( CNN ) -- The late Kemal Amin `` Casey '' Kasem was much more than a relic of radio 's Top 40 heyday . In this era of streaming and downloading , when everyone functions as his or her own DJ and program director , the `` tastemaking '' role of music radio in the late 20th century -- the role that Kasem pretty much owned -- is almost impossible to fathom . Casey Kasem was neither a maverick like pioneer rock & roll disc jockey Alan Freed nor a budding multimedia entrepreneur like Dick Clark . He did n't strive to be hip or hustle after the cutting edge . He was n't really a gatekeeper or curator . His on-air presence was neutral ; he merely was a conduit for whatever records were most popular . Each week he 'd present the top singles as reported on the Billboard charts , framing the songs with homespun advice , listener dedications and decidedly noncontroversial anecdotes about the performers . From 1970 to 1988 , his syndicated weekly program , `` America 's Top 40 , '' documented the ever-shifting mainstream of musical tastes . By today 's standards , it can sound overly cautious or conservative , but it also reflected a cultural consensus that barely exists anymore . Kasem 's long-distance dedications . Easily accessible and free of charge , `` America 's Top 40 '' was a gateway drug for a generation or two of budding music fanatics . Kasem was the patron saint of preteen pop devotees held captive to their parents ' car radios . His data-dependent chart format made him an enabler for amateur statisticians and precocious list-compilers , kids who could n't afford subscriptions to the trade magazines . The sturdy scaffolding under Kasem 's success was his voice : upbeat , naturally modulated , soothing without being smarmy . Hear him once and he became Casey : familiar , somehow . You could accuse him of being corny , a shameless Pez dispenser of sentimental patter and clichÃ©d advice along with pablum pop . You 'd be literally correct but also fundamentally clueless about his down-to-earth appeal . Kasem managed to be commercial without coming across like a hyped-up huckster . He made it seem easy , and also seamless , for instance segueing from a convoluted factoid about Top 10 hits with the word `` Doctor '' in the title to a Dr. Pepper spot . His voice was the product of formative years spent jumping from radio station to station as well as some acting work . Voice-over gigs proved to be a consistent and profitable sidelight ; Kasem 's resonant tones appeared in commercials and cartoons . Somewhat improbably , he supplied the voice of Norville `` Shaggy '' Rogers on `` Scooby-Doo . '' No doubt this further endears him to a generation weaned on musty anachronisms such as network television and Top 40 radio . Tributes : 'Keep reaching for the stars ' Truthfully , even at his most popular , Kasem was a bit of an anachronism . When `` America 's Top 40 '' debuted in 1970 , the rock revolution was in full swing , and free-form FM radio was on the rise . But he stuck to the middle of the road , and not only endured but thrived during the tumultuous expansion and dissolution of the musical counterculture in the ensuing decades . The Top 40 renaissance of 1984 , kick-started by MTV , and the late '90s teen pop explosion can both be seen as vindication of Kasem 's rigidly democratic format . In fact , the millennial breakthrough of boy bands and Britney Spears may go down in history as the Top 40 's last hurrah . Born the son of Lebanese immigrants in Detroit , Kasem went on to become the iconic voice of common-denominator music during a divisive time in our culture . In the end , what could be more American ?
Coleman : Kasem was `` tastemaker '' before era of streaming and downloading . Kasem 's `` America 's Top 40 was n't gatekeeper but a conduit for popular songs , he says . Casey Kasem says Casey Kasem 's show was accessible ; his voice upbeat , not smarmy . Kasem an iconic voice of common-denominator music during divisive time , he says .