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.
Volume 1 features information pertaining to all the releases on the King label from 1943 to 1973, with a great many of these recordings laid down at King‘s Cincinnati studios. It can be great fun to browse chronologically in order to determine whether any recording took place on the birthdate of someone you know, such as family members and friends. At first I was disappointed to find out that no King artists were laying down any new sounds on the day of my birth — at least, in Cincinnati.
Page 470 concludes the post-Syd Nathan Starday-King era, with a listing for a Nashville session that took place on September 23, 1973 by a group called The B.K.‘s [Bob Kames + company], with only one song recorded “Choo Choo Choo” (the B-side of King 6426 — a 45 that appears never to have been issued). However, pages 471-476 list a King 16000 master series of recordings that took place in Los Angeles between the years 1961-1963 (sessions with Johnny Otis and Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson, et al., including “Gangster of Love“).
But the real kicker is this announcement near the bottom of page 476:
“Note: Series discontinued and resumed later in Macon, Ga.”
Volume 1, thus, ends with four pages of King recording sessions between the years 1964-1965 that took place in Macon, Georgia at Bobby Smith Studios (and therefore serve as the “missing link” to all the later work* highlighted in last October’s celebration, “Bobby Smith’s King Productions“). So, today I decided to browse these pages with a certain date in mind, and wouldn’t you know it: The Fabulous Denos recorded two songs with Bobby Smith at the helm [“Once I Had a Love” & “Bad Girl“] on the day of my birth — April 13, 1964!
“Bad Girl“
The Fabulous Denos (1964)
“Bad Girl” – the featured song in this King history piece – served as the B-side of a single released in June, 1964.
Tip of the hat (again) to 45Cat contributor davie gordon for this snippet from Billboard‘s August 22, 1964 edition that shows “Bad Girl” to be a ‘R&B Regional Breakout’ for the urban centers of Atlanta and Cleveland, the city where my dad would relocate by decade’s end — foreshadowing?
Bobby Smith Productions = 1964-1965
Info from The King Labels: A Discography compiled by Michel Ruppli
<click on all song titles below for streaming audio>
Sam Anderson & the Telstars (1964)
- Standing at the Edge of the Sea [King 5855]
- Back on the Block [King 5855]
Wayne Cochran (1964)
- Last Kiss [King 5856]
- I Dreamed, I Gambled, I Lost [King 5856]
- The Coo [King 5874]
- Cindy Marie [King 5874]
Alice Rozier (March 16, 1964)
- My Candy Man [King 5896]
- George, BB and Roy [King 5896]
- I Love You a Bushel and a Peck [unissued]
- Love Me Like I Love You [unissued]
Eddie Kirk (March 17, 1964)
- Let Me Walk With You [King 5895]
- Monkey Tonight [King 5895]
- I Just Want to Be Loved [unissued]
- Mary [unissued]
James Duncan [and The Duncan Trio] (1964)
- Here Comes Charlie [King 5887]
- Everybody Needs Somebody to Love [King 5923]
- I’ll Be Gone [King 5923]
- My Pillow Stays Wet [King 5887]
Billy Soul (March 19, 1964)
- My Darlin’ Honey Baby [King 5929]
- Big Balls of Fire [King 5929]
- She’s Gone (Pt. 1) [King 5904]
- So Many People [unissued]
Bobby Leeds (March 22, 1964)
- Nothing Too Good for You [King 5928]
- When I Fell [King 5928]
- I’m Through, I’m Gone, I’m Free [King 5903]
- Big Brick Wall [King 5903]
C.V. Williams (March 19, 1964)
- I’ve Lost the Only One [unissued]
- My Once-a-Week Love [unissued]
Eddie Kirk (September 8, 1964)
- Hog Killin’ Time [King 5959]
- Treat Me the Way You Want Me [King 5959]
James Duncan (October 11, 1964)
- Three Little Pigs [King 5966]
- I Can’t Fight the Time [King 5966]
Bobby Skelton (1964)
- It Goes Without Saying [King 5897]
- Just Two People in the World [King 5897]
The Fabulous Denos (November 23, 1964)
- Hard to Hold Back Tears [King 5971]
- I’ve Enjoyed Being Loved by You [King 5971]
King Keels (April 4, 1964)
James Styles (April 4, 1964)
- Sweeter Than a Flower [unissued]
- I’m on My Way [unissued]
Bobby Cash (April 12, 1964)
- I Don’t Need Your Love and Kisses [King 5894]
- Answer to My Dreams [King 5894]
Dennis Wheeler (April 12, 1964)
The Fabulous Denos (April 13, 1964)
- Once I Had a Love [King 5908]
- Bad Girl [King 5908]
Bennie Anderson and the Teals (April 28, 1964)
- Little School Girl [King 5893]
- Sugar Girl [King 5893]
Billy Soul (March 19, 1964)
- She’s Gone (Pt. 2) [King 5904]
Oscar Toney Jr. (& The Kayos Band) (April 19, 1964)
- You’re Going to Need Me [King 5906]
- Can It All Be Love [King 5906]
Wayne Cochran (January 17, 1965)
James Duncan (March 12, 1965)
- All Aboard [unissued]
- My Baby Is Back [unissued]
Alice Rozier (February 24, 1965)
- Lonely Girl [unissued]
- Hold on to You [unissued]
Oscar Toney Jr. [& The Kayos Band] (February 1965)
- I’ve Found a True Love [King 6108]
- Keep on Loving Me [King 6108]
James Duncan (March 12, 1965)
- Guilty [King 6013]
- Mr. Goodtime [King 6013]
Stanley K.
- [unknown title] [unissued]
- [unknown title] [unissued]
Zero to 180 on his Father’s Lap –
Cincinnati, OH (March, 1966)
*Brian Powers was, indeed, correct in his assertion (back in October, 2018) that Bobby Smith Studios had been up and running prior to 1966
For Serious King Records Fans Only:
Page 481
Check out these random bits of King recording session info on the very last page of Volume 1 that fall under the catch-all title Additional King Sessions — including a live James Brown & the Famous Flames set at Baltimore’s Royal Theater in 1963.
