King Records was an American label founded in 1943 by Syd Nathan in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, United States. The label owned several divisions, including Federal Records, which launched the career of

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the hono ...

. It released original material until 1975.

History

Initially King specialized in

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

, at the time known as hillbilly music. King advertised, "If it's a King, It's a Hillbilly – If it's a Hillbilly, it's a King." One of the label's hits was "I'm Using My Bible for a Road Map" by

Reno and Smiley Reno and Smiley were an American musical duo that was composed of Don Reno (May 17, 1925 – October 16, 1984) and Red Smiley (February 21, 1925 – January 2, 1972). They were one of the most acclaimed duos in country and bluegrass music in the ...

. Important recordings in this field were done by the Delmore Brothers and Wayne Raney. The Delmores and Moon Mullican played a country-boogie style that was similar to

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and b ...

. Several King artists, such as Bill Beach, are in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Queen Records was the " Race Records" division of King Records and was also owned by Syd Nathan. It was founded in 1943 and was eventually folded into King. King also owned Federal Records, which launched the career of

. The label hired Ralph Bass and recorded R&B musicians such as Hank Ballard & The Midnighters, Roy Brown, Valerie Carr, Champion Jack Dupree, Ivory Joe Hunter, Joe Tex,

Johnny "Guitar" Watson John Watson Jr. (February 3, 1935 – May 17, 1996), known professionally as Johnny "Guitar" Watson, was an American musician and singer-songwriter. A flamboyant showman and electric guitarist in the style of T-Bone Walker, his recording caree ...

, and Otis Williams and the Charms. King had a long legal suit against James Brown after he repeatedly violated his contract with the company. King bought

De Luxe Records De Luxe Records (later DeLuxe Records) was a record company and label formed in 1944 by brothers David Braun (1908–1985) and Julius "Jules" Braun (1911–2002), the sons of Hungarian Jewish immigrants, in Linden, New Jersey. The label ...

(in 1952) and Bethlehem Records (in 1962). In 1951, Federal Records made the crossover of an R&B record into the white pop music charts with Billy Ward and the Dominoes' " Sixty Minute Man" (Federal 12022). It reached number 17 on the ''Billboard'' pop chart and number 1 in the R&B chart. King mixed the country and R&B sides of the label. Many of its country singers, such as Moon Mullican, the Delmore Brothers,

Hawkshaw Hawkins Harold Franklin "Hawkshaw" Hawkins (December 22, 1921 – March 5, 1963) was an American country music singer popular from the 1950s into the early 1960s. He was known for his rich, smooth vocals and music drawn from blues, boogie and honk ...

, and Zeb Turner, covered the label's R&B songs, such as "Grandpa Stole My Baby", "Rocket to the Moon", "Bloodshot Eyes", and "I Got Loaded". R&B artists recorded country songs, such as Bubber Johnson's "Keep a Light in the Window for Me". During the 1950s, King distributed portable phonographs. King Records was unique among the independent labels because the entire production process was done in-house: recording, mastering, printing, pressing and shipping. This gave Nathan complete control, and a record could be recorded one day and shipped to radio stations the next day in quantities as small as 50. For that reason, King records that did not sell well are now rare. Seymour Stein, a co-founder of Sire Records, interned at King Records as a high school student in 1957 and 1958 and worked for King from 1961 to 1963. When Nathan died in 1968, King was acquired by Hal Neely's Starday Records and restarted as Starday and King Records. The songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller bought the label in 1970 but sold it soon afterwards to

LIN Broadcasting LIN Media was an American holding company founded in 1994 that operated 43 television stations. All except one were affiliates of the six major U.S. television networks. One of the remaining stations was a low powered weather station in Ind ...

, which in turn sold it to Tennessee Recording & Publishing (owned by

Freddy Bienstock Freddy Bienstock (April 24, 1923 – September 20, 2009) was an American music publisher who built his career in music by being the person responsible for soliciting and selecting songs for Elvis Presley's early albums and films. Early life Biensto ...

, Hal Neely, Leiber and Stoller), which sold it to Gusto Records in 1974. In 1971, James Brown's recording contract and back catalogue were sold to

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

. Since 2001, Collectables Records has been reissuing the King Records catalogue. The former King Records headquarters, at 1540 Brewster Avenue in Cincinnati, is still standing. A historical marker was placed by the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

in 2008. Now owned by the city of Cincinnati, it approved the formation of the King Records Legacy Committee which is working on revitalizing the historic site and explaining its history.

Discography

King 500 Series

The King 500 Series of 12 inch LPs were released between 1956 and 1959.

King 600 Series

The King 600 series was released between 1958 and 1960.

King 700 Series

The King 700 series was released between 1960 and 1962.

King 800 Series

The King 800 series was released between 1962 and 1964.

King 900 Series

The King 900 series was released between 1964 and 1966.

King 1000 Series

The King 1000 series was released between 1966 and 1970.

King 1100 Series

The King 1100 series was released between 1970 and 1973.Both Sides Now: King Main LP Series 1100-1154 (1970-1973)
Bsnpubs.com, accessed June 27, 2019

Labels associated with King records

*Audio Lab Records (King's budget album label) * Bethlehem Records *

* Federal Records *Festival Records * Queen Records * Starday Records

References

External links

*
The King Records storyKing Records
on the Internet Archive'
Great 78 ProjectKing Records original location in Cincinnati, OH
{{Authority control Record labels established in 1943 American country music record labels Defunct record labels of the United States Historic Rock and Roll Landmarks Jazz record labels Music of Cincinnati Cincinnati Local Historic Landmarks Record labels disestablished in 1974