The most beloved voice from radio's golden age has died.

Casey Kasem, the man who gave us, and was the iconic voice of American Top 40 from 1970 to 1988, died on Father's Day from a debilitating disease in Gig Harbor, Washington. He was 82.

Casey is survived by his second wife, Jean, and four children, Mike, Julie, Kerri and Liberty.

Like Us on Facebook

His friendly, velvety voice boosted him to the top ranks of America's most famous DJs of the 70s and 80s. And the way he bade farewell after ending each broadcast of American Top 40 has become part of American folklore.

"Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars," was how Casey ended each program.

"I just didn't want to say goodbye," he said when asked why he didn't simply say goodbye. "Every station I was at, I never said goodbye. I don't know why."

So we won't say goodbye to you Casey. But we'll keep listening to your voice on radio reruns or on digital media.

Satellite radio station SiriusXM began airing a marathon of Casey's old countdown shows on the program the "70s on 7" shortly after his death was announced.

"Casey Kasem was the undisputed king of weekly music countdown shows and we will miss him," said Kid Kelly, vice president of music programming for SiriusXM.

"He was a giant of radio for decades, becoming for listeners as notable as the music and artists he played."

"American Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest" will dedicate next weekend's shows to Casey.

"It's a sad day for the broadcasting community and for radio listeners around the world," said Seacrest, who took over American Top 40 from Casey.

 "When I was a kid, I would listen to Casey Kasem's AT40 show every weekend, and dream about someday becoming a radio DJ. So when decades later I took over his AT40 countdown show, it was a surreal moment.

"Casey had a distinctive friendly on-air voice, and he was just as affable and nice if you had the privilege to be in his company. He'll be greatly missed by all of us."

Outside radio, Casey was the voice of Shaggy in the cartoon series Scooby-doo from 1969 to 1995 and 2002 to 2009. He also voiced Robin in the first animated "Batman" cartoon series and was also heard on "Josie and the Pussycats."

Casey was born was born Kemal Amin Kasem to Lebanese parents who immigrated to Michigan before he was born. He was a passionate advocate for Arab-Americans throughout his life.

He began his professional radio career started in the mid-1950s in Flint, Michigan. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1952 and sent to Korea, where he was a DJ on the Armed Forces Radio Korea Network.

Returning from Korea, he went on to work at radio stations in California, Ohio and New York before launching "American Top 40" in 1970. Casey hosted the show until 1988. He also hosted a revived version from 1998 until 2004 when Seacrest took over.

From 1988 until 1998, Casey hosted a show called "Casey's Top 40." Almost as popular as his countdowns were the thousands of dedications from fans everywhere he read on-air.

Casey pioneered the countdown format on radio. The first No. 1 song on his American Top 40 was "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)" by Three Dog Night in 1970. The last No. 1 song was "Second Chance" by Shinedown. 

TagsCasey Kasem, Obituary