Zero to 180 – Three Minute Magic
[This piece updated with new content in 2024] LINK to companion piece – Bobby Smith’s King Productions 1966-1973 Ruppli‘s King Labels discography is a 2-volume reference set that can be hard to make sense of initially, given all the subsidiary labels and various quirks in its numbering systems, among other things.
This King twist number – “Dry Bones Twist” by The Drivers – was recorded in Cincinnati on the day my brother, Dean, was born — April 12, 1962: “Dry Bones Twist” The Drivers (1962) <click on all song titles below for streaming audio> Both sides of this King single were penned by
Zero to 180 is thrilled to learn that two titans of funk who both recorded for King – Bernard ‘Pretty‘ Purdie and William ‘Bootsy‘ Collins – are teaming up for a set of new recordings. In accordance with this event’s historical significance, the Mayor of Cincinnati, John Cranley, recently paid tribute to
Browsing DeLuxe releases in chronological order in Discog’s database, Lord Thunder‘s “Thunder” from 1975 appears to be the last gasp of Starday-King: “Thunder” Lord Thunder (1975) But wait: 1975 sounds much too late in the post-Syd Nathan saga for a new production to come out of the Starday-King studios, especially
Michel Ruppli’s 2-volume King Labels recording session discography indicates that Boot, a “hard rock” outfit, had released their debut album on People, a James Brown-owned subsidiary of Starday-King Records. But alas, this turns out not to be true, as Boot’s first album was, in fact, issued on Starday-King subsidiary Agape.
Zero to 180’s sprawling overview of King Records‘ rare and unissued recordings made reference to Wild Goose‘s “surprisingly adventurous ‘Flyin’ Machine‘ which features trippy sounds at the opening and closing, as well as harmony guitar lines during the middle instrumental break” — thank you to the YouTube contributor who uploaded a
Billboard posted this glowing review of Coldwater Army‘s debut album on Agape, a subsidiary label of Starday-King, in their July 10, 1971 edition: This is quite an extraordinary first record for a group. It features some of the tightest arrangements heard in a while and vocals that flow well with the
– This piece updated with new content in 2024 – LINK to companion piece – Bobby’s Smith King Productions 1963-1965 Bobby Smith, we now know, had been commissioned by Syd Nathan to build a recording studio in Macon, Georgia, the adopted hometown of King Records’ biggest star, James Brown. Thomas Goodwin
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
Lonnie Mack‘s most famous recordings might be associated with Cincinnati’s other notable indie label from the roots rock era, Fraternity, but the hugely influential guitarist from Southeast Indiana also made a number of recordings at King Studios. Ace UK’s Lonnie Mack anthology CD From Nashville to Memphis includes a “Lonnie
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