Hunter Hancock
Encyclopedia
Hunter Hancock was a white American
disc jockey
regarded as the first in the Western United States
to play rhythm and blues
records on the radio, and among the first to broadcast rock and roll
.
He was born in Uvalde, Texas
, and raised 90 miles (144.8 km) away in San Antonio. After school, he took on many jobs, including singing in a vaudeville
troupe and a stint at a Massachusetts burlesque
club. After moving to Los Angeles in the early 1940s he entered radio and was heard on a number of stations from 1943 to 1968. Inspired by a local black record store owner he called himself "Ol' H.H." He hosted several shows on different stations, often at the same time, including Harlem Holiday, Harlematinee, Huntin' With Hunter and the gospel show Songs of Soul and Spirit.
Hancock also appeared briefly on the L.A. CBS TV station, KNXT in 1955 with the Friday night show "Rhythm and Bluesville," interviewing such musicians as Duke Ellington
, Fats Domino
, Little Richard
, Gene & Eunice and The Platters
.
For several years, the Pulse survey rated Hancock's shows No. 1 among black listeners in Southern California. In 1950, the Los Angeles Sentinel
newspaper rated Hancock the most popular DJ in Los Angeles among blacks. He was also one of the first DJs to play rock and roll music, and landed a cameo spot in a 1957 British rock and roll film called Rock Around the World.
A recreated example of Mr. Hancock's program on Los Angeles' former R&B radio station KGFJ can be found on Ron Jacobs' "Cruisin' 1959" (Increase Records INCR 5-2004). This recreation includes several classic R&B songs of that era, contemporary commercials (e.g., Champion spark plugs, the Saturday Evening Post, and others), and DJ patter.(1)
He was convicted in 1962 and sentenced to probation for failing to report $18,000 income on tax forms for 1956-1958. Allegedly, the money was payola
from record companies. He thought the money had been given as gifts.
Hancock died August 4, 2004 of natural causes in a retirement home
in Claremont, California
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
regarded as the first in the Western United States
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
to play rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
records on the radio, and among the first to broadcast rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
.
He was born in Uvalde, Texas
Uvalde, Texas
Uvalde is a city in and the county seat of Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,929 at the 2000 census.Uvalde was founded by Reading Wood Black in 1853 as the town of Encina. In 1856, when the county was organized, the town was renamed Uvalde for Spanish governor Juan de...
, and raised 90 miles (144.8 km) away in San Antonio. After school, he took on many jobs, including singing in a vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
troupe and a stint at a Massachusetts burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
club. After moving to Los Angeles in the early 1940s he entered radio and was heard on a number of stations from 1943 to 1968. Inspired by a local black record store owner he called himself "Ol' H.H." He hosted several shows on different stations, often at the same time, including Harlem Holiday, Harlematinee, Huntin' With Hunter and the gospel show Songs of Soul and Spirit.
Hancock also appeared briefly on the L.A. CBS TV station, KNXT in 1955 with the Friday night show "Rhythm and Bluesville," interviewing such musicians as Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Fats Domino
Fats Domino
Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino, Jr. is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Creole was his first language....
, Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
, Gene & Eunice and The Platters
The Platters
The Platters were a vocal group of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound was a bridge between the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the burgeoning new genre...
.
For several years, the Pulse survey rated Hancock's shows No. 1 among black listeners in Southern California. In 1950, the Los Angeles Sentinel
Los Angeles Sentinel
The Los Angeles Sentinel is a weekly African American-owned newspaper published in Los Angeles, California. The paper boasts of reaching 125,000 readers , making it the oldest, largest and most influential African-American newspaper in the Western United States.The Sentinel was founded and first...
newspaper rated Hancock the most popular DJ in Los Angeles among blacks. He was also one of the first DJs to play rock and roll music, and landed a cameo spot in a 1957 British rock and roll film called Rock Around the World.
A recreated example of Mr. Hancock's program on Los Angeles' former R&B radio station KGFJ can be found on Ron Jacobs' "Cruisin' 1959" (Increase Records INCR 5-2004). This recreation includes several classic R&B songs of that era, contemporary commercials (e.g., Champion spark plugs, the Saturday Evening Post, and others), and DJ patter.(1)
He was convicted in 1962 and sentenced to probation for failing to report $18,000 income on tax forms for 1956-1958. Allegedly, the money was payola
Payola
Payola, in the American music industry, is the illegal practice of payment or other inducement by record companies for the broadcast of recordings on music radio, in which the song is presented as being part of the normal day's broadcast. Under U.S...
from record companies. He thought the money had been given as gifts.
Hancock died August 4, 2004 of natural causes in a retirement home
Retirement home
A retirement home is a multi-residence housing facility intended for senior citizens. Typically each person or couple in the home has an apartment-style room or suite of rooms. Additional facilities are provided within the building, including facilities for meals, gathering, recreation, and some...
in Claremont, California
Claremont, California
Claremont is a small affluent college town in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. The population as of the 2010 census is 34,926. Claremont is known for its seven higher-education institutions, its...
.