Dick Hugg
| Dick "Huggy Boy" Hugg | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Richard James Hugg June 9, 1928 Canton, Ohio |
| Died |
August 30, 2006 (aged 78) Long Beach, California |
| Occupation | disc jockey |
| Years active | 1950s–2006 |
Dick "Huggy Boy" Hugg (June 9, 1928 - August 30, 2006) was a radio disc jockey in Los Angeles, California.[1][2] 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 Dolphin'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.[3]
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.[4] 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.[3]
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.[5]
Hugg died of cardiac arrest on August 30, 2006 at age of 78.
He is interred at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California.
In Popular Culture
Hugg is referenced in Season 2, Episode 14 of The Rockford Files, "The Hammer of C Block". Isaac Hayes's character, Gandolph Fitch, while searching for a radio station says, "Nobody's playing music anymore? Where's Huggy Boy or Hunter Hancock?"