WPIX-FM Casey Kasem American Top 40 July 4 1976 (01:26:49)

. . . We're wavin' the Star Spangled Banner for the Two-Hundredth Birthday of the U.S.A. . . .

[Description by Uncle Ricky, credits to Rob Durkee.]

40 Years of Number One Hits on July 4th 1937 It Looks Like Rain In Cherry Blossom Lane Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians 1938 Says My Heart Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra (Harriet Hilliard) 1939 Wishing (Will Make It So) Glenn Miller and His Orchestra (Ray Eberle) 1940 I'll Never Smile Again Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra (Frank Sinatra) 1941 Daddy Sammy Kaye (The Kaye Choir) 1942 Sleepy Lagoon Harry James and His Orchestra 1943 Comin' In On a Wing and a Prayer The Song Spinners 1944 I'll Be Seeing You Bing Crosby 1945 Sentimental Journey Les Brown and His Orchestra (Doris Day) 1946 The Gypsy The Ink Spots 1947 Chi-Baba Chi-Baba (My Bambino Go To Sleep) Perry Como 1948 Woody Woodpecker Kay Kyser and His Orchestra (Gloria Wood) 1949 Riders In the Sky (A Cowboy Legend) Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra 1950 "The Third Man" Theme Anton Karas 1951 Too Young Nat "King" Cole 1952 Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart Vera Lynn 1953 The Song From Moulin Rouge Percy Faith and His Orchestra (Felicia Saunders) 1954 Little Things Mean A Lot Kitty Kallen 1955 (We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock Bill Haley and His Comets 1956 The Wayward Wind Gogi Grant 1957 (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear/Loving You Elvis Presley 1958a The Purple People Eater Sheb Wooley 1958b Yakety Yak The Coasters 1959 The Battle Of New Orleans Johnny Horton 1960 Everybody's Somebody's Fool Connie Francis 1961 Quarter To Three Gary U.S. Bonds 1962 I Can't Stop Loving You Ray Charles 1963 Easier Said Than Done The Essex 1964 I Get Around The Beach Boys 1965 (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction The Rolling Stones 1966 Strangers In the Night Frank Sinatra 1966 Paperback Writer The Beatles 1967 Windy The Association 1968 This Guy's In Love With You Herb Alpert 1969 Love Theme From "Romeo and Juliet" Henry Mancini and His Orchestra 1970 The Love You Save Jackson 5 1971 It's Too Late/I Feel the Earth Move Carole King 1972 Lean On Me Bill Withers 1973 Will It Go Round In Circles Billy Preston 1974 Rock the Boat The Hues Corporation 1975 Love Will Keep Us Together The Captain and Tennille 1976 Silly Love Songs Wings

American Top 40 was celebrating six years airtime on July 4, 1976, when the United States was celebrating the Big 200.

The American Top 40 Bicentennial Special featured the Number One Songs on July 4th from 1937 through 1976. Sprinkled with fascinating facts, presented as only Countdown Master Kasem can present them, we offer a partial retrospective on the 25th anniversary of this historic program for July 4, 2001.

Our exhibit includes the program as presented on WPIX-FM in New York, but only for the years 1937 through 1959.

As Rob Durkee notes in American Top 40: The Countdown of the Century, AT40 specials weren't exempt from goofs. This special features a mistake with the second song; Says My Heart is actually a song called Whoa Baby, on which Harriet Hilliard is not heard. Simply, they played the wrong song.

There were no Billboard charts from 1937-1939, so the first two titles were based on the reports of other trade publications. No artist is featured more than once in this countdown.

Casey and Jean Kasem, 1981

This aircheck includes an authentic, Sunday morning WPIX-FM newscast (at 24:23), complete with street closures for the Bicentennial celebrations that day. And, there is a great spot for Nathan's Famous.

As of July 4, 2004, Part Two of this feature is available in The Dale Patterson Collection.