Doo-wop shellac from Los Angeles

The Central Avenue corridor, south from downtown, had long been the hub of Black culture and the showcase for jazz in Los Angeles. By the 1950s, largely because of relaxing housing restrictions, much of the luster was wearing thin but it still had a musical vitality worthy of national attention. Youthful vocalists were experimenting with R&B infused street-corner harmonizing that attracted the attention of the local record producers.

There was really no shortage of Black-owned record labels along South Central. Notable were John Dolphin of Money Records and Dootsie Williams of Dootone. Walter “Dootsie” Williams was a musician and band leader who, on the side, produced records for other local musicians. In 1949 he started the Blue Records label. In 1951, the name was changed to Dootone Records. It was a slow start for Dootsie but in 1954, he hit it big. First with the original release of “Earth Angel” by The Penguins then with a two-sided hit “The Letter” backed with “Buick 59” (pic 1). The national exposure caught the attention of Duotone Records who threatened a copyright infringement lawsuit. Dootsie changed his label name to Dooto. He followed that, in 1956, with another national (R&B chart) hit “Heaven and Paradise” by Don Julian and The Meadowlarks (pic 2). That was the last big hit for Williams. Dootsie dabbled with music for a few more years before focusing on the comedy records of Redd Foxx.

“Buick 59” was released in 1954 – it was about the future. Well, actually, the Buick Super Estate Wagon Model 59 had been made since the mid-1940s. It was a big hulking station wagon favored in the neighborhood. The tune is a response to an R&B hit from a few years prior called “Rocket 69”. The Medallions were, at the time of this recording, a four member vocal group led by Vernon Green. They cut this track (and three others) in a garage turned into a home made recording studio using two microphones balanced into a one-track Ampex tape recorder. Dootsie liked the “natural” sound of his friend's studio and pressed this now classic L.A. Doo-wop number. General Motors, because of this song, gave The Medallions a brand-new 1955 Buick Roadster which Dootsie kept.

Another of Dootsie's “discoveries” were The Meadowlarks with Don Julian. The Medallions met at Jefferson High school. Don Julian and The Meadowlarks were from Fremont High. They were the two rival South Central high schools.The story is that Don Julian was asked, as a high school assignment, to name two places he wanted see. Heaven and Paradise was his response.