The Way It Was — Detroit Radio, 1957

Learn a bit about Detroit’s radio history by taking a closer look at this 1957 photo of Robin Seymour.
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Photograph courtesy of the Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University

1957 Pioneering Detroit radio and TV broadcasting legend Robin Seymour (born Seymour Samuel Altman) is credited with introducing white audiences to Black R&B and rock ’n’ roll while helping to launch the careers of numerous performers, including Motown icons and Bob Seger.

After the Detroit Central High graduate earned a Bronze Star while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II and briefly worked for the Armed Forces Radio Service in Germany, Seymour resumed his studies at Wayne University in 1947 before dropping out that year to begin work for 90 cents an hour as a disc jockey for Dearborn-based WKMH, which became WKNR Keener 13 in 1963. Thanks to his wildly popular Bobbin’ with Robin show, he gained national recognition when he was named Disc Jockey of the Year by Billboard magazine in 1953 and then by Hit Parader in 1954.

Seymour was also famous for conducting countless sock hops at metro Detroit high schools and hosting Robin Seymour’s Original Rock ’n’ Roll Revue and Motown shows at the Fox Theatre.

In 1963, Seymour began hosting Teen Town on CKLW Channel 9 in Windsor, Ontario, later rebranded as Swingin’ Time, a popular TV show modeled after Dick Clark’s American Bandstand. Featuring live dancing by area teenagers to Top 40 hits, the show included appearances by local and national musical acts lip-synching to their latest records. Nearly every Motown act first appeared on the show before making national television appearances.

Seymour left WKNR in 1965 and hosted his last Swingin’ Time telecast in 1968. He later moved to California, where he ran Robin Seymour Enterprises, a video production company. In 2020, Seymour passed away in San Antonio, Texas, at age 94, a year after releasing his autobiography, The DJ That Launched 1,000 Hits.


This story originally appeared in the January 2025 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Our digital edition will be available on Jan. 6. The Way It Was articles at hourdetroit.com