Press & broadcasting / Music
Robin Seymour
1926–2020 · disc jockey, TV dance-show host
Detroit-born DJ who pioneered rock and roll on WKMH from 1947 and hosted the TV dance shows Teen Town and Swingin' Time, a showcase for Motown and Detroit rock acts.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
San Antonio, Texas
aged 94- Birth name
- Robin Henry Seymour
- Also known as
- Bobbin' Robin
- Detroit years
- 1926–1980
- Field
- Press & broadcasting, Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Seymour was born in Detroit and started in radio as a child actor on The Lone Ranger at WXYZ. After serving with the Armed Forces Radio Network in World War II, he began an 18-year run in 1947 at WKMH in Dearborn, where he played rock and roll to Detroit listeners of all backgrounds before the Top 40 format existed, and he staged Robin Seymour's Original Rock 'n' Roll Revue at the Fox Theatre. In 1963 he and partners including Art Cervi created Teen Town, a Bandstand-style dance show featuring a different local high school each week; picked up by CKLW-TV in Windsor, it became Swingin' Time, where Motown stars and Detroit rock bands such as Bob Seger and Mitch Ryder performed for the region's teenagers. He left Detroit and broadcasting in 1980 for a video business in Los Angeles.
Highlights
- WKMH (Dearborn) disc jockey, 1947–1965
- Host of Teen Town and Swingin' Time on CKLW-TV
- Robin Seymour's Original Rock 'n' Roll Revue at the Fox Theatre
- Began as a child actor on WXYZ's The Lone Ranger
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Performed here · 1950s
Fox Theatre
The movie palace where he frequently hosted his rock and roll revues.