and check out http://Facebook.com/oldiescountry and scroll backwards to June '14 ( ORE EARLIER YEARS , THEN COME BACK LATER FOR THIS YEAR'S AG Celebration
AND be sure to visit http://OldiesCountry.blogspot.com and http://OldiesCountry.com
AND be sure to visit http://OldiesCountry.blogspot.com and http://OldiesCountry.com
LET'S GO CRUISIN' WITH THE WOLFMAN :
(Turn UP the sound for the Wolfman and some great sounds! Just click below:)
TRAILER FOR THE MOVIE, AMERICAN GRAFFITI featuring WOLFMAN JACK
Snapshot of Modesto 2011 Graffitifest and Car show
June 10, 1988
The legendary rock 'n roll disc jockey. Indeed, the Wolfman will howl his way to Modesto Saturday afternoon
from 1 to 5 as emcee of the Graffiti Fest '88 at the Modesto Junior College Stadium.
In a phone interview from Nashville, Tenn., Wolfman Jack…who is 50 + years-old and was born Bob Smith
in Brooklyn, N.Y…. says: "I'm excited about Modesto. I think it will bring back memories of the graffiti times.
That was a wonderful time for me and I'm sure it was for a lot of other people." After the show, he'll be a guest
disc jockey on KHYV from 7 to 9PM and then it's "cruise time" with everyone else.
The late-night madman of the airwaves said: "We're gonna rock 'n roll like you ain't never rock 'n rolled before,
in Modesto, California." And it's all part of the Second Saturday in June Graffiti Night.
His voice could never be labeled as melodious, smooth, velvety, or remotely pleasing.
Guttural, grating, raspy and hoarse are more closer adjectives which describe the "pipes" of Wolfman Jack…
(Yes, hard to believe 25 years ago it was the Wolfman made quite a presence in Modesto. Nobody before or since
has had any kind of impact like the wolfman on the graffiti scene. In fact, he came a number of years and seemed
to love broadcasting during the car shows, announcing the different vintage classic cars and all their parts, etc...
Above courtesy of the Modesto Radio Museum and KRE Radio , CHRS, Berkeley, CA
WOLFMAN IS BORN ON XERF
 |
| A 1964 publicity pic with dog, Oscar. |
Brooklyn-born Bob Smith aka Wolfman Jack first introduced his gravely voiced character in 1964 from super-powered border radio station, XERF 1570-AM. The station broadcast at 250,000 watts, five times the U.S. limit, which meant that their signal could be picked up all over North America and at night as far away as Europe and the Soviet Union. The "Border Blaster" located in Ciudad, Acuña, Mexico (across the Rio Grande from Del Rio, Texas) propelled Wolfman Jack half way around the world from midnight to 4AM every night. The mysterious Wolfman enthralled young listeners with his howling, ghetto talk and hip play list that featured black artists rarely heard on West Coast radio. The first time Bob Smith introduced Wolfman Jack he had tremendous success. Smith once told an interviewer, "The first night I went on the air I know we ran mail order record spots and stuff and, I think two days later I collected like, 4,000 or 5,000 pieces of mail. And, that was the first night on the air. No promotion no nothing, ya know. The station had such a phenomenal signal it covered all those people," he said.
MEL'S DRIVE-IN
Tourists are generally unaware that along with the Golden Gate Bridge and its trolleys, San Francisco is famous for drive-ins. Mel Weiss and Harold Dobbs started it all back in 1947 when they built their first carhop eatery, inspired by similar restaurants serving motorists in Los Angeles. With a staff of fourteen carhops covering a 30,000 square foot parking lot, they lured the hungry with a local radio personality broadcasting a live remote. As music reverberated through car radios in the drive-ups, the curb-stepping gals of 140 South Van Ness became a new paradigm for service.At all hours of the day and night, crowds of patrons that fancied dining-in-your-car came early and often. It didn't take long for the first unit to multiply into eleven! Six Mels became landmarks in the Bay Area with an additional cluster achieving their own notoriety in Stockton and Sacramento. They reigned for almost twenty years, until a parade of franchised fast food outlets finally outpaced their service. As the new philosophy of "serve yourself" began to reprogram attitudes about dining, Mels began its gradual decline.
