Wolfman Jack

Wolfman Jack

Clap for the Wolfman
He gonna rate your record high
Clap for the Wolfman
You gonna dig him til the day you die

These words are from the opening of the song “Clap for the Wolfman” by the Guess Who….and it’s not just any DJ that gets songs written about them!Bob Smith, aka Wolfman Jack, borrowed some succussful style ideas from the king of DJs. Alan Freed. Freed had used the name Moondog at the start of his Rock and Roll career, Smith used the moniker Wolfman. Freed used a howl in his broasdcasts, Smith took it further adding his low gravely voice. The Wolfman gained fame while broadcasting from XERF-AM, a super power radio station in Mexico, just over the border at Del Rio, Texas. AM stations in the US were limited at the time to 50 KW, XERF in Mexico was broadcasting at 500 KW and could be received across the US and into Canada. He played a wild mix of music, mixing in rockabilly, blues, doo-wop, zydeco, rock and roll, jump blues, rhythm and blues or jazz. His music selections led many listeners to assume that he was Afro-American, and he did his best to hide his true identity. Some say that if it was known that he was a white boy from Brooklyn, the frequent howls and sexually suggestive persona wouldn’t have had the same effect. The Wolfman passed away in 1995, but reruns of his shows are still being played on XM.