Joe Soto has interviewed Barack Obama, and he’s talked with music legends Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson, too. It’s all part of a radio career that started in college radio back in 1980. In the more than four decades since, he’s worked weekends, overnights, nights, afternoons, and mornings, and served as a production director, across Top 40, classic rock, country, hot AC, and adult contemporary. Through it all, one thing about his on-air style hasn’t changed: Joe is upbeat.

Joe grew up in Illinois, and baseball is his game. He gives back by supporting a baseball clinic for kids. At home, it’s Darlene, his three kids (Sonia, Samantha, and Sonny), a dog named Tina, and three cats: Luna, Carlos, and Lucky. His philosophy? Little kids and animals are the only ones you can truly believe. His playlist is stacked with Prince, Santana, Steely Dan, Earth, Wind & Fire, and the Ohio Players, and his first concert was Black Sabbath. Ask for a favorite song and he’ll tell you there are too many to name, but Tevin Campbell’s “Can We Talk” makes the cut. His coffee order is classic: small, with one cream and one sugar.