By 1972, a New York restaurant conglomerate purchased most of the faltering units and changed their names. As colorful marquees were scheduled for removal, it appeared to many local enthusiasts that Mel's success story was about to end. They were only partly right.
Around the same time, filmmaker George Lucas was scouting out locations to serves as centerpiece for his rock'n'roll fable about life, love, and coming of age in postwar America. The original Mels burger spot cam to his attention and was leased prior to its demolition. Crews descended on the site and soon it was lights...camera...action...all over again. Mels was back in business, immortalized in 35mm.Out on the parking lot, Ron Howard, Candy Clark, Richard Dreyfuss, Mackenzie Phillips, Harrison Ford, Cindy Williams, Paul LeMat, Suzanne Somers, and Charlie Martin Smith took their first steps to future stardom.
As the bulldozers razed the last remnants of the historic drive-in and trucks carted off the debris, American Graffiti opened in theatres.
Thirteen years later, Mel's son Steven began to grow increasingly nostalgic about his father's defunct dream. As memories of the fities dominated his imagination like a jukebox replaying the same old record, he tried to dismiss the thoughts. A lifetime of experience in the restaurant business told him that any attempt to resurrect the Mels idea wouldn't be easy. His father agreed, actively discouraging the idea. Fortunately, Steven persisted. When partner Donald Wagstaff confirmed interest with his own commitment, the path to reclaim a Northern California legend was clear.
At the grand re-opening in 1985, Steven's fondest wishes were realized: former teenagers who once dined at the first Mels were now re-visiting with their families. Weary of tasteless road food, they wanted to show their kids a glimpse of what the "good times" were really like--long before the age of video games and compact disc players. With the drive-in as backdrop, customers related their early years of love and romance--how they first met at Mels--dated, and ultimately got married!
Mels was back on the charts with new locations on Frisco's Lombard and Gary Street. Two more opened in Los Angeles--joined by full-scale replicas (complete with food service) at the Universal theme parks in Florida and California. Weiss had the Mels name officially trademarked in 1985 and now, it continues to take on a life of its own. Rightly so! After all, Mels Drive-in is the burger, the French fry, and the milkshake. It's playing a joke on friends by unscrewing the top of the salt shaker and ketchup cap. Mels is the howlin', prowlin', Wolfman Jack...the phase-shift echo heard when walking past a row of roadsters tuned to the same raucous station. It's the haunting sound of an electric guitar banging out the "chunka-chunka" rhythm of "Green Onions" while cruisin' the circuit in a little deuce coupe, hair slicked back in a ducktail. Mels is the generic haven for the automobile, the youthful hangouts fondly remembered, along with one's first car, first date...and first kiss.
This passage is an excerpt from Michael Karl Witzel's book The American Drive-in, published by Motorbooks International, WI, 1994.
PETALUMA'S Salute to American Graffiti
Up the road from Modesto about 100 miles is the town of Petaluma, similar to Modesto for it's small town, original 1950s feel. In fact some of the scenes were reportedly filmed here. The town square and clock tower have been used in other nostalgic movies like Back To The Future.
Enjoy the car show and cruise-in!:
Wolfman Jack is back! Wolfwoman has signed a deal to re-tool and air original programming recorded by the late, great, howling, prowling Wolfman Jack. Like Houdini, the Wolfman did vow to return after his death at some point. Wolfman Jack recorded so much material in his lifetime that he used to like to say that after he was gone, there would still be enough fresh Wolfman Jack material to air for the next 300 years! Since his death on July 1, 1995, he has been on and off the airwaves of the internet, but this could be the first time he has come back to commercial radio to stay! Below is a small but growing list of carriers of the new shows! Soon CDs will be availabe with funny phone conversations, bits, and more! More details will become available soon! Thanks and stay tuned for more site updates! - Wolfmanjack.org's News Department
There are a dozen or so radio stations carrying the Wolfman show but , for now, perhaps the best place to find some classic 'airchecks' is www.reelradio.co www.reelradio.com, where for $12 a year it's quite worth it!
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Top 10 Highlights from the movie American Graffiti
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