AT40, September 18, 1982 [Part 8 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 examined 3½ hours of the show, click below to see those breakdowns:

Disc 1: 1A/4B
Disc 2: 2A/3B
Disc 3: 3A/1B
Disc 4: 4A/2B

Today we complete the show with side 4B.  This has been a fun ride.

Other than Casey, the main reason I listened to AT40 was to hear songs that weren't played on local radio.  These tunes usually appeared (and often peaked) in the first two hours of the countdown, so if I had to choose a portion to listen to, I always picked the first part of the show.  Listening to this episode, here are the songs which I don't remember hearing on my radio in 1982:

#38 - "Oh Julie" by Barry Manilow
#37 - "Holdin' On" by Tané Cain
#31 - "Voyeur" by Kim Carnes
#29 - "Jump To It" by Aretha Franklin
#20 - "Let Me Tickle Your Fancy" by Jermaine Jackson

So for whatever reason, those songs weren't played much on the stations I listened to.

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.

A quick note on the cue sheets: you may have noticed that following each song title is an A or B in parentheses.  I had no idea what that meant, so I contacted AT40 expert Shannon Lynn over at Charis Music Group.  In an email, Shannon explained: "It took me FOREVER to figure out what those were but it's the songwriting royalty clearinghouses. ASCAP, BMI and SESAC."  So there ya go.  Radios had to pay royalties on the AT40 songs they played, so this was an effort to help the station personnel send the royalties to the proper organization.  (This humble writer has been a member of ASCAP since 1996 and I can tell you from experience that is a first-rate organization.)

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(10:06)

After introducing himself, Casey tells us that this next song drops a notch this week.

#6: "Even the Nights are Better" by Air Supply (peaked at #5): single length 3:46/AT40 playing time 3:46

"The numbers get smaller and the hits get bigger."  This next song is Melissa Manchester's seventh Top 40 hit and her first in the top 5.

#5: "You Should Hear How She Talks About You" by Melissa Manchester (peaked at #5): 3:58/3:50

The 30 second ad for the Frogger video game cartridge gets another playing, followed by the 30 second spot for sugarless Chewels gum, followed by 60 seconds of time reserved for local ads.

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(10:36)

Station mentions: "American Top 40 is heard in the fifty states and around the world every week on great radio stations like:"

KCRV AM & FM - Caruthersville, Missouri
KAGO - Klamath Falls, Oregon
Armed Forces Radio - Clear, Alaska

John Cougar is the only artist with two songs in this week's countdown, and both songs are in the top 10.

#4: "Jack and Diane" by John Cougar (peaked at #1): 4:16/4:00

Casey takes a look at what's at the top of the other Billboard charts this week:

#1 album: American Fool by John Cougar
#1 country single: "She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)" by Jerry Reed
#1 soul single:  "Jump to It" by Aretha Franklin

#3: "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor (peaked at #1): 3:45/3:38

Tease: "There's a seven man band in the survey who started out under the wing of a guardian angel: a record producer who brought them to Hollywood, set them up in a house, bought their groceries, and told them to just write and rehearse their music. Details, and this group's second number one smash, are coming up."

The 60 second ad for Frito Lay single serve snacks repeats as does the 60 second spot for the Oxy line of acne medication.  No time allotted for local ads.

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(11:22)

Casey recaps the recent chart positions of the #2 song: #3 for four weeks, then up to #1, then back down to #3, and back up to #2 this week.  (Spoiler alert: it would return to the top spot the next week)

#2: "Abracadabra" by the Steve Miller Band  (peaked at #1): 3:35/3:33

Casey tells the story, dating back to the late '60s, of a group that was discovered by producer James Guercio and sent to Hollywood to work on their music.  The band took Guercio up on his offer, recorded their first album, had some chart success, shortened their name from Chicago Transit Authority, then had twenty-two Top 40 hits, thirteen in the top ten, and a #1 song in 1976, "If You Leave Me Now."  All thanks to their guardian angel.  This week, the band has their second number one hit (not mentioned by Casey, but in a touch of irony, this #1 single was produced by David Foster, not "guardian angel" James Guercio).

[Timpani roll]  "For the second week in a row, the number one song in the land is..."

#1: "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" by Chicago: 3:42/3:42

In his backsell, Casey mentions that "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" is from the movie Summer Lovers, which was news to me as I've never seen that particular flick.

Casey wraps up the show with credits for Billboard magazine and the AT40 staff before saying his famous closing catchphrase: "Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars."

After Casey signs off, there's a brief promo announcement ("American Top 40 has been brought to you by Frito Lay single serve snacks"), followed by a full minute of AT40 theme.

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

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