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Dick Hugg

Dick "Huggy Boy" Hugg
Born Richard James Hugg
June 9, 1928
Canton, Ohio
Died August 30, 2006 (aged 78)
Long Beach, California
Occupation disc jockey
Years active 1950s–2006

Dick "Huggy Boy" Hugg (June 9, 1928 - August 30, 2006) was a radio disc jockey in Los Angeles, California. He was in a relationship with Sandy Flores for 17 years. They had a son Richard James Hugg Jr. He was separated from Emily Hugg and they had three daughters.

Hugg, known to his listeners as "Huggy Boy", was instrumental in the promotion of rock and roll in the 1950s. He is credited with bringing rhythm and blues to the airwaves of Southern California, as well as bringing the "Eastside Sound" to large audience. He was the first white disc jockey to broadcast (on station KRKD) from the front window of John Dolphin's popular all-night record store, Dolphin's of Hollywood, at the corner of Central and Vernon Avenues. He also co-produced several artists, such as vocalist Jesse Belvin and saxophonist Joe Houston, on Dolphin's various record labels, including Cash and Money. With his own record label, Caddy Records, Hugg recorded local favorites Jim Balcom, Jeanette Baker, Chuck Higgins and Johnny Flamingo. Hugg later promoted bands like The Jaguars, the Village Callers, Thee Midniters and The Champs, later known as the Chicano rock movement.

Though originally an R&B disc jockey, he gradually aimed his radio and television shows at Los Angeles' burgeoning Latino population and featured almost every young Chicano group coming out of East Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Valley, the Pomona Valley, and the San Fernando Valley. He promoted dances and shows in the barrio and was important in the growth of the city's so-called Eastside Sound.


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