‘Just You & Me’ celebrates 40 years on WFIU this month

A reception and live radio show will take place on December 19 from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m.

​WFIU Public Radio’s afternoon jazz program Just You & Me hits a milestone this month when it celebrates its 40th anniversary on Thursday, December 19.
 
The program started in 1984 when Joe Bourne came to WFIU and took over the afternoon jazz shift from Michael Bourne (no relation to Joe Bourne) who had hosted a show called There. Bourne renamed the program Just You & Me and hosted it for the next 30 years.

“I really began by playing things that I liked,” Bourne said of how he started his career at WFIU. “I just tried to be myself. …I [told listeners] my own stories about how I got interested in this music…why I think it’s interesting to other people and [played] some good examples of it by the best musicians.”
 
Bourne said one of the best parts of his job was how he could reach and engage listeners through the music he played on Just You & Me. “I can’t tell you the number of times people have told me over the years that they never listened to jazz until they tuned in to my program,” Bourne said. “I think that’s just phenomenal.”
 
Bourne will join current Just You & Me host David Brent Johnson for a special 40th anniversary reception and live radio show on Thursday, December 19 in Studio 6 at the Radio-TV Building (1229 E. 7th St., Bloomington, Ind.). The reception starts at 2:30 p.m. with the live Just You & Me broadcast taking place from 3 to 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required by December 13 through this form.