OT: 80’s Countdown Show Memories

Just wondering if anyone here can help me with some very vague memories I have of a music countdown show (or shows) from the 80's. They definitely weren't from the Casey Kasem or Rick Dees shows. I believe it was a syndicated show, not a local countdown and it was in the Philadelphia area circa 1985-86.

One memory I have from 1985 is hearing the DJ talking about Hall & Oates' song "Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid" and he said something to the effect that the song had fallen 10 notches from #10 to #20, and "Ouch, Some Things ARE Better Left Unsaid". This couldn't have been from the Billboard, Cashbox or Radio & Records charts because the song didn't reach the Top 10 on any of them.

Another one I vaguely recall from 1986 is hearing a DJ saying that John Mellencamp's "R.O.C.K. In The USA" had fallen from #1 to #13 and I think I listened the next week and it had fallen to #27. The song didn't go to #1 on any of the three main charts at the time, so I'm wondering if there were any other music ranking charts at the time that were maybe not as well known, like the ones in Variety Magazine.

Unfortunately, those are the only details I can recall. I don't know the DJ's name or if I even heard him mention it, nor do I recall the name of the countdown show. It's also possible that it was two different DJ's and two different shows. I don't know if anyone here worked in radio in the Philadelphia area at that time, but I thought I'd ask just in case. Thank you for any help and information on this.

Also, I know Casey and Rick Dees' shows were based on Billboard and Radio & Records, respectively. But was there ever a countdown show based on the Cashbox charts?

The National Music Survey hosted by Dick Clark used the Cash Box chart.

Countdown America with John Leader used the Radio & Records chart (Dick Clark eventually took over that show).

I suspect the show you could be thinking of might be Rockin' America hosted by Scott Shannon. Not sure what source they
used, but his show was much more irreverent that any of the other shows (much more like the Rick Dees show).

Dan Ingram also had a syndicated countdown show in the
mid-ish 80s "Dan Ingram Satellite Survey" (which was
distributed on vinyl, not via satellite).

Paul Haney wrote: The National Music Survey hosted by Dick Clark used the Cash Box chart. Countdown America with John Leader used the Radio & Records chart (Dick Clark eventually took over that show). I suspect the show you could be thinking of might be Rockin' America hosted by Scott Shannon. Not sure what source they used, but his show was much more irreverent that any of the other shows (much more like the Rick Dees show).

"The National Music Survey" is a name I haven't heard since the 80's. I seem to recall a countdown with him as host early in 1984 and mentioning that Yes' "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" had moved into the #1 position. I imagine that must have been it, as the song was also #1 in Cashbox in January 1984 like it was in Billboard.

Countdown America with John Leader sounded like a possibility and I probably did hear it at some point, but if it used the Radio & Records chart as its source, it couldn't have been what I remember hearing. The Hall & Oates song didn't make the Top 10 on that chart and the John Mellancamp song didn't go to #1 on it, either.

"Rockin' America" sounds like a possibility, but if it was hosted by Scott Shannon, I probably would have remembered it since he also has a very distinct voice. Our local oldies station, 98.1, plays his "America's Greatest Hits" shows Saturday mornings from about 6 to 9 and his voice is the kind that most likely would have stuck in my memory.

IIRC, Top 30 USA with MG Kelly used the Radio & Records Adult Contemporary chart. That Mellencamp song wasn't a big AC hit.

Edited by Paul Haney