American Top 40: The Countdown of the Century

by Rob Durkee

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0028648951
• ISBN13: 9780028648958
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Schirmer Trade Books
• Length: 354 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

AT40 book review

A very interesting and highly informative account of AT40 from when it first got started in the 1970s till its "final" show in 1995. I particularly enjoyed the chapter "Dear Casey" about the Long Distance Dedication ( LDD ) which was AT40's most popular feature. The Top 100 year end charts and special show charts in the appendix also make good references.

Must Reading For Casey Kasem Radio Programmers & Listeners

If you have/had ANY connection to Top 40 radio during the 70s, 80s & 90s - from radio station manager to listener - "American Top 40: The Countdown Of The Century" is a book that you will enjoy. It is obvious that Rob Durkee spent a lot of time researching Casey Kasem's "American Top 40" radio program, and provides many insightful interviews, historical perspectives and details! As a longtime AT40 listener and collector of radio station copies of the program, I often find myself using the book as a point of reference. (I believe this book has fueled interest in collecting AT40 copies.) "American Top 40" has touched millions of radio listeners around the world, and Rob did an excellent job in capturing a true start-to-finish perspective about it.

accurate depition of the worlds most famous countdown

mr durkees book american top40 the countdown of the century is very entertaining reading for any fan of american top 40 .the information in the book is very accurate.mr durkee was a staff writer & chief statistician on american top 40 from 1989-1995.he interviewed several people who worked on american top 40.mr durkee talks about how casey kasem & shadoe stevens both got started in radio .the book also list all the special coundowns & year end coundowns of american top 40.it aslo gives an insdie view on how a coundown show is produced .every sunday i used to listien to american top 40 & the book has brought back many great memories for me .i recomend this book to any fan of american top 40 it will be enjoyable reading

Brings back memories...

While growing up I, like thousands, if not millions of others spent 4 hours glued to my radio every weekend listening to American Top 40. When the show left American airwaves in 1994, I really felt a profound sense of loss. With this book, I felt like I gained a part of it back. Durkee does a wonderful job telling the story of AT40 and all of the colorful characters involved. It also tells the early story of Casey Kasem and how he became involved in this american tradition. Durkee also speaks of how the show came to it's tragic end, and rebirth in the mid and late 90's. If you are a fan of this show and spent the weekends of your youth glued to the radio because of it, I recommend you get this book. It also contains a lot of different charts in the appendix that will hold great interest to the chart fanatic.

American Top 40: The Countdown Of The Century

Next July marks the 30th anniversary of American Top 40. Like millions, I grew up listening to AT 40. I recently heard that Casey was back doing the original AT 40 show. I developed a renewed interest and started browsing the web for AT 40 history, etc. I stumbled on this book, "American Top 40: The Countdown Of The Century" by Rob Durkee. After reading this book, I must tip my hat to the author. Mr. Durkee gives the reader a behind the scenes look at the history of this show from the first show, w/ Casey Kasem to Shadoe Stevens, to the demise and dramatic rebirth of the show. AMAZING! This book will appeal to the chart fanatic, the historian, and anyone who enjoyed spending their Sunday mornings listening to Casey. The author discusses, in depth, the long distance dedication, as well as other popular features of the show. What is also delightful is his listing of what the number one songs were at the time various events were transpiring with the show, (As well as the lists of charts at the end of the book). I highly recommend this book as I enjoyed reading this cover to cover. In fact, it is time for this book to be made into a movie.