Zero to 180 – Three Minute Magic
“After making the label an important artistic nest for major jazz artists like Nina Simone, Carmen McRae, Chris Connor and Mel Tormé,” notes Discogs in a summary overview of Bethlehem Records, its founder Gustav Wildi, in 1958, “gave the major label King Records half ownership as payment for distribution, and
George Barnes recorded a boss guitar instrumental – “Spooky” – that should be part of everyone’s Halloween soundtrack: “Spooky” by George Barnes (1962) Billboard conferred three stars (“moderate sales potential) upon this B-side, as well as its A-side “Trainsville,” in their June 23, 1962 edition. Exactly fifty years later, in 2012, someone would
Former Starday recording artist Merle Kilgore would have an unsuccessful stint at Columbia/Epic in the mid-1960s before rejoining the fold at the newly-expanded Starday-King (the King label having consolidated with Starday upon the death of its founder/owner Syd Nathan in 1968). Starday historian emeritus Nathan D. Gibson interviewed Kilgore for 2011’s superb
The male heir to the Zero to 180 fortune insisted that his father write a history piece centered around a nearly 100-year-old Christmas song that, for today’s generation, inspires apprehension and consternation — but was that the intent of Arthur A. Penn, the songwriter responsible for “Santa Claus Hides in Your
Most music fans in the US (and even quite a few in the UK) are unaware that a major 1970s British rock star put out an album on K-Tel (!) during a period of peak popularity – one entitled Alex Harvey Presents the Loch Ness Monster, no less. There’s a
Five years before “The Monster Mash,” King Records would peddle their own piece of Halloween pop in 1957, with the only release ever by The Swinging Phillies on DeLuxe — “Frankenstein’s Party” (backed with “L–O–V–E“): “Frankenstein’s Party” The Swinging Phillies (1957) Thanks to the unnamed Discogs contributor who posted this
For those keeping count, today’s piece is (gulp) the 666th posted since Zero to 180 began December 12, 2012. What better way to face down this (meaningless) milestone by paying tribute to a classic television series — and a musical ensemble both — that bravely broke the bounds of conformist
How can you not love Muddy Waters for his brilliant observation, “The blues had a baby, and they called it rock ‘n’ roll”? And thank you, Jerry Wexler, for coining the term “rhythm & blues” as an alternative to the more 19th-century-sounding “race music.” The Grand Ole Opry would famously
This song sounds to me like an obvious – and instantaneous – hit: “Phantom Lover“ Marv Lockard (1967) And yet so little information exists about this classic 1967 mix (arranged and produced by Ray Allen) from Shad O’Shea‘s Counterpart Records, with its deep bass grooves and warm reverb. Three years
How freaky that The Grateful Dead‘s played their first show on December 4, 1965 (billed as The Dead, not The Warlocks) — and then the very next year, a group of young German musicians would form a band called (incredibly) The Dead-Heads: “Stupid-Baby“ The Dead-Heads (1966) This seven-inch is almost
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