Doug Dobell
Encyclopedia
Douglas "Doug" Dobell was a British
record store proprietor and record producer
, responsible for running Dobell's Record Shop in Charing Cross Road
, London
, and 77 Records
. He was prominent in developing, recording and marketing jazz
, blues
, folk
and world music
in the UK, from the 1950s to the 1980s.
He was born in London, the grandson of Bertram Dobell (1842–1914), who had been born of Huguenot
descent in Battle
, Sussex
. Bertram Dobell opened a stationer's shop in London in 1869, and began selling second-hand books, establishing his first antiquarian bookshop on Charing Cross Road in 1887. He acquired, and published in 1906, lost manuscripts by the poet Thomas Traherne
. After his death, his premises on Charing Cross Road were taken over by his sons, Percy and Arthur Dobell.
Doug Dobell was born in 1917, and from 1939 served for seven years in the British Army
. By the time he returned to work for his father and uncle after the war
, he had become a keen collector
of jazz records, and in 1946 he persuaded his father that he should begin to sell collectable and imported jazz records at the family bookshop at 77 Charing Cross Road. The part of the store selling records gradually expanded, and when his father retired in 1955 the rare books part of the business was phased out. Over the next few years the store became London's best known jazz shop and a well known haunt for both local and visiting jazz, blues and folk musicians and enthusiasts.
In the mid 1950's Doug opened a branch of Dobells in Brighton managed by Don Sollash and Bill Colyer.
In 1957 Dobell began the 77 record label - so named because of the store's address - and began recording both British trad jazz
and rhythm and blues
performers such as Acker Bilk and Alexis Korner
, and visiting American musicians such as Ramblin' Jack Elliott
and Lightnin' Hopkins
, in a small recording studio
on the premises. A 1963 album by Dick Fariña
and Eric von Schmidt
, released on the offshoot Folklore label, featured "Blind Boy Grunt", alias Bob Dylan
, on harmonica. He also reissued recordings licensed from independent American record labels such as Arhoolie
. From the mid-1960s, Dobell also began recording visiting African musicians, such as Dudu Pukwana
. In addition, he ran a mail order record distribution company, Agate,and record import company C.R.D. which issued Folkways, Blue Note and was the first company in the U.K. to make Elektra Records available to the general public. This was run from the second outpost shop at 10, Rathbone Place Dobells Folk and Blues Shop, the manager being Ron Gould (known to the Folk World as "Red Nerk". When the lease expired the whole lot moved to, 75 Charing Cross Road, which in turn then became Dobell's Folk Record Shop, with the original Jazz Record Shop next door.
Dobell's record shops were forced to close in late 1980, when the area was redeveloped. Dobell died of a heart attack in 1987, aged 69, while visiting a jazz festival in Nice
, France.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
record store proprietor and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, responsible for running Dobell's Record Shop in Charing Cross Road
Charing Cross Road
Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus and then becomes Tottenham Court Road...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and 77 Records
77 Records
77 Records was a British record label set up in 1957 by Doug Dobell, the proprietor of Dobell's Jazz Record Shop at 77 Charing Cross Road, London...
. He was prominent in developing, recording and marketing jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
in the UK, from the 1950s to the 1980s.
He was born in London, the grandson of Bertram Dobell (1842–1914), who had been born of Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
descent in Battle
Battle, East Sussex
Battle is a small town and civil parish in the local government district of Rother in East Sussex, England. It lies south southeast of London, east of Brighton and east of the county town of Lewes...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
. Bertram Dobell opened a stationer's shop in London in 1869, and began selling second-hand books, establishing his first antiquarian bookshop on Charing Cross Road in 1887. He acquired, and published in 1906, lost manuscripts by the poet Thomas Traherne
Thomas Traherne
Thomas Traherne, MA was an English poet and religious writer. His style is often considered Metaphysical.-Life:...
. After his death, his premises on Charing Cross Road were taken over by his sons, Percy and Arthur Dobell.
