Hundreds of Wanda Smith’s fans, family and friends bid the legendary Atlanta radio host farewell at a celebration of life ceremony Monday at her church in Austell.
The two-and-a-half-hour event featured a ceremony in which a crown was placed on Smith’s head, a soulful jazz sax solo, a fiery eulogy from Smith’s good friend Shantal Long and a touching rendition of “His Eye is on the Sparrow” by Shamea Morton, a former V-103 morning host and “Real Housewives of Atlanta” cast member.
Smith, who spent more than 20 years as a morning host on V-103, died Oct. 12 at age 59 after a long illness. The family did not disclose cause of death.
“She amplified the voices of every day Atlantans to make us all feel seen and heard,” said Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens on the dais at the Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral where Smith regularly attended every Sunday. “She was able to cut through the noise and offer us common sense wisdom.”
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Rickey Smiley, the popular stand-up comic and syndicated radio host, told the crowd he knew Smith going back to the 1990s when they were both struggling stand-up comics. “I didn’t have enough money to pay my rent,” he said. “I called Wanda. ‘Hey you have any work for me?’ She said, ‘You can do Cafe Echelon’.”
So he drove the 150 miles from his home in Birmingham, Alabama, to Atlanta to do the show. “I bombed,” he said. Customers “were playing pool, gambling. Nobody was paying no attention. I was scared. I didn’t have my rent money. … She gave me the money, $350, and I drove back. … I thank God for her.”
Joyce Littel, who has been hosting the evening Quiet Storm show at V-103 for most of the past 30 years, said six years ago, she celebrated her 35th anniversary in radio with a women’s empowerment lunch. Smith was one of the women she honored for her work in the community for children and the downtrodden.
Littel quoted the Bible passage Luke 12:48: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
“Wanda Smith was the epitome of Luke 12:48,” Littel said. “She was blessed but she was also such a blessing to us and others. She utilized the airwaves to support people and families in need here and across the country. She shared her talents and gifts, laughter and joy to everyone she met. She taught us to smile and be happy no matter what.”
In her eulogy, her friend Long lauded Smith’s character and her deep love for her two sons Giovanni and Tavares who were in the front row. And even though she was in great pain toward the end of her life, Long said she volunteered to do a coaching session at Long’s child care facility for the employees just weeks before her death. Smith didn’t tell anyone about her own suffering.
“She coached us all,” Long said. “She is now with the ultimate coach, God.”
Magic Man, another former V-103 host, said Smith “died of a broken heart. A lot of people turned their backs on her.”
He was referring to the time after she got into a verbal tiff on air with comic Katt Williams, who later verbally harassed her at a club, leading to an altercation between her now former husband and Williams. She lost her job at V-103 a few months later in early 2019 and never returned to radio.
“We are all about the moment,” Magic Man said, “but Wanda Smith was never a temporary friend. Wanda would love you for a lifetime.”
When former Radio One executive “Hurricane Dave” Smith announced Smith’s posthumous 2025 induction into the National Black Radio Hall of Fame, he asked everyone connected to comedy and radio to come to the front of the stage. More than 75 people did so.
Credit: RODNEY HO
Credit: RODNEY HO
Many were her friends and colleagues from her V-103 days including Rick Caffey, Frank Ski, Ryan Cameron, Larry Tinsley, Jean Ross, Maria Boynton, Griff and Miss Sophia Mcintosh.
“She was very private and her death caught a lot of people off guard,” said Miss Sophia, who was part of the highly-rated V-103 morning show hosted by Smith and Ski for many years. “She stayed true to herself and her purpose to the end. Her only regret is she didn’t get to thank her listeners.”
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: RODN
Credit: RODN
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