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GOLDEN GIFT Our thanks to John Bisci for these exhibits, recorded especially for John and contributed to REELRADIO.
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PLAY Jack Armstrong, WWKB Buffalo NY October 31 2005, Part One (01:03:32)

. . . truth is stranger than fiction, and I'm too dumb to make these things up . . .

[Description by Uncle Ricky]

The late Jackson Armstrong (d. March 23, 2008) tracked this show from his home studio in Greensboro, N.C., and both parts of this two-part exhibit from WWKB demonstrate his mastery of the technique. It's likely that most listeners had no idea that Jack wasn't actually at the station.

picture of
Jack Armstrong
For my preference, Jack talks too long but not often enough! That is, he has very long "infotainment" segments, but the station format has lots of "no jock" segues, using promos and jingles instead of allowing Jack to appear for short segments, more often. That's the way radio sounded "back in the day", and it would nice to hear a "tracked" show replicate that. In a "tracked" presentation, the personality doesn't sit through the songs and spots (like in the old days), instead, they hear the beginning and end of the records where they're supposed to talk. An hour can be recorded in a few minutes using this technique. If three songs are played with jingles or promos in-between, the jock never hears them - they just move on to the next place where they talk.

Very nice music selection and there are a lot of drop-ins, gags and wacky voices here. Jack, a student and fan of the great Jack Gale, was working close to his roots in more ways than one.

 
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PLAY Jack Armstrong, WWKB Buffalo NY October 31 2005, Part Two (01:02:03)

. . . Jimmy Mack - who knew back then that they would name a truck after that guy? . . .

[Description by Uncle Ricky]

In Part Two of this exhibit starring Jackson Armstrong, we hear more promos for the KB Halloween Presentation of The War Of The Worlds (online at REELRADIO since October 31, 1999.)

Yes, it's Halloween, and we never know who might bring Jack the weather on Halloween!

This "revival" of WKBW (as WWKB), lasted three years and two weeks — actually, a good run for a format with a vanishing audience and rapidly declining interest in oldies of "the 50's and 60's". Thankfully, there is not one "B-word" record in either hour. Imagine there's no Beatles! There's no sense of loss in this hour, and it's truly entertaining without the Fab Four.

 
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