On June 23, 1984, Duran Duran’s song “The Reflex” reached number 1 on Billboard’s US charts. It remained in the number 1 position for only two weeks, but I remember so well how exciting those two weeks for me. Duran Duran only had one other number 1 hit, “A View to a Kill”, and that didn’t happen for several years later.
I was such a huge Duran Duran fan back then, and every week, I would be listening to Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 countdown on the radio praying for my boys to hold the coveted spot. This was in the days before my family had cable TV in the house. Therefore, we were not an MTV family, and my two biggest musical resources were a TV show that came on super late on Friday nights called “Friday Night Videos,” and Casey Kasem’s countdown. Even back then, I was musically obsessed, and both “Friday Night Videos” & Kasem’s countdown were extremely important to me.
In Spring of 1985, I used my Bat Mitzvah money to buy a stereo. It was such a big deal to me to have this ability to listen to my vinyl albums, dual cassette players, the radio all on awesome speakers. It kind of looked like this one, and I thought it was the greatest invention the world.
When the stereo came into my life, it brought Casey Kasem into my home with even a crisper sound. It was like he was right there with me every week. He was my friend chillin’ out with me listening to tunes and talking about music. I trusted him so much, and when he’d announce the #1 hit of the week, it was like the word of a sage. He knew his stuff!
I am so sorry that the end of Casey Kasem’s life seemed so dramatic with bickering family members. Couldn’t his wife and daughters just see that none of their arguing mattered in the end? What really matters is the amount of people he reached and the wonderful memories he left behind for all of us. It really is too bad that his family could not focus on the positive impact their husband/Dad had on the United States for so many years.
I, for one, will smile anytime I ever hear a recording of that distinctive voice. He brings back such happy memories, and that is the only way that Casey Kasem should be remembered. Thanks, Casey, for so many years of bringing music into my home in the happiest of ways.
My song of the day is Duran Duran singing “The Reflex,” because it reached number 1 30 years ago this month, and I remember it like it was yesterday.
