Many of you may never have heard of Casey Kasem but to those of us in the radio and entertainment business he is a big deal. Before a man by the name of Ryan Seacrest, we had Casey Kasem American Top 40
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Nowadays, turning on your radio and hearing a countdown is normal. It was made normal by a man named Casey Kasem. He has done some form of American Top 40, American Top 20 and American Top 10 dating back to 1970. He voiced many commercials and was the voice of Shaggy from Scooby Doo.
For me, Casey Kasem holds a personal place in my heart. I never met him but I feel like I knew him. I am an American born kid to 2 Trinidadian parents. When times were hard in the 1980’s we moved back to Trinidad. Trinidad today is a much more advanced and progressive country but at the time I was there it was not. No cable TV. ONE TV station for an entire country to watch. TV was controlled by the government and only on for a few hours a day. You went to school all year round and all day!. You got one month for Christmas, one month for Easter and one month for Summer.
Every Saturday and Sunday Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 aired on the radio. They aired 20 songs on Saturday and finished it on Sunday. This was my salvation-my connection back to a Country I wasn’t sure I was ever returning to. His countdown was my gateway to happiness. He had a feature where he read a letter called “The Long Distance Dedication” He read a letter from someone in one part of the country who was dedicating a song to someone in another part. They were always so emotional that you couldn’t help but shed a tear. I wanted to grow up and have that type of influence over a captive audience.
In his last years, Casey’s legacy has been clouded by his wife and kids in court fighting over who has rights to him. He was not able to speak due to Lewy Body Dementia. I hope Casey is able to rest in peace. A man who has influenced so many deserves at least that.
