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Former Toronto Morning Man Nominated For U.S. Radio Hall Of Fame
He wasn’t here long and he didn’t make all that much of an impression. But he’s an institution in Chicago and now former CFTR morning man and WLS veteran John Records Landecker is one of four nominees for entry into the U.S. based Radio Hall of Fame. The vote takes place next month and the winner gets inducted into the Hall, which already boasts a lot of famous names.
Historic stars like Abbott & Costello, Edward R. Murrow and Gene Autry are there, but the more contemporary list is filled with DJs and talk show hosts whose names you know. Among them, in alphabetical order:
Art Bell, Dick Biondi, Dick Clark, Rick Dees, Dr. Demento, Paul Harvey, Steve Harvey, Don Imus, Jack Armstrong, Casey Kasem, Murray The K, Larry Lujack, J.P. McCarthy, "Cousin" Bruce Morrow, Scott Muni, Dick Orkin, Gary Owens, Dick Purtan, Vin Scully, Howard Stern, Charlie Tuna and Wolfman Jack. Just to name a few. (You can see the whole list here if you want.)
That’s pretty illustrious company and I only wish Canada had something comparable.
The only thing I never understood about Landecker was why he refused to do the things in Toronto that made him such a sensation in Chicago. If he had, he might have been acclaimed as one of the true greats of this city. Instead, he opted for a laid back more serious approach that put people to sleep in the morning. And beyond his “TTC – Trudeau Talks Cute” bit, he never really did anything memorable while he was here. Which is why he wasn't here long.
Too bad. The talent was definitely there. The effort, for some reason, wasn’t.
National Radio Hall of Fame
- Dale Patterson
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Re: Former Toronto Morning Man Nominated For U.S. Radio Hall Of Fame
The one major omission is Jack Armstrong. Arguably the greatest Top 40 jock of all time, Armstrong worked at some two dozen stations, from CHUM in the north, to WHYI Miami in the south, to KFRC San Francisco in the west to WMEX Boston in the east and many points in between. Big Jack should be in the Hall - no question about it!
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Re: Former Toronto Morning Man Nominated For U.S. Radio Hall Of Fame
Dale Patterson wrote:
The one major omission is Jack Armstrong. Arguably the greatest Top 40 jock of all time, Armstrong worked at some two dozen stations, from CHUM in the north, to WHYI Miami in the south, to KFRC San Francisco in the west to WMEX Boston in the east and many points in between. Big Jack should be in the Hall - no question about it!
Actually Dale, if you re-read the list, you'll see that Jack Armstrong is there.(See bolded entry.)
Among them, in alphabetical order:
Art Bell, Dick Biondi, Dick Clark, Rick Dees, Dr. Demento, Paul Harvey, Steve Harvey, Don Imus, Jack Armstrong, Casey Kasem, Murray The K, Larry Lujack, J.P. McCarthy, "Cousin" Bruce Morrow, Scott Muni, Dick Orkin, Gary Owens, Dick Purtan, Vin Scully, Howard Stern, Charlie Tuna and Wolfman Jack. Just to name a few.
That said, I agree with you. It wouldn't be much of a leader board with your Leeeeeaaaadddder!
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Thread Starter- Dale Patterson
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Re: Former Toronto Morning Man Nominated For U.S. Radio Hall Of Fame
The one major omission is Jack Armstrong. Arguably the greatest Top 40 jock of all time, Armstrong worked at some two dozen stations, from CHUM in the north, to WHYI Miami in the south, to KFRC San Francisco in the west to WMEX Boston in the east and many points in between. Big Jack should be in the Hall - no question about it!
Actually Dale, if you re-read the list, you'll see that Jack Armstrong is there.(See bolded entry.)
Among them, in alphabetical order:
Art Bell, Dick Biondi, Dick Clark, Rick Dees, Dr. Demento, Paul Harvey, Steve Harvey, Don Imus, Jack Armstrong, Casey Kasem, Murray The K, Larry Lujack, J.P. McCarthy, "Cousin" Bruce Morrow, Scott Muni, Dick Orkin, Gary Owens, Dick Purtan, Vin Scully, Howard Stern, Charlie Tuna and Wolfman Jack. Just to name a few.That said, I agree with you. It wouldn't be much of a leader board with your Leeeeeaaaadddder!
