John Dolphin (music producer)
| John Dolphin | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Grayton Dolphin |
| Also known as | Lovin John, The Toast of the Coast |
| Born |
April 9, 1902 Beatrice, Alabama, US |
| Died | February 1, 1958 (aged 55) Los Angeles, California, US |
| Occupation(s) | Record store owner, music producer, concert promoter, DJ |
| Years active | 1946–1958 |
| Labels | Recorded In Hollywood, Cash Records, Money Records, Lucky Records, Ball Records, Dolphin's Of Hollywood |
| Associated acts | Jesse Belvin, Sam Cooke, Pee Wee Crayton, Charles Brown, Lowell Fulsom, Charles Mingus, Buddy Collette, Rudy Ray Moore, Joe Houston, Scatman Cruthers, Hollywood Flames, Turbans, Turks, Maggie Hathaway, Ernie Freeman, Red Callender, WMA Soul Stirrers, Roberta Martin Singers, Percy Mayfield, Huggy Boy. |
John Grayton Dolphin (April 9, 1902–February 1, 1958), also known as Lovin John, was an African-American businessman, independent record label owner, concert promoter and music producer, who established Dolphin's of Hollywood, an influential record store that remained open 24 hours a day.
Dolphin was born in the Southern town of Beatrice, Alabama in 1902 to Lewis (Stallworth) Dolphin and Elyce Dolphin. He left Beatrice at a very young age and moved to Boley, Oklahoma, where he was raised. He later moved to Detroit, Michigan and finally settled in Los Angeles, California.
His record store Dolphin's Of Hollywood was opened in 1948 on Central Avenue in Los Angeles. Central Ave was a hub for jazz music in Los Angeles and brought figures such as Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, Joe Turner, Billie Holiday and Charlie Parker. Dolphin's of Hollywood was a prime factor in the emergence of rhythm & blues music on the West Coast by its sales of records and as being the location of landmark R &B radio broadcasts by Hunter Hancock and Dick "Huggie Boy" Hugg. Hits like "Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)", by the doo-wap group The Penguins, were first released during a live broadcast inside Dolphins of Hollywood. To get an audience reaction, John Dolphin asked Huggy Boy to play both sides of the record over the air.
In 1950 Dolphin started his first label, Recorded In Hollywood (RIH). His first chart success came in 1951, "Once There Lived A Fool", by Duke Ellington's vocalist Jimmy Grissom. The song, penned by Jessie Mae Robinson, became the subject of almost a dozen covers, by Tony Bennett, Charles Brown, Tommy Edwards, Savannah Churchill, John Greer, Jimmy Witherspoon and others. He worked on other National hit songs such as "Buzz-Buzz-Buzz", by the Hollywood Flames, "The Jerk" by The Larks, and "Make me Yours" by Betty Swann. His contributions to music spans from Jazz to Rock'n'Roll. He worked with artists such as Sam Cooke, Jesse Belvin, Charles Mingus, Pee Wee Crayton, Major Lance, Scatman Crothers, Harry Caesar, Tony Allen, Gene Forrest, Percy Mayfield, Damita Jo, Marvin Phillips, Jesse Belvin, Illinois Jacquet and Linda Hayes. Dolphin produced several famous records under the Recorded In Hollywood label, and eventually created other labels like Lucky Records, Cash Records, and finally, Money Records. Dolphin sold Money and its holdings to Don Pierce's Hollywood Records in 1956.
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