Big Jack Armstrong, born John Charles Larsh on December 4, 1945, in Durham County, North Carolina, aka Jack Armstrong, Jackson W. Armstrong, and Big Jack Your Leader, was a top-40 disc jockey of the 1960s through the 1980s, and an oldies DJ until 2006.
Larsh began his radio career at WCHL in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 1960 at the age of 14 as an after-school and weekend job. He also worked at WCDJ in Edenton when his family would go back home during summer break. At some point, he worked for WSSB in Durham, but the time frame is unclear.
Upon graduating from high school in 1964, Larsh moved to Atlanta, where he got an FCC engineer's license, while working on the radio at WDJK. His parents enrolled him in Guilford College in Greensboro in a pre-med course. Larsh dropped out almost immediately, having gotten a radio job at WCOG.
In early 1966, WAYS-AM in Charlotte had begun 24-hour operations. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations at the time required that any station must have an engineer on duty at all times the station was on the air. When Larsh applied for a job there, the station quickly saw an opportunity to fill two sets of shoes with one person, since Larsh already had a First Class license. He was hired to fill the overnight shift.
A young Jack at work included a meeting with the Beatles.At WAYS, Larsh met Jack Gale, a seasoned veteran of both the radio and music business who would become his mentor. Larsh later remarked, "Jack (Gale) has forgotten more about the radio business than I've ever known." When asked, he would always cite Gale as one of his major influences.
Larsh's first big break came later in 1966, when he landed a job at WIXY-1260 in Cleveland, Ohio. The evening disc jockey at this station was always called 'Jack Armstrong' after the 1930s radio serial Jack Armstrong the All American Boy. With his fast-talking, young, friendly approach, Larsh became a huge hit in Cleveland - so huge that floundering WKYC-1100 asked him to break his WIXY contract, and come to work for the 50,000-watt station in January 1967.
WKYC 1967
'Jack Armstrong' was a copyrighted moniker in the market, so Larsh adopted the alias 'Big Jack Your Leader', and went to work for WKYC. He also occasionally taunted WIXY by calling himself Jackson W. Armstrong.
With WKYC being heard all over the eastern half of the US, Larsh finally went national. He attracted fans all over the region, and became a huge hit. WKYC was listed as the number-three -uying influence in Miami in that era, no doubt due to 'Big Jack' and the 50,000-watt night signal that was so strong over the east coast of the U.S.
Larsh moved on, working at other 50,000-watt stations such as WMEX-1510 in Boston; CHUM-1050 in Toronto - KFI-640 in Los Angeles - KTNQ-1020 in Los Angeles, and then came an October night in 1970 when WKBW in Buffalo, New York introduced him as its newest evening personality. After the 7 p.m. newscast, KB listeners across the city and the Eastern Seaboard were greeted by, “This is Jack Armstrong!” as he mixed the Top 40 tunes of the day with a quick wit, jingles and exploding dynamite, as he continued to develop his 'Motormouth' character.
He had two imaginary sidekicks - the Gorilla, who speaks in a raspy bass and likes women, banana juice and whiskey—in that order. The second sidekick was the Old Timer, who wheezes, tells lame jokes and was always getting shot after one of them. Larsh was known for his distinctive signoff. At WKYC, it was a few catch phrases, spoken over the instrumental version of the Beatles’ “And I Love her”.
In 1971, Armstrong was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s fastest talking human. Also that year, he participated in WKBWs War of the Worlds broadcast, a modernized version originally done in 1938 by Orson Welles.
When he left WKBW in February 1973, Armstrong was such a tough act to follow that the station held a two-week Great American Talent Hunt that attracted some of the nation’s top DJs.
Larsh was then hired as one of the original disc jockeys for the all-new 13-Q in Pittsburgh in the early 1970s.
When he arrived in Pittsburgh Jack helped inaugurate 13Q as its nighttime disc jockey, he was just as quick in becoming an instant Pittsburgh legend. In part due to his popularity, the station obliterated everything in its path within weeks and became Pittsburgh's top radio station. But within four years, Armstrong and most of the other original staff were gone, and 13Q's ratings vanished with them. But while he was there, according to Jack, 13Q was like no other radio experience he had ever had at 25 plus stations.
