Back before it came to mere spinning and a personality was as vital as the sounds being produced, Casey Kasem was the man to be watched (and listened to). His radio career started in Detroit in the mid 1950s at WJBK and then moved to northern California (San Francisco and Oakland) in the 1960s where he developed his rock trivia claim-to-fame personality which led to his iconic American Top 40 radio program from 1970 to 1988 with a resurgence in 1998 to 2004 where personality Ryan Seacrest succeeded him. American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated independent radio station that serves markets as far reaching as Singapore and India. As the name implies, the show counts down the forty most popular songs in the United States (compiled weekly) and showcased in reverse order (from 40 to 1). Kasem had outside interests beyond his DJ persona, as well; including doing many voiceovers for Sesame Street, Super Friends, Battle of the Planets, and Shaggy from Scooby Doo, as well as many others. Interestingly it seems that the adage of “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” has merit in the Kasem family since Casey’s son Mike has worked on MTV’s Top 20 Video Countdown and is also active in voiceovers. Casem has contributed his success over the years to having a “guy next door” voice and sharing interesting snippets about songs and artists. Kasem retired in July 2009 but remains a DJ legend to anyone interested in the genre or profession.