Top 48 Kasem Quotes
#1. On 'American Top 40' the Kasem voice soared and swooped, like an expert aural acrobat, through promos, jingles and dedications, usually rising to a dramatic peak for the top-selling song of the week.
Richard Corliss
#2. Casey Kasem not only played the music of the stars, he also reached the sunniest-sounding celebrity on his very own. Listening to him on the radio, you could hear America smiling.
Richard Corliss
#3. I think I get a lot of ideas from when I was a kid, listening to Casey Kasem's 'American Top 40.'
Sufjan Stevens
#4. With Ed Wood, it was this sort of blending of Ronald Reagan, the Tin Man from 'The Wizard of Oz,' and Casey Kasem.
Johnny Depp
#5. Anytime in radio that you can reach somebody on an emotional level, you're really connecting.
Casey Kasem
#6. Because of my background in theater and radio acting, I knew that I could make a living as an actor.
Casey Kasem
#7. Hosting various versions of my countdown program has kept me extremely busy, and I loved every minute of it.
Casey Kasem
#8. But otherwise, music is about a beat and a message.
Casey Kasem
#9. Success doesn't happen in a vacuum. You're only as good as the people you work with and the people you work for.
Casey Kasem
#10. When I first heard rap, I wasn't quick to be critical. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but I had a feeling it was a reflection of what's been happening in the ghetto.
Casey Kasem
#11. For years everyone looked toward the demise of radio when television came along. Before that, they thought talking movies might eliminate radio as well. But radio just keeps getting stronger.
Casey Kasem
#12. I probably would be continuing to do voice-overs, continuing to do cartoon shows, and at the same time I'd probably be on a sitcom or a dramatic television show.
Casey Kasem
#13. Garbage. It's a natural quality of huskiness in the midrange of my voice that I call 'garbage.' It's not a clear-toned announcer's voice. It's more like the voice of the guy next door.
Casey Kasem
#14. If the beat gets to the audience, and the message touches them, you've got a hit.
Casey Kasem
#15. I started radio in 1950 on the Lone Ranger radio program, a dramatic show that emanated from Detroit when I was 18 years old and just beginning college. I did that for a couple of years.
Casey Kasem
#17. For the most part, that message hasn't changed a lot over the years - love is still love, and heartbreak is still heartbreak.
Casey Kasem
#18. The dullest thing in the world is waiting for your scene. But the most exciting thing is seeing yourself on the screen and then getting compliments.
Casey Kasem
#19. Vegetarianism is the cure for 99% of the world's problems. Think about it ...
Casey Kasem
#21. It's been amazing, the number of commercials that I've done, starting back in 1968. It must be 8,000.
Casey Kasem
#22. Basically, radio hasn't changed over the years. Despite all the technical improvements, it still boils down to a man or a woman and a microphone, playing music, sharing stories, talking about issues - communicating with an audience.
Casey Kasem
#23. Interestingly, songs used to be short, then they became longer, and now they're getting shorter.
Casey Kasem
#24. I'd like to feel that an advertiser gets something extra when they advertise with us - a certain humanity that comes from upbeat and positive human interest letters and success stories.
Casey Kasem
#25. The first syndicating I tried was when two partners and I created a production company in 1952. We wanted to syndicate famous Bible stories and sell them for $25 a show.
Casey Kasem
#26. I credit God with giving me the idea for 'Top 40.'
Casey Kasem
#27. Growing up, I actually wanted to be a professional baseball player instead of a radio DJ. Believe it or not.
Casey Kasem
#28. The group Bananarama has such a light, cutesy-pie sound that they make The Go-Go's sound like Led Zeppelin by comparison.
Casey Kasem
#29. Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.
Casey Kasem
#30. A non-violent world has roots in a non-violent diet.
Casey Kasem
#31. The stories are success stories. The letters from listeners often touch the heart and can be inspiring.
Casey Kasem
#32. I just felt it was my job to show that there is no easy way to success, and that anyone who gets even just one Top 40 hit deserves their moment in the sun. I accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. That is the timeless thing.
Casey Kasem
#33. My agent said that I was one of the top three busiest people in the country.
Casey Kasem
#35. We gave the show away and in return, we received a certain number of minutes per hour for the three-hour show that we could sell to Madison Avenue. One of the first sponsors was MGM Records.
Casey Kasem
#36. We tell stories. We talk about statistics. And in 1978, we added an element of the show that gave it its heartbeat: the long distance dedication.
Casey Kasem
#38. Every station I was at, I never said goodbye - when I was in Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, Oakland, and L.A. I don't know why.
Casey Kasem
#39. When you're on MTV Asia, you're like royalty. When you walk down the streets of the Philippines or Indonesia, everyone wants to try to touch you.
Kerri Kasem
#40. My first commercial was for Miller High Life beer.
Casey Kasem
#41. The greatest compliment that anyone can pay me is that after I say something, they remember it. I'll go over a piece of copy until I've gotten the essence of what the writer had in mind - every nuance.
Casey Kasem
#42. Even when I do commercials, I try to tell a story about the product. With music, I try to tell the story of the person's struggle for success. And I believe every word I say. I never read anything on the air I don't believe in. I think people sense that about me, and they respond to it.
Casey Kasem
#43. 'American Top 40' allowed me to be current without my having to force change to keep up with things. The new songs kept us up to date, so every show sounded fresh.
Casey Kasem
#44. I love to keep busy. But I never forget it's the countdown that made it all possible.
Casey Kasem
#45. A lot of my fans 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 Kasem
#46. I like the storytelling and reading the letters, the long-distance dedications.
Casey Kasem
#47. As you know, in the past several years, month after month, radio has increased its revenues - some of it even coming from Dot-Com advertisers. So, radio is a survivor.
Casey Kasem
#48. That something extra, I believe, is a certain humanity that comes from upbeat and positive human interest letters and success stories. Advertisers like to be associated with those qualities.
Casey Kasem
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