The Infinite Dial

For a frightening number of radio people of a certain age, listening to Casey Kasem's "American Top 40" on the weekends was a gateway into the concept of radio programming, specifically interest in the national charts and the notion that there might be hits other than the ones that the local CHR station had chosen to offer. For those people, it was excitement enough that Premiere Radio Networks began syndicating vintage AT40s from the '70s and '80s.

But my chart junkie brethern no longer have to wait for the weekend. Premiere owner Clear Channel is nowrunning the AT40 shows from the '80s non-stop as one of its Clear Channel Format Lab offerings. At this writing, Casey is counting down the top 100 hits of 1986 and very earnestly explaining what a street busker is as a way of setting up Dire Straits' "Walk Of Life." And as has been said elsewhere about the reissued shows themselves, the "American Top 40 Classics" channel is also a good way to hear Kasem the way that listeners experienced him in the '70s and '80s--as the authority on music news and not just the guy railing at his staff about an ill-placed dedication.