Author: dwaring

Did Wolfman Jack work in Modesto? Did he work at KFIV?  These are questions that we are frequently asked at the Modesto Radio Museum. The answer to both is… no. The misconception that he was once a DJ in this area may stem in part from the George Lucas blockbuster film American Graffiti in which  Wolfman Jack’s voice is heard throughout as part of the film’s fabulous soundtrack. The fact that George Lucas singled out Wolfman Jack to also star in his movie gives us a clue as to who George may have listened to during his youthful days of cruising in California’s Central Valley. There is a scene in the film in which the Richard Dreyfus character, Curt Henderson, visits a radio station that closely resembled KFIV in those days; here Curt meets the man behind the voice, although he doesn’t realize who it is at the time.  Perhaps this scene also led people to believe that Wolfman Jack worked at KFIV in Modesto.

It’s more likely however that folks tended to believe over the years that Wolfman Jack is from this area because he was on our radios a whole bunch in the ‘60s. We cruised to his voice and the music he played, laughed at his antics; We loved him, we imitated him, we accepted him as one of us, a seemingly local guy who knew how to tickle our wacky entertainment buttons. What we didn’t realize is that this scenario was unfolding in thousands of towns across the nation and around the world.

Wolfman Jack is not a stranger to Modesto. He made a few visits here to host Graffiti Fest concerts at Modesto Junior College stadium and was even seen at a movie premiere in our town, more on his visits shortly. In 1972 the owners of KTRB decided that on air personality Derek Waring would be called the  “Godfather” during his show. Wolfman Jack was asked to do a drop-in voicer for the Godfather and he obliged. Derek has always regretted that the Wolfman didn’t say “Derek Waring…The Godfather” to make it a little more personal, given the thousands of Godfathers out there, but that’s show biz. One of Modesto’s former local talents,  Mr. Wonderful, Dave Holmes was once a producer for the Wolfman Jack Show in Southern California.

The Wolfman Jack Drop-in for Derek Waring, The Godfather on KTRB

Modesto Radio Museum member Greg Edwards who is a retired on air personality and former adjunct professor of broadcasting at Modesto Junior College remembers as a child scanning the radio dial and listening to distant radio stations. It was at this time in his life that he first heard what he describes as, “A wild DJ” named Wolfman Jack. He was broadcasting from Rosarito Beach, Mexico over station XERB and playing music that Greg had never heard before. In between records he would call listeners and ask them questions such as, “Are you naked?” XERB’s program listing showed Wolfman Jack filling the 9:00 PM to 3:00 AM slot and promoted him as, “The most unbelievable thing you have ever heard on the airwaves. It’s so different that word spreads like wildfire and people can’t help but listen to Wolfman Jack and his Wolfpack. The most talked about personality in America, both out in the audience and on other radio stations too.”

Wolfman on XERB, 1090 (courtesy of Greg Edwards)

Throughout his years in broadcasting Greg has met many VIPs but he says that meeting Wolfman Jack for the first time left an indelible impression on him. He remembers that it was in the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. Wolfman was working for the Nashville Network on radio with an all-night country show that was broadcast across America. Greg walked past the Opryland Hotel studio window and… there he was! Greg was able to spend nearly an hour with the Wolfman watching the, “genius at work.” He was impressed with how “high energy” the Wolfman was while the microphone was open but how “laid back” he was when off the air. Wolfman’s approach to doing his show was, “If you ain’t sweatin’, you ain’t workin’.”

In the late ’80s and early ’90s Modesto held annual Graffiti Fest celebrations which included musical concerts and cruising. Greg tells us that although Wolfman Jack didn’t actually work at a radio station in Modesto, he did make some personal appearances during which he guest starred on Modesto’s air waves. On one occasion in 1990 he joined a remote broadcast over KOOK, 970 which was being done from Northern Tire and Wheel on McHenry Ave.

During his first encounter with Wolfman Jack in Nashville Greg couldn’t have imagined that they would meet again, but it happened. They met when the Wolfman was in Modesto in 1990 to emcee a Graffiti Fest concert. In 1993 and again in 1994 Greg was working for KAT Country 103 doing Graffiti Fest remote broadcasts from Save Mart stores;  The Wolfman showed up to visit with Greg on the air! He graciously answered questions and greeted the public. During one visit while introducing the Wolfman Greg recalls that he conjured up his best Wolfman impression which many of us have, some much better than others. Greg proceeded with his introduction by growling out, “How is your Boogaloo situation?” It was apparent from Wolfman’s facial response that he was not amused. Greg remained in good standing though; He even went on to work in the Wolfman’s personal security detail while he visited Modesto. Fortunately, according to Greg there were no situations that threatened Wolfman Jack’s security and Greg says that his job was pretty much to make sure that our esteemed guest got his favorite meals, greasy cheeseburgers.

