Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—R.I.P. Larry Lujack Edition

Born in Iowa and raised in Arkansas, Larry Blankenburg dreamed of going into wildlife conservation when he entered the University of Idaho. He got a job at a local radio station just to pick up some cash. His original dreams were put on hold as he worked his way up the ladder to become perhaps the biggest rock 'n' roll DJ in Chicago history. Along the way, he changed his last name to Lujack, after the star Notre Dame football player. Nine years after he got his start in radio, he made it to Chicago, ending up on both sides of the dominant rock stations of the late '60s and early '70s, WCFL and WLS. He started at CFL, quickly moved to WLS (both during 1967), and then jumped back to WCFL, where he was their afternoon drive time star. By the fall of 1976, he was back at WLS and became a morning star, and eventually created his popular Animal Stories feature. What made Larry Lujack great? In an era of fast talking, jiving DJs and nice guys, he dispensed with all apparent artifice. His style was relaxed yet commanding, as he'd praise songs he loved or go off on tangents about things bothering him. He mastered the skill of making it seem like he was talking one-on-one with the listener. This conversational approach became very influential and arguably paved the way for shock jocks, though Larry was merely irreverent. Larry Lujack passed away last night after a long bout with cancer and I went back and listened to some airchecks. Back in the day, he wasn't my go to DJ, but listening now I remembered how great he really was. Let's pay tribute to this Chicago radio legend by grabbing your iPod or MP3 player, hitting shuffle and sharing the first 10 songs that come up.

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