Members in the Media
From: The Washington Post

Thanks to Casey Kasem (and psychology), Here’s Why People Love Radio Countdowns

The Washington Post:

From “Total Request Live” to a radio station with the “Top 9 at 9″ on any given night, it’s been proven time and again: People love a good pop culture countdown. On paper it seems incredibly simple — and yet it took until Casey Kasem pioneered the concept in 1970 to take off.

News of Kasem’s death on Sunday prompted an outpouring of remembrances from fans, many of whom reminisced about listening to “American Top 40.” The Post’s Marc Fisher wrote about how Kasem brought a splintered music culture together every week with his mainstream list of popular songs. The idea gained steam, and ever since countdowns have been a mainstay of pop culture. Why is this concept so incredibly popular?

Read the whole story: The Washington Post

More of our Members in the Media >


APS regularly opens certain online articles for discussion on our website. Effective February 2021, you must be a logged-in APS member to post comments. By posting a comment, you agree to our Community Guidelines and the display of your profile information, including your name and affiliation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations present in article comments are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of APS or the article’s author. For more information, please see our Community Guidelines.

Please login with your APS account to comment.