. [Description by KM Richards] “Video Killed the Radio Star,” if we are to believe The Buggles, but in one case Video Made the Radio Star Bigger. That star was the late J.J. Jackson who, while never a top-40 air personality, is likely as well-known as any who were. J.J. Jackson After coming to prominence at legendary AOR station WBCN in Boston, J.J. moved to Los Angeles in 1971 to be part of the airstaff of ABC-owned “Rock ‘n Stereo” KLOS. Ten years later, he was one of the original five “VJs” on MTV: Music Television. Upon returning to L.A. post-MTV, he surfaced at modern rock pioneer KROQ before becoming the program director of alternative rock KEDG, “The Edge”. These recordings cover the final two hours of The Edge on the evening of May 12, 1989, with Jackson at the controls. It includes phone calls from Melissa Etheridge, whose career was just taking off; blues legend Willie Dixon; KROQ DJs Dusty Street and Freddy Snakeskin; and Brian Setzer of Stray Cats. There is also a brief interplay between J.J. and legendary Los Angeles AOR personality Jim Ladd at the outset, and a few of the other Edge personalities — “Dangerous” Deon, John Logic, and Cynthia Fox — turn up briefly during the course of this finale. KEDG returned to the air six hours later as soft A/C KLIT (“K-Lite”), changed formats in 1994 to Adult Album Alternative KSCA and was then sold to Hispanic Broadcasting Company (today’s Univision Radio), which flipped it to Spanish-language “La Nueva” in 1997. Jackson shopped the Edge format around the market for several months then returned briefly to KLOS and KROQ, and did afternoon drive at smooth jazz KTWV “The Wave” in 2003. He also hosted “The Beatle Years” for Westwood One starting in 1995, and had recorded voicetracks for that program only a few days prior to his death. J.J. Jackson died March 17, 2004 at age 62, of a heart attack. Coverage of his memorial service is at the LARadio.com website.