Zero to 180 – Three Minute Magic
Zero to 180 – Three Minute Magic
King Records
Henry Glover’s Monumental Musical Legacy
Calvin Shields — Musical Pioneer
Philip Paul: The Pulse of King
Bernard Purdie at King Records
The “Pre-Nashville A Team” at Cincinnati’s Herzog Studios
Little Esther and Stoller & Leiber at Federal Records
Nina Simone (vs. Syd Nathan) at Bethlehem Records
King Records Meets “Big Red” – Seymour Stein (Pt. 1)
Seymour Stein & King Records (Pt. 2)
Birth of The JB’s @ King Records
“Don’t Look Now”: ‘Beatle Beat’ on King
“Chopper ’70”: Wayne Cochran’s Horn-Heavy Funk
Bobby Smith’s King Productions 1963-1965
Bobby Smith’s King Productions 1966-1973
King Records Trivia: Maxi-Tweets
King’s Jazz Legacy: Maxi-Tweets
King Records Lore — A Trunkful of Trivia
Ace UK Visits King Records Archives
45 sides +/- obscure tracks
1960s Musical Artists – We Hardly Knew Ye
Vinyl Curiosities — Summer Beach Read ’22
Quirky 45s That “Bubbled Under” 1959-1976
Steppenwolf’s Notoriously Lengthy B-side
Goldie & the Gingerbreads B-Side
Skip Battyn + Van Dyke Parks’ Obscure 45
“Big Honky Baby”: Ellie Greenwich – We Know It’s You
“Games People Play”: Bassist Wakes Drummer Using Musical Chops
“Plain Jane”: Mean People Suck
“When I Was a Boy”: Adulthood Stinks
“Sugartime”: Linda & Paul at Black Ark
“I’ve Got Something To Say” – Open Letters in Popular Music
50s/60s rockabilly bop & boogie
Hardrock Gunter on (indie) Island Records
Orangie Ray Hubbard: Great Rocker from (Near) Cincinnati
“Rockin’ Red Wing”: New Spin on an Old Tune
“Rockin’ in Baghdad”: Another Missed Opportunity for “Irony”
“Bluebirds Over the Mountain”: Reggaebilly?
60s/70s rock +/- pop
The Shadows: World’s Tiniest Rockers
World’s First Dead Heads: Germany?
Beatle Buddies: Not Actually Pals
“Right By My Side”: (Curt) Boettcher & (Bobby) Jameson
“Celeste”: Makes a Tinkly Sound
Nino & April’s Pop Steel Drums
Cat Stevens Once Desired a Gun
The Musical Equivalent of Recess
Battle of the “Spaceship Races”
“Taos New Mexico”: Not the City’s Fault
“Seven Deadly Finns”: Roots Rock Rediscovery
“Loneliness”: Band’s Name Might Make You Laugh
6-string bass +/- baritone guitar
Lee Hazlewood: Lesser-Known Legend of Surf & Twang Guitar
“Surf Finger”: Lost Surf Classic
12-string guitar
The Poets: Not Actual 12-String Guitars
“My Name is Nobody”: Soundtrack for a Cipher
African pop
Trans-National Musical Exchange
“Guitar Boy”: Africa’s Guitar King
Earliest Recording of a Melodica?
Asian pop
Tokyo Happy Coats: Japanese Pop on King Records
1969’s China Night ~ Guitar Music LP
Bluegrass
Lester Flatt Can’t Tell the Boys from the Girls
The Stonemans (or is it Stonemen?)
“Kentucky Ridgerunner”: The High Lonesome Remix
Blues
“You Don’t Love Me”: Where Blues and Reggae Intersect
“Lonesome Whistle Blues”: Train = Pain
Hop Wilson’s Steel Guitar Blues
Bootleg +/- pirate recordings
Oddball Hendrix 45s & EPs Worldwide
Bootleg EP – or – Just a Mirage?
Cincinnati music history
90+ Years of Cincinnat i in Song
Shad O’Shea’s Counterpart Music Publishing Empire = A Chronology (1965-1971)
Rusty York’s Cincinnati Indie Label
Mickey Foellger — From The New Lime to Wheels to Family Court Magistrate
Smokey And His Sister: Goodbye Cincinnati [includes James Brown King ads]
Ralph Emery Messes with Joe Stampley’s Head
Cincinnati: Hard Rock Capital of the World?
