OT: 80’s Countdown Show Memories
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Topic: OT: 80’s Countdown Show Memories
Posted By: thecdguy
Subject: OT: 80’s Countdown Show Memories
Date Posted: 06 August 2020 at 8:05pm
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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? ------------- Dan In Philly |
Replies:
Posted By: sriv94
Date Posted: 06 August 2020 at 9:19pm
It did fall from 21 to 33 on the 5/18/85 Hot 100, so it still could've been uttered by Casey--just a little earlier than you thought. :) ------------- Doug --------------- All of the good signatures have been taken. |
thecdguy wrote:Posted By: Paul Haney
Date Posted: 07 August 2020 at 4:08am
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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). |
Posted By: thecdguy
Date Posted: 07 August 2020 at 4:57am
It definitely wasn't Casey's show. I would've remembered it because he had such a distinctive voice. Plus, Casey's show was based on Billboard and the Hall & Oates song only got as high as #18 there, so it couldn't have fallen from #10 to #20, like I remember hearing the DJ mention. ------------- Dan In Philly |
Posted By: Hykker
Date Posted: 07 August 2020 at 5:35am
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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). |
Posted By: RichM921
Date Posted: 07 August 2020 at 5:36am
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There was also "Top 30 USA" hosted by M.G. Kelly. I have one of the
shows from 1986 so the time frame would be right. |
Posted By: thecdguy
Date Posted: 07 August 2020 at 5:42am
"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. ------------- Dan In Philly |
Posted By: thecdguy
Date Posted: 07 August 2020 at 5:55am
That might be it! I listened to a clip of a Top 30 USA Countdown on YouTube and his voice seems the closest to what I remember. I'll do a little more looking around on Google to see if I can find any more information on him and that countdown. Dan Ingram is another one whose voice I've heard before. I probably did hear his countdown at some point, but M.G. Kelly is more likely the one I remember. Thanks for the help everyone! ------------- Dan In Philly |
Posted By: Paul Haney
Date Posted: 07 August 2020 at 9:31am
| IIRC, Top 30 USA with MG Kelly used the Radio & Records Adult Contemporary chart. That Mellencamp song wasn't a big AC hit. |
Posted By: thecdguy
Date Posted: 07 August 2020 at 10:27am
I was thinking maybe that's why they mentioned that the Hall & Oates song fell from 10 to 20. Maybe it peaked at #10 on R&R's AC Chart. I believe they also had an "AOR Chart" as well, so maybe that's the chart that was referred to for the Mellancamp song, but I can't imagine there being a countdown at the time for Album Oriented Rock. ------------- Dan In Philly |
Posted By: sriv94
Date Posted: 07 August 2020 at 12:19pm
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Wasn't R&R--5/3/85 CHR chart it went from 16 (peak) to 27, A/C chart it went from 15 to 21 (peaked at 13 two weeks before). ------------- Doug --------------- All of the good signatures have been taken. |
Posted By: Paul Haney
Date Posted: 07 August 2020 at 12:23pm
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"Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid" peaked at #13 on the R&R AC chart.
EDIT: See Doug beat me to it. :) |
Posted By: eric_a
Date Posted: 07 August 2020 at 3:28pm
Westwood One had a syndicated show called "Rock Week" with current AOR tracks, though I can't remember if it was structured as a countdown. But based on the descriptions, the snark sounds a lot like Scott Shannon or Dan Ingram. |
Posted By: Hykker
Date Posted: 08 August 2020 at 4:11am
I don't think it was still around by the mid 80s (AOR as a format was somewhat in decline by then), but there was a show called National Album Countdown in the late 70s. Not strictly rock, but featured cuts (not necessarily singles) from the top 30 LPs. A bit of Googling reveals that it was hosted by someone by the name of Humble Harv Miller. |
Posted By: Paul Haney
Date Posted: 08 August 2020 at 4:24am
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Humble Harve Miller was a pretty big name in the radio industry. He worked in Los Angeles for several years. He had quite
an interesting life, including a stint in prison for killing his cheating wife. I heard the National Album Countdown a few times over the years. IMO, not nearly as addicting as American Top 40. |
Posted By: Hykker
Date Posted: 08 August 2020 at 4:21pm
Now that you mention it, I do remember reading the story about him killing his wife. Being a lifelong east coast guy, wasn't as familiar with who's who on the west coast. Agree with NAC being one of those ideas that sounded better on paper than on the air. Way too many unfamiliar songs...the show often avoided hit singles in their countdown, but other than rock tracks on AOR stations, not many album cuts got airplay. |
Posted By: PopArchivist
Date Posted: 08 August 2020 at 8:46pm
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While we are on the topic, is there any archive for Casey Kasem's weekly radio countdowns or resource to hear them with music? Or are the youtube videos the only source one can find? ------------- Favorite two expressions to live by on this board: "You can't download vinyl" and "Not everything is available on CD." |
Posted By: RichM921
Date Posted: 08 August 2020 at 9:48pm
Only within the private collections of collectors (such as myself). From what I understand the rights holders strongly frown upon people posting them publicly. |
Posted By: dacs2000
Date Posted: 09 August 2020 at 1:48am
Yes, I can vouch for that I've been looking for years for good copies of AT40 shows, but several boards that discuss the Casey's AT40 strongly forbid the sharing, swapping, and downloading of actual programs. Someone did give me a heap of badly encoded mp3s of the shows, such as the joints (which happen every three to five minutes) are all horribly messed up, but getting good copies is close to impossible, unless you purchase them from the licensed operator, who I believe is Premier. |
Posted By: Paul Haney
Date Posted: 09 August 2020 at 4:48am
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You can hear some full shows on the Mixcloud website. However, they usually get taken down eventually. Still, people
keep trying to load them there. Same goes for YouTube. Some full shows stay up for awhile. I wish the online iHeart channel was better. They seem to repeat the same shows over and over again. What would be great is an on-demand channel, where you could pick and choose which shows to listen to. I'd pay for that in a heartbeat! |
Posted By: PopArchivist
Date Posted: 09 August 2020 at 10:47pm
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I didn't think they were that rare. I think being able to make cd's of Casey and the countdown and adding the true 45 versions would be awesome. I can dream... ------------- Favorite two expressions to live by on this board: "You can't download vinyl" and "Not everything is available on CD." |