No he's not. The Jack Armstrong in the National Radio Hall of Fame is this character.
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Wow, I can't believe they'd be that ridiculous. I was aware of "The All American Boy," but how Mr. Larsh could not be there is absurd. Thanks for the correction. I never dreamed they were referring to the fictional character. You're right - that's a major oversight.
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Thread Starter- Doug Thompson
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Re: Former Toronto Morning Man Nominated For U.S. Radio Hall Of Fame
I worked with both Jack Armstrong at CHUM and John Landecker at CFTR. John (ironically both are first named John and both initials are JL), is well deserving of any Hall of Fame as is Jack Armstrong. Problem for Jack (real name John Larsh) is he moved around a lot and didn't establish himself in any one city for a long period of time. No question he was an amazing jock and had he stayed in Cleveland, Boston, Buffalo or even Toronto for more than 8 months or a year or two, he'd already be inducted long ago. Jack WAS honoured by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, along with many other U.S. jocks and 3 Canadians (well 2 Canadians and I transplanted American - Red Robinson, David Marsden aka Dave Mickie and Jay Nelson).
And as for John Landecker's CFTR stint, he was trying new things. I worked with him on several parody songs (using Toronto musicians), including "Hey E.T." and "Constitution" sung to the tune of The Beatles "Revolution". That one only aired once, as The Beatles didn't allow parodies of their music, so after playing it on his show one time, ATV Music (The Beatles publishers) slapped CFTR with a cease-and-desist and it never aired again.
When I was working on CHUM's 50th anniversary for 2007, Charlie Ritenburg drove to North Carolina to visit Jack and the three of us had lunch filled with Jacks adventures. After lunch, Jack and I spent several hours recording an interview that I will be using very soon in a new venture that I can't talk about yet.
I was Production Manager for CHUM AM & FM when Jack was there and I'd often be working during his shift. My production studio was directly beside the CHUM AM control room at the time and I'd go in and just watch Jack 'do this thing'. He always stood up (never sat) and his arms would be flailing when he was on the air and he'd get closer to the microphone when he was doing the gorilla voice. It was fascinating to watch.
Jack and I talked about all kinds of things, but near the end of his time at CHUM, he was really upset that CHUM was going to a 'Drake' format, which he despised. He used to say to me, "I beat Drake once. I can do it again." It was the main reason he quit CHUM (OK he was fired, but he knew it was coming as his last show was done in half speed.
Jack was a man of integrity. If he thought he was right, you couldn't change his mind.
I'm happy and pleased John Landecker is being inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. I totally agree that Jack Armstrong the DJ (and not the old radio serial version) should be in there as well.
They're both radio legends.
Last edited by Doug Thompson (May 16, 2017 9:16 am)
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Re: Former Toronto Morning Man Nominated For U.S. Radio Hall Of Fame
I am wondering about Jackson Armstrong original tenure at KB. Was it close to two years, 1970 - 1972 ?
Also shortly after he came to CHUM they changed the CHUM Chart from 50 to 30 songs. I believe that was in August of 1968 and indicates a format tightening Ala Drake but his departure from CHUM was in Feb 1969. Was the station preparing for the tightening before they formally adapted the Drake format ?
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Re: Former Toronto Morning Man Nominated For U.S. Radio Hall Of Fame
Jack was at WKBW from October 1970 to February 1973.
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FITZ wrote: "Shortly after he [Jack Armstrong] came to CHUM they changed the CHUM Chart from 50 to 30 songs. I believe that was in August of 1968 and indicates a format tightening Ala Drake but his departure from CHUM was in Feb 1969. Was the station preparing for the tightening before they formally adapted the Drake format ?
Jack Armstrong was originally hired at CHUM by Larry Solway, who was Program Director. The two stations were being run by a committee of 6 people. Larry was AM PD. But the station was losing ground. You can't really run anything effectively by committee, and Allan Waters brought in LA based consultant Ted Randal and J. Robert Wood had also been hired on in 1968. The move to a 'modified Drake' format was a decision that took many months to complete. As I said earlier, Jack despised the Drake format and tried to get all the jocks to go to Mr. Waters and fight it. He DID NOT get a lot of support, so Jack was alone in his uphill battle, which eventually led to his final show where he slowed down his delivery and followed format to the letter. He was fired midway through that shift and Hal Weaver was called in to complete it.
