John Records Landecker discusses his book with Assistant Professor Len O’Kelly in the Pere Marquette River Room on February 8. (Photo: Eric Harvey)

For a time in the 1970s, John Records Landecker was among the most listened-to voices in the country. As the nighttime DJ for Chicago radio station WLS, Landecker’s voice was broadcast over a 50,000-watt clear channel signal to millions across the country.

Landecker was 25 years old, and his career was just getting started. WLS was one of the premiere Top 40 stations in the country during Landecker’s tenure, and he was named “Radio Personality of the Year” by Billboard magazine three times during the 1970s.

Landecker was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in November 2017.

On Thursday afternoon, Assistant Professor of Multimedia Journalism Len O’Kelly, himself a veteran radio broadcaster, brought Landecker to Grand Valley’s Allendale campus to discuss his career.

Landecker, who…