In our never ending quest to provide all of our readers with relatable, ‘slice of life’ style content, we here at the SoBros Network feel the time to weigh in on social commentary has officially come. It’s once again time for me, Big Natural, to open up the leather-bound parchment pages of the annals of history. Put on your plush robe, light your pipe, start a fire, and get ready for deep contemplation. This is the as-often-as-I-remember-to-write-it column: Forgotten Treasures of Americana. Today, we are going to be reliving the career of the voice of a generation, Casey Kasem.
Let’s flip the calendar back to some random Sunday morning in the early 1990s. The bright sunshine is glaring through the windows of our log home. The smell of bacon permeates the air. The sizzling sounds of a cast iron skillet fill up the house, and on the radio, there’s a rich, sultry voice counting down the greatest and most popular songs in America this week. Spoiler alert: that voice that feels like smooth velvet in your soul? That’s the voice of Casey Kasem.
Kasem was one of the most prolific entertainers of his generation. He was the host of American Top 40 for 29 years – throw in a stint on Casey’s Top 40 from 1989-1998, and all in all, Kasem worked as “America’s DJ” for 38 years. 38 years! Kasey was at the top of the radio DJ game for longer than I’ve been alive. And his signature was that unmistakable voice – you just knew when Casey Kasem was on the radio. Something about that voice is comforting, even to this day. It was like that was what a voice on the radio was supposed to sound like. I don’t know that there’s a greater DJ in American radio history.
But, that wasn’t all that Kasem had in his arsenal. I remember being absolutely blown away as a child when I learned that Kasem voiced Shaggy on Scooby-Doo. Of course, once I knew it, it all made sense, but I never would’ve picked up on it otherwise. I think that was when I realized just how multi-talented this man was. All in all, between film and television, Kasem has 107 acting credits to his name. He earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame all the way back in 1981, and has been inducted into two different radio broadcasting Halls of Fame.
Kasem retired from radio over the 4th of July weekend in 2009. Kasem’s health deteriorated quickly throughout 2013, and he died in 2014. There’s some real testy stuff that happened with his family after his death that I’ll let y’all sift through if you want to. But, for the sake of what we do here on SoBros Network, I’m going to keep this thing as positive as possible. This man was an absolute legend, and I can remember being stunned…numb…when the news dropped that he had passed seven years ago.
If you missed out on this legendary run because you’re one of our younger readers, the only person I know to compare him to is a previous generation’s Ryan Seacrest, but like, with a much better voice (coincidentally, he and Seacrest worked quite a bit together throughout the latter part of Kasem’s career). I’m going to conclude this edition of Forgotten Treasures of Americana by sharing this clip of Casey Kasem going on a profane tirade about up tempo records leading him into talking about a dog dying that I never knew existed until I went on YouTube to look for some Casey Kasem highlights:
SOMEBODY USE HIS FUCKIN’ BRAIN! What happened to the pictures I was supposed to see this week?!?! I gotta talk about a fuckin’ dog dying! Man oh man, somehow, I came away from writing this article as an even bigger fan of Kasem than I was before I started it. The term ‘national treasure’ is thrown around pretty liberally these days, but Casey Kasem is the definition of what one really is.
FORGOTTEN TREASURES OF AMERICANA ARCHIVES
- The 2004 Quiznos Commercial
- 3D Doritos
- 3OH!3
- AIM
- American Gladiators
- The Basilisk
- The Bermuda Triangle
- Braided Belts
- Citizen’s Arrest
- Hammocks In Centennial Park
- Hasbro WWF Action Figures
- Homework
- Mama’s Family
- Micro Machines
- Muppet Treasure Island
- Playing Outside
- Pogs
- Quicksand
- Slamball
- SNICK
- Surge
- That Marilyn Manson rumor…
- The Midnight Snack
- The Super Soaker 50
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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