Last edited by Doug Thompson (May 17, 2017 9:51 am)
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Re: Former Toronto Morning Man Nominated For U.S. Radio Hall Of Fame
Just to complete this thread, Landecker was elected into the Radio Hall of Fame on the first ballot, along with some other well known names like Sean Hannity, Howard Stern-sidekick Robin Quivers and Bill Carroll's old KFI colleague Bill Handel.
There's more here.
Radio Hall of Fame Site
But perhaps what's most interesting about the article is the link to a documentary of Landecker that I'd never heard of, called "Studio A: A Profile of a Disc Jockey." It's a half hour highlighting Landecker during his heyday at WLS in the 70s. Interesting to see not only the story of how he got into radio but also the studios and control rooms of the Big 89 when it was at its Top 40 height.
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Thread Starter- unclefester
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Re: Former Toronto Morning Man Nominated For U.S. Radio Hall Of Fame
Just to complete this thread, Landecker was elected into the Radio Hall of Fame on the first ballot, along with some other well known names like Sean Hannity, Howard Stern-sidekick Robin Quivers and Bill Carroll's old KFI colleague Bill Handel.
There's more here.
Radio Hall of Fame Site
But perhaps what's most interesting about the article is the link to a documentary of Landecker that I'd never heard of, called "Studio A: A Profile of a Disc Jockey." It's a half hour highlighting Landecker during his heyday at WLS in the 70s. Interesting to see not only the story of how he got into radio but also the studios and control rooms of the Big 89 when it was at its Top 40 height.
That's a worthwhile watch...
Two things stood out for me....
He started as a kid with a "radio station" in his home...who among us didn't do that??
And at the 7:20 mark he says...."despite what you hear you can still walk down the street in Chicago"...
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Re: Former Toronto Morning Man Nominated For U.S. Radio Hall Of Fame
Another major omission in my view is Joey Reynolds. How on earth is he not in that Hall of Fame?
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Re: Former Toronto Morning Man Nominated For U.S. Radio Hall Of Fame
Another major omission in my view is Joey Reynolds. How on earth is he not in that Hall of Fame
Totally agree with you Dale. Joey Reynolds is still brilliant even after all these years. I'm happy to say he's still on the air, doing a show every Sunday night at 9 PM on WABC and KABC, among others. It's also streamed live with a full video component, so you can watch what's going on even as the show unfolds. (And as a bonus, Big Jay Sorenson, ex of the much loved WNBC "Time Machine" is the official "announcer.")
In typical fashion, it's called "The Late Joey Reynolds Show" (because it's on at night, which hasn't stopped people from wondering if he died. He hasn't and no matter who the guests - and there are a lot of them - Reynolds always makes it work.)
You can see previous shows or watch the next one live right here.
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By the way, Reynolds - who pays to get his show on the air in New York and other markets - went into a bit of a radio rant last week. And given his past, it's no surprise that it was wonderfully entertaining. You can see it below at the 5:00 mark, but if you're pressed for time, here's the transcript.
“We’re in radio. We pay for it. You know, I’m the only guy here that has to pay to be on the air. They used to pay us, remember? Now we pay them. I don’t know what the hell happened. Now we gotta pay them cause they’re so damn broke.
You know, they don’t have any money anymore in radio. If you listen to WINS [an all news radio station similar to 680 News] it’s the most unlistenable radio station God ever created. They’ve got 4,000 commercials and the weather. I mean how do they get away with this? It’s unlistenable.
And all the radio is the same. There was 10 minutes of commercials on one of these stations the other day on iHeart, you know Kiss FM in L.A. How do they get away with this?
You know, when I got on the radio you know what we used to do? Well, first of all, we fixed all the contests so relatives won, that was one thing. But another thing that we did was we never, never really got too far away from the public. You know we played things that we thought the public liked, but nobody does anything for the public anymore.”
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