Zero to 180 – Three Minute Magic

Discoveries of a Pop Music Archaeologist

Category: King Records

Federal
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King Records Lore — A Trunkful of Trivia

Chiemi Eri on King Records – In the US & Japan Chiemi Eri, born Jan. 11, 1937 in Tokyo, was a popular singer and actress in Japan who began her singing career at 14 with her version of “The Tennessee Waltz,” according to Discogs. When you scan her singles discography

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Cincinnati (OH-KY-IN tri-state area)
Zeroto180

The “Pre-Nashville A Team” at Cincinnati’s Herzog Studios

The Pleasant Valley Boys were considered country music’s first “A Team” of session players, whose services were highly sought by two of the top country artists in Nashville between 1947 and 1948 at the very dawn of that city’s ascendance as one of the world’s great recording capitals. When you

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60s/70s rock +/- pop
Zeroto180

Smokey And His Sister: Goodbye Cincinnati

The City of Cincinnati might want to consider a lawsuit – what is the statute of limitations on liner notes from an album released 54 years ago? I understand that Hal Halverstadt was merely playing up the difference between “small town” provincialism and “big city” sophistication for dramatic emphasis, but

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Henry Glover
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Henry Glover’s Monumental Musical Legacy

Part One — Historical Overview & Narrative Composer, producer, arranger, publisher, talent scout, vocalist, trumpet player, engineer, A&R executive, and later, a label owner in his own right, Henry Bernard Glover — notes Nick Duckett in the liner notes that accompany the 123-track Henry Glover Story anthology — was “one

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Henry Glover
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King Records — In a Nutshell

What a revelation to find out that World Radio History‘s website not only allows access to a comprehension collection of music trade publications, including Billboard, Cash Box, and Record World, but also the ability to search all back issues simultaneously! What’s especially helpful is how the search results often show

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"Vampire's Ball"
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King’s Answer to “Monster Mash”

“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

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Beau Dollar
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The Dapps at King Records

Note:  Spotify playlist at the end of this piece Music writer/historian, Randy McNutt, in King Records of Cincinnati, points out the irony of “How You Gonna Get Respect (When You Haven’t Cut Your Process Yet)” – a Hank Ballard single “obviously aimed at the R&B market” – being voiced by mostly white

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Chuck Connor
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The Upsetters at King Records

I am only just now discovering that Little Richard‘s musical influence had a direct impact on King Records, first when his live backing band, The Upsetters, became Little Willie John’s support group after Richard renounced rock ‘n’ roll in 1957, and then again soon after when the Upsetters backed James

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60s/70s rock +/- pop
Zeroto180

King 45s That “Bubbled Under”

My ambitiousness got the best of me with the posting of the two-part history piece, “Quirky 45s That Bubbled Under (1959-1976).”  If you go to Zero to 180’s home page now (as of April 2020), you might be frustrated that it takes so goshdarn long to finish loading all the

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Bobby Byrd
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Birth of The JB’s @ King Records

The two-volume King Labels recording sessions discography (i.e., “the red books“) compiled by Michael Ruppli with assistance from Bill Daniels, can be frustratingly incomplete, especially with regard to musician credits.  Although this reference source is a great starting point, scholars of James Brown funk are forced to do quite a bit of digging on

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