XM Satellite Radio is celebrating Casey Kasem's American Top 40 coming to The 70s on 7 and The 80s on 8 with a marathon weekend.

On July 4, 1970, Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 debuted, and the Detroit native quickly became synonymous with the countdown format. The format, reminiscent of the immensely popular Your Hit Parade program in the 1930s and 1940s, allowed Kasem to blend human-interest stories with the top songs of the day. His final show aired on August 6, 1988 due to contract conflicts with ABC, after which it was taken over by Shadoe Stevens. Casey eventually reclaimed the AT40 moniker in 1998, until the torch was handed over to Ryan Seacrest in 2004.

Tune in to XM 7 and XM 8, Friday through Sunday, August 4th through August 6th, to hear the all-Casey Kasem countdown marathon all weekend long.

XM Satellite Radio and The Living Room are together starting up a new live musical performance series called "From The Living Room to The Loft." The series will showcase performances by singer/songwriters live from The Living Room in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Each hour-long show will feature an introductory performance from an emerging artist, followed by a headlining act performance and interview with the noted musicologist Teri Landi.

The debut episode, which airs this Sunday (July 23rd), will feature The Little Willies performing several songs, including five previously unrecorded by the band. Named in honor of Willie Nelson, The Little Willies feature the talents of Lee Alexander, Jim Campilongo, Norah Jones, Richard Julian and Dan Reiser.

Future episodes will showcase performances by acts like Martha Wainwright, Joseph Arthur, The Autumn Defense, The Wood Brothers, Marah and Chris Thile of Nickel Creek.

From The Living Room to The Loft debuts July 23rd at 6pm ET on The Loft (XM 50) with encore broadcasts airing throughout the week. New episodes premiere at the same time every other week.

That's right kids, Jesus Salas has joined with XM Satellite Radio as the Senior Program Director of XM’s four Latin channels: Fuego, Viva, Aguila and Caliente.

Salas will also oversee XM Vibra and XM Caricia which are available on DirecTV only.

[via Radio & Records]