Radio Show: AMERICAN TOP 40 w/SHADOE STEVENS 8/26/90 PRINCE, HEART, AFTER 7,TIME

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HI FELLOW COLLECTORS, PLEASE NOTE THAT IF YOU BUY ANY FIVE ITEMS AT ONE TIME FROM MY STORE, THE SIXTH OF EQUAL OR LESSER VALUE IS ABSOLUTELY FREE.  JUST EMAIL ME THROUGH THE EBAY MESSAGE SYSTEM WITH YOUR CHOICE AND I WILL INCLUDE IT FOR YOU IN YOUR PACKAGE.

ALSO I ONLY CHARGE ONE $2.99 SHIPPING CHARGE NO MATTER HOW MANY YOU BUY BUT IF YOU BUY FIVE OR MORE, I SHIP FOR FREE.

SO HERE IS THE BIG QUESTION:  WHAT IS A RADIO SHOW?  WHY COLLECT THEM?  WHERE DO THEY COME FROM?

  Well, those are good questions, especially if you have never known of them.

 Radio Shows are syndicated productions by one of several large and small distributors who supply broadcast product to radio stations normally during weekends when the usual air personalities have a break. 

 Many air on Saturday or Sunday evenings or during overnight segments.  They often feature some of the best known voices for their genre from across the country thus the Dick Clark's and Casey Kasem's and Rick Dees and Dick Bartley and so many others. 

 People collect them for various reasons.  

Some just collect the series because they like it and want them all. 

 Some collect their favorite artists or genre of music.  Rather than an album by the artist or a compilation bought at Wal Mart or downloaded through iTunes or wherever, they have a unique presentation of their favorite artist or music not available anywhere else and always with dj presentations which were very entertaining. 

 Some collect interviews with their favorite artists as most shows had interview segments.  

Some collect commercials especially old car commercials but certainly not limited to only those. 

 AND, these shows are in limited quantity.  

They were pressed just for syndicated stations in the United States.  Some of the more popular shows may have as many as a few hundred of each week's show that survived but think about it.  A few hundred for some 200 million Americans and millions of overseas collectors who look for unique presentations of their favorite artists or form of music is about as rare as rare can be.

 AND they are increasingly hard to find. 

 They were first distributed on reel to reel tape if the show goes back that far into the 60's, then later on lp, later on CD and even later (after 2000 for most shows) on CDR.  Now they are not available at all to collectors since they are distributed by digital download much like you get your music from iTunes. 

These shows become rarer and rarer every day because the people who buy them hold on to them and the people who sell them, like me, are running out of them.  My best contact for these shows is running very low and when he is gone I will be at the mercy of finding a good deal here and there but never from a regular source.  The shows that you get now and hold on to will never decrease in value and only increase. 

  I have prided myself since the start to provide the best and fairest cost with a no holds barred guarantee that you will be happy or I refund your money.  I sell them for near what I bought them for.  I give volume discounts and discount postage always.  As the postal service increases their rates, my shipping rates over the years has decreased. 

 And, I have one of the biggest radio show libraries in the world consisting of over ten thousand shows not even listed yet, so many that I don't even know all that I have and am sometimes amazed when I go to look for one show and find another that I did not realize I had.

  Finally, it is Americana at its best. 

 Whether the show be from the 60's or 2000's, rock, countdown, oldies, country, classical, religious, jazz or big band, it is unique and home grown.  And you just can't find them anywhere. 

 Even record stores that still exist will rarely have any.  Radio shows are wonderful representations of the real golden age of radio at least music wise.

 And every  one you buy is  an original, not a copy, not a remake - all are limited editions in the hundreds at most and most much less.  Once you get hooked, like me, it is a love affair for life!  Welcome to the Club!

OK guys and gals, in this outing, A RARE TREAT!!!! 

  Picture yourself back in the 80's AND BEYOND.  You were glued to your walkman  listening to the top 40 presented by your local radio station.  You had that thing glued to your ear or connected with the little earphone jack that immediately broke.

