Recorded In Hollywood was an independent American record label specializing in rhythm and blues, active from the late 1940s to the end of the 1950s, which issued several sides by artists significant to the genre.

John Dolphin John Robert Vernon Dolphin (1 October 19052 May 1973) was a British engineer and inventor, who joined the Secret Intelligence Service and then became the Commanding Officer of the top-secret Second World War Special Operations Executive (SOE) " ...

operated the label out of his record shop, before selling it to Starday's Don Pierce. Pierce changed the name to Hollywood Records and began releasing re-issues.

History

The label was formed by John Dolphin as Dolphin's of Hollywood, and the first issues appeared in 1948. Operations for Recorded In Hollywood, including recording and pressing, were initially an extension of Dolphin's record store located in the South Central section of Los Angeles where Vernon Avenue and Central Avenue intersect. The name was intended to appeal to

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, who were largely excluded from entering Hollywood itself.

Red Callender George Sylvester "Red" Callender (March 6, 1916 – March 8, 1992) was an American string bass and tuba player. He is perhaps best known as a jazz musician, but worked with an array of pop, rock and vocal acts as a member of The Wrecking Cre ...

served as director of

artists and repertoire Artists and repertoire (colloquially abbreviated to A&R) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists (singers, instrumentalist ...

. Despite releasing several successful recordings, by 1953 the label was in significant financial trouble, and it was sold to Don Pierce of

Starday Records Starday Records was an American record label producing traditional country music during the 1950s and 1960s. History The label began in 1952 in Beaumont, Texas, when local businessmen Jack Starnes (Lefty Frizzell's manager) and Houston record di ...

. Pierce then changed the name to Hollywood Records. Pierce found near immediate success with Linda Hayes and her song ''Take Me Back'', which sold 150,000 copies. Dolphin also introduced Pierce to Jack Lauderdale of

Swing Time Records Swing Time Records was a United States-based record label active in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The label was founded by Jack Lauderdale in 1947 as Down Beat Records and was headquartered in Los Angeles, California. In approximately October ...

. It was through this contact that Pierce acquired the rights to several earlier Swing Time recordings. As a result, Hollywood sold Christmas records by

Lowell Fulson Lowell Fulson (March 31, 1921March 7, 1999) was an American blues guitarist and songwriter, in the West Coast blues tradition. He also recorded for contractual reasons as Lowell Fullsom and Lowell Fulsom. After T-Bone Walker, he was the most imp ...

and Charles Brown, which moved tens of thousands of copies on a perennial basis. Recorded In Hollywood came to an agreement with

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

in January 1954, in which a share of Recorded In Hollywood's output would be released on that major label. Hollywood also issued the first

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

LP from his early Swingtime sessions. Pierce ran Hollywood Records until his retirement. Although Pierce was president of Starday Records simultaneously, the two labels were run independently from each other. Hollywood ceased operations in 1959. Recorded in Hollywood was acquired by Roy Sharp in the 1960s and then sold to Tom Ficara in the 1980s.

Genre

Primarily the output of Recorded In Hollywood was Rhythm and Blues, blues, and some jazz, pop and gospel. The label's main success was with African-American

vocal groups List *Archie Bell & the Drells *Backstreet Boys * Bee Gees * Black Ivory * Bloodstone * Blue Magic *Boney M. * Boyz II Men * Brisbane Birralee Voices * Brownstone *Cliff Adams Singers * Crosby Stills & Nash *Danny & the Juniors *Dion & the Belm ...

. However, other material such as country was also occasionally issued.

Artists

Original recordings

Jesse Belvin Jesse Lorenzo Belvin (December 15, 1932 – February 6, 1960) was an American singer, pianist and songwriter popular in the 1950s. Belvin co-wrote the 1954 Penguins' doo-wop classic " Earth Angel", which sold more than 10 million copies, while h ...

Eddie Cochran Ray Edward Cochran (; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. Cochran's songs, such as "Twenty Flight Rock", "Summertime Blues", " C'mon Everybody" and " Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire ...

Pee Wee Crayton Connie Curtis Crayton (December 18, 1914 – June 25, 1985), known as Pee Wee Crayton, was an American R&B and blues guitarist and singer. Career Crayton was born in Rockdale, Texas. He began playing guitar seriously after moving to California ...

Scatman Crothers Benjamin Sherman Crothers (May 23, 1910 – November 22, 1986), known professionally as Scatman Crothers, was an American actor and musician. He is known for playing Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show ''Chico and the Man'', and Dick Hallo ...

Bobby Day Robert James Byrd (July 1, 1930 – July 27, 1990), known by the stage name Bobby Day, was an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, and songwriter. He is best known for his hit record " Rockin' Robin", written by Leon René und ...

*The Gay Sisters *Jimmy Grissom *Johnny Hall *Linda Hayes *

Chuck Higgins Charles Williams Higgins (April 17, 1924 – September 14, 1999) was an American saxophonist. Higgins relocated from his birthplace of Gary, Indiana to Los Angeles in his teens, where he played trumpet and went to school at the Los Angeles Con ...

Smokey Hogg Andrew "Smokey" Hogg (January 27, 1914 – May 1, 1960) was an American post-war Texas blues and country blues musician. Life and career Hogg was born near Westconnie, Texas, and grew up on a farm. He was taught to play the guitar by his fath ...

*Hollywood Bluejays (predecessor of

The Flairs The Flairs (or Flares) were an American doo-wop group known for their 1961 hit "Foot Stompin', Pt. 1." Based in Los Angeles, they went through several lineup changes during their existence. Their notable members included Richard Berry (writer of ...

). *

The Hollywood Flames The Hollywood Flames were an American R&B vocal group in the 1950s, best known for their No. 11 hit "Buzz-Buzz-Buzz" in 1957. Early years They formed as The Flames in 1949, in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, at a talent show where memb ...

*Joe Houston *Carol Kay *Rev. G. W. Killens * Little Caesar *

Roberta Martin Roberta Evelyn Martin (February 12, 1907 – January 18, 1969) was an American gospel composer, singer, pianist, arranger and choral organizer, helped launch the careers of many other gospel artists through her group, The Roberta Martin Singers. ...

Percy Mayfield Percy Mayfield (August 12, 1920August 11, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues singer with a smooth vocal style. He also was a songwriter, known for the songs " Please Send Me Someone to Love" and "Hit the Road Jack", the latter being a song ...

* Bobby Nunn *Ernest "Tabby" Thomas *

Five Hollywood Blue Jays The Five Hollywood Blue Jays were an American music group. They only made one single and it was for the label " Recorded In Hollywood" in 1952. They are not the same group as The Hollywood Blue Jays who also recorded for the same label. The Hollywoo ...

Reissues

*Charles Brown *Ray Charles *Lowell Fulson

References

{{Authority control Record labels established in 1948 Record labels disestablished in 1959 1948 establishments in California 1959 disestablishments in California