Everyone knows the story of Buddy Holly.
Most remember the legend of Ritchie Valens.
But on a freezing night in 1959, there was a third voice on that doomed flight…
a DJ… a jokester… a Texas-sized talent whose laugh once echoed across America.

This is his story.

Told as a ghostly broadcast from the great beyond, The Final Broadcast is equal parts biography, radio drama, and afterlife confessional.
It’s the forgotten chapter of “The Day the Music Died”—a story overshadowed by giants but carried now by the man himself, with humor, heart, and a heaping dose of Texas soul.

A tribute.
A reckoning.
A signal cutting through time.

Tune in…and if you listen close, between the static and the stars…
you might just hear him say it one more time: “Helloooooo, baby.”

Written by Jonny Hartwell
Voiced by Jonny Hartwell
Music Credit: Reel World Audio.
A iHeart Radio Production

DISCLAIMER: This podcast contains discussions of sensitive topics...Listener discretion is strongly advised. While the stories you’ll hear are rooted in real events, not every detail is strictly historical—some moments are dramatized with creative license to bring the narrative to life. Please keep this in mind as you listen.

Jonny’s Dead Air Podcast
Written, hosted, and produced by Jonny Hartwell.
A production of iHeartRadio Pittsburgh.

Thanks for listening—and for keeping the light on.