American Top 40 1972 August 12th

American Top 40 with Casey Kasem aired on radio from July 4, 1970 until August 6, 1988. This recording is a rebroadcast from internet radio.

In this countdown:

Debuting on the chart is the current hit by a superstar of stage, screen, and record, but Casey tells how she turned down for a New York apartment because the other tenants didn't see her as the "right sort of person."

There is a song that got it's melody from a well-known commercial. Casey reminds that it already happened twice before in 1972 with "We've Only Just Begun" by the Carpenters and "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" by the Hillside Singers. "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" became a Coca-cola commercial and was so annoying that you promised yourself you'd sell your TV set to get away from it every time it came on. It was on very channel - all the time! (I know there were only 3) But when you saw the record at the store, you bought it in defiance of the oppressive Coke overlords who had been torturing you with it. New Coke would someday boldly-go down this already beaten-path of rejection.

A listener has heard about records have a million dollars in advance sales, and asks Casey what that means. He says it means A million in advance sales before the record has been released, and tells about the biggest advance ever for $2,100,000.

Mac Davis is at number 27 with, "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me." Casey says that Mac used the name of his baby son to in order to avoid being confused with another famous singer. He had plenty of hits cover Elvis, Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, and Bobby Goldsboro.

"The Sounds Of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkle, was the biggest dropping number one record there ever was. It went from the top spot to number 12 one week in 1966. Casey says the second biggest dropper fell to number nine just a few weeks ago right before he plays it as part of this countdown.

The segment 4 extra announced by Casey was taken from the September 9th, 1972 broadcast (and you can get that one right now because I have operators are standing by). That's when Casey told the story of Arlo Guthrie, " . . .an ex-convict whose trouble with the law kept him out of the draft, and gave him a hit record album which was made into a major motion picture, in which he starred."

Well, that gets us all ready to hear "Alice's Restaurant (Massacree)" but instead we get "City Of New Orleans." So I put in the ever-classic "Alice's Restaurant (Massacree)" as a RocketMan Extra. This is what Guthrie said Nixon was listening to during the famous 18½ minute gap in the Watergate tapes when he was told Nixon owned copy.

40: Saturday In The Park - Chicago
39: Sweet Inspiration/Where You Lead - Barbra Streisand
38: Take It Easy - The Eagles
37: Backstabbers - OJ's
36: Outta Space - Billy Preston
35: Rocket Man - Elton John
34: Conquistador - Procol Harum
33: When You Say Love - Sonny & Cher
32: Small Beginings - Flash
31: Beautiful Sunday - Daniel Boone
30: Baby Let Me Take You In My Arms - Detroit Emeralds
29: Breaking Up Is Hard To Do - The Partridge Family
28: Join Together - The Who
27: Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me - Mac Davis
26: Guitar Man - Bread
25: Rock & Roll Part #2 - Gary Glitter
24: Gone - Joey Heatherton
23: Happy - The Rolling Stones
22: Looking Through The Window - Jackson Five
21: Sealed With A Kiss - Bobby Vinton
20: Motorcycle Mama - Sailcat
19: Day By Day - "Godspell" The Soundtrack
18: Hold Your Head Up - Argent
17: You Don't Mess Around With Jim - Jim Croce
16: Layla - Derek & The Dominos
15: Lean On Me - Bill Withers
14: Hold Her Tight - The Osmonds
13: The Happiest Girl In The Whole U.S.A. - Donna Fargo
12: Goodbye To Love - The Carpenters
11: Coconut - Nilsson
10: School's Out - Alice Cooper
9: How Do You Do - Mouth & McNeal
8: Too Late To Turn Back Now - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose
7: I'm Still In Love With You - Al Green
6: Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress - Hollies
5: Where Is The Love - Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
4: Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast - Wayne Newton
3: If Loving You Is Wrong, I Don't Want To Be Right - Luther Ingram
2: Brandy - Looking Glass
1: Alone Again, Naturally - Gilbert O' Sullivan