Huggy Boy and Dolphin’s of Hollywood

Disc jockey Huggy Boy (RN: Dick Hug, B: Canton, OH; June, 1928) arrived in L.A. in about 1945, signed on the air over KRKD radio out of the window of the Dolphin’s of Hollywood Record Shop on Vernon Ave., “20 magic steps west of Central Ave” in late 1951 or early 1952.

Quickly influential, Hugg maintained a six-decade r&b DJ career in Los Angeles, and became a particular favorite of Mexican fans by catering to their cruising scene with midnight broadcasts over both U.S. and Mexican border stations. He also had at least one record label, Caddy, and was invested in John Dolphin’s Cash label, sold mail order oldies over the air and operated a record shop in Hollywood with Wolfman Jack in the 1960s.

Competing with Hugg was Hunter Hancock on KFVD and various other DJs on mainly low power stations on the upper reaches of the AM dial. Being white and so visible in a Negro district, Huggy Boy caused some confusion and even resentment on the part of the city’s all-white power structure.

From Mike Davis, “City of Quartz,” “While ‘rumblin’’ (usually non-lethally) along this East-West socioeconomic divide, or sometimes in extension of intramural athletic rivalries, the Black gangs of the 1950s had to confront the implacable (often lethal) racism of Chief Parker’s LAPD. Under previous police chiefs, Central Avenue’s boisterous interracial night scene had simply been shaken down for tribute; under Parker – a puritanical crusader against ‘race mixing’ – nightclubs and juke joints were raided and shuttered.

In 1954, John Dolphin, owner of Los Angeles premier R&B record store near the corner of Vernon & Central, organized a protest of 150 Black business people against an ongoing ‘campaign of intimidation and terror’ directed at interracial trade.

According to Dolphin, Newton Division police had gone so far as to blockade his store, turning away all white customers and warning them ‘it was too dangerous to hang around Black neighborhoods.’”

Linda Hopkins first recordings

Linda Hopkins (RN: Malinda Helen Mathews, B: New Orleans, 1925) was in San Francisco when she recorded “Doggin’ Blues” and “Warning Blues,” and at about the time Little Esther had left Johnny Otis for the Federal label. Hopkins had already filled in for Little Esther on club dates where underage Esther was not allowed to perform.
“Little Esther was 13-years-old and at the time, I was 26,” Hopkins recalled. “She heard me singing at Slim Jenkins’ Nightclub in Oakland. She was headlining with the Johnny Otis band and had a big name. She sneaked into the cocktail evening show and demanded that Herman Lubinsky that she had heard this lady sing, ‘I want you to put this lady on record’.”

“I was doing Bessie Smith songs and making up my own songs. I was just starting in show business. I used to do a lot of church work in Richmond and I was used to handling kids in church, teaching them how to sing gospel songs. The church didn’t want me to be over the kids, so it turned me out. The deacon claimed he saw me in a club. It wasn’t so.”

“This disc jockey, Jumpin’ George Oxford noticed on a Sunday morning that there wasn’t no kids there to sing in their time slot on the radio. He inquired about it and that’s when I told him they had a board meeting and told me I wasn’t fit to work with kids.”

“He was very happy, told me to go on an audition at a nightclub, he and his wife took me to Slim Jenkins, whoever won first prize could sing with Helen Humes. Slim Jenkins heard me sing and just hired me and I worked my opening night with Helen Humes. Little Esther decided I was going to be Linda Hopkins, Malinda Helen Mathews wasn’t going to be my stage name.”

“I never toured with Johnny Otis. He was the nicest man. I really wanted to tour with him, he treated me like a daughter.”

Leaving Savoy, Hopkins recorded “Get Off My Wagon” on Forecast, a label associated with Crystalette.

Record shops and in-car record players

In 1958, teens in the L.A. area had an abundance of vinyl sources.  Apart from the record shop on almost every street, Wallich’s Music City supplied the needs for the new and reissued vinyl and the newly opened Wenzel’s Music Town in Downey not only carried these sides, but was releasing records on their own Jack Bee label as of 1959. Thanks to DJs like Art LaBoe on KPOP and Huggy Boy on KWKW, who played these favored sides, much to the pleasure of those cruising various boulevards in the suburbs, the oldies scene began to heat up.

