Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 66

Tempo 2 Section 5 Chicago Tribune, Tuesday, June 16, 1992 Classic concept The Far Side 'Afternoon Program host Don Tait, WFMT-FM survive 20 years together 'f pabofbslhy By Dan Kening Radio you haven't already done so, the next time you're stuck in construction traffic on your way home from work, tune in fine arts WFMT-FM 98.7. Eventually, Billy came to dread his father's lectures over all other forms of punishment. Tribune photo by Chris Walker Don Tait on the air in WFMT-FM 's studio. His "golden rule of broad-casting: Treat people the way you'd like to be treated." When Marty Robinson left WFMT for PBS-TV (Channel 11) in 1972, Tait joined WFMT. He was the longtime host of WFMT's "Collectors Item" program, which featured classical music from the first half of the century drawn from Tait's personal collection, which includes 30,000 78s.

Although the program is on an extended hiatus, it's still heard worldwide through syndication. Tait produced several award-winning retrospectives on famous conductors for WFMT, and recently produced "From Stock to Solti," a series tracing the history of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra through its recordings. Before becoming the station's p.m. host a year ago last April replacing Jay Andres, Tait, bounced around between shifts as most WFMT announcers do, under the station's philosophy that the programming rather than the hosts is the station's main appeal. Still, he accepts that he has become a part of many WFMT listeners' families.

It's something that he does not take lightly. "George Stone on the old WEFM was a hero of mine," he said. "He treated his listeners like intelligent That's where you'll find "Afternoon Program host Don Tait, who is celebrating his 20th anniversary at the station this year. He may not give you the traffic, but whether playing Aaron Copland's Nonet for Strings or reading the news and commercials, Tait's urbane-but-never-snooty style provides an oasis of serenity amid the insanity of afternoon drive. While he notes that WFMT program hosts Mel Zellman and Jim Unrath both have 10 years' seniority on him, Tait says two decades at the station is nothing to sneeze at.

"WFMT's audience is truly made up of really intelligent people who know the arts, who know how to pronounce things. The other day I mispronounced the name of a Rameau opera, and a man listening on cable called me from North Dakota to complain. So, being accepted by our listeners is pretty gratifying." A classical music fan since his childhood in Evanston, Tait's hobby of record collecting led to his first radio job, on classical music station WNIB in 1965. people and never tried to browbeat them. I would listen at home to his voice talking about classical music, and I always had the feeling that he was taking me seriously as a listener.

That's the golden rule of broadcasting: Treat people the way you'd like to be treated. Although he acknowledges that WFMT's much-publicized management shakeups of late have had an impact on listeners, Tait says the station's original mission remains intact. No kidding Remember Johnny Carson before he started on "The Tonight Show" in 1962? Here, from "The Complete Directory to Prime Time TV Stars," by Tim Brooks (Ballantine, 1987), are the facts: 1. "Carson's Cellar" (1951-53) on Los Angeles TV 2. "Red Skelton Show" (1953-54) comedy writer 3.

"Earn Your Vacation" (1954) game-show host 4. "Johnny Carson Show" (1955-56) variety show 5. "Who Do You Trust? (1957-62) game-show host 6. "Johnny Came Lately" (1960) unsold pilot World Features Syndtcatt "Once in a meeting here I said that to me, WFMT had always been not a group of broadcasters who had decided to play fine arts programming, but a group of people who were nuts about the fine arts who wound up as broadcasters." "The idea of a station dedicating itself to a concept is very important to me. What means the most to me after 20 years here is not so much that I have survived but that we have survived." Furniture and Accessory Clearance ICJ K0KO i A jV A JEFFERSON TAYLOR -J tt-Qkh STARSHTP HER BLUES T5 ClV MACHINE is I LONME BROOKS BLUES BAND 1 BEER GARDEN MAYBEDEFINITELY JVfStry? MOLLY ft DESERT ROSE hi I Ji4L HATCHET TO JR BAND BEER GARDEN THE FRAMES BEER GARDEN JOHN HOWELL AND II THE BORN TO BOOGIE BAND 1 4f'SroRTSSTARS ExSlraSffi DBnBM jg A MANAGER KEVIN MATTHEWS ttltmnStimtrutl I 1 DOUG KEITH BEER GARDEN.

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