Casey's Top 40
| Genre | Music chart show |
|---|---|
| Running time | 4 hrs. (including commercials) 3hrs. + 15 min. (w/out commercials) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Syndicates | Westwood One |
| Hosted by |
Casey Kasem various guest hosts |
| Created by | Casey Kasem; Don Bustany |
| Produced by | Bert Kleinman (original); Lorre Crimi |
| Executive producer(s) | Norman Pattiz |
| Original release | January 21, 1989 – March 21, 1998 |
Casey's Top 40 was a syndicated radio music program that was distributed by the Westwood One radio network. The show was a vehicle for then-former American Top 40 host and co-creator Casey Kasem and ran for over nine years. Like Kasem's prior show, Casey's Top 40 aired on weekends and was a countdown of the forty biggest hits of the week on the popular music chart.
In January 1988, Kasem was entering the final year of a seven year contract with syndicator ABC Watermark to host American Top 40 and the sides were unable to strike an agreement for a renewal. On February 9, ABC Watermark announced that, due to the impasse, they would begin searching for a replacement.
Westwood One, in the meantime, began aggressively pursuing Kasem and offered him a five year contract worth triple the money per year that ABC Watermark was currently paying. Kasem signed a five year contract to join their network and in April 1988, both sides made it official. Shadoe Stevens was named Kasem's replacement the following month and on August 6, 1988, Stevens debuted as host of AT40.
Although he had left his former employer, Kasem's contract with ABC Watermark was in force until the end of the year and thus he could not resume hosting duties until early 1989. In the interim period between Kasem's signing and debut, Westwood One made a significant effort to promote his signing with the network. This included a "Westwood One Survival Kit" that was sent to affiliates. Included in the package was a button with "Casey in '89" on it, a pin with the premiere date of the show on it, and a flashlight they called a "Shadow Simulator", perhaps taking a shot at Shadoe Stevens.
Casey's Top 40 premiered on the weekend of January 21, 1989 on stations from coast to coast and overseas. The initial list of affiliates included several former American Top 40 stations, which dropped the show when word came that Kasem was returning to radio.
As on AT40, Kasem would require substitute hosts from time to time. In the early years of the show the role was filled by voice over artist Mark Elliot, who had also been one of many substitutes for Kasem on AT40. From 1993 on, Kasem's sub was former Los Angeles DJ David Perry.
Casey's Top 40 was similar to Kasem's old AT40 show featuring Kasem's trademark voice, teasers, and trivia on the songs and artists (including the "stretch" stories). However, while American Top 40 had always used the Billboard Hot 100 as its source, Casey's Top 40 used the Contemporary hit radio/Pop survey that was published every week by Westwood One's then-subsidiary Radio & Records. The difference between these two charts was that the Hot 100 used record sales as one of its determining values while Radio & Records based its survey solely on airplay. AT40 would eventually follow the lead of Casey's Top 40 and move to using airplay charts to determine their weekly rankings, switching first to the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart and then to its Mainstream Top 40 chart.
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