In the early 1960s, Wenzels began pressing custom metal acetates of songs not on otherwise on 45rpm and created a few select unlabeled 45s (Jimmy Reed b/w the Royal Tones), thus meeting needs of cruisers, oldies fans and record collectors of all stripes, which is why employees of nearby Wallich’s Music City in Lakewood considered Wenzel’s “a bootleg operation.” With these record buyers, stereo was not an attraction, thus rock and roll was not heard on FM radio, which lent itself to stereo broadcasts.

“Didn’t It Rain” by Evelyn Freeman & the Exciting Voices

The first Bel Canto label 45 was “Didn’t It Rain” b/w “Swing Low Sweet Chariot,” a thrilling vocal credited to Evelyn Freeman & the Exciting Voices, which according to Ellison White, had as many as 14 singers, including White and Freeman’s husband, Tommy Roberts, Gwen Johnson, sister of Ray and Plas Johnson, Johnny Woodson of the Kuff Linx, Margaret Bradford and bassman George Bledsoe on violin. That same unit also backed Peggy Lee on her 1958 hit, “All Right, OK, You Win.”

Freeman was sister of Ernie Freeman and had a gospel career before crossing over to R&B. Though “Didn’t It Rain” saw no action upon release, years later the tremendous vocals and throbbing bass line made it an underground hit, especially for those with in-car record players used to provide the soundtrack for cruising the local boulevards. As a result, “Didn’t It Rain” b/w “Water Boy” (from Freeman’s Bel Canto LP) was picked up for release on the United Artists label

Bel Canto was operated by Russ Malloy at 2919 S. LaCienega Blvd. in Culver City and was in existence from mid-1958. Bel Canto turned out to be less interested in vinyl recordings than in newly marketed stereo, releasing their product line on just-introduced two-track reel-to-reel tapes, thought to be the wave of the stereo future. In 1959, their two-track product line was converted to the more popular four-track format.

TRW (Thompson Ramo Wooldridge Inc) bought out Bel Canto and also made deals with Liberty, Dot, Disneyland and Mercury to release their catalog on tape to provide product for release on cartridge tapes and the system needed to play them. Out of this early phase came eight-track and cassette technology of the mid to late 1960s.

At about the same time of the U.A. label reissue of “Didn’t It Rain,” Imperial recorded Freeman on the soundalike, “Didn’t It Rock Pt. 1 & 2,” but the original was by far the best.On the final week of Nov. 1964, a full six years after the song first saw light of day on 45, Wallich’s Music City ranked “Didn’t It Rain” on United Artists at #1 on their Flashbacks list, a tribute to one of the best of 1958, which never hit in its day. Most of the 1964 buyers blasted the bottom-heavy song on their in-car turntables as they cruised the local avenues.

After the demise of Bel-Canto as an active record label, the Evelyn Freeman Singers backed Hollywood Flames lead signer Earl Nelson on “No Time To Cry” b/w “Come On” on Ebb in 1959. However, as Ebb had its greatest success with the Hollywood Flames, this experiment of trying to turn one of the group’s lead singers in to the next Bobby Day, who had a very successful career outside of the Flames, was quickly abandoned and he rejoined the group for a series of Ebb releases as well as being part of the original “Gee Whiz” Bob & Earl on Class.

The real “Shoppin’ For Clothes”

Before recording as Boogaloo (RN: Kent Harris; b: Oklahoma City, 1930) & His Gallant Crew, Harris made his recording debut backing his sister Dimples Harris as Ducky Drake on the Trend label in about 1953.  Changing his stage name to Boogaloo, he recorded the talking blues “Talk About A Party” b/w “Big Fat Lie” in a style not unlike that of label mate, Prince Patridge.  However, it was the follow-up and Boogaloo’s final Crest that took on importance well after the record had completed its meager sales.  Originally, entitled “Clothes Line (Wrap It Up)” (b/w “Cops And Robbers”) it was a wry comedic visit to a clothing store to buy a suit. When the protagonist’s credit “didn’t go through,” he was left sans suit.  Several years after “Clothesline,” the Coasters hit the top 100 with the same composition, this time entitled “Shoppin’ For Clothes,” with songwriter credits to Leiber-Stoller, whom Harris had recalled from his days at American Music. The flipside to “Clothesline,” “Cops And Robbers” was similarly purloined by Bo Diddley in 1957, though it didn’t hit. Both cases were settled informally.

