I know, this isn't in line with KAAY, but it IS a significant event! Today, in 1941, there were several things happening with television:
-Commercial TV was authorized by the Federal Communications Commission.
-The world's first legal TV commercial, a 10-second spot, paid for by Bulova Watches, aired at 2:29 PM over WNBT (now WNBC) New York. It displayed a clock superimposed over the U.S.A. with a voice-over: "America runs on Bulova time."
-NBC television was launched.
-The game show "Truth or Consequences" was simulcast on radio and TV, sponsored by Ivory Soap, as a "one-off special", (whatever that means....)
Boy, times have changed, haven't they?
This weekend marks the 40th anniversary of American Top 40. Casey Kasem started counting them down July 4th weekend 1970. Mama Told Me Not To Come by Three Dog Night was at #1 that week. Here is how AT 40 has transformed over the years. Through the '70 it was picked up on hundreds of radio stations around the world.
ReplyDeleteIn Oct. 1978, the program went from three to four hours. That gave enough time for the long distance dedications and AT 40 extras.
In 1982, Water Mark Inc. merged with ABC radio.
In early Aug. 1988, Casey left AT 40 because of a dispute with ABC Radio. Shadoe Stevens took over the countdown when Casey left. Casey Kasem started his own top 40 countdown within a year.
Stations then started pulling American Top 40.
In Jan. 1995, ABC Radio pulled the plug on AT 40.
In Mar. 1998, Premier Radio Networks resurrected AT 40 and put Casey Kasem back at the helm. He counted them down until early 2004. Ryan Seacrest took over after that and still hosts the show.
I decided to post this because AT 40 is a huge part of radio history. The 70's countdowns can be heard on Sirius/XM 70's on 7 on the weekends.
Premier Radio also syndicates the old AT 40 shows from the 70's and 80's on radio stations across the country.