Tait spent his childhood in Evanston, Illinois, where he developed his lifelong interest in classical music and collecting recordings.

[2] A colleague later recalled that Tait accumulated so many recordings that "he bought a house and had to have the floors reinforced to accommodate the weight of his collection".

[3] In a 1981 editorial commemorating WFMT's 30th anniversary, the art critic for the Chicago Tribune, Alan G. Artner, said of Tait's work: In my hearing, no one has presented artists of the past as informatively, not only week-by-week, but in comprehensive surveys.

[2] Crises at WFMT emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s when its parent company, Chicago Educational Television Association, began implementing drastic changes to the station's programming.

[3] In addition to his duties as host, Tait produced radio documentaries, including From Stock to Solti, about the history of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.