I'll add to the memoirs.
I was born in '76, so Rush's show came out right about the time I first began to be aware of politics. The Bush I era. My grandmother would always give us the endless supply of Guidepost and Readers' Digest magazines she received, and RD reprinted a profile of him from some other magazine. I don't know what year it would have been, but I was intrigued by what I read.
From that point on, I listened to him whenever I could - in the summer, or when driving or working by myself. My Dad is very conservative, and a huge radio listener, but he never liked Limbaugh that much. I'm not sure if it was just a dislike for his style, or if it was because my Dad has a non-conformist streak that made him shy away from whatever all the other conservatives were raving about. But Dad should probably be glad Rush straightened my head out.
Years ago, the appeal of Rush's show began to wane for me. Not that I disliked Rush or disagreed with him, but at some point in the Obama years, I just took my ears elsewhere. Then I started listening more to podcasts.
We could really use a guy like him in the coming years. What a tragedy.