Cincinnati is hardly the first American city to be celebrated in popular song – nevertheless, it is rather striking just how often the city has appeared in a song’s title, to wit:
Note the impressive 19-year consecutive run between the years 1959-1978
[Click on title links below for (in most cases) access to streaming audio]
"Cincinnati Hornpipe" William B. Houchens 1924 "Cincinnati Southern Blues" Iva Smith 1927 "Cincinnati Daddy" Duke Ellington 1929 "Cincinnati Underworld Woman" Bob Coleman 1929 "Cincinnati Southern Blues" Cow Cow Davenport/Iva Smith 1929 "I’m Going to Cincinnati" Walter Coleman 1936 "Cincinnati Lou" Merle Travis 1946 "Cincinnati" Martha Davis' Torrid Trio 1947 "Cincinnati Bound" Cowboy Jack Derrick 1950 "Cincinnati Dancing Pig" Tennessee Ernie Ford 1950 "G'night Cincinnati, 'lo Tennessee" Shorty Long 1951 "Cincinnati Rag" Buck Ryan 1955 "Cincinnati Ding Dong” Art Lund 1957 "Cincinnati Ratamatati" Cain & Abel 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" Field Pat & Les Pumas 1962 "Cincinnati Blues" Boll Weevil Jazz Band 1963 "Cincinnati Slow Drag" Rev. Gary Davis 1964 "Cincinnati, Ohio" Bill Anderson 1964 "Cincinnati Breakdown" Charlie Moore & Bill Napier 1964 "Cincinnati Blues" Jesse Fuller 1965 "The Cincinnati Kid" Lalo Schifrin & Ray Charles 1965 "The Cincinnati Kid" Prince Buster 1966 "Cincinnati Ohio" Connie Smith 1967 "Cincinnati Woman" Freddy Cannon 1967 "I'm Leaving Cincinnati" Larry Roberts 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" Orville Stoeber 1970 "Cincinnati" The New Seekers 1971 "Cincinatti [sic] Woman" Spode 1971 "Cincinnati Flow Rag" Rev. Gary Davis 1971 "Cincinnati Flow Rag II" Roy Bookbinder 1972 "Girl from Cincinnati" Bobbie Gentry 1972 "Anybody Goin’ North to Cincinnati" Lester Flatt 1972 "Cockroach that Ate Cincinnati" Rose & the Arrangements 1973 "Cincinnati Sammy" Hoagy Pogey 1974 "Cincinnati Floor" Brown’s Home Brew 1974 "Cincinnati Hornpipe" John McCutcheon 1975 "Cincinnati Fatback" Roogalator 1976 "Apt. #4, 6th St. & Cincinnati" Joe Stampley 1976 "Benji's Cincinnati" The Sands of Time 1976 "Cincinnati" Roy St. John 1976 "Cincinnati" Bob Braun 1977 "Lacksadaisical Cincinnati" Ogden Wahalia Blues Ensemble 1977 "Cincinnati Growl" Roy Ayers 1977 "Cincinnati and Me" Larry Kinley 1977 "Cincinnati Cindy" Ray Campi 1977 "Cincinnati Train" Cathy & Coins 1977 "Cincinnati Stomp" Big Joe Duskin 1978 "WKRP in Cincinnati" Tom Wells & Hugh Wilson 1978 "The Cincinnati Cowboy" Ernie Vaughn 1980 "Cincinnati Baseball Saga" Rusty Ferguson 1980 "Twenty-Two in Cincinnati" Martha & the Muffins 1981 "In Cincinnati" Hudson & Bauer Singers 1982 "Cincinnati Jail" Lonnie Mack 1986 "South of Cincinnati" Dwight Yoakam 1986 "Cincinnati" Holidaymakers 1988 "Cincinnati Motel" Neal Casal 1995 "Cincinnati Shuffle" Sonny Moorman & The Dogs 1996 "Hardrockin’ Cincinnati" Bran Van 3000 1997 "Cincinnati Streets" Rachel Portman 1998 "Racing Cincinnati" Chamberlain 1998 "C'mon Cincinnati" Delakota 1998 "C'mon Cinti" (Fatboy Slim Mix) Delakota 1999 "Cincinnati Pink" Polarity/1 2000 "Cincinnati" David Childers 2001 "Cincinnati Town" Fred Leonard 2002 "Hard Times in Cincinnati" Jake Speed & the Freddies 2002 "Cincinnati" Marianne Kesler 2002 "Cincinnati" Crime in Choir 2002 "Cincinnati" The Distillers 2003 "Cincinnati Riot Blues" Ghost Exit 2003 "Weekend in Cincinnati" The Bobs 2003 "Leaving Cincinnati" Jake Speed & the Freddies 2004 "I Come from Cincinnati" End.user 2004 "Cincinnati (Village Queen)" Glass Harp 2005 "Cincinnati" Trey Anastasio 2006 "Love in Cincinnati" Prairie Home Companion 2006 "All Roads Lead to Cincinnati" Jake Speed & The Freddies 2007 "Oh, Cincinnati" The Seedy Seeds 2008 "Cincinnati" Tila Tequila 2009 "Cincinnati" Sok 2009 "Cincinnati" Jangatha 2009 "Cincinnati" Literature 2010 "Left Cincinnati" Joe Frawley 2010 "Cincinnati Harmony" The Dopamines 2010 "Cincinnati Dreams" Gregory Attonito 2011 "Cincinnati" M.O.T.O. 2012 "Cincinnati Agony" Not Yet! 2012 "Cincinnati" Eric Stein 2012 "Cincinnati" Quixote 2012 "Cincinnati" German Brigante 2013 "Cincinnati Milacron" Pentaject Corporation 2013 "Cincinnati" Holy Holy 2014 "Cincinnati" Remigio Ducros 2015 "Goodnight Cincinnati" Up-C Down-C Left-C Right-C ABC + Start 2015 "Martha (Cincinnati, 1914)" The Corner Laughers 2015 "Cincinnati Fire Kites" Scope & Figure 2015 "Cincinnati" Zutroi 2015 "Cincinnati Transfer" Old Brown Shoes 2015 "Dallas to Cincinnati" Mr. Hokum 2015 "John from Cincinnati" Connections 2016 "Cincinnati Sunrise" Carter Burwell 2016
Freddy Cannon (in 1967, backed by Strawberry Alarm Clock) – “Cincinnati Woman“
Note: produced by Frank Slay, who conducted & co-wrote 1961 B-Side, “Cincinnati”
Worthy of Mention
The City of Seven Hills Nick Keeling 2015
(Dis)Honorable Mention
"Porkopolis" The Raisins 198?