  Your local dj was great.  He knew the music.  He had the gift of talking which rarely occurs anymore.  You loved the presentation of the music as much as the sounds.  You liked the station jingles.  And on weekends when the local dj's had off, you listened to either taped shows they did during the week to be played on the weekend or a syndicated radio show featuring one of the greats. 

 It was the golden age of rock.  Music was king and the dj's were just as popular.  You can relive those days with a dynamite countdown series like this with one of radio's best and most enduring dj's. 

  OK guys and gals, many of you remember my great AMERICAN TOP 40 SHOWS WITH SHADOE STEVENS  shows.

  Well, they are back, at least a few of them.  That's all I have left which is a shame but they are all safely in collectors hands who will love them and enjoy them.  These are the last.  I have not seen one advertised on ebay in forever so if you are in the market for a few new shows, you'll want to grab one.  I will be listing them a few at a time until they are gone.

 Shadoe Stevens (born Terry Ingstad; November 3, 1947) is an American radio host, voiceover actor, and television personality. He was the host of American Top 40 from 1988 to 1995.     Stevens attended and graduated from the University of North Dakota, where he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity. Majoring in Commercial Art and Radio/TV Journalism at the University of North Dakota and the University of Arizona, Stevens put himself through college working in radio at KILO in Grand Forks, North Dakota; KQWB in Fargo, North Dakota; and KIKX in Tucson, Arizona, where he quickly became the most popular DJ in town, under the on-air persona of "Jefferson K." Following college, he joined the Bill Drake-formatted station WRKO in Boston during the winter of 1968-69. At WRKO, he worked the early evening (6-9 p.m.) shift during the station's peak in popularity. In the spring of 1970, he moved to Southern California to another Drake outlet, KHJ, as one of the last true "Boss Jocks", where his big baritone and energetic enthusiasm soon gained a following. Before long, he gained significant popularity on radio and became the announcer and sidekick on the nationally syndicated television series The Steve Allen Show.Stevens later went on to become a radio personality and program director at KRLA in Los Angeles. Attaining status as a programmer, he was hired to make a success of KMET-FM and then to create the programming for a new radio format on a new Los Angeles station, KROQ-FM ("K-Rock"), where he remained for five years.

In 1988, Kasem left the show over contract concerns with ABC. Industry trade paper Billboard magazine reported that the main disputes between Kasem and Watermark/ABC were over his salary, because of declining ratings and a smaller group of stations airing the show. Casey's final AT40 show, the 940th in the series, aired on August 6, 1988. At no point during that final show did Kasem ever let on that any changes were afoot. However, he closed the show by telling the audience to catch him on the television show America's Top 10 and did not plug the following week's AT40 (since December 19, 1987, he had always plugged both during his signoff).

Kasem was replaced by Shadoe Stevens, whose first American Top 40 show aired on August 13, 1988, on 1,014 stations   To introduce Stevens to the audience, a two-minute cold open was recorded to start the show with Stevens making his way to the studio through the show's fictitious hall of history; Kasem was mentioned during the course of the open, as a "giant marble statue" of him helped guide Stevens to the studio. The change did not do much to stem the decline as loyal listeners did not take to Stevens as they had to Kasem.

To further complicate matters, Kasem returned to radio the following January as Westwood One signed him to a contract. On January 21, 1989, Kasem became a competitor to the show he helped launch when Westwood One premiered Casey's Top 40, which used the weekly chart survey published by Radio & Records instead of the Billboard chart AT40 was still using. Many of the stations airing AT40 dropped it in favor of Casey's Top 40, causing another significant drop in listenership.