His first daughter was born in Pittsburgh and that was a great moment. His radio "stunts" were very challenging - things like - breaking a rollercoaster-riding record, being in a snake pit in Horne's department store's front window, and being in the victory parade after the Steelers' first Super Bowl win with Franco Harris on 13Q's flatbed truck float. He did his radio show in the nude from the station's showcase windows as he "streaked" Pittsburgh. He also arranged for a new band he had heard in Buffalo to play one of 13Q's free concerts. That was Pittsburgh's introduction to Aerosmith.
Jack in the 80s.In the late '70s, he could be heard on Indianapolis' WIFE before it went dark.
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Larsh began his radio career at WCHL in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 1960 at the age of 14 as an after-school and weekend job. He also worked at WCDJ in Edenton when his family would go back home during summer break. At some point, he worked for WSSB in Durham, but the time frame is unclear.
Upon graduating from high school in 1964, Larsh moved to Atlanta, where he got an FCC engineer's license, while working on the radio at WDJK. His parents enrolled him in Guilford College in Greensboro in a pre-med course. Larsh dropped out almost immediately, having gotten a radio job at WCOG.
Jack in the studio.In early 1966, WAYS-AM in Charlotte had begun 24-hour operations. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations at the time required that any station must have an engineer on duty at all times the station was on the air. When Larsh applied for a job there, the station quickly saw an opportunity to fill two sets of shoes with one person, since Larsh already had a First Class license. He was hired to fill the overnight shift.
John Larsh (soon to be Jackson Armstrong) at WAYS on October 8, 1965. [ LISTEN ] (21:44)
Larsh is holding down the night shift and there’s been bad weather, as the headlines of the lead story in his full newscast. This overnight show has the jock pulling news duties, jock duties - the jock is doing everything.
A young Jack at work included a meeting with the Beatles.WIXY CLEVELAND, OCTOBER, 1966: Jack got his start in his home state of North Carolina, at stations like WCOG Greensboro and WAYS Charlotte. His first out-of-state radio gig was in 1966, at WIXY Cleveland. As he did throughout much of his early career, Armstrong held down the evening shift at "Wixie". He was part of WIXY lineup that included Jerry Brooke, Johnny Canton, Johnny Walters, and Bobby Magic. [ LISTEN ] (22:39)
Larsh's first big break came later in 1966, when he landed a job at WIXY-1260 in Cleveland, Ohio. The evening disc jockey at this station was always called 'Jack Armstrong' after the 1930s radio serial Jack Armstrong the All American Boy. With his fast-talking, young, friendly approach, Larsh became a huge hit in Cleveland - so huge that floundering WKYC-1100 asked him to break his WIXY contract, and come to work for the 50,000-watt station in January 1967.
WKYC 1967Jack made a stop in Cleveland for a gig at station WKYC. Here he is spinning records on September 24, 1967. [ LISTEN ] (46:26)
'Jack Armstrong' was a copyrighted moniker in the market, so Larsh adopted the alias 'Big Jack Your Leader', and went to work for WKYC. He also occasionally taunted WIXY by calling himself Jackson W. Armstrong.
With WKYC being heard all over the eastern half of the US, Larsh finally went national. He attracted fans all over the region, and became a huge hit. WKYC was listed as the number-three -uying influence in Miami in that era, no doubt due to 'Big Jack' and the 50,000-watt night signal that was so strong over the east coast of the U.S.
Anticipation was in the air in June, 1968 when CHUM announced that a new voice would be coming to the station. Just who would it be? The answer as revealed shortly after 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 16 was Jackson Armstrong.
Larsh moved on, working at other 50,000-watt stations such as WMEX-1510 in Boston; CHUM-1050 in Toronto - KFI-640 in Los Angeles - KTNQ-1020 in Los Angeles, and then came an October night in 1970 when WKBW in Buffalo, New York introduced him as its newest evening personality. After the 7 p.m. newscast, KB listeners across the city and the Eastern Seaboard were greeted by, “This is Jack Armstrong!” as he mixed the Top 40 tunes of the day with a quick wit, jingles and exploding dynamite, as he continued to develop his 'Motormouth' character.
Jack popped in on WPOP for a while, and here he is on February 7, 1970 in three zany parts.
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[ 1 ] (48:11) [ 2 ] (49:17) [ 3 ] (48:27)
The date is December 22, 1970 and Jack is working the turntable at WKBW.[ LISTEN ] (1:01:07)
With this aircheck, Armstrong displays the wit, timing and energy made him a Top 40 legend. Veteran WKBW newsman and Buffalo Broadcasting Hall of Famer Henry Brach is also heard - note how he talks up to the vocal on the songs following his newscast! Jack makes frequent reference to Jeff Kaye, the legendary WKBW program director who played a big part in 'KB's success and was inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2002.
