Wolfman Jack

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Robert Weston Smith, known as Wolfman Jack (January 21, 1938 – July 1, 1995), was an American disc jockey.

Famous for his gravelly voice, he credited it for his success, saying, "It's kept meat and potatoes on the table for years for Wolfman and Wolfwoman.

A couple of shots of whiskey helps it.

I've got that nice raspy sound."

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Early career

Smith was born in Brooklyn on January 21, 1938, the younger of two children of Anson Weston Smith, an Episcopal Sunday school teacher, writer, editor, and executive vice president of Financial World, alongside his wife Rosamond Small. He lived on 12th Street and 4th Avenues and went to Manual Training High School in the Park Slope section. As a child, his parents divorced. Smith, his father, bought him a large Trans-Oceanic radio, and Smith, Douglas "Jocko" Henderson of Cleveland, Alan Freed, and Nashville's "John R." Richbourg, who later became his mentor, helped keep him out of prison. Smith went door to door at the National Academy of Broadcasting in Washington, D.C., where he began as "Daddy Jules" at WYOU in Newport News, Virginia. Smith became "Roger Gordon and Music in Good Taste" when the station layout was changed to "beautiful music." He began as the station's manager and morning disc jockey, "Big Smith with the Records" in 1962. He married Lucy "Lou" Lamb in 1961, and the two children were born.

After being spotted on Moondog in New York City, the Freed had originally referred to himself as the "Moon Dog." Both the freed adopted this name and used a video howl to give his early broadcasts a unique look. Smith's Moondog theme was to call himself Wolfman Jack and add his own sound effects. The character was based in part on the bluesman Howlin' Wolf's demeanor and appearance. He first began to develop his infamous alter ego Wolfman Jack at KCIJ. Smith's "wolfman" persona, as well as his two young nephews, is derived from Smith's obsession with horror films and his shenanigans as a "wolfman." The 'Jack' nickname was lifted from the 1950s 'hipster' jargon, such as 'Take a page from my book, Jack,' or the more common, 'Hit the road, Jack.'

Smith took his act to the border when Inter-American Radio Advertising's Ramon Bosquez hired him and sent him to Ciudad Acua, Mexico, a station across the US-Mexico border from Del Rio, Texas, whose high-powered border blaster signal could be picked up throughout much of the United States. "We had the most powerful signal in North America," Smith said in an interview with writer Tom Miller. When birds flew too close to the tower, they died. A vehicle going from New York to Los Angeles would never miss the station. The majority of the border stations were broadcast at 250,000 watts, five times greater in the United States, indicating that their signals were picked up all over North America and as far away as Europe and the Soviet Union at night. Smith's signature style was XerF (with terms such as, "Who's this on the Wolfman telephone?") It has a hefty reputation. The border stations earned money by renting time to Pentecostal preachers and psychics, as well as taking 50% of the proceeds from everything sold by mail order. The Wolfman made dog treats, weight loss tablets, weight gain tablets, rose bushes, and baby chicks. Also a pill called Florex, which was supposed to improve one's sex drive, was still on sale. The Wolfman would say, "Some zing for your ling nuts."

Wolfman Jack's growing, exuberant on-air style was reminiscent of his pitch. He punctuated his banter with howls, while still pleading for his followers to "get naked" or "lay your hands on the radio and squeeze my knobs," in the spirit of his character name. Parts of the persona was his nocturnal anonymity; listeners from coast to coast had no idea who was behind the voice that said, "Wolfman has the best records in the industry," and then he eats 'em."

The XERB, the first call sign for the border blaster station in Rosarito Beach, Mexico, which was branded as The Mighty 1090 in Hollywood, California, was the first call sign for the XerB. "50,000 watts of Boss Soul Power" was on display at the station. Under the call sign XEPRS-AM, the station will continue to air. XerB also had an office in Chula Vista, California, at Third Avenue. It was not unlike the tiny broadcast studio depicted in the film American Graffiti (filmed at KRE in Berkeley). It was located just ten minutes from the Tijuana–San Diego border crossing. During the 1970s to mid-1960s, the Wolfman was thought to have been broadcast from this location. Smith left Mexico after eight months and moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, to run station KUXL. Despite being the boss of a Minneapolis radio station, Wolfman Jack on XerF was still broadcasting as Wolfman Jack on Xerf's Xerf, as shown by taped. Nevertheless, missing the excitement, he returned to border radio to head XERB and opened an office on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles in January 1966. During his time on XerB, Smith captured his shows in Los Angeles and shipped his tapes across the country into Mexico, where they will later be broadcasting throughout the United States. Wolfman Jack had the ability to be more than a radio host, according to Kelley. Kelley began to work on a project to transition Smith from a cult figure to a mainstream entertainer in film, video, and television. Smith introduced Smith to the major media and developed strong relationships with top journalists.

