Suggested book-related readings on King Records
 
 

Going to Cincinnati:  A History of the Blues in the Queen City – 
Steven C. Tracy – University of Illinois Press – 1993

           o     Chapter 7:"King Records"  (p. 114-153)   Notes:    Bibliographical and discographical references abound in this 
             well-written and researched history of Syd Nathan’s legendary 
             record label.
 
 

The King Records Story – Darren Blase – [unpublished] – 199?

Notes:    This document (53 leaves in length) is an unpublished work available 
             upon request at the main branch of the Cincinnati PublicLibrary in their
             music reference department; includes bibliographica and discographical
             references.
 
 

The King Labels: A Discography – Michel Ruppli – Greenwood Press – 1985 

Notes:    This indispensible (though not inexpensive) reference source covers 
              900 pages over 2 volumes. Start saving your money now while(if?) 
              it’s still in print!
 
 

Tattooed on Their Tongues:   A Journey Through the Backrooms of 
American Music – Colin Escott – Schirmer Books/Simon & Schuster – 1996. 

          o      "How to Start a Record Company:  King Records, Cincinnati, 1943" 
              (p. 63-68)

Notes:     This short chapter discusses how the unbelievably poor pressings of
               King’s first recordings by the American Printing House for the Blind
               ultimately led founder Syd Nathan to build his own pressing plant, 
               which – along with his own recording and graphic design studios, 
               independent record distribution network, and heck, even his own 
               brand of record players – comprised an operation so self-contained 
               that only the paper inner sleeves for LP recordings had to be imported
               to complete the whole record process, from recorded performance to
               final product.
 
 

The Death of Rhythm and Blues – Nelson George – Plume/New American 
Library/Penguin – 1988

 Notes:     This history of the thriving postwar independent R&B label scene 
               includes discussion of the founding of King, along with National,
               Modern, Specialty, Atlantic, Chess, Imperial, Dot, Sun, and Vee-Jay 
               in the 1940s & 50s. Includes references to founder Syd Nathan, as 
               well as King artists Wynonie Harris, James Brown, Ivory Joe Hunter,
               and Earl Bostic, among others.
 
 

Honkers and Shouters:  The Golden Years of Rhythm & Blues – 
Arnold Shaw – Macmillan – 1978

 Notes:     Though I do not yet own this particular (out-of-print) volume on the
               history of jump blues, boogie, and early rock ‘n’ roll, nevertheless I
               suspect this work includes references to Syd Nathan and his
               considerable roster of honking and shouting talent, as well as King’s 
               classic contributions to the history of recorded rhythm and blues.
 
 

Sweet Soul Music:   Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of 
Freedom – Peter Guralnick – Perennial Library/Harper & Row – 1986 

             o     Chapter 7:  "Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag"  (p. 220-245)   Notes:     Guralnick’s chapter on James Brown discusses how the famous front
               man, through dogged persistence and skillful negotiation (including a 
               self-imposed recording ban), was able to wrest increasing financial 
               and artistic control from the notoriously frugal Syd Nathan.
 
 

The King R&B Box Set – 36-page booklet written by Colin Escott – 1995

 Notes:     Booklet includes an overview of King’s recording history by noted
              American roots music scholar, Colin Escott, and features photos of 
              Syd Nathan, Lucky Millander, Bull Moose Jackson, Earl Bostic, 
              Lonnie Johnson, Wynonie Harris, Roy Brown, Todd Rhodes, Joe 
              Thomas, Henry Glover, Sonny Thompson, Lula Reed, Tiny Bradshaw,
              Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Mabel Scott, Billy Ward and the Dominoes
              (including Clyde McPhatter and Jackie Wilson), Hank Ballard and the
              Midnighters, The "5" Royales, The Swallows, Otis Williams and His
              Charms, Bill Doggett, Dave Bartholomew, Little Willie Littlefield, 
              Little Willie John, Freddy King, Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson, The King 
              Pins, James Brown, Gene Redd, and Moe Lytle.
 
 

Fodor’s Rock & Roll Traveler U.S.A. – Tim Perry and Ed Glinert – 199? 

    From Cincinnati, Ohio: King Records:

              "One of the most successful independent labels of the 50s and early 60s, 
                Cincinnati’s King was unique in that it made inroads into both black and 
                hillbilly music.  The label was started in 1945 by local record store owner, 
                Syd Nathan, one of the first in the city to run a racially integrated business.
 

      Much of King’s success was due to Nathan’s business sense, not his
      less-than-keen musical ear:  on hearing a demo of ‘Please, Please, Please,’ 
      James Brown’s debut King single which would eventually go gold, Nathan is
      said to have called it ‘a piece of shit’ and temporarily fired company executive,
      Ralph Bass, for signing the singer.  Brown went on to be the label’s greatest 
      star; at the height of his fame in the mid-60s, he kept an office here and wrote 
      part of ‘Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag’ on site. 

      King was also responsible for recording Hank Ballard’s original version of 
     ‘The Twist’ and featured top-selling R&B acts like Earl Bostic, Bullmoose 
      Jackson, and blues guitarist, Albert King, plus such hillbilly favorites as the 
      Delmore Brothers and Cowboy Copas.

      King was a tightly-run and remarkably self-sufficient organization.  Everything
      was taken care of at the five-building headquarters, from recording through
      pressing, label printing, packaging, and shipping. Not one to do things by
      halves, Nathan had a black-topped desk shaped like a record.  After his death
      in 1968, King employees were gathered to listen to a farewell greeting the late
      owner had recorded on vinyl in the studios.  The plant closed in 1971, and the
      rights were eventually bought out by the Nashville company, Gusto.

      The five buildings are currently leased to a dairy company, but the studio space
      is still structurally intact.  A group of local music enthusiasts and politicans has
      drawn up plans to buy the buildings and turn them into a museum dedicated to
      the city’s musical history, as well as a recording studio for local teenagers."