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Wolfman Jack
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Wolfman Jack was the stage name of Robert Weston Smith, an American disc jockey, born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1938. He grew up with a large radio that his father gave him and became a fan of R&B and of DJs such as Alan Freed and John R. Richbourg, who later became his mentor. After training in radio and television he worked at small stations and in Shreveport devised the character Wolfman Jack, with a raw voice and sound effects of his own. The character was partly based on the bluesman Howlin' Wolf. His trademark was his hoarse voice, which he himself saw as the basis of his success.
Music and breakthrough
In 1963 he went to the radio station XERF in Ciudad Acuña in Mexico. Those stations, known as border blasters, broadcast at 150,000 watts, three times the American limit, so that they reached almost the whole of North America. There Wolfman Jack developed his style and advertised, among other things, dog food and rose bushes. Later he recorded his programmes in Los Angeles and had the tapes taken across the border. His programme was broadcast by more than two thousand stations in fifty-three countries, including via Armed Forces Radio.
Influence
In 1973 he played himself in George Lucas's American Graffiti, which gave him a steady income. From 1973 to 1981 he was the regular host of the TV show The Midnight Special. His voice is mentioned or imitated in songs such as Clap for the Wolfman by The Guess Who. He died in 1995 of a heart attack, shortly after a broadcast. Wolfman Jack turned radio into a nightly party for rock 'n' roll, and the DJ himself into a star.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
- 1965Wolfman Jack & The Wolf Pack
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- The Dream Factory: Film Reel 4NL Reader
- Magazine: De jukebox gaat de film inNL Magazine