The Bill Tash Collection

Big Jack Armstrong at a remote broadcast, 1967 Even though he is frequently remembered as the fast-talking night jock on WKBW in Buffalo, N.Y., Jack Armstrong (aka: John Larsh) made his first high-power appearance on 50KW WKYC (formerly KYW) in Cleveland, Ohio. Jack left WIXY in Cleveland and was offered the prime nightime DJ shift at WKYC when Jerry G. joined Ken Draper at WCFL in Chicago. Jack broke his contract at WIXY and could not call himself “Jack Armstrong” at WKYC, so initially, he was just Big Jack. Later, he called himself Jackson W. Armstrong. This aircheck is most likely from January of 1967, and Armstrong would have just been hired. It features Jack and his sidekick The Gorilla, and a few PAMS jingles. As of July, 2001, Jack Armstrong was morning drive host at WMQX-93.1 in Greensboro, N.C., where he was for several years. He passed away March 22, 2008 at his home in North Carolina.

When we first opened this exhibit (7/8/2001), all we knew about Chuck Dann was that he appeared at WKYC in 1967, and he didn’t make the “Power Radio” lineup on February 1, 1968. We believe this aircheck is from January, 1968.Thanks to our great friends who have further identified Chuck Dann as Chuck Riley, later at WIBC in Indianapolis and now a nationally-known voice-over talent. (see COMMENT, below).Otherwise, this is an outstanding (condensed) aircheck and Dann is smooth and personable. It’s really the last hurrah of WKYC personality Top 40. One year earlier, there was no reverb, but REVERB is ON in 1968, Big Jack is gone, (Davey Diamond is in – is this THE Dave Diamond?) and there’s a talk show at 11PM!

(1) Jingles: PAMS Series 33 (Fun!) is featured prominently, as is an all time favorite Voices of PAMS acapella jingle. (2) Spots: Classics for the YoungMobile, Petula Clark for Plymouth, Newport Cigarettes, Campbell’s Soups, Budweiser and Jenos Pizza. Is that Dick Cavett on the Excedrin headache spot? Cavett did a lot of radio work in the 60’s, it seems.

On New Year’s Eve 1956, the “House of Moondog” was back in business at WJW (850) Cleveland, when Pete Myers (1928-1968) arrived at the former digs of Alan Freed’s rock ‘n’ roll party. Freed had left Cleveland for New York in the fall of 1954. Myers became known as “Mad Daddy” in 1957.Mad Daddy also left Cleveland for one shift at WNEW, and a more successful run at WINS in New York, but not until June 1959 after a stint at WHK. Sadly, Mad Daddy took his own life in October of 1968.This exceptional and very rare recording of WJW in 1958 features Myers’ trademark rhyming rap, and lost “blues and rhythm” treasures like Service with a Smile, Greasy Chicken and Teenage Machine Age. And we are treated to an obscure single by Mad Daddy himself, I Love a Practical Joke, performed as The Joker.

Here it is – the true roots of American Top 40 radio: An outrageous disc jockey, with
a maniacal laugh, playing “race music”. It’s no wonder that some older folks were terrified by the sounds coming from their radios!