Today is National D.J. Day. Observed every year on January 20th, it's a tribute to the disk jockeys who, through their voices and personalities, have been trusted companions on the airwaves for generations.

Chances are, whether you love them or just wish they'd shut up, there's at least a few D.J.'s who helped provide the soundtrack to your youth.

As a preacher's kid, I wasn't allowed to listen to rock and roll. At night, I would put on my headphones and secretly listen to the old "Z-Rock" Network on the AM dial. The first time I ever heard "Mad Max Hammer" do the "Nightly Nuke", I was hooked.

Once I was old enough to drive, I listened to all the great Denver D.J.'s. Guys like Steve Cooper, Lewis and Floorwax, Dean and Roger and Uncle Nasty were my heroes.

One day, Steve Cooper gave me a "wrap that rascal" key chain (with a condom inside the key chain) outside of an Ozzy concert at McNichols Sports Arena. I knew right then and there that's what I wanted to do.

25 years later, I work with Steve Cooper. And I never get tired of hearing his stories about the golden age of rock radio. It's a time when the music really mattered and radio stations actually cared about the audience.

Sadly, there aren't many D.J.'s left. Those who are still on the air are the last of a dying breed. I'm proud to be one of them. Even though I'll never get rich, it still beats working for a living. Hopefully, I'll never have to get a real job.

As the late, great Dr. Hunter S. Thompson once said, "The radio business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."

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