'I felt the magic early': A look at Bill's career in broadcasting

"Then Daddy bought me a $17 guitar," said Bill. The guitar changed Bill's life, and so did the little transistor radio his parents bought him.

"I would get into bed at night when my parents told me to go to sleep, and I'd get under the covers and I'd listen to these broadcasters from way out in Fort Wayne, Indiana and Chicago and New York. I just felt the magic early," said Bill.

Bill began his career in radio at WKGX Top Gun Radio.

"It was the funniest thing," said Bill. "It had a little jingle. It was like, 'The Tall Man!' And my name was The Tall Man."

1972-2018: A timeline of Bill Leslie's career

Bill climbed the latter and worked with some good friends along the way, like Rick Dees, a nationally syndicated radio personality who, early on, wrote a song called Disco Duck. "That was the year my wife and I got married, in 1976, and he brought the little disc to the wedding, and we played it, and everybody just said 'Dees, you're crazy. This is horrible. This is ridiculous.'"

Disco Duck sold more than $6 million copies.

Ken Lowe is another longtime friend of Bill's.

"I can remember him calling me and saying, 'Bill, you've been in TV for a few years. I'm gonna pitch this idea to my boss tomorrow. Can you tell me a little bit about how you think I can sell it best?'"

Ken Lowe's idea? HGTV.

"Home and Garden Television," said Bill. "That was his, it was his idea. Brilliant idea."

Bill switched to television news in 1984, from WRAL-FM to WRAL-TV, where he won national awards for his environmental reporting.

It all started when one of his stories was supposed to be a simple feature about an old navy ship's final voyage and the children who had been invited to come aboard.

According to Bill, one of the kids noticed the Navy crew members were dumping bags of plastic waste off the ship.

Bill told that story instead, and it made people furious. "I went to Congress and testified twice, and that brought about major changes in regulations," said Bill.

It's also no secret that Bill has had a long music career, which has achieved worldwide success. The Scotland album was the World Radio Album of the year in 2013, and Bill said his guitar helped him win his wife.

"We went to Umstead Park, and I serenaded her out there," said Bill.

"I mean, I love hanging out with my children. I mean, I just love it!," said Bill. Now, Bill has grandchildren, who he has written songs about.

He's written one about his own life.

"Over all these years, I have learned to live each day with a sense of wonder and gratitude," said Bill. "To appreciate the great people that you run across, people who inspire you, and just enjoy the incredible beauty that we have here in North Carolina. It's the things that I love, the things that mean so much to be."

"I'm blessed, incredibly blessed."