The King Brothers were a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

pop

vocal The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production i ...

trio popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They are best remembered for their

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of " Standing on the Corner" and " A White Sport Coat (And A Pink Carnation)".

Career

The group was composed of three brothers who first performed together professionally on the TV show ''Shop Window'' in 1952.The King Brothers
at 45rpm.org Initially performing as The King Three, they appeared on the

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

early in their career on ''

Six-Five Special ''Six-Five Special'' is a British television programme launched in February 1957 when both television and rock and roll were in their infancy in Britain. Description ''Six-Five Special'' was the BBC's first attempt at a rock-and-roll programme. ...

'', and by 1957 had been named "top vocal group" in the reader's poll of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

''. Their first

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

was their

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

of "

A White Sport Coat "A White Sport Coat" is a 1957 country and western song with words and music both written by Marty Robbins. It was recorded on January 25, 1957, and released on the Columbia Records label, over a month later, on March 4. The arranger and recording ...

", which hit #6 in 1957. In October 1960, they were again voted "top vocal group" in the ''NME'' reader's poll. They had a string of successful

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

through 1961, after which time they continued recording but found their popularity waning. Group leader

Denis King Denis Andrew King (born 25 July 1939) is an English composer and singer. He is best remembered as a member of a family ensemble, The King Brothers. Early career: the King Brothers King was born in Hornchurch, Essex, England. He began his musi ...

later became an award-winning composer for

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, and

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

s; among other things, he wrote the

theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

for ''

The Adventures of Black Beauty ''The Adventures of Black Beauty'' is a British adventure family television series produced by London Weekend Television and shown by ITV in the United Kingdom between 1972 and 1974. It was distributed internationally by London Weekend Internat ...

'' and ''

Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery series, based on the novels by John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six series, was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 10 January 19 ...

''.

Members

(born 25 July 1939,

Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

) *Michael King (25 April 1935,

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

, Essex –. 9 November 2018) *Anthony King (b. 31 January 1937, Barking, Essex)

Singles

;

Parlophone Records Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 19 ...

*1957 "Marianne" / "Little By Little" *1957 " A White Sport Coat (And A Pink Carnation)" / "Minne Minnehaha!" (UK #6)Search for "King Brothers" performed a
Everyhit.com
database on July 15, 2008. *1957 "In The Middle Of An Island" / "Rockin' Shoes" (UK #19) *1957 "

Wake Up Little Susie "Wake Up Little Susie" is a popular song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant and published in 1957. The song is best known in a recording by the Everly Brothers, issued by Cadence Records as catalog number 1337. The Everly Brothers record r ...

" / "

Winter Wonderland "Winter Wonderland" is a song written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and lyricist Richard Bernhard Smith. Due to its seasonal theme, it is often regarded as a Christmas song in the Northern Hemisphere. Since its original recording by Richard Himber, ...

" (UK #22) *1958 " Put A Light In The Window" / "

Miss Otis Regrets "Miss Otis Regrets" is a song about the lynching of a society woman after she murders her unfaithful lover. It was composed by Cole Porter in 1934, and first performed by Douglas Byng in ''Hi Diddle Diddle'', a revue that opened on October 3, 193 ...

" (UK #25) *1958 "Hand Me Down My Walking Cane" / "Six-5 Jive" *1958 " Moonlight and Roses" / "Torero" *1958 "Sitting In A Tree House" / "Father Time" *1959 "Leaning on a Lamp Post" / "

Thank Heaven for Little Girls "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" is a 1957 song written by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe and associated with Maurice Chevalier, its original performer. It opened and closed the 1958 film '' Gigi''. Alfred Drake performed the song in the 1 ...

" *1959 "Hop, Skip And Jump" / "Civilization" *1959 "Makin' Love" / "Caribbean" *1960 " Standing on the Corner" / "The Waiter And The Porter And The Upstairs Maid" (UK #4) *1960 "Mais Oui" / "Gotta Feeling" (UK #16) *1960 "Doll House" / "Si Si Si" (UK #21) *1960 " Seventy-Six Trombones" / "I Like Everybody" (UK #19) *1961 "Goodbye Little Darling" / "

Tuxedo Junction "Tuxedo Junction" is a popular song written by Erskine Hawkins, Bill Johnson, and Julian Dash with lyrics by Buddy Feyne. The song was introduced by Erskine Hawkins & His Orchestra, a college dance band previously known as the Bama State Collegi ...

" *1961 "The Next Train Out Of Town" / "

Sabre Dance "Sabre Dance", ''Suserov par''; russian: Танец с саблями, ''Tanets s sablyami'' is a movement in the final act of Aram Khachaturian's ballet '' Gayane'' (1942), where the dancers display their skill with sabres. It is Khachaturian' ...

" *1961 "The Language of Love" / "Go Tell Her For Me" *1962 "King Size Twist" / "Oh! What A Fool I've Been" *1962 "Everybody Back To Our Place/ "Don't Fly Away Flamingo" *1962 "Nicola" / "Way Down The Mountain" ;

Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhoo ...

*1963 "One Boy Too Late" / "I've Got That Feeling Once Again" *1963 "Anyone Else" / "The Rainbow's End" ; Oriole Records *1964 "Real Live Girl" / "Every Time It Rains" ;

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company * CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990 * CBS Records (2006), founde ...

*1965 "

Mister Sandman "Mr. Sandman" (or "Mister Sandman") is a popular song written by Pat Ballard and published in 1954. It was first recorded in May of that year by Vaughn Monroe & His Orchestra and later that year by the Chordettes and the Four Aces. The song's lyr ...

" / "I Want To Know" *1966 "Jo Jo" / "Peculiar" *1966 "

Remember When (We Made These Memories) "Remember When (We Made These Memories)" is a song written by Bert Kaempfert, Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder, and performed by Wayne Newton. It reached #15 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart and #69 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1965. ...

" / "Everytime I See You" ;

Page One Records Page One Records, established in 1966, was the UK independent record label, owned by the producer/manager, Larry Page. They were involved in a court case in July 1967 with The Troggs.9681 WLR 157; 9673 All ER 822; (1967) 111 SJ 944 The label, ...

*1966 "Symphony For Susan" / "My Time" *1967 "My Mammy" / "Some Of These Days" *1967 "My Mother's Eyes" / "I'm Old Fashioned" ;

Tupperware Tupperware is an American home products line that includes preparation, storage, and serving products for the kitchen and home. In 1942, Earl Tupper developed his first bell-shaped container; the brand products were introduced to the public in 1 ...

(

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

) *1967 "There's No Business Like Our Business" EP:

There's No Business Like Show Business "There's No Business Like Show Business" is an Irving Berlin song, written for the 1946 musical '' Annie Get Your Gun'' and orchestrated by Ted Royal. The song, a slightly tongue-in-cheek salute to the glamour and excitement of a life in show b ...

/ "High Society" / "The

Brigade" / "Good News"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:King Brothers, The British pop music groups British vocal groups Sibling musical trios

Career

Members

Singles

See also

References