Wolfman Jack a/k/a Bob Smith started on XERF in 1958. This date is not cast in stone. An internet search found very little to nail down his starting date. That gave him a 5 year lead on KAAY. We were obviously very direct competitors. XERF was a 100,000 clear channel station licensed in Mexico but identified itself as Del Reo Texas. I believe Wolfman died in 1995 but his programs live on in syndication and on XM radio. To read more about Mexico AM power stations go to:http://www.ominous-valve.com/xerf.html
Every DJ could do a Wolfman Jack inpersonation. I used a Wolfman like voice to do a "Doctor Feelgood" show on a black radio station. Wish I had some tape of that experience.
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A.J., I remember reading about Wolfman's demise in Radio World back in '95...dunno if I have that issue any more. Doing a websearch, I found another interesting site: http://www.wolfmanjack.org/wolfhistory.htm
Robert Weston Smith, b.1/21/39, d. 6/1/95
Although I never heard him on the air, he was very much "out there" in the industry...Bud, Mobile, AL
A.J., here's an update from the link I previously sent you:
"Just a hop, ionosphere skip, and a jump from Shreveport was the home base of XERF-AM, a superpowerful radio station in Mexico, just over the border at Del Rio, Texas. Filling its air time with U.S.based preachers selling all sorts of religion, XERF was reaching millions of listeners across North America, and by all accounts was making millions for the preachers who bought time on the station.
The true odyssey from Louisiana, to fame and fortune as Wolfman Jack on XERF in 1964, equals any hollywood fabricated mini series you might see on TV, complete with bags stuffed with hundred-dollar bills in the trunk of a Cadillac convertible, and a shoot-out at the desert compound where the XERF transmitter was located."
There's more, just follow the aforementioned link!
Bud, Mobile, AL
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