Cincinnati is hardly the first American city to be celebrated in popular song. Nevertheless, I find it curious how frequently — i.e., over 200 songs — Cincinnati (ranked #64 among US cities by population) has appeared in a popular song title in the past 95 years, to wit:
Click on song titles below for (in most cases) access to streaming audio =
Note the impressive 29-year consecutive run between the years 1959-1988.
[US artists unless otherwise indicated (in red)]
“Cincinnati Hornpipe” William B. Houchens 1924 “Cincinnati Southern Blues” Ivy Smith & Cow Cow Davenport 1927 “Cincinnati Daddy” Duke Ellington 1929 “Cincinnati Underworld Woman” Bob Coleman 1929 “Cincinnati Breakdown” Blue Ridge Mt. Entertainers 1932 “I’m Going to Cincinnati” Walter Coleman 1936 “Was You Ever in Cincinnati” Freddie Fisher 1941 “C-I-N-C-I-N-N-A-T-I” Teddy McRae Orchestra 1945 “Cincinnati Lou” Merle Travis 1946 “Cincinnati Vout” Earl Warren 1946 “Cincinnati” Martha Davis' Torrid Trio 1947 “Cincinnati Bound” Cowboy Jack Derrick 1950 “Cincinnati Hit Parade” Bill Franklin & Skyline Boys 1950 “Cincinnati Dancing Pig” Red Foley 1950 “G'night Cinti, Hello Tennessee” Shorty Long 1951 “Cincinnati Rag” Buck Ryan 1955 “Cincinnati Ding Dong” Art Lund 1957 “Cincinnati Ratamatati” Cain & Abel 1959 “High School USA (Cincinnati)” Tommy Facenda 1959 “Cincinnati Fireball” Johnny Burnette 1960 “Cincinnati” Frank Slay Orchestra 1961 “Cincinnati Twist and Freeze” Orlie & the Saints 1961 “Whole Town's Batty About 'nati” Larry Vincent 1961 “Cincinnati Ratamatati” First Percussion Sextet 1961 “Cincinnati Rock” Cliff Nash 1962 “Cincinnati Twist” Pat Field & Les Pumas [Fr.] 1962 “Cincinnati Blues” Boll Weevil Jass Band 1963 “Cincinnati Slow Drag” Rev. Gary Davis 1964
"Cincinnati Flow Rag" Rev. Gary Davis 1964
“Cincinnati, Ohio” Bill Anderson 1964 “Cincinnati Breakdown” Charlie Moore & Bill Napier 1964 “Cincinnati Blues” Jesse Fuller 1965
“Cincinnati” Bob Braun 1965 “The Cincinnati Kid” Ray Charles 1965 “The Cincinnati Kid” Prince Buster [Ja.] 1966 “Cincinnati Ohio” Connie Smith 1967 “Cincinnati Woman” Freddy Cannon 1967
“Cincinnati” Van Trevor 1967 “I'm Leaving Cincinnati” Larry Roberts 1967
“Walk Around Cincinatti [sic]” Dean Kay c. 1967 “Cincinnati Stranger” Buddy Cagle 1968 “Cincinnati Two-Step” Dick Cary 1968 “World War Two in Cincinnati” The Shambles 1968 “The Lights of Cincinnati” Scott Walker 1969 “Cincinnati Love Song” The Two Dollar Question 1969 “Cincinnati Jail” Bobby Bare 1969
“Susie Cincinnati” The Beach Boys 1970 “The Cleanest Man in Cincinnati” Claude Gray 1970 “Cincinnati Man” Mad Lydia 1970 “Cincinnati” Mirageman [Ital.] 1970
“Cincinatti [sic] Cream” Brett Marvin/Thunderbolts [UK] '70
“Cincinatti [sic] Woman” Spode [UK] 1971
“Cincinnati” The New Seekers [UK] 1971
“Cincinnati Woman” The Hubbubs [Germ.] 1971
“Cincinnati” Orville Stoeber 1971
“Cincinnati Sidewalks” Shady Stevens 1972
“Cincinnati Square” Chuck Robinson 197?