When Little Richard gave up rock & roll

Many stories of Little Richard’s defection from rock and roll have been advanced. Some historians have claimed he spotted the flaming re-entry of Sputnik from the deck of a ship and threw all of his jewelry into the Pacific off the coast of Australia.Grady Chapman, of the Robins, who backed Little Richard on “The Girl Can’t Help It” – written for the Jayne Mansfield movie of the same title b/w “All Around the World” was around the world and on tour with Little Richard at the time.

“We went down to the Philippines with Little Richard on a Pan Am flight. One of the motors froze up and when we woke up they’d turned it off so it wouldn’t catch fire. Little Richard said, ‘If we get there, I won’t sing no more. Birds was meant to fly.’ He gave up singing, got rid of all his jewelry.” According to other accounts, after this incident, Joe Lutcher convinced him to keep away from rock and roll for a little less than a decade, but when the Beatles began having hits, Little Richard jumped back into the fray.

YAKETY YAK I FOUGHT BACK; MY LIFE WITH THE COASTERS by Veta Gardner with Carl Gardner

Here is the complete story of how Carl Gardner discovered his singing talent, endured examples of racial prejudice in small-town Texas, made some dubious decisions and traveled west to become the voice of one of the most historic rhythm and blues vocal groups, the Robins, ending up as the front man of one of rock and roll’s most popular acts, the Coasters.

It’s quite a journey.

It didn’t take long for a youthful Gardner to discover two things: he had great vocal talent and he didn’t want to be stuck in Tyler, Texas, where he was hurt by things he considered “racial,” but where he was also helped by an encouraging teacher who recognized his talent. His desire was to become a smooth singer in the Eckstine and Nat Cole mold, but was able to transfer this into a rougher R&B style, which was far from his first choice. But it was what sold.

He described how he left loved ones in Texas to go to L.A. on a maybe and struck it big by joining the Robins to replace Grady Chapman, who was away on a law enforcement coffee break. Even though the group got big breaks and new levels of popularity, Gardner recalled the money was never enough.

While in the Hollywood scene, he experienced the pimping lifestyle and made off-the-books bucks on the kinky sexual peccadilloes of the powerful. In other words, it wasn’t only about what went on in recording sessions or on-stage.

There are some quibbles about the editing process. Some well-known names are clearly misspelled and lesser ones have alternate spellings in the text vs. the photos. And there are some great photos from Gardner’s files. He makes clear his dislike for the, well, over the top and aggressive Cornel Gunter and the controversial Larry Marshak.

To some, Gardner overstates his case with terms like “rock and roll slaves,” but there’s little doubt he’s willing to share things others might wish to keep confidential, and thus gives a great overview of what the R&B and budding rock and roll experience was like for those who helped create it.

Authorhouse Publishing; Bloomington, IN ISBN 978-1-4259-8981-1 (sc)
180 pages; discography by record release; time line from 1949 to 2005; no index.

Beginnings of John Dolphin

DJ Forrest “War” Perkins, a partner in Roy Milton’s Miltone label, acquired the Mosby & Spikes record shop, perhaps L.A.’s oldest black-owned retail outlet, which had been at 4011 S. Central Ave. since 1929. Perkins also ran a pressing plant, and record dealer John Dolphin bought directly from him, instead of dealing with distributors. When Perkins moved to the Philippines in about 1948, he sold the shop to John Dolphin.In 1948, John Dolphin’s shop was located at 4105 S. Central Ave., across from the Elks on the east side of Central. Dolphin then moved to the old DWP building on Vernon west of Central, and the Muslims bought Dolphin’s old property there. Dolphin then opened his world famous Dolphin’s Of Hollywood Records at 1065 E. Vernon Ave., next door to the existing site of the Murray Record Shop at 1055 E. Vernon Ave., known to be just west of S. Central Ave. in 1947.At the time, War Perkins ran a pressing plant, which had pressed the Roy Milton/Miltone series of labels, and according to Andy Williamson, he and Dolphin would buy directly from Perkins, instead of dealing with distributors. There was also the Modern pressing plant at 37th near Main where Dolphin would buy 78s or 45s for a dime. After Dolphin moved in 1950, his Central Ave. site was acquired by the Nation Of Islam. Even later, a nearby property was occupied by the Black Panthers.

