Linda’s Doll Hut: Rockabilly ‘50s Style

With ‘50s chic in vogue in the Southland, true samplings of Americana aren’t that easy to find.

That’s why Linda’s Doll Hut, a doll-sized rockabilly club on an unmodernized street corner in Anaheim, is such a find. Many of the patrons appear to have stepped out of a ‘50s car brochure. Clad in old-school Levi’s that complement the venue’s roadhouse feel, many of the women sport close-cropped bangs, while the men favor ducktails and work shirts.

Linda Jemison, the Doll Hut’s 29-year-old owner, is the life of this 75-capacity house, a former darts and billiards bar. A social worker turned club owner, Jemison books the bands, manages the door, runs the sound board, works the bar, plays pool (which is free at the Doll Hut) and even jumps on the dance floor when a song moves her.

Although you can also catch Orange County punk bands performing at the Doll Hut, the current Thursday night house band, Russell Scott and the Red Hots, is one of the club’s best attractions. Moving seamlessly between rockabilly and country, the three-piece band’s haunting version of “Summertime” lingers long after you leave the club.

Aside from a Day-Glo Elvis poster pinned up behind the “stage,” the decor primarily consists of band stickers slapped haphazardly on the club’s wood-paneled walls. But two-thirds of the stickers are of local bands--which also dominate the jukebox. Just further indications of the true heart of this venue.

* LINDA’S DOLL HUT

* 107 S. Adams St., Anaheim.

* (714) 533-1286.

* Open 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday; Sundays for special events.

* Cover: $3 to $5.