“Cincinnati Flow Rag II” Roy Bookbinder 1972 “Girl from Cincinnati” Bobbie Gentry 1972 “Anybody Goin’ North to Cinti” Lester Flatt 1972 “Cockroach That Ate Cincinnati” Rose & the Arrangement/Possum 1973
“(Tis a Sin to Sin in) Cincinnati” Rusty Draper 1974
“I Went to Cincinnati” Joe Wise 1974 “Cincinnati Sammy” Hoagy Pogey [UK] 1974 “Cincinnati Floor” Brown’s Home Brew 1974 “Cincinnati” Janet Ellig 1975
“Cincinnati Song” Vince Bell 1975 “Cincinatti [sic] Boogie” Emmett Brooks & James Barnes 1975
“Apt. #4, 6th St. & Cincinnati” Joe Stampley 1976 “Benji's Cincinnati” The Sands of Time 1976
“Cincinnati” Infinity 1976
“Cincinnati” Roy St. John [UK] 1976 “Cincinnati” Blue Max 1976
“Cincinnati” [last track] R Ducros/L Simoncini [Ital.] 1977 “Lacksadaisical Cincinnati” Ogden Wahalia Blues Ensemble 1977 “Cincinnati Fatback” Roogalator [US/UK] 1977
“Cincinnati Growl” Roy Ayers Ubiquity 1977 “Cincinnati and Me” Larry Kinley 1977
"Cincinatti [sic] Sleeve" Changes 1977 “Cincinnati Cindy” Ray Campi 1977 “Cincinnati Train” Cathy & Coins [Germ.] 1977
“Cincinnati Capers” Cal Collins 1978 “WKRP in Cincinnati” Tom Wells & Hugh Wilson 1978 “Cincinnati Stomp” Big Joe Duskin 1978 “Cincinnati Stomp” Teacher's Pet 1979 “Cincinnati Star” Ed Williams 1979 “Cincinnati Dice Man” [last track] Them [UK] 1979
"Cincinnati" Charlie Spivak Orchestra 1979 “The Cincinnati Cowboy” Ernie Vaughn 1980 “Cincinnati Baseball Saga” Rusty Ferguson 1980 “Twenty-Two in Cincinnati” Martha & the Muffins [Can.] 1981 “Cincinnati Milacron” Pentaject Corporation 1981 “In Cincinnati” Hudson & Bauer Singers 1982
“Fatty From Cincinnati” Wonderland Chorus & Orch. c. 1982
“Cincinnati Shout” Ted Des Plantes 1983 “Living in Sincinnati” Gary Platt & Pork All-Stars 1983 “South of Cincinnati” Dwight Yoakam 1984 “Cincinnati Blues” Ray Pennington/Buddy Emmons 1984 “Cincinnati Slick” John Bunch 1984 “Back in Cincinnati” [last track] Steve Beresford [UK] 1985
“Cincinnati Jail” Lonnie Mack 1986 “Cincinnati” Cincinnati [Ital.] 1986 “Goin' to Cincinnati” Steve Tracy & King Snakes 1987 “Monday in Cincinnati” Pascal Charpentier [Belg.] 1987 “Cincinnati” Holidaymakers [UK] 1988
"Cincinnati Blues" Cliff Barnes & the Fear [Ger] 1990
“Cincinnati 1830-1850” Paul DeMarinis 1991
“Cinncinati [sic] Kid” Salmonella Dub [NZ] 1994
“Philadelphia/Cincinnati” Banned From Atlantis [Can.] 1994
“Cincinnati” Mood 1994
“Cincinnati G's Roll” Convicted Felons 1995
“Cincinnati Motel” Neal Casal 1995 “Cincinnati Shuffle” Sonny Moorman & The Dogs 1996 “Hardrockin’ Cincinnati” Bran Van 3000 [Can.] 1997 “Cincinnati” M.O.T.O. 1997
"Hooray for the Cincinnati Reds" Erich Kunzel & the Cinti Pops 1998 “Cincinnati Streets” Rachel Portman [Beloved] 1998 “Cincinnati Shuffle” Christian Bleiming [Germ.] 1998
“Cincinnati, Here We Come” T. Crookham & Accidentals 1998 “Racing Cincinnati” Chamberlain 1998 “C'mon Cincinnati” Delakota [UK] 1998 “C'mon Cinti” (Fatboy Slim Mix)” Delakota [UK] 1999
“Cincinatti's [sic] Burning” Shylow [UK] 1999 “Cincinnati Pink” Polarity/1 2000
“Cincinnatti [sic] Baby” Axel Z/Joe Duskin/J McShann 2000 “Cincinnati” David Childers 2001
“North of Cincinatti [sic]” More Plastic [Can.] 2001 “Cincinnati Town” Fred Leonard 2002
“Cincinnati Red” Viva 2002 “Hard Times in Cincinnati” Jake Speed & the Freddies 2002 “Cincinnati” Marianne Kesler 2002 “Cincinnati” Crime in Choir 2002 “Cincinnati” The Distillers 2003 “Cincinnati” Ozark Henry [Belg.] 2003 “Cincinnati Riot Blues” Ghost Exits 2003
“Cincinnati on Replay” Lefty's Deceiver 2003
“Cincinnati at Night” Jim Hurst & Missy Raines 2003 “Weekend in Cincinnati” The Bobs 2003
“The Black Brigade of Cincinnati” J. Rawls 2003 “C-I-N-C-I-N-N-A-T-I” NSPCrew 2003
