Casey Kasem Counts Down Final Radio Show After 39 Years

LOS ANGELES — Casey Kasem has done his final countdown.

The 77-year-old DJ told "American Top 20" listeners across the country Saturday that the program would be his last.

Kasem launched his weekly countdown of the nation's most popular songs, the "American Top 40," on July 4, 1970. Ryan Seacrest took over the show in 2004, and Kasem went on to host two syndicated spinoffs, the "American Top 20" and "American Top 10."

Kasem said he "loved every minute" of his broadcasting career, but that he was leaving the show to "free up time I need to focus on myriad other projects."

Comments

[FakeBertha]

Casey's top Foooorty,
i remember enjoying his countdown on some fm station in Kampala in 1996

used to be beautiful.

[d00derman]

keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars!

[snork]

Bizarre, I could have sworn he died about a decade back... and it was an end of an era and all.

[LMPE]

I didn't know that he's still around. I knew that he provided Shaggy's voice, and his radio show appeared in the 1976 comedy "The Gumball Rally".

[BarryOB]

I remember a very handsome young Casey hosting a dance show on LA's KTLA in the early or mid sixties.

[RegularEinstein]

Like, Casey is retiring Scooby? Zoiks!!!

[DaOne]

I hope he loses it on his final show like he did here......­classic Casey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDYK2H0ldbo

[neesy08]

Casey, I did not realize your show was still on. I remember listening to your program faithfully every weekend and actually writing down which sogs were where on the list!
The part I use to like were the letters you read aloud that requested songs for a certain indivdual.

[voltage356]

Love you Casey!

[Dissident Dexter]

Congrats on being a big part of my childhood and the one Arab-American that no one was ever afraid of!

[HarlemFreeThought]

Job well done "Shaggy"!

[lukebenward]

I can't believe the dude's 77!!!!!!! Wow. Looks damn awesome. Best thing in the world would have been doing voice-overs for cartoons in the free-lovin' late-'60's. :-)

[SayWhatYouWill]

Life is too short.