Education
Born Thomas Smalls in Savannah, Georgia, he attended Savannah State College, and, after a period in the United States Coast Guard, became the first black disc jockey in Savannah in 1947 on radio station WSAV.
Born Thomas Smalls in Savannah, Georgia, he attended Savannah State College, and, after a period in the United States Coast Guard, became the first black disc jockey in Savannah in 1947 on radio station WSAV.
He owned the Smalls Paradise club in Harlem in the 1950s. In 1952 he moved to New York, and became the original "Doctor 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 Doctor 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 Editor Sullivan Show featuring Bo Diddley, LaVern Baker, the Five Keys, and Willis "Gator Tail" Jackson.
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.
Then in November 1955, Tommy Smalls and Dolores DeVega had another daughter, Laura. 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.
He later became promotions manager for Polydor Records in New New York He died after a long illness in New York City on March 8, 1972, aged 45.
He was also one of the founding members of the National Association of television and Radio Announcers (NATRA).