"ever been a huge fan of someone but didn't know?"
I came across some Phil Collins on spotify so I started playing the first 5 albums and it was like a light went off. I remember a lot of this stuff and I really really dug it. same with Kenny Loggins a few years ago.
Where I'm from in CA, none of the LA radio station signals were strong enough to reach us, so all we had was an AM station that played The Beatles and other 60's pop/rock. I think the DJ just assumed everyone listening knew who he was playing so he'd do his little spiel and go on to the next record without introducing it or explaining the previous one.