The Recorded In Hollywood (RIH) label was begun in 1950 by John Dolphin, owner of the Dolphin’s Of Hollywood record shop at Vernon (“20 magic steps west of Central Ave.”) to both promote his shop and to make money on the occasional hit, of which he had several. A few of these early RIH releases were by jazz cocktail-hour pianist Errol Garner, but most were of the rhythm and blues, blues and harder jazz genres. In two years (1950 and 1951), close to a total of 200 RIH 78s were issued.The first few RIH 78s (no 45s were issued in these earliest years), which were generally available only at the store, were credited to gospel groups like the Heavenly Bound Gospel Singers, the Roberta Martin Singers and the WMA Soul Stirrers Of Houston Texas. Though on a very early RIH pressing, Roberta Martin’s “Only A Look” was released in 1951.

The debut of Scat Man Crothers on RIH was in 1951 under the name Scat Man Carothers with Riff Charles. “Elaine” used deathless rhymes like “Elaine, get off that train” and sounding for all the world like “Brown Gal” the Brown Dots, later much better known as “Bad Boy” by the Jive Bombers. The flipside, ”Man, Have I Got Troubles” had much more prominent guitar, but with a novelty-style vocal. Scat Man’s next, “I Like Your Mother Better” b/w “I’d Rather Stay In The House With The Mouse” by the Jackson Trio. In 1953, he was Scat Man Caruthers on “Waiting For My Baby” b/w “Easy Money,” a pari-mutuel adventure with a racetrack fan fare opening.After “Easy Money,” things get confusing. On the earliest RIH release to be issued on 45 rpm at the point of release, Scat Man Crothers was spelled correctly. Backed by the Red Callender Sextet, “Papa (I Don’t Treat That Little Girl Mean)” was an “answer” record to Ruth Brown’s 1953 Atlantic label mega-hit, “Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean,” even though the catalog issue number placed it immediately after “Elaine.” Trusting the issue number would have meant it was released in about 1951, or a year and a half prior to the record it answered.Most likely what happened was that the RIH label had label paper left-over from the Callender-backed Imogene Meyers 78rpm flop, “Tonight Of All Nights” b/w “How Come, Baby,” an earlier example of RIH 142 issued in 1951. Alternatively, was Dolphin deviously using old label paper in an ill-advised attempt to establish his version of the material as the original, about a year and a half before Brown’s release?As Callender was featured name on many sequential 78s, it’s not out of the question that Callender’s name would have been pre-printed on many labels with only the vocal artist and title remaining to be added, thus forever confusing discographers. The flipside of the Crothers’ disc was Red Callender’s “Till I Waltz Again With You,” probably on labels printed up at the same time as that rash of Callender issues from 1951. All of that indicates that another side like the Meyers was removed as the Crothers disc was considered a sure fire hit. Didn’t hit, mattered little to Dolphin. The pairing of Crothers and Callender moonlighted on the new Aladdin subsidiary, Intro on “A-Gruntin’ And A-Groanin’,” combining R&B with professional wrestling, which was just getting some high profile popularity on TV out of the Olympic Auditorium in L.A. After Crothers next, “King Berman’s Stomp” b/w “Just Like Two Drops Of Water,” the Intro label became an outlet for a weird mixture of mainly western and pop music. J