“Cincinnati”: Neither North nor South nor East nor West
Country jazz
Roy Lanham: Country Meets Jazz
Gary Burton’s Tennessee Firebird
BluEmmons: Landmark Steel Guitar Jazz LP
“Killer Joe”: Nashville Super Pickers in Austin
Danny Gatton & Buddy Emmons: Kings of Steel
“Gibson Girl”: Actually, Billy Byrd’s a Gibson Guy
Texas Troubadours: Backup Band Extraordinaire
Country rock
Hearts And Flowers: Country Rock
Dieselbilly for the Long Hairs
Hager Twins: Holding the World’s Hands
The Chaparral Brothers: Shattered Men
“No Expectations”: Joan Baez Covers the Stones, Man
“Jackson”: Public’s Help Sought in Identifying Artist
Country soul
A & I University Singers — 1969 Country Soul Album Produced by Buddy Killen
“Hello L.A., Bye-Bye Birmingham”: The Other John(ny) Marr
“Uncle Booger Red & Byrdie Nelle”: Does Don Kirshner Know About This?
“A Satisfied Mind”: Country Meets Soul
Countrypolitan +/- country pop
“Countrypolitan” – 1st Sightings
B-Side: Called Up to the Majors
Bossa Country -or- Honky Nova?
“Mary Anne”: UK Countrypolitan
“Lost Highway”: Hank Williams + Chet Atkins & Friends
“Legend of the Big Steeple”: Spectacular Spire
“Comin’ Down”: B-Side? Try Song of the Year
Vikki Carr: Living On A Prayer, A Hope & A Hand-Me-Down
Bobby & Jeannie Bare Are Going to Vegas — 45 Track Only
In Hindsight, the Lawsuit Was Inevitable
Electronic sounds
“Swimmy”: Sounds of a Buchla Box?
Paul Beaver Played Clavinet, Too (plus Emil Richards Tribute)
“Daily Nightly”: Mickey Dolenz, Moog Pioneer
“M1”: Modern Sound for a Modern Roadway
“Baby Can It Be True”: Early Mellotron
“Semi-Detached Suburban Mr. James”: More Early Mellotron
Perrey & Kingsley’s “Secret” Ondioline
Paul Tanner: Musician-of-All-Trades & Oddball Instrumentalist
Experimental pop
Blink and You Miss It — Zapple Records
The Dead: In the Twilight Zone
Jan & Dean: Avant-Pop Pioneers?
“I Know You Aries”: Mort Garson Asks, What’s Your Sign?
“Chef d’Oeuvre”: Negative Radio Plays?
Larry Fast: Digital, Experimental
Folk
“Tar and Cement”: Eco-Soul or Soul-Folk?
Bright Morning Star: Talkin’ Topical Wit & Artist Activism
French pop
The Barclay Stars: Five French Guitars
Mickey Baker on a King Surf LP
Funk
“Fat Eddie”: James Crawford’s Mighty B-Side
“Grits & Corn Bread”: Watts 103
Charlie Smalls: Guest Music Instructor on The Monkees
The Conservatives: Tax Breaks for the Funky?
“South Side Strut”: Grateful Funk
Fuzz Bass
“Sewer Lady”: Musically Unsanitary
“Sweets for My Sweet”: Unattributed Artist
Guitar Innovations
Andy Tielman’s 10-String Guitar
Dave Bunker’s Futuristic 50s “Touch Guitar”
Dick Denney’s “Secret” Guitar Organ
Cecil Null’s “Gun-tar” of 1968 (+ Letritia Kandle’s Grand Letar)
Alphonso Johnson & The Emmett Chapman Stick
Hedges & Jordan: Two-Handed Tappers
Harpsichord
Lloyd Green Stumps for Cincinnati’s Baldwin
The Left Banke: Early Clavinet ’67
Peppermint Trolley: Clavinet ’67
“Stomp”: First Recording of a Clavinet?
Honky Tonk
“Phfft! You Were Gone”: King 78
Blink And You Miss It — Nudie Recording Co.
Molly Bee – Cited Zappa Influence – Could Yodel
“Ode to Big Joe”: Big Joe Talbot, That’s Who
“Bob”: The Willis Brothers, Not Weird Al
“Tulsa Telephone Book”: Pre-Internet Woes
“I’m a Sucker For a Girl Like That”: LP Track Only
“Happy Tracks”: Universal Code of Conduct?
Instrumentals
Milt Buckner’s “Mod Popcorn R&B”
“Soul Serenade”: Beau Dollar + Coins
“Space Walk”: Psychedelic Vibes, Man
“Walking the Carpet”: Album-Oriented Instrumental
Joe Pass: Unlikely Mid-60s Stones Fan
Music that Bridge Nations: “Dixie Doodle”
“Kitten on the Keys”: Liberace Plays the Boogie
Jamaican popular music
Intersection of Country Music and Jamaican Ska, Rocksteady, Reggae & Dancehall
Nora Dean’s Voice — Tremulous, Intriguing
Early Wailers: Pre-Island Years
Fud Christian – Not The 1st Name in Reggae
Sonia Pottinger: Jamaica’s First Female Record Producer
The Earliest Reggae Recording?
