American Top 40 1973 March 31st

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.

Since Jud Strunk is at #40 with "Daisy A Day" I thought it would be an opportune time to include the version performed by Spike Jones, Jr. And since Gerry "Baker Street" Rafferty is half of Steelers Wheel, at #34 singing "Stuck In The Middle With You" trying to sound like Bob Dylan, I've included Bowser & Blue's "Polka Dot Undies" as well.

Jim Croce is leaving "One Less Set Of Footsteps" at #37. Casey tells how Croce had to go through Army Basic Training twice because the first time he saluted an officer with a shovel (I spent six years in the Army and never once saw an officer even pick up a shovel).

Casey gets a telegram from a fellow who noticed that two weeks ago there were 2 instrumentals in the Top 5. The fellow with the telegraph wants to know if it has ever happened before. Casey says too many times to mention, and then tells about the single time in chart history when instrumentals occupied spots 1, 2, and 3!

Fifteen year-old Donny Osmond is at #23 singing a fifteen year-old hit, "The Twelfth Of Never."

War is at #21 with "Cisco Kid." Casey says their first record took seven and a half months to turn gold, but this hit only took eleven days, before it could even hit the chart, and then gives the details.

Casey previously reported the troubles ailing Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show because the BBC wouldn't play their commercialized "The Cover Of Rolling Stone" (at #4). Now he reports they re-recorded the song and changed the lyric but still can't get the song broadcast.

"The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia" is at #10 and performed by one of Mama's favorites, Vicki Lawrence. Casey tells how she and Carol Burnett got together.

Casey gets this question, "Has a song ever been #1, gone down to #2, and returned to the #1 spot?" Casey says it happens quite often. Just seven months earlier Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Alone Again" was knocked out of the #1 spot before returning for one final week. Then Casey strongly recommends listeners to stay tuned because it just might happen again today.

Deodato is at #2 with "Also Sprach Zarathustra." Casey says he is a New York jazz musician who recorded the tune only because he hated the different versions he'd heard in Classical records and in a movie score.

40: Daisy A Day - Jud Strunk
39: Wildflower - Skylark
38: A Letter To Myself - The Chi-Lites
37: One Less Set Of Footsteps - Jim Croce
36: Drift Away - Dobie Gray
35: Kissing My Love - Bill Withers
34: Stuck In The Middle With You - Steelers Wheel
33: Master Of Eyes - Atetha Franklin
32: Cook With Honey - Judy Collins
31: Walk On The Wild Side - Lou Reed
30: Do You Want To Dance - Bette Midler
29: You Are The Sunshine Of My Life - Stevie Wonder
28: Daddy's Home - Jermaine Jackson
27: Big City Miss Ruth Ann - Gallery
26: Peaceful - Helen Reddy
25: Little Willie - The Sweet
24: Could It Be I'm Falling In Love - The Spinners
23: The Twelfth Of Never - Donny Osmond
22: I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band) - The Moody Blues
21: Cisco Kid - War
20: Hummingbird - Seals and Crofts
19: Stir It Up - Johnny Nash
18: Master Piece - The Temptations
17: Space Oddity - David Bowie
16: Dead Skunk - Loudon Wainwright III
15: Aubrey - Bread
14: The Cover Of Rolling Stone - Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show
13: Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree - Dawn
12: Dueling Banjos - Deliverance
11: Call Me (Come Back Home) -Al Green
10: The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia - Vicki Lawrence
9: Sing - The Carpenters
8: Danny's Song - Anne Murray
7: Last Song - Edward Bear
6: Break Up To Make Up - The Stylistics
5: Ain't No Woman (Like The One I Got) - The Four Tops
4: Love Train - The O'Jays
3: Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye) - Gladys Knight & The Pips
2: Also Sprach Zarathustra - Deodato
1: Killing Me Softly With His Song - Aretha Franklin