Jack Armstrong Dead

[NamJock]

I cannot stop weeping. For Jack. For his daughters. For radio as it was and will never be again. For those of us who stole defeat from the jaws of televison victory in the '60s; only to lose it again in 1996. Those of you who have taken radio from us - and you know who you are, with your millions and billions - may you rot, may your deals go south, may CNBC say bad things about you, may your stock fall below $1 - and stay there.

Jackson Armstrong, The All American Boy - My Leeeeeder; may YOU RIP. I love you, man.
-NamJock

[brad5725]

The memorial service for Jack was held late Friday afternoon in High Point, NC.  Attended by about 75 caring people, it was most gratifying to see and hear the impression he made as a man on so many, way beyond the personality/character that we radio folks knew him for.  Jack's 3 daughters are wonderfully decent women.  And if the measure of any of us is the progeny we leave behind, he was a heluva guy.  Jack's older brother spoke beautifully of him.  Many who more recently worked with Jack at Oldies 93 in Greensboro made it quite clear that his dedication and professionalism and true belief in (what's left of) the business was as real as we all hoped it would be.
And that commitment was verified by Bob Weiss, one of the orginal owners of WIXY in Cleveland, who hired Jack over 40 years ago when he was a 20 year-old.

Clearly, Jack's health had been noticably failing the past few months, and one of his closest relatives, in the midst of the tributes, let us all know that "when he couldn't get back into radio, God came and took him at the right time... he died of a broken heart."

I only met Jack personally once, but he was always willing and gracious with his time when called upon.  I asked him to talk to us on WBT a few years back right after George Harrison died.  He said yes, of course, and proceeded to stay with us for a full hour, taking calls and telling his great up-close-and-personal story of introducing the Beatles in Cleveland and the accompanying mahem of the moment.

Let there be no doubt that Jack Armstrong's radio legacy lives on not just through the left-behind airchecks and YouTube stuff, but through all of us still hanging in there who he inspired those many years ago via Cleveland, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, LA and beyond....

Brad Krantz
WZTK, Greensboro/Raleigh-Durham

[spacetrucker]

Brad said it as well as anyone could. Just let me add this. Jack's memorial service was to say the least "Jacked Up". Not many of us there but it was a great service. Walking down the hall to the chapel you could hear Johny B Good coming from the sound system. A lot of great stories from family, colleges, friends and people he touched who had never met him. Jack Armstrong was one of a kind and so was John Larsh. He will forever live on in the hearts of those of us who loved him.
To those who bash others they think may have done him wrong.....give it a rest. Jack is in a better place and life goes on. Radio isn't what it was and never will be again. Let's be thankful for what Jack left us and taught us. Rest in Peace my leader.

[spacetrucker]

Someone was asking for the 1972 programmers digest featuring WKBW. Here's the link. http://www.reelradio.com/ricky/index.html#wkbw72 Jack is towards the middle.

[YEKIMI]

There are a few songs about DJ's out there but the one that seems like it fits Jackson Armstrong the best would have been "Pilot Of The Airwaves" by Charlie Dore......but she probably had never heard of him seeing as how she was from London, England. Jackson had an amazing flight but, eventually, we all have to land.

[BIG APE]

WHO ARE YOU?

[gutterball]

Allan Handelman's syndicated show this weekend will feature more excerpts from his last interview with Jack.  Additionally, we will be posting the entire interview on our website fmtalk1011.com in the near future. Right now, there are a couple of short highlights posted (click "netcast central").  I've been looking back through this thread for airchecks and youtube bits that we can link with.  Naturally, there is an avalanche of available material.  However, If anyone has mp3 archives that you consider to be "must hear" highlights of Jackson Armstrong, by all means, send them to me at pdavis@curtismedia.com, and we'll try to figure out how to organize them in some logistically sensible way. 

I was puzzled and disappointed that there was so little media coverage of J. Armstong's passing, with the exception of some of his past employers.  As far as I can tell, local TV never touched it.  I suppose they can plead ignorance, since the golden age of personality-driven radio is a distant, fuzzy memory.  Nonetheless, our "brethren" on the TV side ought to at least show some minimal grasp of the background of this region, beyond the the latest scandal story in the state legislature being fed to them by AP.

Pete Davis
Producer, The Allan Handelman Show

[Matt Smith]

You didn't watch us...

We did a report, and played a lengthy excerpt from the YouTube video of Armstrong on the WIXY reunion.

Later....
Matt Smith
http://www.wgsr.tv

[dittohead1]

ummm....Matt.

(don't take this the wrong way)

NO ONE WATCHES YOU!

NOT EVEN YOUR FAMILY!

[EncSpy]

ummm..yeahh...I found out that LPTV stations are a goldmine when teamed up with local cable systems.....

Caught allan handleman show tonight on WZTK, they rebroadcasted the last interview jack armstrong did...I sat in my vehicle for 20 min listening to it