Rocksteady Reggae — Cowbell’s Golden Era
King Records Goes Ska – Prince Buster & Byron Lee
1973: The Year Pop Reggae Broke
“Festival Rock”: Jamaican History Lesson
“Blue Boot”: Next-Generation Musical Footware
“Love Can Run Faster”: B-Side of Mystery
Rare Reggae Roots Mix — Annotated & Illustrated
Trojan Records History Highlights
Jazz
“Papaya” — Urszula Dudziak’s Extraordinary Vocal Control
Keter Betts – Silver Spring, MD Resident
Duke Ellington Meets Apollo 11
“Countryside”: Jim Henson’s Word Jazz
“All the Things You Are”: West Coast Jazz from … Hank Garland?
Charlie Byrd’s Guitar Weeps – Due to Late 60s Social Tumult
First Steinberger Bass Sighting?
Latin sounds
Latin Musical Influences @ King Records + Federal, DeLuxe, Bethlehem & Audio Lab
Pop & Rock’s Latin Roots: “Cerveza”
“Tacos & Grits”: Jazz Trombone
“Baia”: Carol Kaye as Bandleader
“Be In”: Flower Power Latin-Style
“Sky And Sea”: 5D’s Jazz Vocal Instrumental II
“Cool Jerk”: Starday-King Goes Boogaloo
Melodica
Earliest Melodica Recording ‘64
Pioneering Pop: The Melodica on Record
Melodica as High Art: “Talkin’ Blues” Dub Style
Mexican +/- mariachi pop
Juanita Jones — In The Driver’s Seat At ASCAP?
“Adios Aloha”: Honky Tonk Internationale
Roy Orbison (is) The Fastest Guitar Alive
Modern rock
When Indie Becomes Oldie(s) via K-Tel
J Mascis Takes a Run at the Sun
“Always Unknowing”: Roxy Music, Forever Uncertain
Native +/- indigenous sounds
Buffy Sainte-Marie — 97 Men (Likely More) Don’t Call Her Honey
“Washita Love Child”: Jesse Ed & Eric Whatsisname
“God Out West”: Link Wray Sings Hallelujah
Quirky & offbeat topics Advertising +/- marketing in music
Arresting Ads From the Archives of Billboard, Cash Box, Record World & Beat Instrumental
The Klacker-King Song — “Outlaw Bubblegum” on Rotten Rat Records
“Bumpin’ on Sunset”: Organ + Strings
Jimmy Radcliffe Deserves a Break Today
Muddy Waters: He’s a Pepper, Too
Animation in popular music
Popeye in Pop’s Eye – A Musical Salute
“Truck Driver”: Pop Goes the Diesel from The Archies
“Don’t Fake It”: Prophecy of a Black Presidency
“Dora the Female Explorer”: Did Nickelodeon Fork Over the Dough?
Jeremy Wakefield: SpongeBob’s Stellar Steel Support
Bats in popular music
Alvino Rey: Steel Guitarist Bandleader
“Winged Mammal Theme”: Batty B-Side
Cash-in albums +/- 45s King Cash-In Surf LP #1
“Beatle Crazy”: Will Somebody Pass the DDT?
Rolling Stones Soundalike Recordings
“Mississippi”: Pickwick Would Never Try to Mislead the Public
Freddy Fender’s Prison Album of Mystery
Color-your-own & connect-the-dots LP covers Donovan’s Color-Your-Own Cover
Film +/- TV soundtracks
“Cast and Crew”: Cinema Credits as High Art
“Fire In The City”: Hendricks & The Dead
“Five Minutes to Live”: Death Sentence Commuted to 50 Years
Irene Ryan: Motown’s Newest Teen Sensation
Flexi-discs
Nashville Chowdown: Rice’s Great Image Makeover
Q: Who’s the Swingin’est Dolly?
Gender politics in music
Ann Jones & Her “All-Girl” Band
“Jump Children”: International Sweethearts of Rhythm
“A Woman’s World”: Feminist or Traditionalist?
