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Big Jack Armstrong (born John Charles Larsh on December 4, 1945, in
Durham County, North Carolina Durham County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 324,833, making it the sixth-most populous county in North Carolina. Its county seat is Durham, which is the only incorporated m ...
; died March 23, 2008, in
High Point, North Carolina High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph County, North Carolina, Randolph, ...
), also known as Jack Armstrong, Jackson W. Armstrong, and Big Jack Your Leader, was a top-40
disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...
of the 1960s through the 1980s, and an
oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...
DJ until 2006. His parents were John Edgar Larsh, Jr., who was a professor in the School of Medicine at the
University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...
, and Ruth Ella Neal. His father once served as the acting dean of UNC's School of Pharmacy. He held a Guinness World Record for "fastest talking human alive" at one point in his career. He developed two imaginary
sidekick A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...
s - the Gorilla, who speaks in a raspy bass, and likes women, banana juice, and whiskey, in that order - and 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 WKYC (channel 3) is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. Its studios are located on Tom Beres Way (a section of Lakeside Avenue in Downtown Cleveland named after the station's lon ...
, it was a few
catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
s, spoken over the
instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...
version of
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
' "
And I Love Her "And I Love Her" is a song recorded by English rock band the Beatles, written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. It is the fifth track of their third UK album '' A Hard Day's Night'' and was released ...
". On WKBW, he used "Shimmy Shimmy Walk II" by the Megatons. On most stations, he used no background music. Eventually, it became a Motormouth extravaganza, spoken so fast it was hard to understand.


Career

Larsh began his radio career at WCHL in
Chapel Hill, North Carolina Chapel Hill is a town in Orange, Durham and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 census, making Chapel Hill the 17th-largest municipality in the state. Chapel Hill, Durham, and the state ca ...
in 1960 at the age of 14 as an after-school and weekend job. He also worked at WCDJ in Edenton in the summer when his family would go back home during summer break. At some point, he worked for WSSB in
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
, but the time frame is unclear. Upon graduating from high school in 1964, Larsh moved to
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, where he got an FCC First Class engineer's license, while working on the radio at WDJK. His parents enrolled him in
Guilford College Guilford College is a private liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for Continuing Education (CCE). Founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of ...
in
Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...
in the pre-med course. Larsh dropped out almost immediately, having gotten a radio job at WCOG. In early 1966, WAYS in
Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
had begun 24-hour operations.
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
(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. At WAYS, Larsh met Jack Gale, a seasoned veteran of both the radio and music business who would become his
mentor Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...
. Larsh later remarked, "Jack (Gale) has forgotten more about the radio business than I've ever known." When asked, he often cited 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 Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
. The evening disc jockey at this station was always called 'Jack Armstrong' after the 1930s’ radio serial ''
Jack Armstrong the All American Boy ''Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy'' was a radio adventure series which maintained its popularity from 1933 to 1951. The program originated at WBBM in Chicago on July 31, 1933, and was later carried on CBS, then NBC and finally ABC. Backgr ...
''. 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. 'Jack Armstrong' was a copyrighted
moniker A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
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 heard all over the eastern half of the US, Larsh went national. He attracted fans all over the region, and became a huge hit. WKYC was listed as the number three record-buying influence in
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
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 US. Larsh moved on, working at other 50,000-watt stations such as WMEX/1510 in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
; CHUM/1050 in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
; KFI/640 in Los Angeles, KTNQ/1020 in Los Angeles, and WKBW/1520 in
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
. At the latter, he developed his 'Motormouth' character, and was listed in the
Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
in 1971 as the world's fastest-talking human. He participated in WKBWs 1971 "War of the Worlds" broadcast, a modernized version of the original done by
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
in 1938. Larsh was one of the original disc jockeys hired for the all-new 13-Q in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
in the early 1970s. In the late '70s, he could be heard on Indianapolis' 1310 WIFE before it went dark. Larsh also worked at KFRC, The Big 610 in the early 1980s, dominating the midday, late-night, and overnight shifts at the station. Later on, he became part of 93 KKHR in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, doing afternoons. In the late 80s, he worked at Power 98 in
Myrtle Beach Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...
. His late career was spent doing mornings at WMQX Oldies 93 in Greensboro, North Carolina, and voice tracking nights on Entercom Communications sister station WWKB in Buffalo. Larsh was working at WWKB/1520 in Buffalo, New York, when the sudden format change in 2006 to
liberal talk Progressive talk radio is a talk radio format devoted to expressing left-leaning, liberal or progressive viewpoints of news and issues as opposed to conservative talk radio. In the United States, the format has included syndicated and independe ...
put him in the unemployed ranks. Larsh took this opportunity putting pen to paper and wrote his biography, which was completed four months before his death. On March 22, 2008, Larsh died at his home in High Point, North Carolina as a result of a stroke or heart attack (an autopsy was not performed).


References


External links


Audio


Audioclips at Aichexx website

Screaming Jack Armstrong Air Checks at WKYC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfrbP-8av1A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG8NKJPVSB4
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Jack 1945 births 2008 deaths American radio DJs Guilford College alumni People from Chapel Hill, North Carolina 20th-century American musicians