American Gold
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American Gold is a syndicated weekly, four-hour, hit-packed, oldies countdown program which is written, produced and hosted by Radio Hall-of-Fame broadcaster Dick Bartley. It is syndicated nationwide through ABC Radio.
[edit] Concept
The concept of American Gold is loosely based upon the formats of other ABC shows, American Top 40 and American Country Countdown, although Casey Kasem (who created those shows) was never involved in the creation of Gold (Kasem had left ABC by the time Bartley had joined in 1991).
The featured songs (usually numbering 10 to 15) are ranked from the smallest to the biggest hits in a particular show. The Billboard Hot 100 chart is the standard for this ranking. The featured songs usually follow a category; a featured band is usually the focus, but occasionally Bartley makes an exception for a special holiday. For bands or categories with fewer hits, Bartley will split the show in two: the first half having a theme, and the second featuring the top hits of a particular three-month span (e.g. fall of 1974 or winter of 1969-70). In addition, on the first weekend of every month, Gold has a "yearbook special" highlighting the top hits of a given year.
Prior to 2007, Bartley conducted a contest known as "The Quiz Man" where listeners could win prizes. Said contest was discontinued.