Doug Dobell was born in 1917, and from 1939 served for seven years in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. By the time he returned to work for his father and uncle after the war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he had become a keen collector
Record collecting
Record collecting is the hobby of collecting music. Although the main focus is on vinyl records, all formats of recorded music are collected.-History:Record collecting has been around probably nearly as long as recorded sound...
of jazz records, and in 1946 he persuaded his father that he should begin to sell collectable and imported jazz records at the family bookshop at 77 Charing Cross Road. The part of the store selling records gradually expanded, and when his father retired in 1955 the rare books part of the business was phased out. Over the next few years the store became London's best known jazz shop and a well known haunt for both local and visiting jazz, blues and folk musicians and enthusiasts.
In the mid 1950's Doug opened a branch of Dobells in Brighton managed by Don Sollash and Bill Colyer.
In 1957 Dobell began the 77 record label - so named because of the store's address - and began recording both British trad jazz
Trad jazz
Trad jazz - short for "traditional jazz" - refers to the Dixieland and Ragtime jazz styles of the early 20th century in contrast to any more modern style....
and rhythm and blues
British rhythm and blues
British rhythm and blues developed as a major musical movement in the early 1960s in London and other urban centres in the UK as predominately young white male musicians attempted to emulate the style and recordings of African American rhythm and blues artists...
performers such as Acker Bilk and Alexis Korner
Alexis Korner
Alexis Korner was a blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a Founding Father of British Blues"...
, and visiting American musicians such as Ramblin' Jack Elliott
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
Ramblin' Jack Elliott is an American folk singer and performer.-Life and career:Elliot Charles Adnopoz was born in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish parents in 1931. Elliott grew up inspired by the rodeos at Madison Square Garden, and wanted to be a cowboy...
and Lightnin' Hopkins
Lightnin' Hopkins
Sam John Hopkins better known as Lightnin’ Hopkins, was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist, from Houston, Texas...
, in a small recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
on the premises. A 1963 album by Dick Fariña
Richard Fariña
Richard George Fariña was an American writer and folksinger.-Early years and education:Richard Fariña was born in Brooklyn, New York, of Cuban and Irish descent. He grew up in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn and attended Brooklyn Technical High School...
and Eric von Schmidt
Eric Von Schmidt
Eric "Rick" Von Schmidt was an American singer-songwriter and Grammy Award recipient. He was associated with the folk/blues revival of the 1960s and a key part of the East Coast folk music scene that included Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.-Background and associations with Dylan:Von Schmidt's father,...
, released on the offshoot Folklore label, featured "Blind Boy Grunt", alias Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, on harmonica. He also reissued recordings licensed from independent American record labels such as Arhoolie
Arhoolie Records
Arhoolie Records is a small record label run by Chris Strachwitz. The label was founded by Strachwitz in 1960 as a way for him to record and publish previously obscure "down home blues" artists such as Lightnin' Hopkins, Snooks Eaglin and Bill Gaither...
. From the mid-1960s, Dobell also began recording visiting African musicians, such as Dudu Pukwana
Dudu Pukwana
Mtutuzel Dudu Pukwana was a South African saxophonist, composer and pianist .-Early years in South Africa:...
. In addition, he ran a mail order record distribution company, Agate,and record import company C.R.D. which issued Folkways, Blue Note and was the first company in the U.K. to make Elektra Records available to the general public. This was run from the second outpost shop at 10, Rathbone Place Dobells Folk and Blues Shop, the manager being Ron Gould (known to the Folk World as "Red Nerk". When the lease expired the whole lot moved to, 75 Charing Cross Road, which in turn then became Dobell's Folk Record Shop, with the original Jazz Record Shop next door.
Dobell's record shops were forced to close in late 1980, when the area was redeveloped. Dobell died of a heart attack in 1987, aged 69, while visiting a jazz festival in Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, France.