Dick Hugg
Encyclopedia
Dick "Huggy Boy" Hugg was a radio
disc jockey
in Los Angeles
, California
. He was married to Sandy Hugg and had a son and three daughters.
'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.
With his business partner Eddie Torres, he also brought to East Los Angeles groups like Them
, Sonny and Cher, the Righteous Brothers and Dusty Springfield
, acts that may otherwise have not been accessible to Mexican-American audiences.
He was on KRKD, 1951–55; KWKW
, 1954; KALI
; KGFJ, 1955; KBLA
, 1965; KRKD, 1965–66; KRTH, 1975; XPRS, 1981–82; KRLA
, 1983–98; KRTH, 1998-2002. He hosted an oldies show on KRLA
and for a time, a dance program, "The Huggie Boy Show", which aired weekly on KWHY channel 22. His popularity continued to increase long after the show went off the air.
Hugg's influence was noted on Lighter Shade of Brown's record "Huggy Boy Show." and The Blasters
’ classic "Border Radio" was inspired by Hugg’s dedication show on XPRS.
Hugg died of cardiac arrest
on August 30, 2006 at age of 78.
He is interred at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California
.
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. He was married to Sandy Hugg and had a son and three daughters.
Rock and Roll
Hugg, known to his listeners as "Huggy Boy", was instrumental in the promotion of rock and roll in the 1950s. He was the first white disc jockey to broadcast (on station KRKD) from the front window of John DolphinJohn Dolphin
John Robert Vernon Dolphin CBE was a British engineer and inventor who became the Commanding Officer of the top secret Second World War Special Operations Executive 'Station IX' where specialist military equipment was developed. During his time there his inventions included the Welman midget...
'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
Jesse Belvin
Jesse Lorenzo Belvin was an American R&B singer, pianist and songwriter popular in the 1950s, whose success was cut short by his death in a car crash aged 27.-Career:...
and saxophonist Joe Houston
Joe Houston
Joe Houston is an American tenor saxophonist who played jazz and rhythm and blues.-Biography:...
, 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
Jeanette Baker
Jeanette Baker-Flynn is an Australian ten-pin bowler. She is the first Australian to win a World Tenpin Championship. She Won the AMF World Cup in 1982 in Scheveningen in the Netherlands and for a second time in 1983 in Mexico City, making her the only athlete to win back-to-back AMF World Cup...
, Chuck Higgins
Chuck Higgins
Charles Williams Higgins was an American saxophonist. Higgins, who was noted for mixing elements of Latin Jazz with Blues, recorded in Los Angeles during the mid-fifties, notably for the Specialty, Combo and Doo-Tone labels, and is best remembered for the song "Pachuko Hop".Higgins relocated from...
and Johnny Flamingo. Hugg later promoted bands like The Jaguars, the Village Callers, Thee Midniters
Thee Midniters
Thee Midniters were an American group, amongst the first Chicano rock bands to have a major hit in the United States. Also they were and one of the best known acts to come out of East Los Angeles in the 1960s, with a cover of "Land of a Thousand Dances", and the instrumental track, "Whittier...
and The Champs
The Champs
The Champs were an American rock and roll band, most famous for their Latin-tinged instrumental "Tequila". Formed by studio executives at Gene Autry's Challenge Records to record a B-Side for the Dave Burgess single, the intended throwaway track became more famous than its A-Side, "Train to...
- later known as the Chicano rock
Chicano rock
Chicano rock is rock music performed by Mexican American groups or music with themes derived from Chicano culture. Chicano Rock, to a great extent, does not refer to any single style or approach. Some of these groups do not sing in Spanish at all, or use many specifically Latin instruments or sounds...
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
Chicano
The terms "Chicano" and "Chicana" are used in reference to U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. However, those terms have a wide range of meanings in various parts of the world. The term began to be widely used during the Chicano Movement, mainly among Mexican Americans, especially in the movement's...
group coming out of East Los Angeles
East Los Angeles (region)
East Los Angeles is the portion of the City of Los Angeles that lies east of Downtown Los Angeles, the Los Angeles River and the unincorporated areas of Lincoln Heights, west of the San Gabriel Valley, East Los Angeles and City Terrace, south of Cypress Park, and north of Vernon, California and...
, the San Gabriel Valley
San Gabriel Valley
The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, United States. It lies to the east of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and west of the Inland Empire. It derives its name from the San Gabriel River that flows...
, the Pomona Valley
Pomona Valley
The Pomona Valley, located between the San Gabriel Valley and Cucamonga Valley in Southern California, straddles the border between Los Angeles County and San Bernardino County. Back on March 1, 1893 the California Assembly voted 54-14 for a new county to form in the region, San Antonio County,...
, and the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
. He promoted dances and shows in the barrio
Barrio
Barrio is a Spanish word meaning district or neighborhood.-Usage:In its formal usage in English, barrios are generally considered cohesive places, sharing, for example, a church and traditions such as feast days...
and was important in the growth of the city's so-called Eastside Sound.
With his business partner Eddie Torres, he also brought to East Los Angeles groups like Them
Them (band)
Them were a Northern Irish band formed in Belfast in April 1964, most prominently known for the garage rock standard "Gloria" and launching singer Van Morrison's musical career...
, Sonny and Cher, the Righteous Brothers and Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
, acts that may otherwise have not been accessible to Mexican-American audiences.
He was on KRKD, 1951–55; KWKW
KWKW
KWKW is an American radio station licensed to serve Los Angeles, California. The station is owned by Lotus Communications Corporation.KWKW is one of the oldest Spanish-language radio stations in the Greater Los Angeles area...
, 1954; KALI
KMRB
KMRB is a radio station in Pasadena, California, USA that broadcasts completely in Cantonese 24 hours a day. It is the sister station to KAZN, which broadcasts in Mandarin...
; KGFJ, 1955; KBLA
KBLA
KBLA is a radio station licensed to Santa Monica, California, with an Spanish religious radio format. It broadcasts at 1580 kHz with 50,000 watts day and night. Most of this station's signal is dumped over the Pacific Ocean, however, in order not to interfere with radio station KMIK KBLA (1580 AM)...
, 1965; KRKD, 1965–66; KRTH, 1975; XPRS, 1981–82; KRLA
KRLA
KRLA is a radio station broadcasting a News/Talk format. Licensed to Glendale, California, USA, it serves the Southern California area. The station is currently owned by Salem Communications.- KIEV :...
, 1983–98; KRTH, 1998-2002. He hosted an oldies show on KRLA
KRLA
KRLA is a radio station broadcasting a News/Talk format. Licensed to Glendale, California, USA, it serves the Southern California area. The station is currently owned by Salem Communications.- KIEV :...
and for a time, a dance program, "The Huggie Boy Show", which aired weekly on KWHY channel 22. His popularity continued to increase long after the show went off the air.
Hugg's influence was noted on Lighter Shade of Brown's record "Huggy Boy Show." and The Blasters
The Blasters
The Blasters are a rock and roll music group formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin and Dave Alvin , with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. Phil Alvin explained the origin of the band's name: "I thought Joe Turner’s backup band on Atlantic records – I had...
’ classic "Border Radio" was inspired by Hugg’s dedication show on XPRS.
Hugg died of cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest, is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively...
on August 30, 2006 at age of 78.
He is interred at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California
Whittier, California
Whittier is a city in Los Angeles County, California about southeast of Los Angeles. The city had a population of 85,331 at the 2010 census, up from 83,680 as of the 2000 census, and encompasses 14.7 square miles . Like nearby Montebello, the city constitutes part of the Gateway Cities...
.