big on goodbyes or hellos," his wife explained in an interview in their home in Holmby Hills, Calif. "He lets his work speak for himself."

Kasem's first No. 1 was "Mama Told Me Not to Come" by Three Dog Night. His last: "Second Chance," by Shinedown.

The music changed, but Kasem never did.

"I'm Casey Kasem," he said in his final sign-off. "Now, one more time, the words I've ended my show with since 1970: Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars."