1. Frankie "Hollywood" Crocker was an American disc jockey, VH-1 VJ, TV host and actor.
23 Facts About Frankie Crocker
1. 2.
Frankie Crocker later moved to Manhattan, where he first worked for soul station 1600 WWRL and later Top 40 outlet 570 WMCA in 1969.
3.
Frankie Crocker then worked for 107.5 WBLS as program director and afternoon host.
4.
Frankie Crocker took the station to the top of the ratings during the late 1970s and pioneered the radio format now known as urban contemporary.
5.
Frankie Crocker sometimes called himself the Chief Rocker, and he was as well known for his boastful on-air patter as for his off-air flamboyance.
6.
When Studio 54 was at the height of its popularity, Frankie Crocker once rode in through the front entrance on a white stallion.
7.
Frankie Crocker signed off the air each night to the tune "Moody's Mood For Love" by crooner King Pleasure.
8.
Frankie Crocker coined the radio term "urban contemporary" in the 1970s, a label for the eclectic mix of songs that appealed to an urban audience of black listeners, Hispanics, whites and Asians.
9.
Frankie Crocker quit and was twice re-hired by the station management.
10.
Later, Frankie Crocker helped usher in a format change at KUTE and WBLS, mixing disco music with other African-American and dance music genres.
11.
Frankie Crocker made, "Love is the Message" by MFSB as NYC's unofficial anthem on the radio.
12.
Frankie Crocker brought Cameroon-native Manu Dibango's "Soul Makossa" to the attention of American audiences.
13.
Frankie Crocker gave America exposure to an obscure genre called "Reggae" and he helped make popular to American audiences a Jamaican rocker named Bob Marley.
14.
Fatback Band frontman Bill Curtis credited Frankie Crocker with breaking the group in New York.
15.
Frankie Crocker was inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2000 and the New York State Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 2005.
16.
Frankie Crocker was one of the five original VJs on VH-1, the cable music video channel.
17.
Frankie Crocker was the master of ceremonies at shows in the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
18.
Frankie Crocker was indicted as a result of a 1976 payola investigation.
19.
Frankie Crocker moved to MTV Networks as a VJ on the VH-1 cable channel.
20.
Frankie Crocker was charged in 1983 with hitting Penthouse Pet Carmela Pope.
21.
Frankie Crocker was mentioned as a paramour of, and suspect in the February 12,1977 murder of young Hollywood starlet Christa Helm.
22.
In October 2000, Frankie Crocker checked into a Miami-area hospital for several weeks.
23.
Frankie Crocker appreciated the culture, the whole urban experience, and he wove it together.