• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

American Top 40 and Other Countdown Shows

J

JonathanGabel

Over this weekend at www.musicradio77.com the main page featured about Dan Ingram and his one-time countdown show called Dan Ingram's Top 40 Satellite Survey. According to this website it ran from April 1984 to December 1986. It got me thinking of the other countdown shows including the original and my personal favorite:

American Top 40 (1970-1988 and then again since 1998) - The original countdown show.
Weekly Top 40 - Created and hosted by Rick Dees since 1983.
Dick Clark's National Music Survey - I believe this CHR countdown show was on from 1981 to 1986 and then the show changed to Adult Contemporary. I don't know when he exactly ended his show.
Scott Shannon's Rockin' American Top 30 Countdown - He did this show from 1984 to 1991. He had a different name of this countdown show by 1991 before he ended this show for good.
Casey's Top 40 - 1989 to 1998 - We know the story behind that one like AT40.
National Album Countdown - Circa 1976 to Circa 1985. Might have aired more on AOR stations than CHR stations.
I also read that Dave Sholin once had his own countdown show in the late 1980's but do not know off hand.
Top 30 Hitlist - That was from the 1990's.

I hope you all read my list rather carefully. You can now share your comments, thoughts, the show's own timeline, and any other posts to discuss here.

Seasons Greetings To You All!
 
Countdown America was hosted at one time or another by both Dick Clark and John Leader. Can't remember who hosted it first, but I think Leader did. And like Rick Dees, it was based off of the Radio & Records magazine surveys.

I remember the CHR station in the town where I grew up carrying both the Leader/Clark program AND AT40/Casey's Top 40 EVERY weekend! A lot of countdowns on that station every weekend! And if I remember correctly, they reaired during overnight hours on the weekends! A look at their website shows that they still carry AT40 and the Weekly Top 40.
 
Dick Clark's AC rendition of the show was still running in 1994. I rmember hearing "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by the Bee Gees that year on his show.

The same company that produced Countdown America with John Leader (starting in 1993), also produced two countdown shows prior to that. Up until the end of 1981, Mark Eliiot of Disney movie trailer voiceover fame, hosted "The Weekly Top 30" (which used R&R). Ditto for the followup show that aired during 1982, by none other than my voice "hero" and "god" (lol) Charlie Van Dyke/ He hosted "Weekly Music Magazine".
 
Er, make that 1983 when John started with Countdown America...lol
 
Didn't "Flashback" host Bill St. James take over Dick Clark's National Music Survey at some point?

Also, I think NMS was both AC and CHR for a time, as did Casey Kasem.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.
Back
Top Bottom