He had two imaginary sidekicks - the Gorilla, who speaks in a raspy bass and likes women, banana juice and whiskey—in that order. The second sidekick was the Old Timer, who wheezes, tells lame jokes and was always getting shot after one of them. Larsh was known for his distinctive signoff. At WKYC, it was a few catch phrases, spoken over the instrumental version of the Beatles’ “And I Love her”.
When he left WKBW in February 1973, Armstrong was such a tough act to follow that the station held a two-week Great American Talent Hunt that attracted some of the nation’s top DJs.
Larsh was then hired as one of the original disc jockeys for the all-new 13-Q in Pittsburgh in the early 1970s.
When he arrived in Pittsburgh Jack helped inaugurate 13Q as its nighttime disc jockey, he was just as quick in becoming an instant Pittsburgh legend. In part due to his popularity, the station obliterated everything in its path within weeks and became Pittsburgh's top radio station. But within four years, Armstrong and most of the other original staff were gone, and 13Q's ratings vanished with them. But while he was there, according to Jack, 13Q was like no other radio experience he had ever had at 25 plus stations.
His first daughter was born in Pittsburgh and that was a great moment. His radio "stunts" were very challenging - things like - breaking a rollercoaster-riding record, being in a snake pit in Horne's department store's front window, and being in the victory parade after the Steelers' first Super Bowl win with Franco Harris on 13Q's flatbed truck float. He did his radio show in the nude from the station's showcase windows as he "streaked" Pittsburgh. He also arranged for a new band he had heard in Buffalo to play one of 13Q's free concerts. That was Pittsburgh's introduction to Aerosmith.
The calendar says it's April 30, 1978 and Jackson is behind the mic at WNBC [ Part 1 ] (28:52) and [ Part 2 ] (46:10) as "The Unknown DJ".
Jackson Armstrong screamed on the airwaves at some two dozen stations throughout North America in many of the major markets. He never worked full-time in the New York market. He did make one appearance, but he didn't use his own name. He appeared one time only as the "Unknown DJ". Filling in on the 6-10 p.m. shift, Armstrong - with his ornery sidekick "The Gorilla" - showed New York audiences why he was one of North America's best Top 40 jocks.
Jack working at KTNQ Los Angeles in December, 1978. [ LISTEN ] (15:55)
These were the waning days of AM Top 40 and KTNQ’s days were numbered from the start as the audience slowly but surely moved to FM.
Jack in the 80s.He also worked at KFRC, The Big 610 in the early 1980s, dominating the midday, late-night, and overnight shifts.
Jack is still going strong at KFRC in San Francisco circa August of 1983.
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Jackson with all the energy a jock could muster back in KFRC’s history when they were on top of their game as the Bay Area’s best station.
Jack doing his infamous sign-off at the KKHR studio in Los Angeles, 1985.
His late career was spent doing mornings at WMQX Oldies 93 in Greensboro, NC, and voice tracking nights on Entercom Communications sister station WWKB in Buffalo.
Larsh was working WWKB-1520 in Buffalo, New York, when the sudden format change in 2006 to liberal talk put him in the unemployed ranks.
On March 22, 2008, Larsh died at High Point Regional Hospital in North Carolina, as a result of injuries suffered in a fall down a stairway in his home. He was 62 years old.
Here's a time sweep of Jack Armstrong's career, with clips from 19 different stations spanning from 1965 to 1987.
WHERE DID JACK WORK? Here is the list: WCHL Chapel Hill, WCDJ Edenton, WSSB Durham, WCOG Greensboro, WDJK Atlanta, WAYS Charlotte, WCOG Greensboro, WIXY Cleveland, WKYC Cleveland, WMEX Boston, CHUM Toronto, WPOP Hartford, WNTC Potsdam, KTLK Denver, WKBW Buffalo, WJAS-WKTQ Pittsburgh, WHYI Miami, KDKA Pittsburgh, WIFE Indianapolis, KTNQ Los Angeles, KHTZ Los Angeles, KFI Los Angeles, KFRC San Francisco, KKHR Los Angeles, KBOS Fresno, WMQX Greensboro, and WWKB Buffalo (voicetracked from his home in North Carolina).
Some materials found on this page were originally published by the following: Rock Radio Scrapbook, Airchexx, Buffalo Broadcasters Association, Trax & Grooves YouTube Channel.
