I grew up in a house where the stereo/radio was almost always on. I liked older music, even when I was a kid, because my parents would play tapes like Stevie Wonder, The Stylistics, The Carpenters, Toto, Chris Rea.. y’know, old school. I was never into the pop stuff or ‘top 40’ much.
I was exposed to a lot of rock (and its many variations) in high school, where I also picked up the guitar after my freshman year.