Dan Ingram's "Top 40 Satellite Survey"
In 1984, Dan Ingram's contract with ABC finally ran out so he was free to move
on to other possibilities.
"CBS Radio Radio" offered him the opportunity to do a countdown show along the
lines of Casey Kasum's wildly popular "American Top 40".
CBS's idea was for Dan to do the recorded show as if it was live.
He recorded it in real time rather than in segments so, for example, if he made a
mistake, he would adlib around it rather than edit it out.
The show's architect, Bob VanDerheyden, was trying to capture Dan's amazing
spontaneous abilities.
It was also distinctive in that it ran for three hours (not four) and he counted
"up" (not "down") to Number One.
The show was moderately successful but was competing in a very crowded field.
Dan was late to the genre so finding affiliates wasn't easy.
Plus, those not familiar with Dan from WABC didn't always get the concept.
A mistake sounded like... a mistake.
It ran from April 1984 until December 1986.
These are promos for the show used by affiliate stations:
This is the first segment of a show that aired the weekend of August 17, 1984:
(sound files courtesy Claude Call)
