( The Root ) -- Maybe he didn't sport the deep, bottom-scraping tones of Jerry Bledsoe; the hollering, down-home hilarity of Jocko Henderson; or the aggressive, acid-tinged sophistication of Frankie "Hollywood" Crocker. But Hal Jackson -- who was often dubbed the Godfather of Black Radio -- had longevity. His radio style was there for the long term.
Hal Jackson.
(Courtesy of Pepsi-Cola Company - COURTESY OF PEPSI-COLA COMPANY)
"He was the guy next door," says Tony Gray, president of the Chicago-based broadcast consulting firm Gray Communications. "He was a regular guy who loved radio and loved his listeners."
And somehow, while all the "big personalities with a lot of glitter" on black radio faded away, Jackson's modest style translated into long-term success, Gray says.
And now Hal Jackson is gone. He died at age 96 on Wednesday after a career that lasted more than 70 years.
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