American Country Countdown

American Country Countdown
Genre Music chart show
Running time Approx. 3 hrs. and 55 mins. (including commercials)
Country of origin United States
Language(s) English
Hosted by Don Bowman (1973–1978)
Bob Kingsley (1978–2005)
Kix Brooks (2006–present)
Created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany and Tom Rounds
Original release October 6, 1973 – present
No. of episodes Approximately 2,150 (to date)
Audio format Stereophonic sound
Website Official website

American Country Countdown, also known as ACC or American Country Countdown with Bob Kingsley, is a weekly internationally syndicated radio program which counts down the top 40 country songs of the previous week, from No. 40 to No. 1, according to the Billboard Country Airplay charts. The program premiered in 1973 and as of January 2006 is hosted by Kix Brooks.

History

American Country Countdown was conceived as a spinoff program from American Top 40, which had premiered in 1970 and showcased the week's most popular singles. The new program was a creation of Casey Kasem and Don Bustany, the same duo behind American Top 40, with Tom Rounds as co-creator and Watermark Inc. distributing.

American Country Countdown launched nationwide on October 6, 1973. Like with its parent series, Billboard provided the chart information. In this case, the Hot Country Singles chart was used. The show now uses the Billboard Country Airplay chart, which it has used since September 2017 after eight years of using charts compiled by Mediabase.[1] Singer Don Bowman was the host of the three-hour countdown with Bustany producing.

In June 1974, Bustany stepped aside from his duties in order to focus on AT40 and tapped Bob Kingsley, who had been program director at country station KLAC-Los Angeles, to be ACC's producer.[2] It was under Kingsley's watch that the program began to increase in popularity, as more and more stations picked up the countdown.

On May 6, 1978, Kingsley added hosting duties to his producing duties when he became the new host of ACC. Don Bowman had not made any mention that he would be departing the program on the previous show; Kingsley informed the audience that Bowman had left the program to pursue other aspects of his career.[3]

Beginning with the January 11, 1986, broadcast, ACC was expanded to four hours, adding several new features, including an "ACC Archives" feature (similar to one featured on American Top 40 several years earlier, with a chronological playback of No. 1 hits of the 1970s, and later on the 1980s) and an "ACC Calendar," spotlighting a classic country artist, song, important innovation or event in country music.[4]

Kingsley hosted the program until December 2005, with his last show being his annual Christmas special. Like Bowman before him, he never told the audience he would be leaving; in this instance, Kingsley was leaving to join Westwood One to host their new Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40.

Awards ceremony

The Fox Network's awards ceremony, American Country Awards, which started in 2010, was cancelled and replaced by the American Country Countdown Awards in 2014.

The ratings for ACCA dropped dramatically compared to the 2013 American Country Awards. According to TV By The Numbers,[5] 18-49 ratings/share dropped from 1.4/4 to 0.9/3 and viewership dropped from 5.14 million to 3.39 million.

ACC specials

ACC broadcasts several special programs throughout the year. The most notable include:

  • Christmas in America was a six-hour program aired within the week of Christmas Day, with interview clips from country singers sharing Christmas memories interspersed between songs. The first special aired in 1989. While the title and format continued with Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40 production, ACC's version continued as American Country Christmas, with Brooks being joined by Ronnie Dunn (from 2006 to 2008); the 2009 special consisted of Brooks interviewing country music artists. In 2010, clips of Brooks' interviews with students at elementary schools from across the country were included in addition to the artist interviews.
  • The Year End Countdown. From 1973 to 1998, the year-end special reviewed the top 100 country hits of the year; this was halved to 50 in 1979 and again from 1999 to 2004, trimmed to just the top 40 from 2005 to 2010, and cut to 30 starting in 2011 (with songs that "just missed" the top 30 played as extras). From 1978 through 2004, the most notable highlight was a montage of all the No. 1 songs included in the countdown's survey period (usually the previous November to the current November, although this has included early December for a time in the late 1980s) before Kingsley played the year's top song.

Other special programs, usually centering on a theme or to promote a much-anticipated album that was about to go on sale, air throughout the year. Past specials have paid homage to the West, presented unusual or notable chart facts and performer accomplishments, counted down the top acts of all time, profiled a performer, and presented the top female and male singers of the past decade.

Substitute hosts

During the early years, Kingsley (after he became the show's producer) was the fill-in host when Bowman was absent. During the Kingsley era, a top radio personality from one of ACC's affiliates filled in as host in Kingsley's absence. Kix Brooks did not assume hosting duties until January 21, 2006. Since 2006, either a top country music act or ACC executive producer Suzanne Alexander (previous Donna Britt) has served as substitute host whenever Brooks was absent.

Reairing of older shows

In April 2015, Nash FM, the media brand and network of country music stations owned by Cumulus Media, announced it would begin re-airing classic ACC programs from the Bob Kingsley era, starting the weekend of May 2. The show, featuring programs originally aired between 1990 and 2005, is three hours in length (meaning the first hour of four-hour programs are not included).[6][7]

The first aired ACC Rewind program featured an ACC show which originally aired May 1, 1993.

Awards

ACC was named Billboard magazine's "Network/Syndicated Program of the Year: Country" from 1987 to 2002. Kingsley twice won the Country Music Association's National Broadcast Personality of the Year award (in 2001 and 2003).

Worldwide syndication

When ACC premiered in October 1973, it aired on just 45 stations. Today, the show is heard on more than 1,000 radio stations in the United States and worldwide, and can be heard on the Armed Forces Radio Network.

ACC is produced and distributed by Cumulus Media Networks; since 2007, the program has been distributed via Cumulus' Today's Best Country satellite network and, since 2013, on most Nash FM stations as well. Tom Rounds' syndication company, Radio Express, distributes the program to radio stations outside the United States.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.insideradio.com/free/american-country-countdown-returns-to-billboard-chart/article_98093f16-8130-11e7-bddd-fbb9403e4a99.html
  2. ↑ Hall, Claude, "Vox Jox," Billboard, June 15, 1974. Via Google Books, accessed 04-24-2015.
  3. ↑ American Country Countdown radio broadcast, May 6, 1978.
  4. ↑ Ginsburg, Janice, "Syndicators as innovators," Billboard, March 8, 1986, page C-3. Accessed 04-26-2015.
  5. ↑ http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com
  6. ↑ "NASH Icon Partners With Bob Kingsley For ACC-Rewind," Media Confidential, April 17, 2015. Accessed 04-23-2015.
  7. ↑ "NASH To Launch 'American Country Countdown Rewind With Bob Kingsley'," All Access, April 17, 2015. Accessed 04-22-2015.

Further reading

  • Bachman, Katy, "Brooks to Host American Country Countdown." Mediaweek, November 9, 2005.
  • Durkee, Rob. American Top 40: The Countdown of the Century. Schriner Books, New York City, 1999. ISBN 0-02-864895-1. Includes information about American Country Countdown.
  • Stark, Phyllis, "ABC Taps Kix Brooks As New Countdown Host", Billboard Radio Monitor, November 9, 2005.
  • Battistini, Pete, "American Top 40 with Casey Kasem (The 1970s)." Authorhouse.com, January 31, 2005. ISBN 1-4184-1070-5. Includes information about American Country Countdown.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.