Ok, so who was Wolfman Jack and where did he come from? Let us shed some light on these questions. The Wolfman will assist us at the end of this story by also responding to these questions, in his own words. He even throws out some mentions of Modesto in the process!

The person who was to become Wolfman Jack was born Robert Weston Smith in Brooklyn, New York January 21, 1938. As a young man he was a Rhythm and Blues music kind of guy; He listened very closely to the radio announcers of the day making note of the music they played and their particular gimmicks and deliveries on the air. The ear catching names that made them unique in the field of early radio entertainment were not lost on this fledgling radio announcer. It’s conceivable that at this point Robert Westin Smith gave some thought to what name he would use if he were a DJ.

It was in the late ‘50s that Robert Smith made the move toward a career in broadcasting when he enrolled in the National Academy of Broadcasting (NAB) in Washington D.C. He graduated in 1960 and went to work for WYOU in Virginia using the name “Daddy Jules.” When WYOU changed formats he changed his name to “Roger Gordon and Music in Good Taste.”

In 1962 it was on to country music in Shreveport, Louisiana at station KCIJ where Robert Smith became “Big Smith with the Records.” It was at KCIJ that the Wolfman Jack moniker was first heard by radio listeners. Robert “Big” Smith, soon to become Wolfman Jack especially liked DJ Alan Freed who called himself “Moon Dog.” Freed would use a recording of a howling dog during his broadcasts and this left quite an impression on the budding radio star. Big Smith began calling himself Wolfman Jack and created his own unique library of sound effects to bolster his new radio identity. Sound effects that eventually would forever be associated with the Wolfman Jack character. Incidentally the name “Wolfman” came from a love of horror movies and “Jack” came from the lingo of the day where people would refer to each other as “Jack,” for example, hit the road Jack.

The Wolfman Howl (courtesy of Greg Edwards)

Wolfman Jack grew from local recognition to national prominence in 1963 when he became involved with a radio station (XERF) just across the border in Mexico. Radio transmitters in Mexico didn’t have the power limitations of U.S. stations and could operate at many times the power. The Wolfman Jack show was introduced to people all over the continental United States and even some foreign countries. In the mid 1960s Wolfman Jack would tape his shows in Hollywood and then ship the tapes across the border to be broadcast on radio station XERB.

Wolfman Jack Show Opener (courtesy of Greg Edwards)

In August, 1973 Wolfman Jack began working at WNBC in New York; That was the same month that American  Graffiti premiered. He worked there for a year before returning to California in 1974 to work on his syndicated radio shows. In 1989 Wolfman Jack moved to Belvidere, North Carolina to be nearer his family.

At the height of his popularity Wolfman Jack was heard on more than 2,000 radio stations in 53 countries. On July 1, 1995 the world lost Wolfman Jack   when he suffered a heart attack; He was 57 years old. Robert Weston Smith, the Wolfman was laid to rest in the family cemetery in Belvidere. His headstone reads, “One more time,” “Clap for the Wolfman,” and “ooOOOWWWW.”

Wolfman Jack Closing A Show (courtesy of Greg Edwards)

In His Own Words

Here’s a 1990 interview with Wolfman Jack at Canadian Music Week in Toronto, Canada in which he describes in his own words how he became  the Wolfman.

(The above Wolfman clip was edited for this article but is available in it’s entire one hour format by clicking here. )

– The Modesto Radio Museum has drawn on information from Wikipedia and from the Wolfman Jack 1990 interview at Canadian Music Week to compile this article. Many thanks to our friend Greg Edwards for his recollections, pictures, and audio contributions.  If you have memories of  Wolfman Jack that you would like to share please leave them in the comments section below.

– Derek Waring

KDHS was an enigma to the general listening audience when it emerged on the Modesto airwaves on September 5, 1969. The station was licensed by the FCC to the Associated Students of Thomas Downey High School. The offices, studios & transmitter were located between rooms 50 & 51 at the high school. KDHS had the distinction of being the only high school radio station in the Modesto area, as well as one of the few high school radio stations in the entire country.

With Ron Underwood as the faculty advisor, KDHS was entirely student owned & student run. The radio broadcasting class was worth 1 credit as a vocational art. Its non-commercial, educational programming consisted of campus news, Downey High School Sports (especially football & basketball), special informational features, and a wide variety of popular music ranging from Rock & Roll to Jazz to Contemporary Christian.

The original 4.5 watt transmitter served the station and the Modesto area quite well. In December of 1969, the station acquired a new 10 watt Sparta transmitter which enabled KDHS to be heard as far away as Riverbank, Empire, & Ceres. In 1972, Ron Underwood left Downey and took a teaching position at Beyer High School. There, he launched KBHI 88.9 FM, the second high school station in Modesto. Burt Vasche’ became the new faculty advisor at KDHS.

