page_title: History of radio disc jockeys
section_title: 1950s to present
hierarchical_section_title: History of radio disc jockeys / 1950s to present
caption_attribution_description: Wolfman Jack, American radio personality
context_page_description: The history of radio disc jockeys covers the time when gramophone records were first transmitted by experimental radio broadcasters to present day radio personalities who host shows featuring a variety of recorded music.
  For a number of decades beginning in the 1930s, the term "disc jockey", "DJ", "deejay", or "jock" was exclusively used to describe on-air personalities who played selections of popular recorded music on radio broadcasting stations.
  The term "disc jockey" first appeared in print in a 1941 issue of Variety magazine, although the origin of the term is generally attributed to American radio news commentator Walter Winchell who used it to describe radio presenter Martin Block's practice of introducing phonograph recordings to create a "Make Believe Ballroom" experience for radio listeners. The term combined "disc", referring to phonograph disc records, and "jockey", denoting the DJs practice of riding the audio gain, or alternately, riding a song to success and popularity.
  Culminating in the "golden age" of Top 40 radio, from approximately 1955 to 1975, radio DJs established a style of fast talking patter to bookend three minute pop songs.
context_section_description: The postwar period coincided with the rise of the radio disc jockey as a celebrity separate from the radio station, also known as a "radio personality". In the days before station-controlled playlists, the DJ often followed their personal tastes in music selection. DJs also played a role in exposing rock and roll artists to large, national audiences.
  While at WERE (1300 AM) in Cleveland, Ohio, DJ Bill Randle was one of the first to introduce Elvis Presley to radio audiences in the northeastern U.S. At WMCA (AM), DJ Jack Spector was the first New York City radio personality to play the new Beatles' Capitol Records' single, "I Want to Hold Your Hand".
  A top-rated radio host at WINS in New York City in the mid 1960s was Murray Kaufman, aka Murray the K. Kaufman took over the station's 7-11PM time period for several years. His show was known for its frenetic pace that incorporated segues, jingles, sound effects, and antics. After being invited by Beatles manager Brian Epstein to travel with the band, he came to be referred to as the "Fifth Beatle".
  Notable U.S. radio disc jockeys of the period include Alan Freed, Wolfman Jack, Casey Kasem, and their British counterparts such as the BBC's Brian Matthew and Alan Freeman, Radio London's John Peel, Radio Caroline's Tony Blackburn, and Radio Luxembourg's Jimmy Savile.
  Alan Freed is commonly referred to as the "father of rock and roll" due to his promotion of the music and his introduction of the term rock and roll on radio in the early 1950s. Freed also made a practice of presenting music by African-American artists rather than cover versions by white artists on his radio program. Freed's career ended when it was shown that he had accepted payola, a practice that was highly controversial at the time, resulting in his being fired from his job at WABC.
  WLAC radio DJ John R. (aka John Richbourg) in Nashville, Tennessee adopted the African-American Vernacular English of African-American DJ's in the early 1950s. Richbourg's practice of imitating African-American street dialect of the mid-twentieth century was so successful, that WLAC programmed an entire cohort of white DJ's that spoke like blacks did while playing music that was popular in the black community. It was not common knowledge that WLAC DJs were white until the mid-1960s. By then, the rebellious youth market made the nightly rhythm and blues station the one they tuned to for rock and roll, as atmospherics carried the signal enabling the station to be heard throughout much of the North American continent and Caribbean islands.
  Bob Smith (aka Wolfman Jack) began his career as an announcer on XERF located in Mexico and became an influential DJ who advocated for African American music on his long running rock and roll radio show. Many people thought Smith was a black DJ until he appeared as himself in the 1973 film American Graffiti. Smith hosted TV shows such as Midnight Special and Rock and Roll Palace.
  A number of actors and media personalities began their careers as traditional radio disc jockeys who played and introduced records, such as Hogan's Heroes star Bob Crane, talk show host Art Bell, American Idol host Ryan Seacrest, and Howard Stern. Dick Clark was a radio DJ at WFIL in Philadelphia before he began hosting WFIL-TV's American Bandstand.
  Radio DJs often acted as commercial brokers for their program and actively solicited paying sponsors. They could also negotiate which sponsors would appear on their program. Many wrote and delivered the commercials themselves, talking the place of advertising agencies who formerly executed these responsibilities.
  Drive time or "morning drive" shows capitalized on a listening audience of weekday commuters and parents getting children ready for school. Morning DJs such as New York's Don Imus and DJ teams such as Mark and Brian in Los Angeles are examples of notable radio personalities whose morning drive format included playing songs as well as sharing stories and taking listener phone calls.
  Radio disc jockey programs were often syndicated, at first with hourly musical programs wit
caption: Wolfman Jack
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