Biography
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Born
27 April 1932
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Born In
Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, United States
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Died
15 June 2014 (aged 82)
Casey Kasem (born Kemal Amin Kasem on April 27, 1932 in Detroit, Michigan, died on June 15, 2014 in Gig Harbor, Washington) was an American radio personality and voice actor of Druze Lebanese descent. He was married to actress/singer Jean Kasem from 1980 until his death; they had one child together, daughter Liberty Kasem. He had three children with his first wife, Linda Myers Kasem, to whom he was married from 1969 to 1979. Their son, Mike Kasem, is also a voice-over actor. Their daughter is television host Kerri Kasem. In addition to numerous compilations and transcription records from his long-running radio show, American Top 40, three singles were released under Kasem's name (all between 1964 and 1970), as well as a horoscope record released in 1967 as Astrology for Young Lovers.
A notorious perfectionist in the studio, recordings of a frustrated Kasem in an extended profane rant during a rehearsal for American Top 40 appeared on Negativland's single "U2". In it, Kasem is heard introducing a U2 single by reading the names and instruments of the entire personnel of the band from a script. Kasem interrupts and says:
This is bullshit! Nobody cares! … These guys are from England and who gives a shit!
Another notorious Kasem outtake from the September 14, 1985 AT40 was also used by Negativland in "U2". It involves reading a "Long Distance Dedication" from a man to his deceased dog "Snuggles." Casey objects to the dedication ("Shannon" by Henry Gross) following an up-tempo song ("Dare Me" by the Pointer Sisters) and explodes:
…I want a goddamn concerted effort to come out of a record that isn't a fucking up-tempo record every time I gotta do a goddamn death dedication! It's the last goddamn time; I want somebody who uses his fucking brain to not come out of a goddamn record… that's up-tempo and I've got to talk about a fucking dog dying!
The tape widely circulated among Kasem's fans and on the internet, where it acquired the unofficial name of "The Dead Dog Tape" or the "Snuggles Tape." Though often misunderstood, Kasem is actually objecting to the tempo shift between the previous song and the dedication, not the dedication itself. Despite Kasem's objection, the two mismatched songs were aired as scripted.
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