Kasem began hosting the original "American Top 40" on the weekend of July 4, 1970 and remained there until 1988. He would then spend nine years hosting another countdown titled "Casey's Top 40", beginning in January 1989 and ending in February 1998, before returning to revive "American Top 40" in 1998. Along the way, spin-offs of the original countdown were conceived for country music and adult contemporary audiences, and Kasem hosted two countdowns for the latter format beginning in 1992 and continuing until 2009.