You nailed it! That is what radio was about. DJs were celebrities and you had your favorites. There was interaction with the listener, phone in requests, dedications, contests etc.

When FM started to gain traction, it was the antithesis to AM "top 40" programming. A deep smokey voice introduced an album side and let it play, even with the breaks between song cuts.

Today, FM is so commercialized it is unpalatable.

As the saying goes, garbage in, garbage out. So there needs to be a lot of accountability with the recording industry. They are looking for a 13-week flash in the pan, then on to the next. Artists are not developed, they're cloned and that is why song factories produce "millennial woop" ear worms. If they have their way, the new hits will be 15 sec and the next "pop star" will emerge from Tik Tok.

MRGA