[niteowl77]

It's sad remembering that once upon a time you could turn on the radio and hear real music. Nat King Cole was mainstream. Even Aretha had her crossover hits from the R&B world.

I am old enough to remember my elders listening to stations that played a little of everything. My favorite aunt was a real square who was into Lawrence Welk, but also liked Elvis Presley; I can still remember remember being in her kitchen and hearing Nat King Cole on the radio. My parents' record collection (for the big RCA console stereo they bought around '61 or '62) reflected the eclectic radio of those days: Ray Charles and Johnny Mathis were there along with Frank Sinatra, Johnny Horton, Keely Smith, Les Elgart, Johnny Cash...

Alas, 'twas back before all the mergers, takeovers and the ability to own more than a few media outlets. "Deregulation?" More like a license to monopolize.

[Newbomb Turk]

At 14 years old back in 1974 I started running the music at a local skating rink. I used to hang out there after hours blasting a lot of their old records while my friends were smoking pot and listening to zeppelin. There was no such thing as auto tune back then. Those artists could really sing. Didn’t need 21 tracks of background instruments either. I’m glad those days built in me a love and appreciation for a diverse selection of music.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Great memories—you nailed it, very eclectic. And all those you mentioned were wonderful, each unique and not a copy cat.