DOOTONE

1951 - 1957

The Dootone Record label was formed in 1951 by Walter (Dootsie) Williams in Los Angeles, California. The address of the company for many years was 9514 South Central Avenue, which originally was Williams' home in Watts. For a number of years, the record label was run out of the enclosed front porch of the house, but later the Williams family moved so that the record company could take over the whole house.
Dootsie Williams had started a label called "Blue Records" starting in 1949. In 1951, he changed the name of the label to Dootone.

Dootone recorded rhythm and blues, jazz, comedy, gospel and popular music. The label name was changed to Dooto in January 1957 (to avoid a lawsuit from Duo-Tone Records). Even though the name changed in 1957, some albums and possibly singles released after that time are known to still have the Dootone label. This is most likely due to using up old label-blank stock as a cost-saving measure, or in the case of the later albums, as a nostalgia trip.