Tommy Smalls
{{Short description|Disc jockey (1926–1972)}}
{{infobox person
| image = Mansfield and Smalls.jpg
| caption = Smalls with actress Jayne Mansfield, in 1956
| name = Tommy Smalls
| birth_name = Thomas Smalls
| other_names = Dr. Jive
| birth_place = Savannah, Georgia, United States
| birth_date = August 5, 1926
| death_place = New York City, New York, United States
| death_date = March 8, 1972 (aged 45)
| occupation = Radio disc jockey
}}
Tommy Smalls (August 5, 1926 – March 8, 1972),{{cite web
| author=
| title = Social Security Death Index for Thomas Smalls
| url= https://www.familysearch.org/search/recordDetails/show?uri=https://api.familysearch.org/records/pal:/MM9.1.r/7KSR-XMM/p1
| publisher= The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
| date= | accessdate=2011-07-12
}}
| editor-last=Zhito | editor-first=Lee
| title = Polydor's Smalls Dies
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jCgEAAAAMBAJ&dq=Tommy+Smalls&pg=PA3
| magazine=Billboard | publisher=
| date=1972-03-18 | accessdate=2011-07-13 | page=3
| quote = Tommy Smalls, Polydor Inc. executive in promotion and marketing died, March 8 after a long illness.
}}
known as Dr. Jive, was an influential African-American radio disc jockey in New York City during the early days of rock and roll.
He owned the Smalls Paradise club in Harlem in the 1950s.
Life and career
Born Thomas Smalls in Savannah, Georgia, he attended Savannah State College, and, after a period in the US Coast Guard, became the first black disc jockey in Savannah in 1947 on radio station WSAV.[https://books.google.com/books?id=6Y8DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA56 Obituary], in Jet magazine, 23 March 1972, p.56. In 1952 he moved to New York, and became the original "Dr. Jive" on radio station WWRL. His weekday afternoon radio shows - with the slogan "Sit back and relax and enjoy the wax / From three-oh-five to five-three-oh, it's the Dr. Jive show" - became popular with teenagers and featured vocal groups, blues, rock and roll and Latin music. In 1955 he began to present live rhythm and blues revues from the Rockland Palace and the Apollo Theater, and in November 1955 presented an unprecedented 12-minute segment on the nationally-networked The Ed Sullivan Show featuring Bo Diddley, LaVern Baker, the Five Keys, and Willis "Gator Tail" Jackson.[http://home.earthlink.net/~jaymar41/tsmalls.html Tommy Smalls - Remembering NY's Dr. Jive, by J. C. Marion] By the end of 1955, he had purchased the Smalls Paradise club in Harlem, and in May 1956 he was elected to the unofficial post of "Mayor of Harlem", with a parade held through the town in his honor.[http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2005/11/01/2005-11-01_swept_away__dr__jive.html David Hinckley, "Swept Away - Dr. Jive"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124130230/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2005/11/01/2005-11-01_swept_away__dr__jive.html |date=2010-11-24 }}, New Daily News, 1 November 2005 In 1960, he appeared (uncredited) on the Bobby Hendricks single "Psycho" as the voice of the psychiatrist.David Edwards and Mike Callahan, [https://www.bsnpubs.com/nyc/sue/suestory.html The Sue Records Story], accessed 30 March 2022.
In the late 1950s, he married teen model Dolores De Vega, who years later in 2009, appeared on the TV Land series, "She's Got the Look." Their first child, a daughter, Sharon, born in July, 1950 from a previous marriage. Then in November 1955, Tommy Smalls and Dolores DeVega had another daughter, Laura. Soon following was Shawn-nee in June 1957 and finally their son, Tommy Smalls, Jr., in September 1959.
In 1960, Smalls, along with fellow disc jockey Alan Freed, was arrested and charged in the "payola" scandal, when both were accused of taking bribes to play records on their radio shows, and his radio career ended.{{cite web |last1=Magazine |first1=Harlem World |title=Tommy Smalls Was So Big They Used To Call Him The "Major Of Harlem," In The 1950's |url=https://www.harlemworldmagazine.com/tommy-smalls-was-so-big-they-used-to-call-him-the-major-of-harlem-in-the-1950s/ |website=Harlem World Magazine |ref=In 1960, Smalls, along with fellow disc jockey Alan Freed, was arrested and charged in the “payola” scandal, when both were accused of taking bribes to play records on their radio shows, and his radio career ended. |date=1 August 2021}}{{cite web |last1=Genzlinger |first1=Neil |title=Reggie Lavong, Smooth-Voiced D.J., Dies at 84 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/29/obituaries/reggie-lavong-smooth-voiced-dj-dies-at-84.html |website=The New York Times |date=29 September 2017}} He later became promotions manager for Polydor Records in New York. He was also one of the founding members of the National Association of TV and Radio Announcers (NATRA).
He died after a long illness in New York City on March 8, 1972, aged 45.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|name=Tommy Smalls|1813658}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smalls, Tommy}}