For many people my age, that was just a tagline from American Top 40 host Casey Kasem, but to me it was a mantra. After spending three years in West Berlin, Germany, I started to feel nostalgic for the USA (in as much as any 10 year old can feel nostalgic). Having just started to listen to the radio and discovering pop music, American Top 40 was a natural winner. Broadcast every weekend on Armed Forces Radio Network, The show quickly became my window to America- and mandatory listening every week. Every Sunday (I think it was Sunday- but it could have been Saturday) I remember sitting down for hours listening to the show- wondering what song would come next...
Based on the Billboard Hot 100, American Top 40 (or AT40 as it was nicknamed) was a syndicated radio show hosted by Casey Kasem (to some the voice of Shaggy on Scooby Doo, to others the voice of Super Friend, Robin). Each week, Casey would play "The 40 most popular songs in the country", starting at 40, and over the course of three hours, work his way down to Number 1. The show lasted well into the late '80s, when eventually Casey started his own countdown, and AT40 replaced him with Shadoe Stevens. I can't tell you much about Shadoe. Except that he spells Shadoe with an 'e'.
Discovering this show gave me the opportunity to reconnect with the country of my birth, having been away for a third of my life (once again, remember I was only 10). I learned that the most popular song in the country was a disco version of the Star Wars theme, by Meco- only to be devastated the next week when there was a new number 1-"You Light Up My Life". In my mind- being number 1 on AT40 meant that this truly was the number 1 song- Everybody must like it... -and- since it vanquished all other songs, Number 1 meant being THE MOST POPULAR SONG EVER. Since Debbie Boone's ballad stayed number 1 for ten weeks- my assumptions were reinforced. Obvioulsy, "You Light Up My Life" was the most popular song ever, and was never to be knocked off the top. Looking back, I can only imagine my mental trauma when the Bee Gee's "How Deep Is You Love" finally deposed Debbie- forcing me to re-evaluate all my musical tastes.
Being that far away from America, and having discovered this pop culture cheat sheet, I fell into the trap of letting this countdown dictate my musical tastes for a year, until I returned to the USA. Would I really have enjoyed "Keep it Comin' Love" if Casey hadn't told me it was number 2? I will never know. However, i do know I still turn up the volume when it comes on the radio today!
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