Main Street, Del Rio, in the 1940's

Two years ago I drifted into the border town of Del Rio in Texas. I was on the road, travelling from Laredo to Big Bend and needed to stop for a break. I spent an hour or so in the town strolling back and forth down Main Street trying to conjure up its heyday, the days when Del Rio’s heartbeat was here, before the world moved on and took its business to the malls on the edge of town and left behind thrift stores, gift shops and a faded, melancholy nostalgia; this the story in so many towns in the States whose glory days have gone.

Had I known then that this was the place where legendary DJ Wolfman Jack had broadcast his show to the United States, his signal even reaching Korea if the atmospheric conditions were right, then I would have paid better attention and shown due respect. A recent two part programme on Radio 4 revealed what I had missed.

Growing up dirt poor in Brooklyn, New York, like many street kids The Wolfman (Bob Smith) found escape in the music shows he heard on the radio. He was particularly taken with the Mexican border radio stations, operated at powers 3-5 times higher than those at which US stations were permitted to broadcast. They were located on the borders of Mexico and Texas or California, but were leased to Americans. They were in reality "outlaw" US stations, mostly catering to an English speaking audience.

If the ionosphere was just right the "outlaw X" XERF in Del Rio would blast into New York City as clear as if it was a local station. The electricity coming off the transmitters was so powerful that birds flying too close would drop dead. The extreme energy would cause nearby parked car’s headlights to glow.

The Roswell Hotel, Del Rio, the Wolfman's home while a DJ and joint owner of XERF - still standing today

These "bandit", "outlaw", or "border blasters" as they were called, transmitted programmes by all sorts of wild characters, usually pitching something. Bob dreamed that one day he would be on the air at one of the border blasters broadcasting around the World. He finally fulfilled his desire and as ‘The Wolfman’, became the King of DJ’s. When he agreed to a cameo appearance in the 70’s movie ‘American Graffiti’, his identity was revealed, cited as the moment the myth was destroyed for many hitherto fans. By then, The Wolfman had moved on from XERF and later became a successful establishment broadcaster on US radio and TV. He died in 1995.