“Wave Bye Bye to the Man”: Good Riddance to Bad Man
Jan Rhodes 45 – Undefined Trouble Places Burden On Listener
God pop
God Pop on the Charts: Early 70s
Kenny Smith: From Soul Street to God Pop and Beyond
The Free Design Have Found Love
Humor & Satire
Musical Misprints: Record Label Blunders, Gaffes & Bloopers
Musical Impersonations (on Wax)
Brevity in Pop: Know When to Fold
Godfrey Daniel: Punk Doowop Revivalists
Lily Tomlin’s Got the 20th Century Blues
“Bob”: Palindromic in the Extreme
“Mad”: Little Jerry & the Monotones Are Steamed
Labor politics in popular song
Larry Adler & His Dime Store Harmonica
“Foreman”: Sanitation Engineer
“Cajun Interstate”: Cajun-Built
“Part of the Union”: Rockers of the World, Unite
Mental health in popular song
“Insanity Comes Quietly To The Structured Mind”
“Your Own Back Yard”: 12-Step Rock
Subverting Depression in Popular Song
Multi-groove records
Jack White’s Ultra Vinyl of the Future
Mad Magazine’s Multi-Groove Flexi-Disc
Fabulous Las Vegas Roulette: Multi-Track LP
Music in wartime
What If They Gave A War And No One Came? Jonna Gault And Her Symphonopop Scene
Musical fights
Lee Hazlewood vs. Don Nix: ’73
Best-Sellers vs. Worst-Sellers
“Play De Music” vs. “Finger Mash”: Festival Sound Clash
“Mandolinia” vs. The Remarkable Riderless Runaway Tricycle
“Wildwood Flower on the Autoharp”: Fine Arts vs. Popular Arts
“Weather Report”: Play the Simon & Garfunkel Game
“Musical Fight”: Most Literal Song Title
Sports in popular music
Muhammad Ali: “The People’s Choice”
When Pelé Tried His Hand at Pop
Ten-Pin Pop: Nothing But Bowling Songs
Various artists collections
True or False? Led Zep on K-Tel
Jimi Hendrix (and Beatles & Stones) on a K-Tel Album?
‘Do It Now’: Ronco’s Licensing Feat of Strength
’20 Heavy Hits’: If For No Other Reason, the Album Cover
’20 Solid Gold Hits’: 19 Studio Tracks + 1 Live One
Winter holiday songs
Santa’s in the Victrola: Spooky
Rhythm & blues
“Purple Rain Drops” of Late ’65
Sister Rosetta Tharpe – Rock & Roll Architect
“Barnyard Boogie”: Jump Blues + Lap Steel Guitar
“Lucky Ladybug”: First Pop Use of Phasing?
“Do the President Twist”: First Depiction of a Rockin’ President?
Silver Spring music history
Gene Rosenthal & Adelphi Records: Ahead of the Curve
Track Recorders: Silver Spring
Bill McCullough Remembers: Track Recorders
“H2O Gate Blues”: DB Sound Studios – Silver Spring, MD
Silver Spring’s Central Recording Studio
Michele (Valeri) & Bob (Devlin)’s Color-Your Own Album Cover
“Silver Springs” Maryland: Musically Unincorporated
Soul
‘Sister Baby Merry Clayton’ – Stage Name Used Ever So Briefly
Tony Lawrence & the Cultural Festivals 45 — Theme of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival
“Ain’t You Glad”: 35-Year Victim of Criminal Neglect
“This Old Town”: Where Love is the Prevailing Order
“Barbara’s Boy”: Song Premise Invalidated By Modern Science
Lord Thunder: Final Deluxe 45?
Steel +/- slide guitar
Zero to Infinity: Buddy Emmons
Lloyd Green: “Mr. Nashville Sound”
Curly Chalker’s Dutch-Only 45: Party Game for Steel Guitar Fanatics
“Lothario In A”: Red Rhodes on Elektra
It’s True: Noel Boggs Once Played on a King Record
Sunshine Pop
“South American Getaway”: Sunshine Pop’s Case of the Blahs
“Junk Maker Shoppe”: Hard-Edged Sunshine Pop
“Dimension 5ive”: Sunshine Pop’s Progressive Peak?
Nancy & Frank Sinatra’s Trippy 45
Phil and Don Everly’s “Talking to the Flowers” = A-Side in Disguise
Mason Williams: Music + Comedy + Art
Surf
“Last Wave of the Day”: Lights Out for Surf?
“Surfer Dan”: Vintage Surf’s Last Gasp?
Los Straitjackets: ¡Viva La Instrumental!
Toy piano
“Shilo”: First Pop Use of Toy Piano?
Truck driving songs
Willis Brothers: Giants of Diesel
“Haulin’ Freight”: 1959 (not 1951)
“Big Tennessee”: Ol’ Truckin’ Tex
Burton & Mooney’s Diesel Classic
“Truckin’”: Charlie Jackson on the Spar Label
Western Swing
“Twin Guitar Polka”: Western Swing on King – The Early Years
“Western Limited Boogie”: Boogie Woogie Western-Style
(Son of) Plays Guitar Like a Piano
Joe Maphis Also Had a Doubleneck
“On the Alamo”: (Inter)Twin(ed) Guitars
“Big Beaver”: Thank You, Goodnight from The Texas Troubadours
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