AT40, September 18, 1982 [Part 4 of 8]

I recently celebrated a birthday and as a gift received a set of 4 LPs and cue sheets from American Top 40 program #823-12, which was intended for broadcast during the weekend of September 18-19, 1982.  We've already checked out the 90 minutes of the show (side 1A, side 1B and side 2A) and today we look at side 2B.

This side contains one of Casey's famous long distance dedications.  LDD segments became part of the program in 1978 when the show expanded from 3 hours to 4.  According to Rob Durkee in his book American Top 40: The Countdown of the Century, LDD was the most popular feature in AT40 history and was all Casey's idea.  On the August 26, 1978 program, the song "Desiree" by Neil Diamond became the first long distance dedication on AT40.  I have no doubt that all the letters were real, but they all sounded so similar I can only assume that they were heavily edited by the AT40 staff.

This half hour of the show also contains the answer to a listener's question letter (abbreviated "QL" on the cue sheets).  This feature began in 1971.  Casey teased this episode's QL near the end of the last half hour: a listener in Wisconsin wants to know how many groups are named after cities.  More than a dozen have reached the Top 40 and four have reached the top spot:  "a group named for Gotham, one named for Tinseltown, one for the Windy City, and one for a town on Saginaw Bay.  Details coming up."

Complete cue sheets for this episode are available here.  For reasons of time, AT40 would occasionally shorten songs by removing a chorus or verse, so with each song, I'll give a comparison of the single time to the approximate playing time the song received on AT40 that week. Each side includes 3 segments, which include Casey and music followed by national ads and space for local ads.

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(11:09)

Station mentions:

WHCG - Metter, Georgia
WDNH - Honesdale, Pennsylvania
1XA - Auckland, New Zealand

#26: "I Ran" by A Flock of Seagulls (peaked at #9): single length 3:32/AT40 playing time 3:32

Then Casey answers the question letter about groups named after cities (see above).  The QL was sent from Sue Ryan in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  The staff limited themselves only to groups that made the Top 40; there were 15, Casey mentions 5 by name: Boston, Orleans, the Detroit Emeralds, Brooklyn Bridge, the Atlanta Rhythm Section, "and 10 others."  Of those 10 others, four hit the top spot:

The Bay City Rollers - "Saturday Night" (1976)
The Hollywood Argyles - "Alley Oop"  (1960)
The Manhattans - "Kiss and Say Goodbye" (1976)
Chicago - "If You Leave Me Now" (1976) and "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" (1982)

Now, on with the countdown.

#25: "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts (peaked at #20): 3:24/3:38

LDD tease: "Coming up, a long distance dedication from a girl in Nebraska to someone who literally gave her a new lease on life."

This segment wraps with a 30 second Parker Bros. ad for the video game cartridge Frogger, followed by a 30 second ad for Chewels sugarless gum, followed by 60 seconds of time reserved for local ads.

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(10:01)

Casey tells us this next song is currently sitting at #2 on the country chart.

#24: "What's Forever For" by Michael Murphy (peaked at #19): 2:52/2:48

For program's first long distance dedication, Casey reads a letter from 19 year old Collette from Omaha, who had a kidney illness.  Collette's twin sister, Colleen, donated a kidney for transplant.  The transplant was successful, and Collette made the following dedication:

LDD: "Come and Get Your Love" by Redbone (peaked at #5 in 1974): 3:30/3:22

60 second ad for Frito Lay's $10,000 cash giveaway promoting single serve snacks, followed by a 60 second spot for the Oxy pimple medication line: Oxy5, Oxy10, and Oxy cover.  No local ads.

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(9:51)

"Radio plays 'em, record stores sell 'em, Billboard ranks 'em, and AT40 counts 'em down."

#23: "Hot in the City" by Billy Idol (peaked at #23): 3:30/3:13

Casey talks briefly about the US Festival held over Labor Day weekend.  Two of the acts at the 1982 US Festival also appeared at Woodstock in '69: the Grateful Dead and...

#22: "Hold On" by Santana (peaked at #15): 3:49/3:49

No national ads. Two minutes allotted for local ads and 10 seconds for station ID.  End of hour 2.

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