7 Non-Musicians Who Changed Pop Music Forever

6. Wolfman Jack

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kKv2rZ0cV4 Like a movie actor, good DJs build a persona around them. Most DJs build a warm persona about them. Such jockeys make us listeners feel like we know the DJ well. Sometimes, we even feel like such DJs are close friends. However, some DJs don't want us to know them at all. These are the ones who create an air of mystery. The stations that such DJs work for only feed to this mystery by running advertisements that plant stories and rumors about the DJs in our heads. We keep listening, not only to get more of this mystery figure, but also to see if the jockey will say something to confirm or deny those rumors. Wolfman Jack pioneered the "mystery DJ" method. Robert Weston Smith crafted his "Wolfman Jack" persona by blending the name "Moondog" (Alan Freed's radio call-name) with the mannerisms of blues-man Howlin' Wolf. After a brief stint at a radio station in Louisiana, Robert Weston Smith took his act to the Mexican radio station XERF. XERF was famous for its "border-blaster" radio signal, which covered Mexico, all of the United States and, at night, parts of Europe and Russia. In fact, the radio signal coming out of XERF was so strong that birds that flew too close to the radio tower were killed. What this meant was that Wolfman Jack had a wider grip upon the listening public than any DJ before him. Even after the Wolfman left Mexico to work in Minneapolis and Los Angeles, people all across the country continued to hear the Wolfman howl, because the Wolfman was the first DJ to syndicate his programs, taping them and selling them to radio stations all over the United States and border station XERB. Wolfman put his wide broadcasting spread to good use. Wolfman's legendary status spread quickly. Robert Weston Smith painted "Wolfman Jack" as a wild man who "plays the best records in the business, and then... eats 'em!" He was also unapologetically raunchy, inviting listeners to do things like "lay your hands on the radio and squeeze my knobs." Wolfman had the perfect rock n' roll personality to complement the music he played. His personality enhanced the music, and Wolfman's listeners lapped up both. Wolfman Jack was the first DJ to try to integrate the style of the music into the way he jockeyed. He was also the first disc jockey to invent a persona for himself, which is something we modern listeners encounter all the time. Every DJ who's ever tried to be any kind of rock n' roll wild-man owes something to the Wolfman.