WLS accompanied me on my drive in December 1971 from Fort Gordon to Fort Lewis. I lost it in New Mexico at the Rockies. From that point, KFI in Los Angeles and KNBR in San Francisco accompanied me.
Driving back from Louisiana in 1972 we picked up WLS in Mississippi at night. WLS was a 50,000 watt “blowtorch.” There were not too many of them but I think WOWO in Ft. Wayne and KDKA in Pittsburgh were as well.
Hearing music ( and commercials) from another part of the country was fun and I felt connected. That and watching American Bandstand. “It has a good beat and you can dance to it.” When music didn’t conform to those criteria , that’s when it all went downhill.