American Top 40 1972 May 6th

American Top 40 with Casey Kasem aired on radio from July 4, 1970 until August 6, 1988. This recording is one I found on the internet.

THE FIRST 35 SECONDS OF THIS SHOW IS REALLY POOR AUDIO QUALITY. IT BECOMES ACCEPTABLE BEFORE THE FIRST SONG.

In this countdown:

Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show debut their song "Sylvia’s Mother" (at number 37). So do The Rolling Stones at number 23 with "Tumbling Dice," and "I Saw The Light" by Todd Rundgren debuts at number 31.

A listener writes, "Dear Casey, What instrumental hit number 1 and stayed there the most weeks?" Casey says it is a twenty two-year-old piece of music that can still be heard on television, in the late movie, in an Orson Wells picture. It was called The Third Man Theme! (also known as "The Harry Lime Theme") and I've included some of it for you to hear since Casey didn't play any of it.

In another letter, a listener asks, "What artist had the longest span of time between his first number one song and his last number one song?" Casey says it was a span of 26 years for the legend known as Ol' Blue Eyes.

Another listener writes in to say, " I once heard you say that 'Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini' but what was longest song title ever to hit number one. What was the longest song title ever to hit the top 40?" Casey says it was a song by Ray Stevens whose title almost didn't leave room for the hole in the record.

40: The Diary - Bread
39: Every Day Of My Life – Bobby Vinton
38: Mister Can’t You See – Buffy Sainte-Marie
37: Sylvia’s Mother – Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show
36: Walking In The Rain With The One I Love – The Dramatics
35: You Could Have Been A Lady – April Wine
34: Nice To Be With You - Gallery
33: Help Me Make It Through The Night – Gladys Knight & The Pips
32: Roundabout - Yes
31: I Saw The Light – Todd Rundgren
30: Jump Into The Fire - Nilsson
29: Taxi – Harry Chapin
28: (Last Night) I Didn’t Get To Sleep At All – The 5th Dimension
27: Run, Run, Run – Jo Jo Gunne
26: Little Bitty Pretty One – The Jackson 5
25: Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard – Paul Simon
24: Candy Man – Sammy Davis Jr.
23: Tumbling Dice – The Rolling Stones
22: Heart Of Gold – Neil Young
21: Puppy Love – Donny Osmond
20: Slippin’ Into Darkness - War
19: Morning Has Broken – Cat Stevens
18: Suavecito - Malo
17: Hot Rod Lincoln – Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen
16: A Cowboy’s Work Is Never Done – Sonny & Cher
15: In The Rain – The Dramatics
14: Baby Blue - Badfinger
13: Castles In The Air – Don Mclean
12: The Family Of Man – Three Dog Night
11: Oh Girl – The Chi-Lites
10: Back Off Boogaloo – Ringo Starr
9: Look What You Done For Me – Al Green
8: Doctor My Eyes – Jackson Browne
7: I’ll Take You There – The Staple Singers
6: A Horse With No Name - America
5: Day Dreaming – Aretha Franklin
4: Rockin’ Robin – Michael Jackson
3: Betcha By Golly Wow – The Stylistics
2: I Gotcha – Joe Tex
1: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face – Roberta Flack