The Mexican government announced in 1971 that its majority Roman Catholic citizens should not be exposed to proselytizing and barrering the Pentecostal preachers from the radio, wiping away 80% of the XerB's income. Smith then transferred to station KDAY 1580 in Los Angeles, which would only pay him a fraction of his former Xerb income. Smith earned his fortune by editing his old XERB tapes and delivering them to radio stations around the country, becoming one of the first rock-and-roll syndicated services (as the tapes became available to oldies stations). He appeared on Armed Forces Radio from 1970 to 1986. Wolfman Jack appeared on more than 2,000 radio stations in 53 countries at his high point. On Capital Radio 604 based in Transkei, he was heard as far off as the Wild Coast, Transkei. The Wolfman was paid handsomely to join WNBC in New York in August 1973, the same month that American Graffiti premiered, and the station ran a large advertisement campaign in local newspapers claiming that the Wolfman would rise their ratings over those of their main rival, WABC, which had "Cousin Brucie" (Bruce Morrow). "Cousin Brucie's Days Are Numbered," the advertisements said, and thousands of tiny, tombstone-shaped paperweights were sold that said, "Cousin Brucie is going to be buried by Wolfman Jack." Cousin Brucie and Wolfman Jack were both recalled from California to concentrate on his syndicated radio show, which was broadcast on KRLA-Pasadena (Los Angeles) from 1984 to 1987. In 1989, he moved to Belvidere, North Carolina, to be closer to his extended family. He spent a short time at XerOK 80, another border-blaster station that was leased by Dallas financier Robert Hanna, Grady Sanders, and John Ryman in the 1980s. He also hosted a television show at Little Darlin's Rock n' Roll Palace, which was later renamed Wolfman Jack's Rock'n'Roll Palace. In Dallas, Texas, Ryman moved Smith to the Scott Ginsburg-owned Y95.

Wolfman Jack's old shows were reintroduced to syndication a decade after his death and remain available to local broadcasts via Talent Farm as of mid-2020.

Film, television, and music career

Wolfman Jack made sporadic public appearances in his youth, most as a master of ceremonies for rock bands at Los Angeles clubs. He seemed a little different at each appearance because he hadn't decided what the Wolfman should look like. He's shown with a goatee in early photographs, but he sometimes combed his straight hair forward and applied darker shadow to make him appear more "ethnic." He had a long afro wig and large sunglasses at certain times. His ambiguity contributed to his program's infighting. His audience finally got a good look at him in the 1969 film "A Session with the Committee," a montage of skits by the comedy troupe The Committee.

Wolfman Jack began his music career in Minneapolis while working at KUXL Radio in 1965, where he helped record Boogie with the Wolfman by Wolfman Jack and the Wolfpack on the Bread Label. He was also responsible for the band's engineering, production, and assembly. On the Wooden Nickel label, Wolfman Jack (1972) and Through the Ages (1973).

In 1973, he appeared in George Lucas' second feature film American Graffiti. Lucas gave him a fraction of a "point," the film's profit division, and American Graffiti's huge financial success provided him with a regular income for life. He appeared in the film's 1979 sequel More American Graffiti, but only through voice-overs. In 1978, he appeared as Bob "The Jackal" Smith in a made-for-TV film Deadman's Curve, based on Jan Berry and Dean Torrence's musical careers. What's Happening? Smith appeared in numerous television shows as Wolfman Jack, including The Odd Couple. Vega$, Hollywood Squares, Married... with Children and Hospitality!, The New Adventures of Wonder Woman, and Galactica 1980. From 1973 to 1981, he was the regular announcer and occasional host of The Midnight Special on NBC. He was the host of his variety show The Wolfman Jack Show, which was produced in Canada by CBC Television in 1976 and syndicated to television stations in the United States. On the television special Garfield in Paradise in 1986, he also voiced the chief of the Rama Lama tribe.

Jim Morrison's lyrics for "The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)" were inspired by Wolfman Jack's broadcasting. In the Grateful Dead's "Ramble On Rose" song, he is also mentioned. In "Clap for the Wolfman," the Guess Who's top-ten hits single, he sang of his character. Wolfman Jack was often parodied on The Hilarious House of Frightenstein as "The Wolfman," an actual werewolf disc jockey with a look influenced by the original The Wolf Man films. Todd Rundgren performed the tribute "Wolfman Jack" on the album Something/Anything a few years ago. The single version of the album features a shouted talk-over introduction by the Wolfman, but Rundgren performs the part himself on the album version. In 1975, the Stampeders, a Canadian band, also produced a back cover of "Hit the Road Jack," which also featured Wolfman Jack. Wolfman Jack hosted Halloween Haunt at Knott's Berry Farm, which turns into Knott's Scary Farm each year for Halloween. It was the country's most popular special event, and it often sold out.

Wolfman Jack's estate released a hip-hop single in 2012 that featured Wolfman Jack clips as the vocals. In the Rob Zombie Film 31 in 2016, clips from the Wolfman Jack Radio Program were used.

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