Hunter Hancock
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Hunter Hancock (1916 - August 4, 2004) was a 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 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.
He then entered radio, and was heard on a number of stations from 1943 to 1968. He called himself "Ol' H.H." He hosted popular radio shows, including "Harlem Holiday," "Harlematinee," "Huntin' With Hunter" and the gospel show "Songs of Soul and Spirit."
He also appeared briefly on KCBS-TV in 1955 with the Friday night show "Rhythm and Bluesville," interviewing such musicians as Duke Ellington, Fats Domino, Little Richard 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.
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.
