The stories are success stories. The letters from listeners often touch the heart and can be inspiring.

We tell stories. We talk about statistics. And in 1978, we added an element of the show that gave it its heartbeat: the long distance dedication.

Interestingly, songs used to be short, then they became longer, and now they're getting shorter.

My first commercial was for Miller High Life beer.

I started radio in 1950 on the Lone Ranger radio program, a dramatic show that emanated from Detroit when I was 18 years old and just beginning college. I did that for a couple of years.

It's been amazing, the number of commercials that I've done, starting back in 1968. It must be 8,000.

Songs used to be short, then they became longer, and now theyre getting shorter. But otherwise, music is about a beat and a message. If the beat gets to the audience, and the message touches them, youve got a hit.