Wolfman and ‘Midnight’: Nostalgia but No Regrets

Legendary disc jockey Wolfman Jack says his new cable TV show spotlighting rock ‘n’ roll oldies rivals his former hit show, “The Midnight Special.”

The Wolfman, who portrayed himself in the 1973 movie “American Graffiti,” is the host of “Rock ‘n’ Roll Palace” on the Nashville Network. The 30-minute program is taped at Little Darlin’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Palace in Kissimmee, Fla.

The bearded host said he does not miss doing “The Midnight Special,” of which he was host for eight years, because the new program is so good.

“We have very special and wonderful people,” said Wolfman, 49. “We had a magic and it comes out on the tube. The show comes on and goes off fast. Everyone was inspired and wanted to be there and wanted to perform. It was very magical.”

Guests this season include the Diamonds, the Shirelles, Tommy Sands, the Coasters, Del Shannon, Brian Hyland, Joey Dee, Lou Christie, the Crystals, Bobby Vee, Martha Reeves, Mary Wells, Johnny Tillotson, the Platters, the Crickets, Lenny Welch, Freddie Cannon, Spencer Davis, Billy J. Kramer and the Tokens.

“On TV, there’s not one show going after these acts,” Wolfman said. “This is the first show to come along and do this.

“It’s real American music--what rock ‘n’ roll originally was before people turned it around and sideways and upside down. From 1958 to 1964, that’s real rock ‘n’ roll. Then the Beatles hit and everyone sounded like them. They didn’t give our boys long enough. There were real classics from that era.

“The feeling of some of the music today is a little bit like that (era), but the purity of rock ‘n’ roll when it first came out was astounding. It was pure, simple, nothing heavy, nothing but fun and romance. It had a good beat, and you could dance to it. There were great ballads in those days.”

Wolfman, who has a radio show syndicated on about 70 stations, said music today emphasizes the performer rather than the song.

“You don’t go see Michael Jackson for the song but for his great entertaining and dancing,” Wolfman said. “You see a $2-million show. In the old days, you paid $2 or $3 and saw 18 acts. Back then, everyone worked together. You try to put 18 acts together today and see what it costs you.”

Wolfman said he has many fond memories of “The Midnight Special,” which he left in 1982 because the show was de-emphasizing live music: “There were some fine moments. I remember Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin and Billy Preston, and at the end of each show we’d jam. This was very unusual for those days. For us to put them all together was very important.”

The Wolfman really is Bob Smith, who grew up in a tough neighborhood in Brooklyn. His character emerged in the 1960s from XERF, a Mexican station with a signal that carried into the United States. He was later on XERB, another Mexican station.

Then he appeared in the George Lukas movie “American Graffiti,” which starred Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford and Cindy Williams, and briefly featured Suzanne Somers.

“It took the Wolfman from a cult figure to the rank of American flag and apple pie,” he said. “It made me legitimate. Most actors go all their life and try for that kind of opportunity. The Wolfman stumbled and fell into it. I am very lucky.

“So many people got started in that picture. It sort of became a classic.”

Wolfman was not so complimentary of a later movie, “The Big Chill,” which featured rock from the later ‘60s.

“It was kind of depressing, being about a funeral and all,” he said. “But it did depict different kind of people in that age group. But I didn’t particularly care for it.”

After “American Graffiti,” he began doing various ad campaigns and appeared in more than 40 network TV shows. He also had his own syndicated TV show, “The Wolfman Jack Show.”

Todd Rundgren, the Guess Who, Leon Russell and Freddie King all wrote songs about him.

He is now a deejay for radio station XTRA Gold in San Diego, broadcasting from his home in Beverly Hills.