Since its inception, the student council had agreed to fund the radio station at a cost of $2,500 per year. This took care of most of the operating and repair costs. The students also sold local area businesses a “Booster Package” which consisted of a KDHS window sticker, and a “mention” on the air. Since the station was non-commercial, it could not run paid-for ads. Rather, it would mention a business in the same manner that most PBS stations do, (“Funding for this program provided by …”).

Life went on at the little high school station until 1978. It was that year that 3 separate events signaled the start-of-the- end for KDHS:

Event #1…It was decided by the school district that the 1 credit radio broadcasting class would be discontinued at the end of the school year. Students would be allowed to continue broadcasting as an extra-curricular activity, but would not receive any class credit for their efforts. Graciously, Burt Vasche’ remained the faculty advisor for anyone who wanted to participate. It is believed that he did this without any pay or compensation from the school or district.

Event #2…The passage of Proposition 13, the Jarvis-Gann initiative, affected property taxes throughout the state, and in turn, dramatically reduced school funding. Athletic programs, the Arts, and extra-curricular activities took the biggest hit. In lieu of this shortfall, it was decided by the student council that they could no longer afford to continue to fund the station. The yearly stipend was immediately eliminated; however, the school continued to pay for the basic electricity used to keep the station on-the-air.

Event #3…While the station & students were reeling from the loss of funds, the FCC delivered the biggest blow by deciding to abolish all Class “D” FM stations (specifically, those operating at 10 watts). An overabundance of these low-powered, mainly high school & college radio stations were cluttering up the FM band, particularly in the 88-92 MHz range. An ultimatum was issued by the FCC; either increase your power to 100 watts, or leave the air. KBHI decided to do the latter. With no money for a new transmitter, no funding from the school, and a sharp decline in booster participation, KDHS was prepared to sign off for the final time. Instead, the station looked at a third option…one the FCC overlooked. KDHS decided to emulate KRJC, the AM station at Modesto Junior College. The transmitter was output reduced to 1 watt, and KDHS became a “Campus Carrier”. The signal could barely reach the outer edges of Downey Park to the north, and if you were more than 100 feet off campus, the signal was entirely lost. Furthermore, this meant that there was no protection by the FCC if a more powerful station petitioned to operate at the 90.5 FM frequency. Literally, on life support, the station remained on-the-air. The staff knew there was absolutely no money for repairs.

With the loss of the “1 credit class”, student participation had dwindled to a handful of believers. The listening audience at one time probably consisted of only one listener…the DJ on-air.

KDHS remained on the air until the spring of 1983. The once powerful 10 watt transmitter fell into severe disrepair and was unable to even crank out the single watt needed to remain on the air. The staff numbered less than 10, and the school insisted on reclaiming the office & studio space for a teacher preparation area. KDHS was officially gone.

When the license was allowed to expire, the Seventh Day Adventist Academy in Ceres petitioned the FCC in 1987 to acquire the 90.5 FM frequency. KADV, Your Christian ADVantage was launched in 1989. However, the call letters would not fade into obscurity. They were later claimed by Delta High School in Delta Junction, Alaska. In June of 2002, the FCC granted a license to KDHS-LP, a 100 watt high school station, which broadcasts at 95.5 FM, and on the internet.

Editor’s note: Kenn Shearer now lives in Tulsa, OK.

Remembering KDHS – Ron Underwood, Speech Instructor/Advisor

Remembering KDHS – Jeff Cree, Student

Remembering KDHS – Angie Decker Allen

Remembering KDHS – Mike Green, Student

Remembering KDHS – Les Simar, Student

Remembering KDHS – Ross Rumsey, Student

Memorabilia and Memories
of The Fillmore Auditorium
by Kathy Hansen

Museum Note:   Kathy Hansen, a member of the Modesto Radio Museum, has a lifelong connection to music. Her mother, Ramona Rae Hansen-Saben, owned Salty’s Record Attic in Modesto.  The cards shared in this article are from Kathy’s private collection.

The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco played host to some of the most iconic bands and performers of the ‘60’s. The Fillmore was built in 1912, at the corner of Geary & Fillmore, and was originally the home of the Majestic Hall and Academy of Dance. In 1936, it became the Ambassador Dance Hall. Then, in 1939, the name again was changed to the Ambassador Roller Skating Rink. In 1954, a successful business man by the name of Charles Sullivan began booking bands and the name became The Fillmore Auditorium.

In 1965, Sullivan let Bill Graham use his dance hall permit to book a benefit for the San Francisco Mime Troop and that is were the Fillmore history began

But a lot more than music came out of the walls of the Fillmore. There were the posters. If you are lucky enough to still have an original poster from those days, you have something really special.