“Cincinnati Traveler” Hem 2004 “Leaving Cincinnati” Jake Speed & the Freddies 2004 “I Come from Cincinnati” End.user 2004 “Cincinnati (Village Queen)” Glass Harp 2005
“Cincinatti [sic] Road” Ricochet [Germ.] 2005 “Cincinnati” Trey Anastasio 2006 “Love in Cincinnati” Prairie Home Companion 2006
“Three Cheers Cincinnati” Screaming Mimes 2006 “All Roads Lead to Cincinnati” Jake Speed & The Freddies 2007
“Cincinnati” Manishevitz 2007
“Cincinatti [sic]” Sly [Fr.] 2008 “Oh, Cincinnati” The Seedy Seeds 2008 “Chance Encounter (In Cincinnati)” The Minor Leagues 2009
“Cincinnati Summer” Kings of Tragedy 2009
“Cincinnati Bears” PNS & Zavala 2009
“El Chico De Cincinnatti [sic]” Anne Arbor [Sp.] 2009
“Cincinnati” Tila Tequila 2009 “Cincinnati” Sok 2009 “Cincinnati” Jangatha 2009 “Cincinnati” Literature 2010 “Cincinnati” Julie Newmark 2010 “Cincinnati” Nick Jaina 2010 “Cincinnati” L.A. Love [Germ.] 2010 “Left Cincinnati” Joe Frawley 2010 “Cincinnati Express” Ran Blake 2010
“Cincinnati Shakedown” The Unsettlers [Can.] 2010 “Cincinnati Harmony” The Dopamines 2010 “Cincinnati Dream” Gregory Attonito 2011 “Cincinnati Love” Chris Collier 2011
“Cincinnati” Derek Reese 2011
“Cincinnati Agony” Not Yet! 2012 “Sleepless in Cincinnati” Momentum 2012
“Clouds Over Cincinatti [sic]” Cabin Fire 2012
“Cincinnati” Eric Stein 2012 “Cincinnati” Quixote 2012 “Cincinnati” 2 Mello 2012 “Cincinnati” German Brigante [Germ.] 2013 “Cincinnati” Vegan Death 2013 “Cincinnati” Ibiza Vibes [Fr.] 2013
“Cincinnati” Nick Danger+Skytone/DCR [Can] 2013
“Iron (Cincinnati)” Dain Saint 2013
“Vuelo Cincinnati-Singapur” Manolo Kabezabolo [Sp.] 2014 “Cincinnati” Dani Flaco [Sp.] 2014 “Cincinnati” Holy Holy [Australia] 2014 “Goodnight Cincinnati” Up-C Down-C Left-C Right-C ABC+Start [UK] 2015 “Martha (Cincinnati, 1914)” The Corner Laughers 2015 “Cincinnati Fire Kites” Scope & Figure 2015 “Cincinnati Chapter of the ...” Doleful Lions 2015 “Cincinnati Shuffle” James Reed 2015
“Dallas to Cincinnati” Mr. Hokum 2015
“Cincinnati Transfer” Old Brown Shoes [Austria] 2015
“Cincinnati” Zutroi [Sp.] 2015
“Cincinnati” Zerostailaz [Sp.] 2016
“One More Day in Cincinnati” The Creekdraggers 2016 “John from Cincinnati” Connections 2016 “Cincinnati Shuffle” Big Z 2016 “Cincinnati Moon” Rumpke Mountain Boys 2016 “Cin Cin City” & “Cinti Sunrise” Carter Burwell [Anomalisa] 2016 “Cincinnati” Blake Neely [Buck Howard] 2016 “Cincinnati” Justin Hurwitz [La La Land] 2016 “Cincinnati” & “Cincinnati Waltz” Justin Hurwitz [Madeline] 2017 “Cincinnati” Golden Boys 2017 “Cincinnati” Big Nothing 2017 “Cincinnati, Ohio” Micah Schnabel 2017 “Cincinnati Sunday” D-Sisive [Can.] 2017 “Cincinnati Juggernaut” Hobosexual 2017 “Cincinnati Shuffle” The Thrill 2017 “Cincinnati Cola” My Name Is Ian [UK] 2017 “Cincinatti [sic] Blooms” The Sexual Objects [UK] 2017
“Cincinnati Bowtie” Sheri Vari [Port.] 2018 “Songbird of Cincinnati” Hat Check Girl 2018 “From Cinti to Rosarito (Mexico)” Mil Beats & Main Flow [Eur.] 2018 “Goodbye Cincinnati” Ramin Djawadi [Jack Ryan] 2018 “Screw Cincinnati” Bob Rea 2018 “Cincinnati” Machine Moon 2019 “Cincinnati Chili Child” Pataphysics 2019
"Greater Cincinatti [sic]" Kinky Friedman 2019
Freddy Cannon (in 1967, backed by Strawberry Alarm Clock) – “Cincinnati Woman“
Note: produced by Frank Slay, who conducted & co-wrote 1961 B-Side, “Cincinnati”
Prince Buster single release for Spain (B-side mis-titled as “Cincinnati Kids“)
Notable Album Covers
Title track produced by Shad O’Shea at Counterpart Creative Studios – 1979
2015 double album, Cincinnati, by Dutch blues group, King of the World
(Album features vocal work from Cincinnati’s Cheryl Renée)
