At 1290/WICE/Providence, RI, he was known by his real name, Frank Smith. At
WRKO, Bill Drake named him Bobby Mitchell. His original assignment at WRKO was
a replacement for then-morning man Al Gates. Bobby remained morning man until
the arrival of Dale Dorman, and left the station in May of 1970, for WABC. On
September 22, 1978, he returned to WRKO as Frank Kingston Smith (his real name)
and stayed there until the station changed to a talk format. Here's how Frank
tells it.
It's me. The guy who had trouble remembering his assigned name. First one I
ever had. Took about four months to get the hang of "Bobby Mitchell." I remember
it coming out "Billy Mitchell" once, being a WWII aviation buff. Eventually
it was Bobby "The Boss Hoss" Mitchell. I still have that darned jingle somewhere.
My real name is Frank Kingston Smith, with a "Junior" on the end, but I only
ever used that once, at WIBG, AM 990 in Philadelphia, after I left WRKO in May
of 1970. I'm originally a Philadelphian.
I was not in the original WRKO team. (I was hired) after all the internal changes,
Woo Woo's (Ginsburg) removal from the air, and Jon Powers' being hired for overnight,
Drake-Chenault became the consultant for all the RKO General stations. Drake
just couldn't control Al Gates, so he removed him from mornings and hired me
out of WICE. So I was Bill Drake's first hire at WRKO. I was hired to
do mornings, but in my fourth year of daily radio, I was certainly not ready
for morning drive in a major market. So Drake brought in Dale Dorman from KFRC.
I moved to Noon to 3, ahead of J.J. Jeffrey (who used to call me "Smitch").
I arrived in a raging snowstorm and went on the air three hours later, 6 - 9PM.
Ruby Tuesday was #1, and
Penny Lane b/w
Strawberry Fields Forever had been released
the day before. I got hired to WRKO the day Martin Luther King, Jr. was
assassinated and my third week on the air at WRKO, Bobby Kennedy was assassinated.
Great way to remember my beginnings.
When Chuck Knapp (did something to) get fired, Drake had me moved to 6 to 9
PM while the daytime shifts went temporarily to four hours. I moved back to
Noon to 3 when WRKO hired a kid out of Tucson whom Drake named Shadoe Stevens.
(He and I are still friends.)
For about four months, until both Bill Drake and I realized I was in over my
head at that point in my career doing morning drive, I did AM drive, Gatesy
did 9 to Noon and Joel did Noon to three. When they moved Gates over to WROR,
which was still automation, Dorman moved into AM drive, Joel moved to 9 to Noon,
and I moved into Noon to 3. When they fired Chuck Knapp, daylight hours moved
to four-hour shifts and I did 6 to 9 PM, while the company hired Shadoe Stevens.
Then I moved back to Noon to 3. Shadoe moved off to LaLa Land, and I THINK "The
Mover, Johnny Williams" came in. When J.J .Jeffrey left for Philly, I moved
into PM drive.
By the way, WFIL had tried to hire me before I decided to go to WIBG. I had
worked with Jay Cooke as one of the original "Super 6" at WFIL. When I accepted
afternoons at WIBG, Jackson T. Reynolds, the PD of the moment, went right on
the air and announced I would be coming BACK to Philadelphia. Not three minutes
later, the phone in the WRKO jock lounge rang; it was Jay. His first words to
me were: "Say it isn't so." J.J. left for WFIL in late 1969, and I moved
into afternoon drive, where I stayed until I left to be opposite J.J. at WIBG
in May of 1970.
Two neat things about my career at WRKO: I was the official voice of the original
History of Rock and Roll in 1969, at WRKO. (Recording that is a story which
could fill a book.) Each station recorded its own version using local jocks;
scripts and actualities were provided by Drake-Chenault Enterprises. I did 39
of the 48 hours.
Here's an interesting observation which I made on the air in Boston in 1992
when WODS Oldies 103 purchased the latest version of The History of Rock and
Roll (voiced entirely by Bill Drake): The original History of Rock and
Roll was recorded in 1969 and traced Rock (rock-a-billy and R&B) back to about
1953, a total of 16 years. Since the original HRR, 23 years had passed, that
was seven MORE years than the original considered the beginning of Rock and
Roll history, for a total of 39 years. And still, HRR was only 50 hours long
as compared to the original 48. (For all the Drake-formatted stations)
I was designated pinch voice for the jock IDs and half-hour breakers for Drake,
who recorded those himself most of the time.
After 29 years, the last 5 1/2 at Oldies 103 (WODS Boston), I left radio in
1993 and moved to Arizona. I'm still in love with the medium, but with three
businesses between my wife and me, I really don't have time for a radio gig
at Phoenix prices. I write for a couple of national publications and am
regarded as pretty good storyteller. One of my current employments is announcing
air shows (flying shows) all over North America. I just announced my last one
of this year at Eglin AFB. Best, Frank (Thanks for listening, music lovers)
Bobby left the station for WABC in New York City, only to return some years
later as Frank Kingston Smith. You'll enjoy his aircheck, recorded on a Saturday.
We only wish we could have heard him on WABC. Hey, we COULD ask for a
WABC aircheck.. . Today, Frank emcees air shows nationwide, and does voiceover
work.) Frank's
Website Oh.... Frank was a TV star as well. If you missed him, he
was on-camera host: "24 Hours in America." He played an attorney in FOX
TV series "Against the Law." Did 5 episodes of "Spencer - For Hire."
In the movies, Frank played a legislator in "Primary Motive," and a curious
neighbor in "Malice."