Red Callender also backed the first RIH artist to chart nationally. Jimmy Grissom (B: Leland, Ms ) hit with “Once There Lived A Fool” in late Feb. 1951, apparently selling more than twenty thousand copies during the first week of release. Though it wasn’t a chart burner, “Once There Lived A Fool” was covered by Dusty Brooks & His Tones on Columbia, Charles Brown on Aladdin, Big John Greer on RCA, Savannah Churchill & the Striders on Regal, Anita O’Day on London, Jimmy Witherspoon on Modern, Tommy Edwards on MGM and Tony Bennett on Columbia. Only Grissom’s original charted, at #7 R&B on the national level.Witherspoon recalled that Grissom original. He had a hit record and we covered it on Modern Records with the same instrumentation, Maxwell Davis on both of them. Modern had distribution, Dolphin didn’t. The Bihari brothers hired Maxwell Davis as musical director. He couldn’t record with John Lee Hooker, because John Lee made 36 bars or 8 bars or 4 bars.” Grissom’s next, “I Lost My Inspiration” b/w “Once In Love Blues” was twice issued on RIH, then the b-side came out on the Federal label, b/w “I’ll Still Keep Loving You,” originally the b-side of Grissom’s only “Once There Lived A Fool,” Grissom’s only RIH hit, one of about 40 recordings King/Federal acquired from RIH. However King/Federal issued only a handful.Grissom’s recorded “The Hole In The Wall” b/w “Walkin’ Blues” and “So Help Me I Love You” before going to a more major role with the Duke Ellington Orch., In April 1955 Grissom returned to Dolphin’s newly formed Cash label with “I Had To Find Out For Myself,” a Leon Rene composition and a remake of the Drifters release from 1950 b/w “Listen Pretty Baby.”

“Homesick Blues” was the first record by Alvin Smith (B: Monroe, La., Aug. 1926) & His Clouds Of Rhythm with Que Martyn, tenor sax. Martyn was the credited artist on the flipside, “Calypso Jump.” Smith went on to record for Music City out of Berkeley in 1954 and with the Angels on Irma out of Oakland in 1957, Gedinson’s and Art-Tone in 1962. Smith returned to L.A. in the late 1960s to record for Modern and Kent labels.

Gene Forrest with the Eddie Beale Fourtet Gene Forrest (b: San Antonio, TX; Sept. 3, 1931) arrived in L.A. in early 1940s, went to school at St. Patrick’s. First recorded.with the Eddie Beale Fourtet on “It Was You” b/w “Everybody’s Got Money,” a rather ordinary urban blues.“That was the thing for singers at the time,” said Forrest. “I started as a single. I was just walking down the street one day and I went in John Dolphin’s office. I asked him if he’d record me. He cut me. I was scouting around at the time. I didn’t know the business too much. First record I did pretty well. That was the only songs, just whatever came to mind.” The session was conducted by pianist Monroe Tucker, who Forrest described as “a cripple, very deformed. He couldn’t walk, you had to carry him when you’d go.” According to Forrest, Tucker played the introduction, but Forrest backed himself on piano.Other artists would wait their turn during sessions. “A lot of us were in line. I didn’t have no business with them.” Forrest recalled that Dolphin “took advantage of you. He wouldn’t want to do business. He would outtalk the devil, if the devil would listen. He was fast-talking before you could tie your shoes. He was so arrogant, he would treat you like dirt, try to ride you in the background, stick that cigar in your face for emphasis. He usually worked out of any back alley he could find. I did my session at Jefferson and Main, right over an iron company.”Forrest was also the first local act to perform at the brand new 5/4 Ballroom at 54th and Broadway in South L.A. Forrest next recorded with the Freddy Simmons Quintet on the slightly more riveting “Thrill Your Soul” b/w a Freddy Simon instrumental, “Hollywood Bound.” As the Gene Forrest Combo, he recorded “Picture On The Wall” b/w “Little Children,” about Forrest’s children. “They were little enough to have me sing, ‘come to your mama and papa.’”After Dolphin, Forrest left RIH “Aching and Crying” at RPM. “It was a random thing. You go to one company, they’ll cut something. No special contract. They liked the song, I’ll cut it, a hustle and bustle thing. I played at that time with Chuck Higgins, so he was probably on it, blowing tenor sax.Higgins backed Forrest with the Four Feathers on Aladdin, then Forrest hooked up with Eunice Levy as half of Gene & Eunice, whose “Ko Ko Mo” went straight to the top in 1955.

The death of John Dolphin

Between about 1948 and 1958, John Dolphin owned and operated Dolphin’s of Hollywood Record Shop in South L.A., most famously near the corner of Vernon and Central Ave. From the early 1950s to his death, he also operated a variety of local labels like Recorded In Hollywood, Lucky, Money and Cash, one which he recorded a host of local r&b, blues, jazz and even western music talent.

