Wallichs Music City

Wallichs Music City was a record store in Hollywood, California, US, founded by Glenn E. Wallichs, that also had stores in West Covina,  Lakewood, Canoga Park, Costa Mesa, Torrance, Buena Park, and Hawthorne from 1940 to 1978 and was one of the first to display cellophane-sealed albums in racks. Wallichs stayed open until 2 a.m.

Glenn Wallichs
Glenn Everett Wallichs was born August 9, 1910, in Grand Island, Nebraska, to Union Pacific accountant Oscar Wallichs and Mayme B. Wallichs (née Hoober). In 1926, the family moved to North Hollywood. In 1932, Wallichs opened a radio shop in Los Angeles, later opening five other shops in the area. In the mid‐1930s, he started two recording studios. In 1940, Wallichs opened Music City, at Sunset & Vine. In 1946, Wallichs left the business to his brother Clyde. Glenn Wallichs died in 1971, and Wallichs Music City closed in 1978.

History
Wallichs Music City was located on the northwest corner of Sunset & Vine and operated from 1940 to 1978. Owner Glenn E. Wallichs, along with Tin Pan Alley songsmith Johnny Mercer and ex-Paramount movie producer Buddy De Sylva, had founded Capitol Records, starting in a small office on Vine Street in 1942 and then moving to larger offices above the store in 1946. After Capitol Records moved to the Capitol Tower in 1956, the offices became the home of Dot Records. Dot Records occupied a smaller second floor area on the Vine Street side of the building leaving the Sunset frontage to be renovated for the updated Wallich's Music City store design including its signature 'googie' architecture. The project launched Kite & Overpeck Architects, Beverly Hills who went on to design the 1962 9000 Sunset Building, a favorite for music agent offices and their clients like Jim Morrison of The Doors.

In an era when most recorded music was sold through mom and pop stores, Wallich's Music City became the premier record store in Southern California and the world's largest specialty record store.

As the market for recorded music evolved during the 1950s and 1960s, it was a source of tickets, sheet music, vinyl (initially 78s, then LP's & 45's) and tapes (8 track and cassette). They also sold TV sets and musical instruments.

It was one of the first music stores to seal record albums in cellophane and put them in display racks for customers to browse. The racks were tabletop height trapezoid-shaped browser boxes (designed by Capitol Records' Frederick Rice) that allowed the covers to be viewed like a card index. The store was also the first to have demonstration booths for listening to records.

The store became a hub of the L.A. music scene. Music fans flocked there to meet artists like Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Johnny Mercer and Nat King Cole to have them sign sheet music of their latest hits. Frank Zappa worked part-time there in 1965 as a salesman in the singles department. Radio ads featured Wallichs, who would sing the jingle "It's Music City" (to the first notes of "Rock-a-bye Baby," with the following four bars covered by a jazz ensemble), followed by news of specials, upcoming events, etc.

In 1963, the vocal group The Pleasures recorded the song "Music City" as a tribute to the store.