Casey Kasem dead at 82
By: Anomaly100, 6/15/2014, 4:13:16 AM
A family spokesman confirms Casey Kasem has died at 82 years old. Kasem had reportedly suffered from Lewy body disease, a form of progressive dementia, for several years. The famous radio pioneer became the subject of an ugly family battle when his daughter Kerri and his two other adult children from his first marriage sued his second wife Jean in an attempt to take over his care.
The Daily News reports:
His name still made news because over 40-plus years on the radio, Casey Kasem set the benchmark for contemporary countdown shows.
He would play the top 10, 20 or 40 songs, interspersed with upbeat patter and stories about the artists or records.He regularly read listener dedications and never apologized for a sentimental style that often dipped into cornball. He ended each show by telling listeners, “Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.”
He had the tone of an enthusiastic conversationalist whose appreciation for the music transcended the traditionally teenage Top 40 audience.
“A lot of my fans,” he said in a 1998 interview, “are people who have grown up and don’t have as much time to listen to the radio, but still want to keep up with what’s popular. A lot of shows don’t talk to them anymore, but I do.”“Casey was one in a trillion,” said Rob Durkee, author of the book “American Top 40.” “What made him so great was the way he talked to the listeners. When he told a story, you’d swear he was sitting right next to you.
Kasem ended every show with, “Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.” “I just didn’t want to say goodbye. Every station I was at, I never said goodbye,” he later explained to the New York Times of his famous sign-off. “I don’t know why.”
Rest in peace.
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