Top 59 Quotes & Sayings by Casey Kasem

What I really want to be is an actor.

I love to keep busy. But I never forget it's the countdown that made it all possible.

The greatest compliment that anyone can pay me is that after I say something, they remember it. I'll go over a piece of copy until I've gotten the essence of what the writer had in mind - every nuance.

I just felt it was my job to show that there is no easy way to success, and that anyone who gets even just one Top 40 hit deserves their moment in the sun. I accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. That is the timeless thing.

Before that, they thought talking movies might eliminate radio as well. But radio just keeps getting stronger.

Interestingly, songs used to be short, then they became longer, and now they're getting shorter.

They are going to be playing Shaggy and Scooby-Doo for eons and eons, and they're going to forget Casey Kasem - unless they happen to step on his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I'll be one of those guys people say, 'Who's that?' about. And someone else will say, 'He's just some guy who used to be on the radio.'

I credit God with giving me the idea for 'Top 40.'

Despite all the technical improvements, it still boils down to a man or a woman and a microphone, playing music, sharing stories, talking about issues - communicating with an audience.

I was drafted and went to Korea where I had an opportunity to create a production team that did dramatic and comedy shows. I had also done a little disc jockeying.

My first commercial was for Miller High Life beer.

It's been amazing, the number of commercials that I've done, starting back in 1968. It must be 8,000.

Anytime in radio that you can reach somebody on an emotional level, you're really connecting.

For the most part, that message hasn't changed a lot over the years - love is still love, and heartbreak is still heartbreak.

But otherwise, music is about a beat and a message.

Hosting various versions of my countdown program has kept me extremely busy, and I loved every minute of it.

I started radio in 1950 on the Lone Ranger radio program, a dramatic show that emanated from Detroit when I was 18 years old and just beginning college. I did that for a couple of years.

My agent said that I was one of the top three busiest people in the country.

Always be consistent.

If the beat gets to the audience, and the message touches them, you've got a hit.

If I were doing a real rock show, slapping the phone book in time to the music, grooving with the songs, then it would matter to know how I felt about what I was playing. You can't fake it in that situation. But I'm just counting them down as they appear on the chart, 1 through 40. What really matters is what I say between the songs.

I've never loved listening to music.

When I first heard rap, I wasn't quick to be critical. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but I had a feeling it was a reflection of what's been happening in the ghetto.

Garbage. It's a natural quality of huskiness in the midrange of my voice that I call 'garbage.' It's not a clear-toned announcer's voice. It's more like the voice of the guy next door.

Basically, radio hasn't changed over the years. Despite all the technical improvements, it still boils down to a man or a woman and a microphone, playing music, sharing stories, talking about issues - communicating with an audience.

I'd like to feel that an advertiser gets something extra when they advertise with us - a certain humanity that comes from upbeat and positive human interest letters and success stories.

I like the storytelling and reading the letters, the long-distance dedications. Anytime in radio that you can reach somebody on an emotional level, you're really connecting.

Growing up, I actually wanted to be a professional baseball player instead of a radio DJ. Believe it or not.

Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

We gave the show away and in return, we received a certain number of minutes per hour for the three-hour show that we could sell to Madison Avenue. One of the first sponsors was MGM Records.

'American Top 40' allowed me to be current without my having to force change to keep up with things. The new songs kept us up to date, so every show sounded fresh.

That something extra, I believe, is a certain humanity that comes from upbeat and positive human interest letters and success stories. Advertisers like to be associated with those qualities.

For years everyone looked toward the demise of radio when television came along. Before that, they thought talking movies might eliminate radio as well. But radio just keeps getting stronger.

Songs used to be short, then they became longer, and now they're getting shorter. But otherwise, music is about a beat and a message. If the beat gets to the audience, and the message touches them, you've got a hit.

Because of my background in theater and radio acting, I knew that I could make a living as an actor.

Even when I do commercials, I try to tell a story about the product. With music, I try to tell the story of the person's struggle for success. And I believe every word I say. I never read anything on the air I don't believe in. I think people sense that about me, and they respond to it.

Every station I was at, I never said goodbye - when I was in Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, Oakland, and L.A. I don't know why.

The stories are success stories. The letters from listeners often touch the heart and can be inspiring.

The first syndicating I tried was when two partners and I created a production company in 1952. We wanted to syndicate famous Bible stories and sell them for $25 a show.

We tell stories. We talk about statistics. And in 1978, we added an element of the show that gave it its heartbeat: the long distance dedication.

I probably would be continuing to do voice-overs, continuing to do cartoon shows, and at the same time I'd probably be on a sitcom or a dramatic television show.

I had also done a little disc jockeying.

I like the storytelling and reading the letters, the long-distance dedications.

I must have done about 25,000 promos.

As you know, in the past several years, month after month, radio has increased its revenues - some of it even coming from Dot-Com advertisers. So, radio is a survivor.

A lot of my fans are people who have grown up and don't have as much time to listen to the radio, but still want to keep up with what's popular. A lot of shows don't talk to them anymore, but I do.

Success doesn't happen in a vacuum. You're only as good as the people you work with and the people you work for.

The dullest thing in the world is waiting for your scene. But the most exciting thing is seeing yourself on the screen and then getting compliments.

Vegetarianism is the cure for 99% of the world's problems. Think about it.

Success doesn't happen in a vacuum. You’re only as good as the people you work with and the people you work for.

A non-violent world has roots in a non-violent diet.

Growing up, I actually wanted to be a professional Baseball player, instead of a radio DJ. Believe it or not.

Songs used to be short, then they became longer, and now theyre getting shorter. But otherwise, music is about a beat and a message. If the beat gets to the audience, and the message touches them, youve got a hit.

Some of the things that I do, I think are very important and much more important than the radio show or the television show that I do or anything else that I do. I think right at the top of the list is the basic thing. And of course the basic thing is to hopefully stop people from killing anything. And to create a non-violent diet for themselves, because a non-violent world has roots in a non-violent diet.

Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for stars.

I accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. That is the timeless thing.

Despite all the technical improvements, it still boils down to a man or a woman and a microphone, playing music, sharing stories, talking about issues -- communicating with an audience.

Basically, radio hasn't changed over the years.

The group Bananarama has such a light, cutesy-pie sound that they make The Go-Go's sound like Led Zeppelin by comparison.