the fans misspelled Richbourg's surname, the disc jockey shortened his on-air moniker to "John R." By the mid-1950s, John R. began attracting white listeners again — young people. Teenagers listened to the programs featuring blues music and "street talk", some as an act of adolescent rebellion. Richbourg became an influential figure in the fledgling black music trade by featuring ground-breaking R&B and early rock performers like Chuck Berry and Fats Domino on his program. Later Richbourg capitalized on his reputation by becoming a manager to several artists, an occasional record producer, and later entrepreneur in Nashville's booming recording industry. Nashville has long had an international reputation for country music, but it has also always had studio facilities devoted to soul, R&B, and gospel. Richbourg may have gained his most enduring reputation as a pitchman who used "down-home" phrasing to ad-lib copy for advertisers. One example: Now, friends, I know you got some soul. If you didn't, you wouldn't be listenin' to ol' John R., 'cause I got me some soul. I'll tell you somethin', friends. You can really tell the world you got soul with this brand-new Swinging Soul Medallion, a jewelry pendant. Richbourg sold exotic or unusual products, such as baby chicks from a Pennsylvania hatchery, family Bibles, hot-rod mufflers, and so on. Most of these were marketed to an African-American clientele. According to Wes Smith's book, The Pied Pipers of Rock 'n' Roll: Radio Deejays of the 50s and 60s (Longstreet Press, 1989), many such products turned out to be defective and/or scams, but few irate customers ever sought legal action against the station or manufacturers. One long-running legitimate sponsor was Ernie's Record Mart, owned by a record label entrepreneur who specialized in recording local Nashville R&B acts. John R. featured artists such as James Brown, 'Baby' Washington, Otis Redding, and other popular soul acts of the 1960s. Despite the popularity of newer white performers such as Elvis Presley and The Beatles, Richbourg continued to play chiefly African-American artists. He only played mainstream pop when Ernie's Record Mart required him to do so in a commercial hour-long radio show. On that nightly show titled "Ernies Record Parade", John R. would announce, "now this six-record special, the Big Blues special, from Ernie's Record Mart is just two dollars, ninety-eight cents ($2.98) plus shipping and handling, a total of just three ninety-nine ($3.99) from Ernie's Record Mart, 179 3rd Avenue,