What’s Up with Dees’ Hot AC Top 40?

This is my first blog post – so please be patient with my writing style…

I’ve been listening to the Hot AC version of the Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 2007 year-end countdown. I’m unhappy, but not surprised, with how the show disregards it’s Hot AC format and continuity in its own show.

First let me say that I’ve enjoyed listening to the WT40 for 20 years (whenever I have a chance to listen). I’m not a fan of current Top 40 (CHR) music, so I listen to the Hot AC version. It should not be that hard to produce a year-end chart based on the subscriber station’s playlists, especially when charts are compiled electronically these days. Why then does the Hot AC year-end look like the CHR version with the rap songs removed? Why do they reuse sound bites from the CHR version that completely contradict what happened on the weekly show? Rick will say something like “and that song spent 5 weeks at #1 this year”, but the song never made the top 10 on the weekly chart. Also, there are several songs that are on the year-end chart that never charted on a weekly chart.

Are the staff of the show being lazy? Are they being directed to cut costs by reusing as much as they can from the CHR show? I’d like to know. I would rather they use a correct chart but use less of Dees’ voice if they have to. They did something like this in 2005. It’s not great, but it’s sure better than being completely wrong with a lot of information. There are other shows with examples like this, such as the #1s Special. Most of those songs never made #1 on Hot AC, and again many did not even chart.

So, Rick, I like your show, so please try harder to make it a quality product.