Long before Ryan SeaBreeze took over all things radio, the voice of American Top 40 was Casey Kasem. A short little man, who definitely had a “face” for radio.

Every Saturday morning his syndicated program made sure that all of us knew who we should be listening to.

Arguably the most well-known name in radio, (trivia: did you know he also the voice of Shaggy!?), he was on the air from 1970-2004 spinning hits from the Mamas and the Papas to En Vogue to Kurt Cobain. But no matter what the era, his consistent claim to fame had to be the long distance dedication.

Who knew there were that many prisoners out there just aching to dedicate “Somewhere out There” to wives back home raising 6 kids?

Please - PLEASE, listen to the attached clip. It features Casey lovingly reading a letter from a fellow Cincinnatian (something about his dead dog) - before he loses his place and - chaos ensues. I’m not even sure what he’s yelling about, but it’s genius.

Enjoy.

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