Zero to 180 – Three Minute Magic

Discoveries of a Pop Music Archaeologist

Tag: Cincinnati

"Papa Left Mama Holding the Bag"
Zeroto180

Who’s Left Holding King’s Bag?

[For an update on the perilous status of the original King Records site, click here] A recent Cincinnati visit allowed me the chance to verify that the former King Records complex is still standing.  But for how long?  Polly Lucke, Zero to 180’s West Coast correspondent, recently brought to my

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"See What's Right"
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The Wyngates on Nick Clooney’s Bandstand

Northern Kentucky, who launched its own Music Hall of Fame in 2013, produced a pair of Nuggets-era garage rock classics:  New Lime‘s “Perfect Girl” (magic blend of organ + vibes), as well as The Wyngates “See What’s Right,” both issued on Cincinnati’s Counterpart Records in 1967.  Check out this archival

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"Hang Up Your Hang-Ups"
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Umoja’s Hang Up-Free Funk

Impressive musicianship and stellar vocals make for another slice of Cincinnati funk on Counterpart Records that is able to command a decent two figures at auction: “Hang Up Your Hang-Ups“ Umoja As with 400 Years of What‘s “Get Down People,” this one-off 45 — Umoja‘s sole musical gift to the

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"Love Me When I'm Down"
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Soul Inc’s A-Side Turned B-Side?

Louisville’s Soul Inc. is another music group from my hometown’s Ohio Valley region that recorded a local hit (“Love Me When I’m Down“) on a local label (Counterpart) that had been recorded locally (at Ray Allen‘s studio in Louisville perhaps?) and played on local AM hits radio station WSAI (thus,

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"Is She Sore"
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Orangie Ray Hubbard: Great Rocker from (Near) Cincinnati

Orangie Ray Hubbard‘s “Is She Sore” is a big, big tune for such a tiny label — Cincinnati’s Lucky (whose address is a residential home in the Fairview/Clifton Heights neighborhood): “Is She Sore” Orangie Ray Hubbard (1959) “Is She Sore” is actually Orangie Ray’s second single — two years prior, Dixie

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Halloween & horror
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The Cool Ghoul: Theme Song Remix

It’s been ten years since the passing of Dick Von Hoene, Cincinnati’s late-night weekend TV phantom, The Cool Ghoul, as he was known professionally.  Aaron Bates, along with oldies radio station WGRR, put together a freewheeling and vintage-filled 2-minute tribute to the loveable horror figure specific to our Ohio Valley

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"Cincinnati Ohio"
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90+ Years of Cincinnati in Song

Cincinnati is hardly the first American city to be celebrated in popular song.   Nevertheless, I find it curious how frequently — i.e., over 200 songs — Cincinnati (ranked #64 among US cities by population) has appeared in a popular song title in the past 95 years, to wit:    90+

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"No Good - Robin Hood"
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“No Good Robin Hood”: Top Rockabilly from Future Crime Fighter

From the liner notes of the Ace CD compilation, King Rockabilly: Delbert Barker was born on a farm in Frenchberg, Kentucky on 3 December 1932 and moved to Middletown, Ohio, near Cincinnati, in 1943.  During his teens, he began participating in amateur talent contests and eventually gained sufficient confidence to turn

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"Twin Guitar Polka"
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“Twin Guitar Polka”: Western Swing on King – The Early Years

King Records’ first year of existence – 1943 – produced exactly one recording session that yielded two singles recorded by Grandpa Jones and Merle Travis using aliases, since they were under contract to WLW.  King’s inaugural recording session took place, according to Merle Travis biographer, Deke Dickerson, “in a room

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