1974 LP by one-time Mercury and Monument recording artist
Note: Original cover design enhanced for extra emphasis
Also Worthy of Mention
2016 single track of electronic “glitch” by Spain’s Zerostailaz
Nick Keeling’s 2015 song cycle that utilizes piano and found sounds
Modernist pavillion at Cincinnati’s Bellevue Park overlooking downtown
Actual game broadcasts by Joe Nuxhall & Marty Brennaman;
Recorded and mixed at Shad O’Shea’s Counterpart Creative Studios.
Related Trivia and Observations
- “Cincinnati Jail” is a song title shared by two Ohio Valley greats — Ironton, Ohio’s Bobby Bare (1969) and West Harrison, Indiana’s Lonnie Mack (1986).
- “Cincinnati Stomp” by blues & boogie pianist Big Joe Duskin was released in 1978, while the following year, Akron “punks” Teacher’s Pet recorded their own song of the same name that made reference to The Who concert tragedy of December 3, 1979 (but did not see release until nearly 30 years later in 2008).
- Amusing to note back-to-back releases out of the UK in 1970-71 with the city’s name misspelled: “Cincinatti Cream” by Brett Marvin & the Thunderbolts (1970) and “Cincinatti Woman” by Spode (1971).
- Intriguing to note that Spain had a three-year consecutive run of Cincinnati songs between the years 2014-2016.
- 1970’s “Cincinnati” by “Mirageman” — stage name of Italian pianist and composer, Giovanni Fenati.
- 1985’s “Back in Cincinnati” is the final track of an LP-length tribute to Doris Day (Cincinnatian by birth) from British composer/arranger, Steve Beresford.
- “South of Cincinnati” by Dwight Yoakam (who was born in Pikeville, KY, southeast of Cincinnati) was initially included as part of a 6-track EP in 1984 on Oak Records, two years prior to Yoakam’s major-label debut (bearing the same title and cover art) on Reprise Nashville.
- Johnny Burnette‘s “Cincinnati Fireball” from 1960 is a rockabilly classic that retains a strong fanbase in Europe and Oceania.
- Prince Buster recorded his tip of the hat to “The Cincinnati Kid” (i.e., James Brown) in 1965 in the prevailing ska idiom before rearranging the song the following year as a rocksteady funk showpiece that stands apart from the other Jamaican recordings of 1966.
- 1959’s “High School USA (Cincinnati)” is one of two “franchise” concepts [1961’s “Cincinnati Twist and Freeze” being the other] where the artist made/marketed versions of the song for various US metropolitan regions, Cincinnati included, in this case with spoken-word breaks that specify the names of public and parochial high schools in Cincinnati and beyond — all the way to Columbus, in fact.
- In 2016, Cincinnati found its way into song titles for two film soundtracks (Anomalisa and The Great Buck Howard), as well as the film score for Oscar winner, La La Land, whose composer, Justin Hurwitz, would then include two additional Cincinnati-themed songs for the soundtrack of Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench in 2017.
- 1977 — with eight Cincinnati songs — is a high-water mark for the pre-digital era, while 2017 proves to be the year to beat with nine songs that name the city.
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Notable Cincinnati-Themed Ensembles
- Italy’s Cincinnati
- Australia’s Nice Girls from Cincinnati
- South Africa’s Cincinatti Five
- Texas’s Eddie Finley and the Cincinnati Show Band
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Disreputable Mention
"Bengal Bells" b/w "River Front" Moon Martin 1971
"Porkopolis" The Raisins c.1984
"Blue Chip City" Bill Walters & Flying Pigs 1988
1958 advertisement for Canadian beer brand
For Optimal Experience:
Zero to 180 best viewed on a big screen – not smart phone
