His Own Brand

To everyone who goes back a few decades either being in radio or loyally listening to it, the news of Casey Kasem's passing at 82  was a big deal.   My first memories of this American Top 40 countdown king go back to 1971 and Sunday nights on my favorite station at the time: WDRC-FM/Hartford.  I was in awe when I made it onto the "Big D" in 1993 and Sunday night became my first regular show time on this heritage station.   This used to be Casey Kasem's slot!    Of course, we played Baby Boomer oldies by the time I got to WDRC, and Casey had moved to a more contemporary station in the market.   

Radio had changed by then to the point where no one station could be a "catch all" for widely divergent music tastes the way Top 40 had been from the late fifties through early seventies.   Casey's show eventually adjusted to changing times with a more adult contemporary "non-rap" version of his countdown with a narrower playlist based primarily on station airplay instead of overall record sales.   Even with this evolution, Casey was still Casey.    There was no mistaking him for anyone else, and he consistently delivered what listeners expected of him right up to his last show.   In an interview, Casey himself pointed to another way that radio had changed.   With a smaller farm system for a training ground, there was less room for newcomers to "make their mistakes" and work on their craft.   With the exception of his hilarious outtakes that are infamous in our business (partly because we identify with them too), this radio icon made few missteps.   When I was at WBMW/New London in 2009 and Casey Kasem ended his show, I also offered to cover that Saturday morning time slot.   I wasn't going to do a countdown.   That act had already been done by the best.