In an attempt to win back an audience, AT40 tried new features, including interview clips, music news, top 5 flashbacks, and previews of upcoming chart hits (called the "AT40 Sneek Peek"  . It also stopped using the Hot 100 chart, switching first to the Hot 100 Airplay chart and finally to the Mainstream Top 40 chart. Later still, the countdown would use what was called a "No Nuttin'" gimmick that drew criticism; at various points of the show, a song  would start immediately after the jingle for its position on the chart was played and Stevens would not offer any commentary until it concluded.

ABC kept American Top 40 in its syndication lineup despite the continued lack of improvement in ratings, but in 1994 the network finally decided to look elsewhere. ABC announced it would be acquiring the Rick Dees Weekly Top 40, which was using the same charts that Casey's Top 40 was, and that they would no longer carry American Top 40  as a result. The final AT40 for ABC aired on July 9, 1994, five days after its twenty-fourth anniversary. Radio Express, founded by original show creator Tom Rounds, kept AT40 in production following the move by ABC as the program was still carried in foreign markets.] It was under Radio Express that the show finally came to an end nearly seven months later in the remaining markets that were carrying it, which by this point consisted entirely of overseas affiliates.

The very last original AT40 aired on January 28, 1995, and it ended with an extended last segment. As usual, the #2 song on the chart led it off; that song was "Another Night" by Real McCoy, which had been the #1 song one week earlier. Stevens then took a moment to thank the listeners for their support over the previous twenty-four plus years and played one last Long Distance Dedication, sent by him to the fans. After going into depth about his potential choices, Stevens revealed his selection to be "(So Tired of Standing Still We Got to) Move On" by James Brown. Stevens then gave a rundown of how many songs had been played over the series' entire run to that point, with a final total of 552 different chart toppers, including the one he was about to play as it returned to the top of the chart that week: "On Bended Knee" by Boyz II Men. As Stevens then read the credits and signed off for the final time, he played one final song. Perhaps appropriately, considering the circumstances, the song was "Happy Trails".

 In retrospect, many have faulted ABC for cancelling the show.  Its overseas audience was enormous and the network could have sustained the show on that audience while attempting to rebuild the US base.  It was also carried all over the world on the American Forces Radio and Television Network.  Although the competition between Rick Dees, Casey Kasem and Shadoe was hot and heavy, Shadoe was always a big favorite and the AT40 brand was the gold standard.

As a collector and seller, even given that Casey shows can only be sold on ebay through limited year periods, I would note that Shadoe shows have always been better sellers.

If you are among the minority who have never heard one, give it a try and see what you think.  Otherwise you already know what I am talking about.  And this is one show that is highly sought by overseas collectors because of his imprint there.

THIS SHOW AIRED ON AUGUST 26, 1990 AND IS SHOW #90-34. 

THE SHOW CONTENTS CAN BE SEEN ON THE CUE SHEETS IN THE LISTING PICTURE

    This is the original show sent for airing.  It is NOT an unauthorized copy but the Real McCoy!!!  I personally guarantee that every radio show that I sell is the original show sent to stations. 

   Stations could use the show anytime during that weekend.  Most then threw it away because it was time dated with the national commercials and could never be played on the air again.  However, some stations saved them and then  those few ended up available to us all to enjoy. 

 You are truly buying a  show that will only increase in value and I am selling them at a price very close to what I paid for it. 

 The show comes with its original national commercials.    Some people buy these shows for their commercial collections! 

Remember that this and all the radio music shows that you see on eBay are not just about the music - the music can be found anywhere.  It is the mixture of great music and great announcing that makes it so entertaining. 

 As well, it is a piece of radio and music  history.  You just aren't going to find these shows around very much longer as everything is now digitized and downloaded for play and shows are no longer sent out on CD's.

 Think of what they will be worth in a few years!  (IF you wanted to sell.)  I am selling to share with other music lovers what I was able to get at a reasonable price.  

  It is a great show and would be a valuable addition to your collection. 

 As always, for all buyers, I charge only shipping on the first show you buy so the more you buy the more money you will save. (International buyers pay an additional $8 for each additional MULTI LP shows only)

  Good Luck and God Bless You.