As I write this, I’m listening To “Make It With You” by Bread on the “70’s on 7” SiriusXM Channel – a song that Casey Kasem tells me was the #5 song this week in 1970, up 5 notches. I look it up, and it hits #1 on the week of August 22, 1970 after 11 weeks on the chart. One of my simple pleasures on the weekends is listening to vintage “American Top 40” shows on SiriusXM. As a child of the 70’s and 80’s, I grew up listening to Casey Kasem on AT40 and for a few years, the weekend 4-hour countdown was appointment listening.
The coolest thing about any song countdown is not the top 10 – it’s the bottom half of the countdown, where you have new songs climbing the charts and deep cuts stalling out.
SiriusXM 70’s on 7 airs AT40 every Saturday at 11am, Sunday at 8:30am and 11pm CT. The 70’s shows were originally 3 hours long, and SiriusXM airs them with no commercials, so it clocks in at around 2:25. Amazingly, that means in a typical show back then, there was 11-12 minutes of commercials an hour (!). Today’s radio stations give you 11-12 minutes of commercials every half-hour. This week’s show was from w/o July 25, 1970 – only the 4th show for AT40 after it debuted w/o July 4, 1970.
Now, I’m not the biggest fan of all 70’s rock music and I really only started to get into music in 1982-83, but I am thoroughly enjoying 1970’s AT40. I’m loving the deep cuts and obscure songs that I’ve never heard of before (hey, I was born in 1969) and are never played in regular rotation on the channel (my kingdom for a Rock channel with a gigantic playlist!). Also, the transition in styles from 60’s to 70’s and 70’s to 80’s – the early 70’s shows have some songs that sound like the 1960’s and some songs that are firmly 1970’s and the late 70’s shows have the 1980’s style music creeping in.
It would be great if every week, SiriusXM 70’s on 7 ran all 10 AT40’s, which would be 10.5 hours a day if they did 5 years each day. I’d also love to hear the 1980’s AT40’s, but the 80’s on 8 channel seems content to run VJ countdowns from the 80’s (not sure if that means MTV video lists, or what). The problem is that SiriusXM is licensing the show from iHeartMedia‘s Premiere Networks, who own the show and continue to sell the show to local stations. I’m sure SiriusXM is paying a hefty fee to run the show without any barter spots (Commercials sold by Premiere Networks), so it’s find for one show a week nostalgia, but running 10 shows a week might be cost-prohibitive. I would suggest that giving up the commercial-freeness and running the show just with the premiere barter spots would be worth it.
Still, I think Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 on SiriusXM’s 70’s on 7 channel is AWESOME!
Listen Saturdays 11am and Sundays 8:30am & 11pm CT
Here’s the AT40 countdown list from July 25, 1970:
40: Trying To Make A Fool Of Me – The Delphonics
39: Tell It All Brother – Kenny Rogers & The First Edition
38: Maybe – The Three Degrees
37: Steal Away – Johnny Taylor
OLDIE: Travelin’ Man – Rick Nelson
36: Go Back – Crabby Appleton
35: Mississippi – John Phillips
34: Check Out Your Mind – The Impressions
33: United We Stand – The Brotherhood Of Man
32: In The Summertime – Mongo Jerry
31: Love Land – Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
30: Westbound #9 – The Flaming Ember
29: Mississippi Queen – Mountain
28: Silver Bird – Mark Lindsey
27: Save The Country – Fifth Dimension
26: Why Can’t I Touch You – Ronnie Dyson
25: War – Edwin Starr
24: Lay A Little Lovin’ On Me – Robin Mcnamara
23: Get Ready – Rare Earth
OLDIE: Big Girls Don’t Cry – The Four Seasons
22: My Baby Loves Lovin’ – White Plains
21: The Long And Winding Road – The Beatles
20: I Just Can’t Help Believing – B.J. Thomas
19: A Song Of Joy – Miguel Rios
18: Ohio – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
17: The Wonder Of You – Elvis Presley
16: Teach Your Children – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
15: Are You Ready – Pacific Gas & Electric
OLDIE: Rock Around The Clock – Bill Haley & The Comets
14: Spill The Wine – War
13: Gimme Dat Ding – The Pipkins
12: Hitchin’ A Ride – Vanity Fair
11: Tighter & Tighter – Alive & Kicking
OLDIE: Macarthur Park – Richard Harris
10: Lay Down – Melanie
9: Signed, Sealed Delivered (I’m Yours) – Stevie Wonder
8: Ooh Child – The Stairsteps
7: Ride Captain Ride – Blues Image
6: Ball Of Confusion – The Temptations
5: Make It With You – Bread
4: The Love You Save – The Jackson Five
3: Band Of Gold – Freda Payne
2: Mama Told Me – Three Dog Night
1: Close To You – The Carpenters
