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American Top 40 Ad From Summer 1970

From Dean Y – Hello Mr. Pop. Your site says Casey Kasem had the first successful national pop countdown show with “American Top 40.” How was this show marketed? Did they have a logo? What year did Kasem leave the show?

Mr. Pop History –
Great questions! You’re putting me to work here. OK – here goes. Launched in July 1970,  “American Top-40” was the biggie – for years. Others tried, but it wasn’t until around 1984 that a whole round of national countdown shows hit the airwaves with folks such as Rick Dees, Scott Shannon, John Leader, Dan Ingram and a few others. All of a sudden, these shows began to compete fiercely with AT-40. It was amazing. Some stations carried 3 or 4 of these shows and you’d hear them back-to-back on weekends. It was the second golden-age of top-40 and the time was right for these new shows with these high-profile DJ’s. But, make no mistake – all were influenced by, and used the AT-40 template. 

Casey Kasem left AT-40 in 1988 – after 18 years. Apparently, rival Westwood One wanted Kasem and offered more money. Shadow Stevens then took-over “AT-40” and today, it’s helmed by Ryan Seacrest    

American Top-40 used the same logo for years. Here’s an ad from the summer of 1970, just after it debuted on seven radio stations. “AT-40” was originally sold to radio stations on a cash basis, with stations retaining all the advertising minutes in each hour. During the early 1980’s, “AT-40” was sold to national sponsors and subsequently, dropped the invoicing.

Come back soon, as I answer, to the best of my knowledge, another one of your pop history/culture questions.