Dolphin’s of Hollywood

Dolphin’s of Hollywood. . , New Music and the Vernon Central Neighborhood , Music impresario John Grayton "Lovin' John" Dolphin opened his celebrated record store, Dolphin's of Hollywood, in the Vernon Central neighborhood in 1948. At the time, he and others in the music industry were promoting a new genre called rhythm and blues (R&B), an emotionally expressive blend of African American musical styles merging swing, boogie-woogie, jump blues, gospel, and urban blues. , Dolphin's filled a void at a time when large white-owned record stores in downtown, Hollywood, and other areas declined to stock many records by black artists. When white landlords rebuffed Dolphin's efforts to lease a retail location in Hollywood, the heart of the entertainment world, he brought "Hollywood" to South Los Angeles in the name he chose for his store. From 1945 through the early 1950s, Los Angeles was home to the largest number of independent R&B labels in the country, and Dolphin's stocked them all. , Record Store Innovations , Dolphin's of Hollywood enticed customers through innovation. To draw the racially diverse late-shift workers from nearby Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and General Motors Company plants, Dolphin's stayed open around the clock. Popular disc jockeys broadcast live on radio stations from the store's front window, spotlighting the hot records of the moment, all of them avail-able for purchase. Dolphin hired DJs Charles "C.T." Trammel, Ray Robinson, Dick "Huggy Boy" Hugg, and Hunter Hancock, who were pioneers in popularizing R&B in Southern California. Hugg and Hancock, who were white, attracted white customers to the Vernon Central neighborhood. Dolphin also recorded songs by local artists under his own label, in a professional-quality studio at the back of the shop, which he sold in the store. , In the 1950s, R&B became a rare cultural phenomenon that brought together unprecedented numbers of young people from white, black, and brown communities to dance. On weekend nights after the bars and nightclubs closed, these fans packed Dolphin's store and neighborhood barbecue restaurants. , Law enforcement viewed R&B as subversive. By 1954, under Los Angeles Police Chief William H. Parker, officers began a puritanical crusade against "race mixing" and "inner-city vice" by shutting down these late-night establishments and chasing white patrons away. Dolphin gathered signatures of 150 black business owners from the neighborhood to protest Parker's tactics of harassment and intimidation. , Building on a Legacy , John Dolphin made his mark as an R&B promoter, adding to the legacy of the multi-faceted African American entrepreneurs who had owned record stores and labels before him. Those pioneers included Forrest "War" Perkins, a disc jockey and music and radio show producer, who was co-owner with musician-bandleader Roy Milton of Miltone Records. Other major forces on the black music scene from the 1920s through the 1940s and beyond included brothers Johnny and Reb Spike, Curtis J. Mosby, and brothers Leon and Otis Rene, who were musicians, bandleaders, song-writers, impresarios, and agents. , Tragically, John Dolphin was murdered behind his office desk on February 1, 1958, by disgruntled employee and aspring singer Percy Ivy. The incident was witnessed by then-teenage musicians Bruce Johnston, Sandy Nelson, and Dave Shostak, who were looking to get Dolphin interested in their music. After his death, his wife, Ruth, took over the running of Dolphin's of Hollywood into the 1980s. , In 2016, the city of Los Angeles recognized the intersection of Central and Vernon as "Dolphin's of Hollywood Square" to honor John Dolphin, his groundbreaking business vision, and the music history of Central Avenue.