I credit God with giving me the idea for 'Top 40.'
What I really want to be is an actor.
I just felt it was my job to show that there is no easy way to success, and that anyone who gets even just one Top 40 hit deserves their moment in the sun. I accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. That is the timeless thing.
Garbage. It's a natural quality of huskiness in the midrange of my voice that I call 'garbage.' It's not a clear-toned announcer's voice. It's more like the voice of the guy next door.
The greatest compliment that anyone can pay me is that after I say something, they remember it. I'll go over a piece of copy until I've gotten the essence of what the writer had in mind - every nuance.
I've never loved listening to music.
Every station I was at, I never said goodbye - when I was in Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, Oakland, and L.A. I don't know why.
When I first heard rap, I wasn't quick to be critical. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but I had a feeling it was a reflection of what's been happening in the ghetto.
'American Top 40' allowed me to be current without my having to force change to keep up with things. The new songs kept us up to date, so every show sounded fresh.
I love to keep busy. But I never forget it's the countdown that made it all possible.
Hosting various versions of my countdown program has kept me extremely busy, and I loved every minute of it.
Because of my background in theater and radio acting, I knew that I could make a living as an actor.
Anytime in radio that you can reach somebody on an emotional level, you're really connecting.
Before that, they thought talking movies might eliminate radio as well. But radio just keeps getting stronger.
But otherwise, music is about a beat and a message.
Despite all the technical improvements, it still boils down to a man or a woman and a microphone, playing music, sharing stories, talking about issues - communicating with an audience.
I had also done a little disc jockeying.
If the beat gets to the audience, and the message touches them, you've got a hit.
I probably would be continuing to do voice-overs, continuing to do cartoon shows, and at the same time I'd probably be on a sitcom or a dramatic television show.
My agent said that I was one of the top three busiest people in the country.
