Keep Reaching for the Stars

When I was growing up, things were so much different than they are now. Music was then and still is now a big part of my life, but when I really began to listen to pop music I was probably in 4th grade. That would have been around 1974 or so. Being that it was 1974, if you wanted to listen to music, you tuned into the local radio station. I am so old that when I first started to listen to the radio regularly, we listened to AM. The  one I listened to most was WLEE. I can remember those days of sitting and just waiting for your favorite song to come on. Since we couldn't get on the Internet and pull up Youtube or sign on to iTunes and purchase whatever song we wanted for 99 cents, it felt like you hit the jackpot when those tunes hit the airwaves. I remember how thrilled I was when I got a cassette recorder that taped directly from the radio. We would sit for hours waiting for our favorite song so we could press PLAY and RECORD simultaneously to tape it to have to listen to at will. You could purchase music in the form of a 45, short for 45 RPM or revolutions per minute. It was a small vinyl record about the size of a desert plate with usually the "hit" on one side, and the "flip" side had another song by the same artist. The reason the radio was so popular was because there was no way to take music in the car unless you happened to be rich back then and had a cassette player in your dash. Needless to say, I spent many hours listening to the radio and the music of the day, the songs you heard on American Bandstand every Saturday. Along with daily listening, there was something really special to listen to on Sundays, American Top 40. This 3 hour program counted from 40 down to the number 1 song of the week. It was hosted by Casey Kasem. My sister and I never missed AT40, and a big highlight of our years was Casey's countdown of the top hits of the whole year. It was usually played on New Year's Eve, and we would be down at my Aunt Beulah's waiting for them to play the number 1 song. Some of the ones I remember, Don't Go Breakin' My Heart by Elton John and Kiki Dee, Rock the Boat by Hues Corporation and who could forget You Light Up My Life by Debby Boone? Because we were such avid fans, Casey Kasem became a friend every week for 3 hours. He had a great voice that was so easy to listen to, and it always felt friendly and comfortable. Because of his wonderful voice he also voiced several cartoon characters, the most famous being Shaggy of Scooby-Doo fame. Casey Kasem passed away a few days ago. He was 82. I am sure many, as I do, feel they have lost a childhood friend. Because of AT40 and his cartoon work, generations knew him. In fact when I told my girls, 21 and 18, that Casey Kasem had passed away, they both questioned, "Shaggy?" Casey signed off of every American Top 40 broadcast with the same phrase, "Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars." He did reach for the stars and captured them. Rest in peace.