While recording for Dolphin, who was well known for making promises of rich payouts, only to forget to pay modest session scale to studio players, Rudy Ray Moore took on assistant duties, becoming his driver and picking up records for the store in ‘58 and ’59.

According to the L.A. Times, John Dolphin, 42 of 3918 Edgehill Dr. was murdered behind the desk of his office at 1252 S. Berendo St., Hollywood, on Feb 1, 1958 by frustrated singer Percy Ivy, 26, a shipping clerk who lived at 1124 W. 45th St. Teenaged songwriter and piano player Bruce Johnston witnessed the murder at Dolphin’s office in Hollywood. With him were musicians Dave Shostac, 16, of 10304 La Grange Ave. and drummer Sandy Nelson, both of whom were waiting with Ivy outside of Dolphin’s office for the man to arrive. “Ivy said he submitted four songs to Dolphin three or four weeks ago, but failed to collect a promised payment of $250 each.” One of the songs was “You’re Going Away.”

Ivy stated he “reached for the gun,” a 32-caliber Italian automatic, “when Dolphin pulled out a switch blade knife.” Ivy fired five or six shots at a close range. “Ivy let us in,” said Johnston. “He argued with Dolphin, then pulled out a gun and shot John, who landed on a heater.

Sandy Nelson was drinking a soft drink and when he ran out of the office to get some help, it was fizzing all over the place.” Shostac was grazed in the leg by a ricocheting bullet. Nelson recalled that when he returned with the police to Dolphin’s office, Johnston was making a deal with Ivy to have some songs recorded when he got released from prison.

“John Dolphin got killed on a humbug, he had nothing coming,” said Moore. “John sent Percy Ivy to Austin McCoy to make these dubs, John paid for these dubs. He brought these dubs to John and Percy Ivy wanted the dubs back.”

Upon his release from prison, Ivy went to work for Allied Pressing. Ruth Dolphin, who had arrived in L.A. in 1946, marrying John G. Dolphin in 1948, took over ownership, though Moore became the day-to-day proprietor. “I took over in ‘59, started working for his wife, run his store until 1970.”

Dolphin’s death meant the end of Cash, so in 1959, Moore issued all of his releases on the newly created Ball label.

The Invictas “Gone So Long” on Jack-Bee

Wenzel’s Music Town on Lakewood Blvd. in Downey was founded by Bill Wenzel in time for the Christmas season of 1958. By early 1959, the store, operated by Wenzel’s son Jack, had become successful enough that they were able to start their own label, Jack Bee (for Jack and Bill), which issued a half dozen releases before being changed to Downey.The Downey label lasted for much of the 1960s, issuing surf and other instrumental forms and leasing many masters to Dot.

Wenzel’s Music Town operated throughout the 1970s to decade’s end by Tom & Maxine Wenzel and their own offspring. The shop became famous world wide for its collector’s room, which generally offered up tasty 45s and LPs at reasonable prices.  On Sept. 2001, a sign was posted on the front door – “Wenzel’s has left the building.”

The Invictas with the Hollywood Rebels excellent pleading ballad “Gone So Long” b/w the jump “Nellie” didn’t chart, yet moved briskly at the Wenzel Music Town counter. Lead singer Sonny Patterson (RN: John Perkins; b: Texas) was backed by Robert Jones, Booker Banks, Alan Jay and Ervin Simril. All except Perkins hailed from the same Long Beach neighborhood with Simril singing briefly with the Debonaires.

Their name was derived from the brand new Buick Invicta. According to Simril, “a white Jewish guy named Pete” owned a meat market on Orange Ave. and contacted Jack Bee and arranged for the recording session. The backing group, the Hollywood Rebels were most likely Hollywood session players hired to back these acts.The Invictas then backed teen idol Jimmie Hombs on “Voo Doo Dolly” with the Twinkle Tones backing Holmes on the flip. When Jay left the Invictas, he was replaced by ex-Debonaires Bill Melvin. When Perkins got into legal trouble, he too left the group, but “Gone So Long” was reissued on the Vault label b/w “Troubles” with label credit given to Sonny Patterson & the Pastel Six.