For your listening pleasure, 40 years of R&B romance on the radio in Boston

René Marchando has worked behind-the-scenes as an audio engineer at WBUR for 16 years. But that's just his day job.

Since 1984, he's been behind the mic as the host of his own radio show. Marchando's "For Your Pleasure" runs 10 p.m. to midnight on Sundays at WMBR, the community radio station based out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Deejaying a radio show for four straight decades is a rare achievement. So Marchando, who goes by Ré Antoine on air, is celebrating the anniversary with a special edition of "For Your Pleasure" on Sunday Oct. 20, beginning at 8 p.m.

WBUR's Weekend Edition caught up with Marchando to hear more about his years on the Boston airwaves.

On the vibe he tries to create for listeners:

"It's R&B love songs and ballads. It's just music to make you feel good, and get the stress out of you for those two hours, and just forget about what the world has thrown at you. This is the world you're in now.

"Put a log in the fire, light a candle, get a libation, dim down the lights. The music is there behind you that will kind of motivate you, kind of put you into a nice, easy, laidback feeling."

On how some listeners have clued him in on the impact of the romantic ambience of the program:

"There were people in the past that would say, 'Yeah, we listened to your show and we have three kids now!' But luckily no one has named their child after me because of playing music. That would have been like, 'What? You named them after me? What, are you crazy?'

"I say, we're on from 10 to midnight — but you can take it past midnight into Monday and wake up with a smile on your face."

On why it is important for him to host "For Your Pleasure" on top of a demanding full-time job:

"Once you leave work, you need something to kind of de-stress you or just kind of make you relax. Well, doing the radio show was my therapy. I got my music out, it made me relax, it got me into the mood. I come out of there, and I feel good about what I did.

"I enjoy playing music for people to listen to. And I think sometimes the people out there need for me to provide them with the music to make them feel good about themselves, to get through the bad times."

On what the future holds for his radio show:

"I think I'll go for as long as physically I can. It's just a piece of me that if I didn't do it anymore, I think I would miss it. I think I would just feel some emptiness there. If it gets too much of a burden, I'll hang it up.

"You know, I don't want to say this, but I think they'll carry me out while I'm still playing a song!"

On what's in store for show's 40-year anniversary celebration:

"We're just going to have a good time. The 40th doesn't come around again — it's once in a lifetime. How am I going to feel? At some point, it's gonna hit me. This is 40. You made it this far. Amazing!"