Wes Wilson (July 15, 1937 – January 24, 2020) was the father of the 60’s rock concert psychedelic posters. Between 1966 and 1968, Wes would complete 56 posters for Bill Graham. There is a popular story that Graham liked Wes’s first poster but he couldn’t use it because the text was not legible and supposedly Wes replied, “They’ll stop to read it because they can’t read it.” There began his stint with Graham.

Dan Adams of KXTV 10 produced this story of Stockton and Sacramento Top 40 radio stations from days gone by; a time before corporate programmers dictated what to play and when to play it; a time when DJs had control and could make or break a record. Then things began to change. In 1966 there was a monumental shift and radio would never be the same again.

Top 40 Radio Northern California
Video by Dan Adams

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Terry Nelson’s radio career began at KFIV in Modesto and from there he made stops at numerous radio stations across the country sharing his lovable sense of humor and his sharp wit. His laugh was infectious; he was the kind of guy that people wanted to hear everyday so they could get their Terry Nelson “Fix.”

The Modesto Radio Museum’s Derek Waring has been working closely with Constance Nelson, Terry’s wife and his daughter Tricia Nelson-Milburn to digitize many of Terry’s old airchecks and preserve these memories within The Modesto Radio Museum Website. Many thanks to Constance and Tricia for allowing us the opportunity to share samples of Terry Nelson’s radio career with our Modesto Radio Museum visitors.

Constance and Tricia attended the Modesto Graffiti Days celebration in June of 2022 along with what they lovingly refer to as “cardboard Terry” which is a cardboard picture of Terry Nelson that was used to fill a seat at the Oakland A’s games during the COVID 19 shutdown. Terry was a big A’s fan. Cardboard Terry is now frequently seen beside Constance and Tricia at special events.

Terry passed away peacefully at home on May 26, 2020. There are many wonderful stories about Terry Nelson; Derek had the pleasure of asking Constance and Tricia to each share a personal favorite of theirs with us.

Memories of Terry Nelson – Constance Nelson and Tricia Nelson-Milburn
video by Wes Page

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In June of 2022 Modesto recognized  one of the “Power House” radio stations of the ’60s and ’70s. To many back then KFRC, The Big 610 was pumping out the hits for us from San Francisco because, truth be known, even though we were loyal to our local radio stations we would sneak over to 610 on the dial for our regular dose of Dr. Don Rose, Mike Novak, Bob Malik, Terry Nelson etc. After all some of these personalities were local guys and we had to support them, right?

Shotgun Tom Kelly is also a part of KFRC history and even though he is not a Modesto native he has strong ties to our community. Shotgun is best friends with KFIV’s Johnny Walker (Bob Neutzling) who was an on air personality at KFIV (K5) in the late ’60s, early ’70s. It was this connection that resulted in Shotgun Tom voicing the intros for the K5 disc jockies. Remember?

Shotgun Tom Kelly K5 Intro

Shotgun Tom is also connected to a number of Modesto DJs through Ogden’s Radio Operational Engineering School because they attended radio school together in the late ’60s. Through the years Shotgun has remained a good friend of ours and we are proud to say that he is a member of the Modesto Radio Museum.

We were excited to hear that Shotgun Tom Kelly was to be a part of the Modesto, 610 Day and that he was scheduled to broadcast from the historic KFRC, 610 Mobile Studio, the Sturgeon (it looks like a fish).

Enjoy this video of Shotgun Tom broadcasting from The Sturgeon from Modesto in June of 2022. If you look closely you will see some of his biggest fans peering at him through the window.

Shotgun Tom Kelly – From the KFRC Sturgeon
video by Wes Page

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The “Midnight Honker” John Huey. He’s the KFIV on air personality that kept Modesto company through those long nights back in the late ’60s. John always boasts that he had better listener numbers from midnight till 6:00 AM than any other radio DJ in Modesto. He will also laughingly point out that  KFIV was the only station broadcasting from midnight to 6am back then.

We ran into John during the Graffiti Days celebration at the Graffiti USA Classic Car Museum in June of 2022. He took the mic as if he’d been doing it all of his life and proceeded to tell us the story of how he was convinced to go into radio by another well known Modesto radio personality.  Enjoy this video from the “Midnight Honker.”

Here’s the raw version of the KFIV jingle John Huey used:

JOHN HUEY – HOW I WAS CONVINCED TO GO INTO RADIO
video by Wes Page

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Mike Novak is hometown boy; he attended Thomas Downey High School class of 1967 and Modesto Junior College (MJC). It was at MJC  where Mike got an early taste of radio while participating  in radio broadcasting classes. Initially radio was not on the radar for Mike. He started out as an Agronomy major but tried radio at the suggestion of a friend. Not only did he like radio, he was good at it! In this video Mike will tell you first hand how it all began and where that first encounter with a radio microphone took him.

Mike Novak – How It All Began
(video by Wes Page)

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