Today marks the 30th Anniversary of the Rush Limbaugh Show, Rush's national show that he has hosted since August 1, 1987. A remarkable run.
I wasn't too political back in the 1980's amidst the Reagan economic boom. My brother and I were doing construction in Los Angeles, and normally listened to KNX Newsradio. But in August, the news station inexplicably changed their all-news programming to occasional feature shows, including the "Food News Hour" between 9 and 10am (Pacific time). My brother and I didn't like listening to such drivel, so he changed the station to KFI, where we first heard Rush's show. It was refreshing to listen to his show, and from then on, we listened to Rush for 2 hours every day (then later expanded to 3).
Talking to several other contractors, particularly seasoned contractors who weren't just into music, confirmed that many other Rush converts were switched from KNX for that very reason. Thanks to KNX's Food News Hour, Rush Limbaugh was catapulted into the national foray, at least in Los Angeles. I'm sure there were other similar switches around the country back in the later Reagan era.