Everyone deserves their own day, and today just happens to be mine.  Today is National Disc Jockey Day.  Of course, that brings up the question, what exactly is a Disc Jockey?

Back in the old days, we radio folks would go into a little studio with a couple of record players and a few "cart machines" (basically 8-tracks machines).  Of course, those playing music in clubs or dances are also considered a "Disc Jockey" but for the purpose of this article, we're going to focus on the radio aspect of it.

The first radio station in Montana was KFBB and went on the air back in July of 1922 and now we have well over 200 plus radio stations across the state.

Oh and here is a little fun radio fact, every station west of the Mississippi river starts with the letter K and all of the stations east start with the letter W. Although, there are a few stations in the western part of the country that have W as the first letter of their calls, and the reason for that was because they were established before the law which took place in the very early 1920s.

In the "glory days" of radio, radio stations had DJs on the air 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.  Now with technology, things are a lot different.

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First off, almost no one plays records on the radio anymore. It's all digital and almost all the music is on a hard drive and is just a click or two of a mouse away from being played on the air. Second, you don't actually have to be at the station to be on the station. For instance, with a halfway decent microphone, a laptop, and a good wifi connection I could do my show here in Bozeman from almost anywhere on earth.

Even though things have certainly changed, a few things remain the same.  For example, there's an old saying amongst us radio folks.  "There are two ways to be successful in radio. Have talent, or just stay in the same town long enough."  Radio is one of the most popular media outlets in the country, and recent studies say that over 90 percent of Americans tune into radio every week.

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Why?

Well, there are a few reasons for that.  One, it's free.  Two, it's entertaining. With all of the different radio formats out there, you're sure to find something that you enjoy. Third, it's a great way to make a difference in our communities.  Montana is full of different organizations and charities that help folks around our state and nothing rallies folks together better than an old-fashioned radiothon.

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Finally,  It's about making connections. Every day we get on the air and we share our lives with you. We tell you about our good days and our bad. We laugh and cry with you.  You become our friends and in some cases, our extended family. So, thank you from all of us to all of you. We certainly couldn't do it without you.

Check Out the Best-Selling Album From the Year You Graduated High School

Do you remember the top album from the year you graduated high school? Stacker analyzed Billboard data to determine just that, looking at the best-selling album from every year going all the way back to 1956. Sales data is included only from 1992 onward when Nielsen's SoundScan began gathering computerized figures.

Going in chronological order from 1956 to 2020, we present the best-selling album from the year you graduated high school.

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